There are certain key aspects that each company looks in to when planning for the future. These are towards growth, enhanced customer experience, higher profits, cost reductions and for business innovation. Looking at this list, business leaders would often perspire on how to plot the future trajectory, as it all looks so complicated. That is why management consulting firm PwC has come up with a growth compass that studies the individual parts, before plotting it against the bigger picture. The East of this Axis is about the brand and its customers. Here, third- party data or products may be incorporated. On the West, is the scope for third- party customers by integrating their channel or products. The North is for new brands, while the South deals with newer platforms. All of this combines to converge at this Centre, which is a space for the Aggregators.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Navigating-your-enterprise-into-the-future?gko=0fc3e

Uploaded Date:02 November 2019

According to a study conducted, small businesses account for 99.9% of all the businesses in the USA. This is a reflection of how American society values the concept of staying independent. This adds up to a total of more thirty million enterprises, that together account for about half the nation’s employment. Leading investment bank, Goldman Sachs has reiterated this idea, through its 10,000 Small Business Programme. Using this programme, the bank plans to work towards a business collaboration with these smaller companies, rather than only chasing the giants of each sector, as is usually the trend. Even Goldman Sachs was once a small company, so it only makes sense to go back to the roots, to help others in a similar situation. Small business face a major challenge in scaling up during their second phase. That is where, a giant like Goldman Sachs will help them frame sound corporate strategy documents, that will be like a guiding stone, for the rest of the journey.

Source:https://hbr.org/podcast/2019/10/goldman-sachs-500-million-bet-on-small-businesses

Uploaded Date:2 November 2019

To foster out- of- the- box thinking, individuals need to venture outside their comfort zone, even for their personal preferences. Creativity, business innovation and ultimately entrepreneurship, will all be boosted with such efforts at friendship and dating. A study was conducted by the MIT Sloan to understand this co- relation, especially among its MBA students. This study clearly found out that those who dated someone from another culture, displayed higher points on creativity. Among foreign students, those who kept in touch with friends from the USA, tended to be more creative when they went back home. This is because of the increased levels of inter- cultural and intra- cultural connect. Companies are also acutely aware of this. This is why several of them are harnessing diversity, in order to spark innovation.

Source:https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/how-going-out-can-spur-outside-box-thinking

Uploaded Date:28 October 2019

In the recent past, subsidiaries used to perform necessary, but non- core and low- value functions for multinational firms. But this has changed, as subsidiaries are now proving to be the key drivers to knowledge, value creation and business innovation. In fact, several MNCs have now started calling their subsidiaries as Centres of Excellence (CoEs). The mutual dependence between the mother company and subsidiaries have generally grown all over, as exemplified by the case of IKEA and its units in Poland. At times, the top performance even induces the central leadership to invite their subsidiaries for full- fledged merging, to enable deeper value creation. This increased innovation levels though are partly, due to the much greater levels of independence they are bestowed with. They cultivate relationships to go beyond the MNC’s network.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/How-subsidiaries-can-emerge-as-centers-of-excellence?gko=a133b

Uploaded Date:28 October 2019

Consumer flower delivery is a business segment, long characterized by its traditional forces based around seasons. One person who has tried to alter this paradigm has been Christina Stembel, who started Farmgirl Flowers. She quickly realized that this segment required much innovation, so steeped it was to its earlier ideas. In addition, the chain was affected by a lack of consistency, poor price- control and too much choice due to lack of consolidation. Stembel did not even have much of social connection, so digital marketing was never going to be her forte. Nor did she have enough investor capital. But the company focused on growth, stayed true to its values and committed itself to specific goals set. All this led to tangible success, as the company recorded revenues worth US$ 23 million in 2018.

Source:https://hbr.org/podcast/2019/10/the-smell-of-success-how-farmgirl-flowers-is-bootstrapping-to-30-million-in-sales

Uploaded Date:14 October 2019

It is now a little known secret that almost every company worth a certain size is undergoing some form of transition. This is primarily due to rapid digitization, leading to disruptions at all levels. In order to manage such disruptions, companies need to pace their projects accordingly. Potential disruptions must be weighed in while drafting the corporate strategy. At times when a traditional idea or practice does not work out, it is best to retire the scheme gracefully. Self- knowledge is extremely important at such situations. Similarly, feedback from outside must also trickle in. A professional needs to keep planning to leap ahead. This is because business innovations are always round the corner.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/07/learn-to-get-better-at-transitions?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Uploaded Date:14 October 2019

A company’s DNA sets its purpose. This in itself can transform one’s organization. The purpose needs to be incorporated within the corporate strategy itself, so that the practices may be embedded right across the chain. It has been observed, that having a coherent purpose, helps in the long run. It also helps to shuttle the leader’s rising aspirations, while also manage the shifting priorities of the employees. Transformation is another aspect that is now “always- on”, thanks to the rapid churn of technology. The traditional style of carrots co- opting with stick approach, is no longer relevant. The business environment is also feeling the heat of the “digital everywhere” approach. Thus, the purpose needs to be defined. For this, some priorities exist. These are presence, alignment, strength, brand advocacy and integration.

Source:https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/transformation-behavior-culture-purpose-power-transform-organization.aspx

Uploaded Date:14 October 2019

Paul Polman was the chief executive of Anglo- Dutch FMCG major Unilever for about a decade until earlier this year. Himself a Dutch national, Polmer’s vision had a huge chunk of importance meted out to sustainability. This was one key area which enabled the company to fend off competition from fierce US- based rival P&G, as well as Switzerland’s Nestle. He is now involved with the United Nations. He explains how the millennial generation is extremely concerned about the overall well- being, though some of the older generations, are more interested in maximizing shareholder value. The average life span of a publicly traded company has also vastly reduced. Social responsibility has now moved on form being at the edge of the business, to being part of the corporate strategy. More strategic partnerships is the way to move forward to ensure business and environmental sustainability.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Forging-partnerships-to-create-a-tipping-point-in-sustainability?gko=233a7

Uploaded Date:14 October 2019

Most businesses crave to know what their competitors are thinking and planning ahead. Traditionally, strategy analysts have used financial models to predict competitors’ moves. But now due to the enormous data storagegoing on, more specific, pinpointed insights can be eked out. One can make use of NLP (Natural Language Processing) for the same. Unstructured textual data can be really difficult to engage with, so some form of encoding is required to get the right results. Cognitive maps are the latest fad, with deep insights. Cognitive biases and the mental models that people apply are also important to be understood. AI or NLP can even be used to detect patters a simple data warehousing will not display. Google is already using such tools in a big way, while Facebook plans to make a grand entry.

Source:https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/natural-language-processing/

Uploaded Date:03 October 2019

The market place today is really crowded, across any business. To stand out in such competition, there needs to be a unique offering. If the company assesses its present operational and strategic performance, it will realize that it falls under any of the four categories- differentiators, visionaries, doers and hopefuls. The differentiators are those who have a unique brand strategy and the right operations to go with it. Visionaries too have dreamt up the right corporate strategy, but lack the operational wherewithal to support their lofty ambitions. Doers are those executing their strategies perfectly well, but need a loftier vision. Hopefuls need help on both sides. In order to become a differentiator, the initial focus must be on building up the right strategy, before operationalizing it. For this, one needs to further develop areas where the company is already delivering its best to the customers. It must understand that providing value to its customers is more than merely about price. The brand similarly, must have an understanding on who are its customers. Social media must be used for digital marketing of the brand, so more people get to know about the brand. All of this though, must not be done operationally. Strategic pricing, product offering, digital engagement, loyalty programmes, a well- designed supply chain and an omni channel experience are a must for executing this. Constant evolution is needed so one may embrace the disruptions. Growth opportunities too need be captured, while through understanding is necessary on the competition.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/How-to-stand-out-in-a-crowded-marketplace?gko=9a505

Uploaded Date:03 October 2019

Sometimes it gets difficult at the workplace, to convince in front of professionals, deemed to be experts in that field. This is especially a challenge for career managers who have suddenly inherited a team full of specialists, while they themselves are more of generalists. At such situations, it is wise to look inwards within the team, for inspiration. Simultaneously, one needs to look outward at the organization. The corporate strategy of the leader must be to build up the reputation of each member within the team. This will ensure, increasing respect for the leader among the experts, as well as growing clout within the industry as a whole.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/How-to-win-over-a-team-of-experts?gko=d3674

Uploaded Date:03 October 2019