New research shows that the way many organizations conduct innovation contests needs to be improved. The biggest takeaway: Leaders need to design their contests to match their organization’s hoped-for outcomes. Choices like the number of prizes and the identity of judges, for example, will affect the number and diversity of participants, the time they invest, and the quality of their ideas. Here’s how to choose among the possible approaches based on your organization’s goals.
This article analyzes the connection between gamification and business success, focusing on customer retention, new customer acquisition, and transforming user perceptions. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of 40 high-profile gamification projects, it shows that a combination of three key features-virtualization, social comparison, and tangible rewards-explain the various pathways to success. Each pathway requires the presence-and sometimes absence-of different design features, and firms do best when they focus on one or two objectives rather than all three at once. The article presents a framework for designing and implementing gamification more strategically and effectively, noting the ethical questions that arise.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 1 introduces the concept of agile businesses and explains how most organizations are not agile because of the difficulty of developing cohesion between the various teams, such as the marketing, engineering, and human resources teams. To become agile, businesses must first examine various executives' differing goals and measures for success; customer satisfaction is ultimately the common objective among leaders. Agile companies are able to recognize when they are not addressing their customers' problems well and are then able to pivot; companies that are unable to do this will face growth issues even after being a successful startup. Change in processes, culture, and personnel may need to happen to increase company agility. Managers should create processes to fit the business's needs.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 2 outlines the Agile Manifesto and its main principles, which offers a new approach to software development. Differing from the popular Waterfall approach, the Agile approach to delivering working software focuses on communication and collaboration with other programmers and customers over a cycle of documentation and written specifications. However, this does not mean that process should be eliminated; it simply means that process should be balanced with communication. Different Agile methodologies are described, including Scrum and XP. Each methodology has its own strengths and weaknesses, and teams can use the aspects of each method that work best for them. Simply implementing an Agile methodology is more important than the chosen methodology itself.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 3 describes how Agile can be applied to departments other than software development. Some Agile methodologies, such as XP, cannot cross over to nontechnical use, but Scrum can be used by nontechnical teams. A case study using an Agile approach to hiring is offered. One main aspect of Agile is chunking work into smaller tasks that are able to be accomplished quickly; this allows for the concept of failing fast-if an idea does not work out in a short timespan, it does not cause too much pain, and there is still the capacity to change direction. Teams should avoid focusing too much on Agile methodologies and focus on Agile principles instead. Transitioning to an Agile mentality will require senior management support; leaders should work with teams to create processes that best fit their needs.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 4 explores a few practical challenges of Agile. The most common challenge is starting a sprint without adequately understanding the targeted stories. These sprints are not shortcuts to building better software in a short amount of time; rather, successful sprints need discovery. Sprints tend to fail when teams underestimate the complexity of stories. While Agile has surpassed the Waterfall approach, there are still aspects of the Waterfall approach that businesses can learn from, such as how the upfront study considers every aspect of the system. Exploration teams are needed to research potential projects; these teams must have senior-level employees who are typically in high demand, so funding for a permanent exploration team is ideal.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 5 discusses Agile obstacles in depth. In order to achieve agility, companies must first recognize and address the problems that prevent heads-down work in the business; this may include the danger of multitasking. Tactical emergencies might force teams to change direction mid-sprint, which could make the sprint immeasureable and cause cognitive overload. For smaller companies, fires-such as server failures or technical breaches-are typically all-consuming events; however, this response to fires derails progress and is ultimately unsustainable. Managers should strive to discover the cause of fires and determine whether or not they actually stem from previous problems that were not addressed properly. While fixing the root cause of a problem can be very expensive, more fires will occur if root causes are not dealt with.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 6 looks at measuring success in agile companies. Story point is an Agile Scrum approach to sizing work items; it is not a fair way to evaluate a team's or an individual's effectiveness, but upper management may use it as a measure simply because team managers do not offer other useful metrics. Quantitative measurement of businesses, teams, and employees is encouraged in current management theory; OKRs are a compromise between quantitative measurements and potentially creativity-stifling metrics. Two types of OKRs are described: committed must-do OKRs and aspirational OKRs. OKRs need to be measurable, unambiguous, and significant, and its key results need to be numeric. Ultimately, OKRs are an improvement on the concept of MBO.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 7 discusses Agile and effectively implementing organizational change. Agile will not solve all of a company's problems; rather, obstacles to success need to be identified and addressed before Agile practices can be useful. Plateauing is when a company stalls in a growth phase and is one of the most common problems businesses face. To facilitate company growth, processes and practices may need to be improved, new personnel with specific skillsets may need to be hired, and a culture of learning may need to be fostered. Outside consultants can provide valuable help to organizations for myriad problems, such as missed sales targets or managerial squabbles. Tips on how to successfully work with consultants are offered.
The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 8 offers advice on how to address the challenge of breaking large issues into smaller pieces, which is vital in the Agile approach. Having small, multidisciplinary discovery teams can lead to a matrix-managed business structure, but matrix management can be challenging if employees answer to multiple managers. Exploratory mindsets need preconceptions to be left at the door and customers to be actively heard. The Agile practice of time-boxing and its benefits are described. Managers can develop agility by eliminating unnecessary meetings and making sure the meetings they keep are run efficiently. A four-quadrant framework for identifying short- and long-term problems is provided. Ultimately, Agile is not easy, but by fostering certain habits, it can be developed.
In February 2021, Scott Sheffield, the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources (an independent oil and gas company based in Texas), was considering the possibility of enhancing the firm's capital return strategy by introducing a variable dividend tied to cash flows in addition to the firm's base dividend as a way to distribute more cash to shareholders when performance was good and cash flows were high. Although oil prices had fallen precipitously to less than $20 per barrel in early 2020 due to the recession caused by the Covid pandemic, they had rebounded to more than $60 per barrel in February 2021. As a result, exploration and production (E&P) companies including Pioneer were expected to generate significantly higher profits in 2021, prompting many firms to consider ways to distribute excess cash to shareholders. Sheffield had to decide whether to adopt a new "base plus variable" dividend policy. As part of that decision, he had to decide whether it was materially different from and better than a policy with a growing base dividend supplemented with periodic share repurchases. And if he did decide to recommend a new policy to the board of directors, he had to determine the magnitude and the frequency of the variable dividend.
In late May 2023, Sarah Merino, the newly appointed manager of the Customer Insights group at Travelogo-an online travel booking platform-initiates a comprehensive analysis of clickstream data to understand the varied behaviors and needs of their users. In preparation for the upcoming marketing strategy meeting, Merino and her team delve into the extensive customer data collected by the platform as users search for flights, aiming to understand search patterns, trip characteristics, and clicking and purchasing behaviors. This deep dive is to identify distinct customer personas and actionable insights that will shape Travelogo's marketing strategies. The case provides students with a hands-on exploration of the fundamentals and benefits of customer segmentation, fostering an understanding of how to create detailed buying personas from complex data for strategic marketing purposes. Additionally, the case emphasizes the critical need for effective collaboration between decision-makers and data science teams, underscoring the importance of clear communication to ensure that data analytics are precisely aligned with business objectives, especially when crafting sophisticated strategies to engage and cater to a varied customer base with a deep understanding of their preferences.
In October 2023, Hotel Zed’s chief executive offer (CEO) was exploring ideas for the 10th iteration of Hotel Zed’s Valentine’s Day campaign, the Nooner. The eclectic, Victoria, British Columbia–based hotel chain had built its identity on being radically different, featuring a sex-positive brand identity and a retro-themed hotel aesthetic from the 1960s and 1970s. Moreover, the Nooner’s cheeky, risqué campaign focus had earned the hotel significant media attention over the years. But creating a new promotion highlighting a decade of success would be a tall order.<br><br>What might surprise and delight Hotel Zed’s customers, driving eyes and attention to its funky, rebellious brand? Hotel Zed’s CEO needed to work with the marketing team to quickly nail down a new promotion idea that would effectively promote the hotel and the Nooner campaign.
This case describes the challenges of declining and uneven sales facing the manager of a Khadi Gramodyog outlet in the Bhootnath market in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Khadi Gramodyog is the brand name for Shri Gandhi Ashram Khadi Bhawan, a social trust established according to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s national ideal. Khadi Gramodyog produced marketable goods, fulfilled the goal of self-reliance, and empowered people living in poverty, while strengthening rural communities. Its purpose was to support cottage-based businesses that in turn supported the Khadi Gramodyog brand’s objectives. But as competition increased, the requirement for modernization and digitization made it harder to meet the needs of today's consumers. The case serves as an example of the difficulties the store manger of an outlet Khadi Gramodyog store in the Bhootnath market faced in trying to revive the business.
Brandix Group (Brandix), an apparel manufacturing firm with facilities in Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh, began its sustainability journey in the early 2000s, much before there were established practices in the apparel manufacturing industry, in an effort to combat and adapt to the challenges of climate change. The company had worked across all of the group's establishments to ensure waste minimization, material efficiency, energy efficiency, and eco-efficiency in operations. Ashroff Omar, chief executive officer of Brandix, felt the time had come for Brandix to review its sustainability efforts and assess whether its sustainability strategy could be continued. He was planning to expand the scope of sustainability practices beyond firm boundaries, and explore the impact of possible changes in regulations, technology, and challenges from competitors.
In April 2023, the iconic Florida-based company Tupperware Brands Corporation (Tupperware), announced that it would have to close shop if it did not receive immediate investment. The company continued to consult with financial advisors about its future, possibilities of gathering funds, slashing jobs, and selling property in its attempts to survive and effect a turnaround. As Tupperware stared at liquidation, should it ditch or tweak its traditional yet iconic strategies of premium pricing and house-party direct selling to retain old customers and attract new ones? Or should it consider new products, a new brand, or new selling strategies to make itself cooler to the young demographic?
The iconic American fast-food chain Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. (Checkers & Rally's), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, found early success through its streamlined layout and operations. Nevertheless, it had financially struggled prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, impelling it to reflect on its existing strengths and to take strategic steps amid the pandemic to make an impressive recovery. In 2023, armed with newfound confidence from its previous successes, the company confronted the challenge of understaffing in the nation's fast-food industry. How could Checkers & Rally's CEO address the labour shortage? Could robotics and automation give the company an edge?
Rebel Foods (Rebel) was the world's largest internet restaurant company, with 45 food brands and 450 kitchens in 10 countries. As Rebel scaled up, they were gradually venturing into the business-to-business (B2B) space by partnering with other food brands. Their transition to a B2B model, although necessary, had some challenges. As their reliance on third-party food delivery partners continued to drive up costs, Rebel considered how to better integrate their supply chain. However, their food delivery partners provided greater brand visibility. In Rebel's one-kitchen many brands model, would they be able to leverage technology and automation to scale up and expand successfully?