In this fictional case, Alex, a real estate developer, is at a crossroads in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. His company is a year away from completing a 700,000-square-foot commercial office complex in downtown Moscow, but construction has paused, and the economic future is uncertain. One of his partners, who's with a Russian company, proposes that they cut their losses and sell to a company in Kazakhstan. The other, a managing director with a large investment portfolio, thinks they can ride out the crisis. Alex has put six years into this project; now he must decide how to proceed. This fictional case study by Cody Evans and Chris Mahowald features expert commentary by Sheila Botting and Brian Patterson.
In this fictional case, Alex, a real estate developer, is at a crossroads in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. His company is a year away from completing a 700,000-square-foot commercial office complex in downtown Moscow, but construction has paused, and the economic future is uncertain. One of his partners, who's with a Russian company, proposes that they cut their losses and sell to a company in Kazakhstan. The other, a managing director with a large investment portfolio, thinks they can ride out the crisis. Alex has put six years into this project; now he must decide how to proceed. This fictional case study by Cody Evans and Chris Mahowald features expert commentary by Sheila Botting and Brian Patterson.
One of the most influential management thinkers of our time, Harvard Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, shares insights from her latest book. In an increasingly interconnected world, she describes the importance of recognizing that businesses are dependent upon the communities in which they operate. As a result, thinking 'outside the building' is a new leadership imperative-during and after COVID-19.
As businesses navigate the reopening of the economy during a global pandemic, a lot will be different. Many executives have expressed a desire to 'do the right thing'. But what is the right thing? The authors argue that the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals can serve as guidelines. The 17 'SDGs' range from affordable and clean energy to climate action to partnerships to achieve the goals. One thing is certain, they say: Leading a company after COVID will require dealing sensitively with the pain, loss and financial consequences of the pandemic for stakeholders across the board.
In the midst of the global pandemic, the Outthinker Strategy Network and Thinkers50 assembled some of the world's foremost management thinkers (virtually, of course) to share their thoughts on leading in times of unprecedented uncertainty. In this compilation of highlights from six of the speakers, topics range from the effects of psychological safety on innovation (Edmondson) to the role of fear in human behavior (Lindstrom) to tips for innovating in times of crisis (Anthony).
One key lesson from the global pandemic crisis is that funding for medical research is woefully inadequate. The author argues that we must do better. The problem is, traditional innovation incentives such as research grants won't cut it. What is needed are Advanced Market Commitments (AMCs). The author defines the term and shows how AMCs work. The funding for innovation for medical research is a fraction of that devoted to other threats - notably national security. As the author indicates, our experience in 2020 suggests that our attention has been misfocussed.
Much has been written about the importance of embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR), but the author presents the findings to date about its evil cousin: corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR). She shows how unrealistic performance expectations, a pressure-cooker culture and stress are just some of the factors that lead to irresponsible workplace behaviour. She then advises what leaders can do to eradiate CSiR, including increasing diversity and ensuring that espoused values are enacted. She also discusses the role of the board and indicates how regulation can help.
Leaders are facing unprecedented uncertainty. But history clearly shows that no matter how stark the crisis, there are always opportunities to innovate and grow. The authors present four 'lenses' and ten questions that leaders can use to enable innovation. The lenses include a future-back strategy; jobs to be done; and encouraging innovation habits. Ultimately, they show that using the four lenses and asking 10 particular questions helps to bring clarity in the midst of a crisis by cutting through the fog of massive uncertainty.
Individuals in health systems around the world are unambiguously committed to meeting the challenges of COVID-19. An uncountable number of people are working tirelessly, often at risk of their own health and lives. But success requires far more than individual effort. The authors argue that organizations throughout the health system must systematically split up the burden of response in order to deal effectively with immediate needs - as well as those lurking around the corner. The authors argue for four distinct teams: an immediate challenges team; a remote services team; an external coordination team; and a scenario planning team. They describe each in detail and show that embracing this model will lay down a base for longer- term gains, both in healthcare and in health itself.
In an excerpt from his latest book, the author argues that the outsized success of a few outlier companies points to four steps that every business can take to contribute positively to the future of democratic capitalism: turn your back on reductionism; recognize that slack is not the enemy; guard against surrogation with multiple measurements; and realize that monopolization is not a sustainable goal. It won't be easy for executives to get started on this agenda, because it will mean unlearning ideas and beliefs that are deeply embedded. But as he shows, the unique results and competitive differentiation will be well worth the effort.
Firms compete in an increasingly omnichannel environment. Customers no longer travel a single linear path but traverse a complex map invoking many channels, firm-owned and external, seamlessly through integrated technology. The associated changes in consumer behavior and the ways that firms engage consumers have led many to reshape the way they innovate their product portfolios. This article presents a structured overview of some of the most striking changes to firms' new product development (NPD) processes in B2C settings. Enlisting the classic NPD funnel, it describes how the omnichannel environment and its technologies affect speed and execution in each development stage. It illustrates key changes with examples from packaged goods, consumer technology, and fashion.
Simple changes to employee training can improve results. Plus: How to push past an ultimatum, the case for acquiring during a downturn, a vote for generalists, and more.
The sole owner of the Gusto 54 Restaurant Group (Gusto 54), which owned and operated nine restaurant concepts in Toronto and Los Angeles, had grown the restaurant group into a huge success story. In a competitive, low-margin industry, Gusto 54 outperformed its peers and consistently achieved its desired profit margins. Gusto 54's strategy was grounded in innovative growth, the use of technology, and empowerment of all employees to take an entrepreneurial approach to their roles. The owner had grown the company strategically, making business decisions based on her belief that her most valuable resource was having the right employees. She focused on building culture, hiring employees who fit the culture, and investing in the employee experience to retain them. She also made efforts to keep the leadership team lean and to include all members in decision-making. While Gusto 54's strategy had fuelled its present growth, in 2020, the owner was concerned about the impacts of rapid expansion. She wondered how to balance growth plans with the need to hire and retain top talent and maintain an engaged, motivated workforce. How could she scale up without losing the family-style culture her employees valued?
In 2016, the general manager of Stone Rock Golf & Country Club (SRGCC) in Ainslie, Ontario, was considering an opportunity to grow the club's weddings and special events business. SRGCC, a popular 18-hole golf course in a small town, was owned and operated by four local families, who ran the business according to their family values and their sense of loyalty and pride in their community. Since the golf industry had recently experienced a significant decline, the manager believed that increased investment in the weddings and special events business would help to strengthen and diversify SRGCC's revenues. He was considering three different options, from modest to quite substantial: (1) focus on the immediate capital need of renovating the outdated maintenance facility; (2) make a large investment that included adding a new space for weddings and special events, expanded parking, and a new maintenance facility; or (3) do nothing and maintain the status quo. To complete the entire renovation, the club would require an investment of close to $1 million as well as approval from the four families. How could he build a case to increase SRGCC's revenues and convince both his banker and the board of directors to accept his choice?
In June 2020, GreenFire Energy Inc. (GreenFire) presented its report to the California Energy Commission indicating that its proof of concept project to demonstrate its new geothermal electricity generation technology, ECO2Gâ„¢, had been a success. While conventional geothermal electricity only supplied 0.5% of US demand, the new technology promised to increase this to 25% by drilling much deeper. Moreover, it was a closed-loop system which didn't involve fracking like conventional geothermal and promised to be much more cost effective. Unlike other renewables, ECO2G could also provide baseload power 24 hours a day and be adjusted quickly to match demand. CEO Joseph Scherer likened it to the beginning of the oil rush. "When the oil industry first started, prospectors focused on places where oil was seeping out of the ground. Now, they drill for it in deep oceans. Same with geothermal, but geothermal is much easier to find, and there is a lot more of it!" Now Scherer and John Muir, brother of founder Mark Muir, had to choose how they would commercialize the technology. They had many choices.
Tulsa Remote sought to attract a diverse group of remote workers to the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma-and was willing to put its money where its mouth was, offering $10,000 and a range of wraparound services for its program participants. After a successful pilot year, which saw the program select 100 participants out of more than 10,000 applicants, Tulsa Remote was excited to begin its second round of applications. However, the program faced an ongoing challenge attracting Black men to participate in the program. The team wondered what they could do to make their program-and their community-feel more welcoming. Meanwhile, as the second group of remote workers began making plans to move to Tulsa, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. How would the program deal with the effects of the pandemic, both on the local economy and on remote work in general?
Asocomún and Peacebuilders are two organizations that have made an oral and informal agreement to present a joint proposal to the European Union (henceforth the EU) about coexistence incubators in schools. Peacebuilders has been working on the technical and economic proposal for the last month and despite having had several meetings with Asocomún, they never defined how to distribute the budget between the two organizations. Both organizations worked on the premise that it was very important to carry out the project due to its social scope and therefore the economic issues became secondary, assuming, moreover, that it would be easy to reach an agreement. This, however, was not the case.