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How Companies Say They’re Using Big Data

Harvard Business Review

.” Survey respondents included Presidents, Chief Information Officers, Chief Analytics Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, and Chief Data Officers representing 50 industry giants, including American Express, Capital One, Disney, Ford Motors, General Electric, JP Morgan, MetLife, Nielsen, Turner Broadcasting, United Parcel Service, and USAA.

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How Corporate Investors Can Improve Their Odds

Harvard Business Review

VCs, they’re told, take more of a long-term approach, have a greater degree of risk tolerance, and parcel out their funds in stages to mitigate risk. The operative question for them is, not “How confident am I that this investment will yield a positive return?” Innovation Project management' Those that don’t, don’t.

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Why the Future of E-Commerce Depends on Better Roads

Harvard Business Review

This is the reassuring physical signal that his part of the never-ceasing, get-it-now economy has successfully turned one more notch on its endless loop — a cycle repeated at 2,000 similar United Parcel Service delivery hubs around the country and the world. This would be particularly attractive as suburban conduits to major airports.

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What to Do When Your Future Strategy Clashes with Your Present

Harvard Business Review

MedStar operated nine hospitals, but realized that its long-held objective of increasing revenue and profits at those venues was unsustainable, given the outcries over runaway medical costs. These new ventures would operate separately from the core hospital assets and would compete in new ways in the health care marketplace.

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6 Ways to Keep Good Ideas from Dying at Your Company

Harvard Business Review

What would new product development executives or project managers in the R&D lab tell you are the organizational dynamics that ice their best ideas? Sometimes that requires creating a separate operating structure. Many companies have figured out how to parcel out small amounts of money to employees cultivating something new.

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Case Study: How Would You Save This Farm?

Harvard Business Review

A 25-year lease to put solar panels on a parcel of land would generate the same returns as growing tomatoes—without any irrigation headaches. ” Pete explained the lease structure and the projected returns. “Guaranteeing a solid return on this parcel will seem like a smart move. .” His sister Jane nodded.

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How to Improve Your Sales Skills, Even If You’re Not a Salesperson

Harvard Business Review

And that is part and parcel of professional life. It’s your job to figure out your customer’s motivations: “What would it take to get your boss to sign off on a project or to get your clients excited about what you have to offer?” ” But that notion is outdated. ” Here’s how to get better at it.

Skills 19