Launching a peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing platform is not easy. Online support forums have two distinct segments: those who seek product support, and those who provide it. Knowledge seekers are hesitant to ask questions if knowledge contributors are few and far between, and knowledge contributors will not sign up if there are not enough problems to solve. It is a classic chicken or egg challenge that can be effectively addressed by seeding the platform with expert knowledge.

Using examples from companies the authors have studied or advised, the article describes a four-step process for leveraging technology that involves: (1) characterizing the technology, (2) identifying potential applications, (3) choosing from among the identified applications, and (4) selecting the best entry mode. The first step involves "de-linking"the technology from the specific products in which it is currently used. To do this, the authors explain, companies need to identify the functions the technology can perform. A good characterization can broaden the scope of the potential opportunities and allow people to focus clearly on the technology's abilities and limits. In many settings, this step requires extensive testing and R&D investment. As they explain, "You can't look for new applications until you know what your technology can do vis-à-vis what competing solutions do." Once companies have specified what the technology is, they can begin exploring new settings where it might be applied. Although the authors recommend starting with desk research, the biggest benefits often come from getting out of the office and interacting with people. Trade shows, they say, provide an excellent way to see firsthand where the technology and its alternatives might be applied, and to hear about the pain points of the existing technologies. Another approach is to tap into communities of problem-solvers who might be able to provide suggestions. Although identifying opportunities with the most promise may appear to be straightforward, in practice, the authors note, it can be more involved. Companies often underestimate the challenges of applying the technology, which may be revealed only by building early prototypes. In bringing technology to new markets, the goal should be to find new application areas where your technology performs better on existing performance dimensions, introduces a new performance dimension, or delivers the desired outcome at a lower cost.

This puts even the best incumbent companies in a weak position when the market finally embraces the new technology, something the authors call the "hybrid trap." This article takes a close look at the auto industry's transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EVs) and compares it to precedents in other industries. Several incumbent automakers, such as General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd., entered the EV market early, but they backed away from these projects in favor of continued emphasis on established engine technology. Gradually, most of them focused on hybrid cars that combined old and new technologies. This opened the door to new competitors, notably Tesla Inc., which focused solely on the EV technology. By mid-2017, nearly every old-line engine producer was playing catch-up on EV technology, working to release new electric models in the next two to five years. Although it is too early to know if Tesla will be successful in the long run, the Tesla example, in the authors'view, points to a fundamental weakness in how incumbents respond to industry transformations. In the 1960s, U.S. electronics companies responded to the introduction of Japanese transistor radios by developing products that blended transistor technology with traditional vacuum tubes. In the early 1990s, Kodak Ltd. tried to sell a "film-based digital imaging"product, which merged film photography and digital technology. And a decade ago, BlackBerry Ltd. tried to respond to the challenge of the iPhone by releasing a phone that had both a touchscreen display (like the iPhone) and a traditional keyboard (like earlier BlackBerry phones). The answer for incumbents, the authors write, isn't to walk away from products based on the old technology and jump headlong into the new. But they need to take precautions so that the company's legacy operations don't hamper their ability to pursue new technology.

Research shows that most organizations fall far short when it comes to strategic alignment. The authors'analysis of 124 organizations revealed that only 28% of executives and middle managers responsible for executing strategy could list three of their company's strategic priorities. How do leaders close this dangerous strategic-alignment gap?

As the digital revolution rages on, every business leader must become technology literate. This guide provides executives with an introduction to the technologies that are transforming our world.

The 2018 Data & Analytics Global Executive Study and Research Report by MIT Sloan Management Review finds that innovative, analytically mature organizations make use of data from multiple sources: customers, vendors, regulators, and even competitors. The report, based on MIT SMR's eighth annual data and analytics global survey of over 1,900 business executives, managers, and analytics professionals, explores companies leading the way with analytics and customer engagement.

Empirical evidence demonstrates the value of feedback and ratings for performance. But HR is moving away from traditional performance reviews because managers and employees say they don't like them. It's a mistake that will backfire.

Companies used to spend years clarifying business requirements before they would even think of launching new software. Today, cheaper cloud-based apps mean that implementation decisions are made on the fly -and there's no going back.

Customer relationships can evolve through four stages -they can be transactional, transitional, communal, or damaged. Understanding each of these stages, using them to classify customer relationships, and tailoring CRM efforts accordingly can enable your company to better deploy its limited CRM dollars. Not all outreach efforts work equally well in all stages of a relationship. And without this kind of tailoring, you're likely wasting some of your CRM budget.

IT alignment can produce inertia -unless it's accompanied by the right culture. Sure, closely aligning IT with the rest of a company's strategy can cut costs and improve the ability to collect data, facilitating the creation of early-warning systems and operational dashboards. But a less regimented approach has its place, too, allowing responses to changing business and economic conditions that are swift and creative.

Some leaders have failed to realize that the daily lives of those who work in their organizations will inevitably be transformed over the coming decades. But it's the responsibility of leaders to create clarity about the future of work. That means being engaged with creating a narrative about the future of jobs, actively championing the learning agenda, and role modeling work flexibility -for instance, by taking paternity leave or working from home.

Companies can enhance their employees'creativity and boost innovation by learning from the Maker Movement's emphasis on creative learning, collaboration, fluidity, and novel play.

Donya Brewer, the Director of Human Resources at Stress Engineering Services , was asked to evaluate the firm's peer feedback system and update it to better align with the organization's needs as it continued to grow in the 21st century. Developed internally, the current system had undergone minor revisions over several decades, used cumbersome proprietary software and, increasingly, had not been meeting the needs of managerial and supervisory personnel to provide effective guidance for continuing professional development of employees in all lines of work. Brewer and her project team were tasked to increase the efficacy of the peer feedback system while preserving the system's role in fostering the collaborative culture at SES. Part A describes the organization and its peer feedback system and details the front-end, investigative phase of the project. Data is presented and students are asked to assess utilization of the current system. Brewer's team was particularly interested in learning about employee participation in the program, and the quality of the data that it provided to participants. Was it useful to each employee and to their supervisors to guide further professional development?

Donya Brewer, the Director of Human Resources at Stress Engineering Services , was asked to evaluate the firm's peer feedback system and update it to better align with the organization's needs as it continued to grow in the 21st century. Developed internally, the current system had undergone minor revisions over several decades, used cumbersome proprietary software and, increasingly, had not been meeting the needs of managerial and supervisory personnel to provide effective guidance for continuing professional development of employees in all lines of work. Brewer and her project team were tasked to increase the efficacy of the peer feedback system while preserving the system's role in fostering the collaborative culture at SES. Part B continues the analysis of the peer feedback program at Stress Engineering Services. Rich qualitative data, gathered through structured interviews, is presented. Students are asked to identify issues that must be addressed, and to make recommendations in numerous areas about what would constitute best practices in the new system. Part B also contains material on implementation issues in managing the change process. This case challenges students to redesign a peer feedback system facing major issues regarding employee engagement, the quality of the data, timeliness of feedback, outdated technology, methodological issues in instrument design, program execution, and contributions to employee development, among others.

The city of Flint, Michigan, a previous hub for General Motors auto manufacturing, began to experience budget shortfalls in 2007. By 2011, the city was running a deficit of nearly $26 million, and the state assumed control of Flint through the appointment of an emergency manager. In 2014, immediately after state officials decided to begin sourcing Flint's tap water from the Flint River in order to save money, residents began complaining about the cost, color, and quality of their water. Over the next 18 months, residents reported suffering from various illnesses and an outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease occurred in the area. During this time, state officials continued to assure residents that their water was safe despite three water-boil advisories, the water rusting parts at General Motors' Flint engine plant, and the straightforward warnings from an EPA employee that an unsafe situation existed. Public pressure built as an ACLU reporter broke the story, an outside researcher's tests uncovered unsafe levels of lead in the water, and a Michigan State University pediatrician found elevated lead levels in children coinciding with the switch to Flint River water. In October of 2015, Flint switched back to sourcing water from Detroit; finally, in January of 2016, Michigan's Governor (Rick Snyder) declared a state of emergency and activated the Michigan National Guard to patrol the city and assist the American Red Cross with the distribution of bottled water and water filters. The citizens of Flint had been exposed to poisoned water for 18 months.

Facing operational constraints due to helicopter engines with sub-optimal power during hot weather at high altitudes, the program manager for an air-ambulance operator must plan for a decision process to consider upgrading the engines of any, many, or all of his program's seven helicopters. Long before putting the decision before his parent company's executives or board of directors, he needs to develop lists of relevant quantitative variables and what's known about them, qualitative factors and considerations, and stakeholders and their interests, all in order to methodically structure a process to better advance conversations with his colleagues toward a more efficient and effective outcome. Presented as a qualitative task of decision preparation, this case focuses on the early steps of rational decision-making processes, such as "define the problem" and "identify the criteria," without going further toward a decision recommendation. Intended for the first weeks of managerial-decision making courses, the case distinguishes the value of comprehensively considering the set-up of complex decision processes as pre-requisite to subsequent steps. Especially for students who see "making a decision" as actions taken with calculators and spreadsheets, this case is intended to demonstrate the value of prior steps in decision processes that include complexity, uncertainty, and colleagues who must be "on the same page" along the way. Further, the vivid overlap of the healthcare industry with aviation operations is intended to heighten student interest, with contextual information on how the medical-transport industry operates.

The Locally Laid Egg Company is a family-owned company based out of Duluth, Minnesota. The company was established in 2012 as the first commercial grade pasture-raised egg company in the upper Midwest. In the first two years of operation, the company already had so much demand that it was unable to keep up. The husband and wife ownership team of Jason and Lucie Amundsen held a firm belief that people do business with like-minded people. The Amundsens contended that consumers were warming to the idea that societal values have to be part of your business and that consumers were more willing to buy from businesses that were responsible stewards of our world. The company implemented a number of green initiatives and made efforts to support the local economy. Locally Laid Eggs had partnered with Amish farmers in Iowa, Indiana, and Minnesota. The partnership was mutually beneficial as it leveraged the strong ethical farming standards of the Amish with the marketing expertise of the Amundsens. The Amish farmers were interested in raising eggs to LoLa's pasture-raised standards, distributing them locally, and selling them under the Locally Laid brand. The Amundsens were amused their Amish partners were not deterred by the sassy and unorthodox brand name, but rather saw it as an opportunity. The Amish did the work of sustainably farming eggs from pasture raised hens and Locally Laid helped them get these eggs into stores. Jason was getting concerned he was expanding too fast. In August 2014, on the company's second anniversary, he got a letter from a Pennsylvania Amish farm seeking a partnership. The letter prompted him to consider his strategy. Should he focus on his local Duluth farm and existing contracts or should he add on another contract and explore the Pennsylvania opportunity? What were his best options for longer-term sustainable growth?

In the fall of 2013, Anna and Jack Oleson, the owners of a full-service bridal shop in one of Michigan's Upper Peninsula's small communities were preparing for their annual six-hour drive to Chicago for the National Bridal Market. They would be making merchandise buying decisions for the upcoming season. However, this year's trip would be very different because the Olesons were reevaluating previous suppliers and potentially selecting new ones. In operation for 23 years, the shop prided itself on offering a full range of services, including alterations by a full-time seamstress. Because brides typically placed special orders for wedding gowns - after seeking consultation and trying on samples in the store - rather than buying them "off the rack," receiving timely and reliable deliveries from suppliers was critical. While vendors' corporate headquarters were located in the U.S., their gowns were often manufactured overseas, primarily in China. After incidents of "miscommunication" regarding deliveries, delivery failures, and suppliers' inflexibility regarding minimum order quantities for samples (i.e., unwillingness to grant concessions to smaller shops), the owners needed to re-conceive their buying criteria and sourcing strategies. To add complexity, the growing population of millennial brides (those turning 27 years before 2030) were brand- and quality-conscious, sought unique products, and increasingly turned to online retailers to make purchases. The case provides a general overview of retail operations within a small apparel (bridal and formalwear) shop, as well as insights into its market and suppliers' policies and operations, and challenges associated with online competitors.

At the April 2013 meeting of the Board of the Seacoast Science Center (SSC), the major issues for Board discussion were adoption of a new "elevator pitch" and whether to take on a new responsibility, saving marine mammals. The "elevator pitch" was designed to clarify the SSC's mission statement and make explanation of the SSC easier and more consistent. Marine Mammal Rescue (MMR) would be an entirely new activity for the Center. Marine mammals were protected under federal law. The New England Aquarium had been responsible for evaluating the condition of marine mammals, chiefly seals, that came ashore on New Hampshire beaches, but was not renewing its federal contract as of January, 2014. The SSC was the only organization that could take over. Some SSC personnel had volunteered with seal rescues. Wendy Lull, SSC President, needed unanimous approval from the board before SSC could apply for the federal contract. Board discussion was heated, focused primarily on cost and on mission fit. The case ends late in meeting, without a vote having yet been taken. Students may be asked how they would vote on this new project.