Innovation

Tapping the input of many people early in the innovation process helps companies find the blockbusters and weed out the bad ideas before they reach a...

When it comes to making visualizations, time really is on your side.

And why your company can’t ignore it.

Someone in India recently asked me what I thought about an innovation strategy featuring a heavy dose of “imitation.” My response was, “Innovation isn’t Olympic diving.” What did I mean? An individual diver’s scores for an event are a factor of two things: how well they execute their dive, and the “degree of difficulty” of […]

Just because this is a time of transformation doesn’t mean that it’s easy to sell transformational ideas. Economic uncertainty has reduced the audience for bold, grand rhetoric. Besides, even in boom times innovation is risky. Innovators often have to ease anxieties by sounding conservative while doing something radical. We all want breakthroughs; it’s just that […]

Tap creative people from analogous fields.

Crucial (and cost-free) ways policymakers can support scale-up entrepreneurs.

It’s about more than just Zooming with your therapist.

Following up on his pledge to provide greater support for manufacturing in his State of the Union address, President Obama has announced a proposal to cut the effective tax rate for manufacturers to 25%. A number of economists howled against this so-called “industrial policy” and criticized the president’s singling out manufacturing for “special treatment” — […]

Over the last couple of weeks in Singapore I’ve wandered the halls of the regional and global headquarters of three pretty big companies with more than $150 billion in combined revenues. I figured the calamitous economic news out of the United States and Europe coupled with riots in England would result in corporate cube dwellers […]

It tells you where an industry is going.

Everyone applauds innovation. At least, they love it in retrospect, after it has worked. Before that, it's just somebody's wild idea that competes with...

While social media often commands favorable media attention, the less often told story is that successful initiatives are rare to come by and that there are still a number of organizational roadblocks that managers need to overcome in order to make progress. Still, we are seeing signs of progress in the form of new efficiencies, […]

Back in 2007, my colleague Scott Anthony argued that Nintendo’s Wii would be a disruptive innovation that could catch Sony and Microsoft off-guard. The core of the argument was that Nintendo’s strategy of “competing against non-consumption” would allow it to fly under the radar of Microsoft and Sony, which were engaging in an arms race […]

Six ways savvy leaders can use them to gain a competitive advantage.

Walt Disney, the man, was equal parts technological genius and ancient story teller. He drew upon stories that reverberated with our humanity and told them in sizzling new ways that shaped memorable experiences. Simultaneously he knew how to leverage every powerful method of engaging the consumer and he swarmed them with multiple modes of his […]

A recent edition of Fortune describes innovations in computer gaming that are likely to be as disruptive to incumbent players like Electronic Arts and Activision as the move toward cloud computing is to providers of shrink-wrapped software. While the incumbents have been engaged in the innovation equivalent of an arms race – ever more powerful […]

Many pundits are railing about Cisco's move into the server market because the company's current gross margins are 10-20% less in the server market than...

Data on who's investing the most, the explosive growth of headsets, and the most popular uses of AR.

Lessons from a 10-year review of Sony Ericsson’s product development process.

This case is about a boutique chocolate manufacturer's decision to grow. Zotter, an Austrian company that was a pioneer in the organic and Fairtrade chocolate...

Reed Hastings founded Netflix to provide a home movie service that would do a better job satisfying customers than the traditional retail rental model....

Preparing and strengthening the developing world for the 4th Industrial Revolution is a challenge that Computer Aid is tackling head on. Founder Tony...

The case can be used in a session on entrepreneurship, disruptive technology innovation, or focus as an aspect of strategy. The case profiles Mettl...

In 2012, Syngenta, one of the world's largest agricultural input company, committed to build a $1 billion business in Africa over the next 10 years. In...

KTN is a Belgian-based logistics firm that over the last decade has successfully expanded throughout the world. Its growth strategy has been based on...

This module reading pulls together key concepts and techniques from the Strategy Execution series into an integrated model - the levers of control. The...

In spite of the world's move to digital photography, in 2013 Lomography continues to design and offer analog (film) cameras to a loyal following of artistic...

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler founded SoulCycle, an indoor cycling studio chain, in 2006 as more than a health club; they wanted it to become a lifestyle...

Fundacion Chile shows how a private, nonprofit corporation contributes to technological innovation and develops productive links, adds value, and generates...

The key objective of this case is to review an innovative product's supply chain, so as to identify its supply risks and to improve its supply chain resilience....

In the early 1980s, Missouri's director of early childhood education launched a novel parent education pilot project designed to increase children's kindergarten...

In April 2018, after it became known that Google was collaborating with the US Department of Defense on Project Maven, over 3,000 employees signed an...

A new classic, recommended by leaders and media around the world. In this bestselling book, authors Jeff Dyer ("Innovation Capital" and "The Innovator's...

Climate snapshots provide a summary of climate actions that occurred between 2018 and 2024, highlighting major green initiatives, innovations, carbon...

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the automotive industry was facing the most profound transformation in its history. Two primary factors were propelling...

Describes a set of decisions confronting some managers in the oral care division of Procter & Gamble. They must decide whether to buy a company that has...

Alphabet Energy was founded in 2009 with a new thermoelectric technology that had the potential to advance energy efficiency by recovering heat wasted...

The one primer you need to develop your managerial and leadership skills. Whether you're a new manager or looking to have more influence in your current...

Four businesses had, by 2012, grown to dominate the infrastructure that all firms rely on to reach online customers. Will the balance of power among the...

Tapping the input of many people early in the innovation process helps companies find the blockbusters and weed out the bad ideas before they reach a...

Teaching note for W15282.

When it comes to making visualizations, time really is on your side.

And why your company can’t ignore it.

In our last issue, the authors introduced the overarching Linking Strategy to Operations (LSO) model, examining two elements of its component operations...

Someone in India recently asked me what I thought about an innovation strategy featuring a heavy dose of “imitation.” My response was, “Innovation isn’t Olympic diving.” What did I mean? An individual diver’s scores for an event are a factor of two things: how well they execute their dive, and the “degree of difficulty” of […]

This case is about a boutique chocolate manufacturer's decision to grow. Zotter, an Austrian company that was a pioneer in the organic and Fairtrade chocolate...

Just because this is a time of transformation doesn’t mean that it’s easy to sell transformational ideas. Economic uncertainty has reduced the audience for bold, grand rhetoric. Besides, even in boom times innovation is risky. Innovators often have to ease anxieties by sounding conservative while doing something radical. We all want breakthroughs; it’s just that […]

Tap creative people from analogous fields.

Reed Hastings founded Netflix to provide a home movie service that would do a better job satisfying customers than the traditional retail rental model....