When companies are on their path towards expansion, they often face hurdles during scaling up. This is because with growth, complexity increases. This complexity, also hinders growth. Fast- growing companies have this tendency to drift towards bureaucracy and slow decision- making. It leads to an incapacity in leveraging the opportunities available. As per business research conducted by Bain and Company, there exists an inverse proportionality between the scale achieved and the net benefits of size. This is why companies need to adopt the principle of micro- battles. This adoption will help the leadership in framing the learning, scaling and leading behaviors necessary to win over insurgency. It will also help ride over the frontline obsession that the founders may often be guilty of. Expanding companies often struggle to bridge the paradigm between routine and disruption. There is a dichotomy between what to prioritize between the short and long runs.

Source:https://www.bain.com/insights/micro-battles-and-the-journey-to-scale-insurgency/

Uploaded Date:22 June 2019

More than merely having better products, commercial companies are now relying more on superior execution, to remain on top of their game. Among the challenges that such companies are facing in the ongoing digital age is which data source to trust. Thus, organic in- house data warehousing, is of utmost importance to all such firms. While there may be differing approaches, some characteristics usually go well in a sound plan. To begin with, the discovery process needs to help align functions within a specific language and framework. Each of the commercial capabilities need to be mapped against specific results and outputs. These prioritized capabilities need to be in line with the corporate strategy designed. Brands need to engage influencers and business leaders so that the appeal reaches a critical mass. The firm must also ensure that the capability improvements should be quantifiable in measurable terms.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/commercial-excellence-your-path-to-growth

Uploaded Date:15 June 2019

During Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), value creation becomes a much- debated topic. It becomes a major challenge to integrate the corporate strategy of diverse cultures. For this, some actions have been identified, if well executed, can boost up the smooth turnarounds during such M & As. Increasing number of such M & As has become the common trend worldwide. This is one way for legacy companies to protect themselves against the onslaught of disruptive, digital- first companies. The need gets amplified in the current economic scenario. The geopolitical risks also currently at play will further weaken companies’ performance, forcing them to either transform or engage in even more of M & A activities.

Source:https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/beat-the-odds-in-ma-turnarounds/

Uploaded Date:07 June 2019

The private equity market has been going strong for the last few years. The S&P 500 index for example went up by a fifth in the year 2017. The key trend has been the rise of megafunds, which may be defined as funds with a value of over five billion US dollars. This trend has been most common with buyouts, especially in the USA. Research conducted by management consulting giant McKinsey points to a growing share of capital among the industry leaders. This has led to the consolidation of a previously fragmented market. Scale is another aspect gaining traction among private equity investors. While such investments will keep flooding in, which industries and its players will it most attract towards remains a matter of debate, which only time will settle.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-equity-and-principal-investors/our-insights/the-rise-and-rise-of-private-equity

Uploaded Date:07 June 2019

Its been over a decade since the financial recession hit the USA and much of the world, towards the end of the last decade. Even now, severe economic imbalances remain which are pointing towards yet another devastating economic crisis. This has been highlighted in a new book recently released titled The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy. This has been penned down by noted business writer Mariano Mazzucato. She is the Founder and Director at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. In this book, she speaks about how there must be different metrics now used to gauge value. One such key pointer is how most of the financial sector is funding itself from only the FIRE model involving Finance, Insurance and Real Estate. Businesses should spend their earnings to invest in further research, corporate training and in production, rather than merely running their operations using stock market dividends. The next recession could be worse off thanks to the political stance now popular in several European countries as well as in USA. The concept of value extraction does no benefit to the ongoing discourse on further rising economic inequality.

Source:http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/measure-economic-performance/

Uploaded Date:07 June 2019

In a business world where increasingly, data warehousing is proving to be of utmost importance, another area, a bit more traditional is also gaining much traction. That is the field of social science. A number of ideas associated with the social sciences are being translated in to businesses. Managers and architects must in fact take some tips from animal behaviour too. The field of risk tolerance too is being studied from the prism of the social sciences. Besides behavioral insights, the link between big data and social science, extends elsewhere too. The sheet scale of information now available is immense. Job seekers too can gain from the insights provided by social scientists, using data- backed information.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Social-sciences-lessons-for-business?gko=7dc4f

Uploaded Date:20 May 2019

About two decades back C.K. Prahalad created a then revolutionary idea, centred around the then four billion odd poor people. The bottom of the economic pyramid thus presented massive economic opportunities even back then. Aspirational products and technology could be peddled along with the basic goods of food and shelter. The wealth gap has only gone bigger with time now as per business intelligence provided by Credit Suisse. The idea of business as a force continues to be proposed, though cynicism among several business thinkers remains strong. Technology is paving the path for more inexpensive solutions. Goals too are changing thanks to this rapid change. Trust and community need to be placed as higher ideals above transactions. Some companies are being identified as one’s with higher purpose. Big data is allowing design to be done at far lower costs than before. Among the top global brands, we now have a healthy mix of economy and luxury. Social codes and norms are thus getting tweaked as well.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/The-New-Fortune-at-the-Bottom-of-the-Pyramid?gko=c5f11

Uploaded Date:20 May 2019