business strategy posts, articles, and infographics

Making Quick Decisions

April 15, 2011 by Kneale Mann
with 37 views

Years ago, I worked for a guy who proclaimed loudly and often that he subscribed to the “ready – shoot – aim” approach. He would get red in the face and start to vibrate when I deliberated too long on a decision. He would remind me that the most successful people decide, fix mistakes and get the right answers fast while most get lost in thought. However, he often missed the 'fix mistakes' part, that was for the rest of us to mop up. [read more]

Simple Business Strategy

April 12, 2011 by Kneale Mann
with 99 views

It might be your biggest ally There is non-stop chatter about this strategy and that tactic to improve business in every industry and walk of life. It happens in this space almost daily. There have been countless surveys and research pieces examining why one company thrives while others struggle and it is quite often not about money... [read more]

The 10 Key Questions your Business Model Must Address

April 12, 2011 by Bob Apollo
with 610 views

It’s becoming obvious that narrowly-focused business models based around the traditional “4Ps” of Product, Price, Place and Promotion have failed to keep pace with the complexities of today’s business climate. If your organisation is involved in high-value, complex B2B sales environments, I’d like to suggest 10 key questions that... [read more]

Selection Trumps Motivation (Solving Google's Social Problem)

April 11, 2011 by Albert Wenger
with 75 views

While I have a feeling that Larry Page won’t take any of my suggestions (darn), I am happy to see him come out swinging hard. What a welcome contrast to when Jerry Yang took over as CEO at Yahoo. Several people have written that it is a bad idea to have a corporate wide bonus depending on the achievement of social goals.... [read more]

Don Quixote Syndrome

April 11, 2011 by Jeff Cornwall
with 183 views

Passion is what drives entrepreneurs. Passion is often what pushes us to take the risk to launch our venture. Passion is also what keeps us going when we face the many hurdles and roadblocks that are inherent in almost every entrepreneurial endeavor. Passion is what helps us break into the market and convince a... [read more]

5 Strategic Blunders; Rackspace's Strategy; Butler's Strategy; Russian Strategy

April 7, 2011 by Verne Harnish
with 124 views

New Page 2 "...keeping you great" HEADLINES: 5 Strategic Blunders - my latest Fortune "Venture" column is out on the newsstands (April 11 edition) and online. See how Randy Cohen, TicketCity; Roger Hardy, Coastal Contacts; Doug Schukar, USA Mortgage... [read more]

Identifying your company’s hidden potential

April 6, 2011 by JamesTaylor
with 119 views

Paul Nunes of Accenture presented some of his work at the Accenture Institute for High Performance. He began with a story – Zenith. Zenith did well in radios, got into television and rode that curve and as competition grew more intense they got into PCs and computers. But they sold off the computer business rather than the TV business... [read more]

Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?

March 29, 2011 by Skip Reardon
with 374 views

A prior issue of the Harvard Business Review included an article entitled "Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?" Their premise? "Can you summarize your company’s strategy in 35 words or less? If so, would your colleagues put it the same way?" Their conclusion? "Very few executives can honestly answer these simple questions in the... [read more]

Reject the tyranny of being picked: pick yourself

March 21, 2011 by Seth Godin
with 8 views

Amanda Hocking is making a million dollars a year publishing her own work to the Kindle. No publisher. Rebecca Black has reached more than 15,000,000 listeners, like it or not, without a record label. Are we better off without gatekeepers? Well, it was gatekeepers that brought us the unforgettable lyrics of Terry Jacks in 1974, and it's... [read more]

It’s Analytes Vs. Justdoers in a Battle to Business Death

March 15, 2011 by Tim Berry
with 7 views

In a darkened arena with a spotlight on a fighting ring in the middle, the crowd hushes as an announcer walks to the middle of the ring and announces the next battle. “In this corner…” — his voice echoes through the arena — “… we have the analytes.” The analytes can’t move without the numbers. They study. They research. In their world,... [read more]

The Bi-Directional Elevator Pitch

March 7, 2011 by Jeffrey Kaplan
with 627 views

When I founded THINKstrategies back in 2001, I chose the name because I wanted to help clients re-think how they viewed their business problems regardless of industry. One of the common challenges my ‘vendor’ clients face is how to explain the value of their business solutions in a succinct, compelling and differentiated fashion so... [read more]

The Thing That Makes It Popular Might Keep It From Working

March 3, 2011 by Seth Godin
with 245 views

The thing that makes it popular.....might be precisely the thing that keeps it from working. Chatroulette was popular because you might randomly see some horrible naked guy. It was like a train wreck attracting rubberneckers. But the very attraction that drew a crowd also ensured it would never be seen as a serious tool. That kid in... [read more]

Deciding Not To Do Something

March 2, 2011 by Brad Feld
with 397 views

My partners at Foundry Group and I decided not to do something after a month of thoughtful deliberation. The decision is fresh so I’m not going to talk about the specifics, but our conclusion was that while it would be relatively easy to do and potential financially lucrative, it wasn’t consistent with our strategy. I used it as an... [read more]

The Cost of Government Regulation & How Business Strategy Can Be Used to Mitigate Its Impact

February 5, 2011 by Sandy Graham
with 2,398 views

Small business is facing many challenges today, none of which are more foreboding than burdensome Federal Government Regulation and mandates that thwart investment and stifle job growth. Over the past few weeks I have Tweeted and commented on Facebook about many aspects of business strategy and how it can be employed to direct... [read more]

The Pyramid Scheme for Strategy

December 3, 2010 by Brett Duncan
with 987 views

I’ve been thinking a lot about strategic planning lately. Partly because I’m in the midst of doing some myself, but mostly because I see so many of us struggle with it. Regardless of what we think we know about strategic planning, the actually “doing” always seems to be more cumbersome than expected. To simplify, I wonder if an... [read more]

Zones of Uncertainty: Arises Leadership?

May 5, 2010 by Vineet Nayar
with 147 views

For the last few weeks I have been talking about taking charge of your life, Today I want to talk about zones of uncertainty. This story starts in my school with my geography teacher. I was studying in the foothills of the Himalayas, we could see the Himalayas on the other side of the school. She took us out and asked “What do you see... [read more]

Ratatouille & Why Small Businesses Fail + Sea Mice in Deep Basin

April 13, 2010 by Peter Auditore
with 370 views

Remy According to the latest statistics from the Small Business Association two thirds of small businesses survive two years, and only 44% survive at least four years. So that leaves us with more than half of all small businesses failing in the span of four years, ever wonder why? I think a major reason is... [read more]

Highlights From My Conversation with Mark W. Johnson, author of Seizing the White Space

April 4, 2010 by Zane Safrit
with 231 views

Mark W. Johnson, Chairman of Innosight and author of the great book Seizing the White Space: Business Model Innovation for Growth and Renewal, generously shared an hour from his busy day. We talked, well mostly I listened and that proved most useful, about the power of seizing white space or innovating a new business model, how... [read more]

Why March is the Most Dangerous Month (and a checklist to fix it)

March 5, 2010 by Les McKeown
with 223 views

As an Irishman (a real one - I was born and lived there for 40 years), I know that March is supposed to be a lucky time - you know, Paddy's day, 4-leaf clovers, all that stuff. The reality is that March is the most dangerous month for most organizations, divisions, departments and teams: What you do in the next 30 days will most likely... [read more]

Making Change: Earn Your Chips Early

March 2, 2010 by Steve Roesler
with 173 views

If you want to change an organization, you start by changing the patterns in which people talk together, the things they talk about, the frequency of their contact and the makeup of those who overhear them." --Art Kleiner, Who Really Matters I would add: Start doing those things before you need acceptance for a new initiative.... [read more]