http://ritamcgrath.com/news/ en anne@ritamcgrath.com Copyright 2012 2012-04-17T18:29:30+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/how-can-yahoo-revive-its-fortunes/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/how-can-yahoo-revive-its-fortunes/#When:18:29:30Z
"My advice to Thompson is that you've got everyone’s attention, but now you have to tell them what's next," she said. "The difficulty is step two. It has to be the articulation of a pretty clear go-to for employees, who’ll say: 'You've built the case for change. We know we need to change. But, boss, where are we going?'" McGrath recommended that Thompson take a cue from Nokia chief executive Steven Elop, who emerged with solid short-, middle- and long-term plans after writing a now infamous memo last November telling the mobile company that its platform was "burning."

To read the entire interview, click here.]]> 2012-04-17T18:29:30+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/what-wall-street-sees-in-the-yellow-pages/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/what-wall-street-sees-in-the-yellow-pages/#When:03:24:35Z
Rita McGrath, an associate professor at Columbia Business School, explained last month that while private equity investors often look for companies they can turn around, that probably isn’t what drew them to the Yellow Pages. Instead, they may be hoping to earn a decent return on their investment as the business shrinks. “This one is like a cash register—it just dribbles out on an ongoing basis,” she said. McGrath likened it to individual investors having a CD in their portfolio.

To read the entire article, click here.]]> 2012-04-11T03:24:35+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/is-it-easy-for-your-customers-to-leave-you/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/is-it-easy-for-your-customers-to-leave-you/#When:23:38:36Z Build Network blog discusses in detail Rita McGrath's article in the European Financial Review entitled Finding Opportunities in Business Model Innovation. ]]> 2012-04-10T23:38:36+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/discovery-driven-growth-planning-place-in-business-model/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/discovery-driven-growth-planning-place-in-business-model/#When:23:31:40Z Social Innovation blog:

Discovery driven planning is a distinct and unique paradigm of business development. It provides an alternative means of business development in an environment marred with uncertainty. Many new ventures that begin in such climates fail because the basic tenants of the business are assumed to be correct even though there is no historical precedent against which these tenants can be compared. I prefer to look at discovery driven planning as a means of giving the social entrepreneur tools when vying for market space and fiscal sustainability. In some respects I feel it is working a bit backwards.

Traditionally, one builds a business model with projections of ultimate returns based upon the model. The entrepreneur then judges the ultimate success or failure of the organization by how it fared in contrast to projections. When using discovery driven planning, the ultimate goal is to spend as little as possible while attaining the largest informational and experiential returns. The entrepreneur also begins at the end in terms of social impact and returns and works backwards through building the organization. It is a model of perpetual experimentation, trial and error, and exploration that could prove very valuable.

The techniques used in discovery driven planning facilitate ongoing information attainment and could help in the creation of an organization that is strategically placed, competitive, and purposeful with credible milestones and salient direction. This can save a social start up tremendous losses because the venture begins by thinking about its bottom line in terms of social impact and revenues.
]]> 2012-04-10T23:31:40+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/why-banks-must-embrace-customer-led-innovation/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/why-banks-must-embrace-customer-led-innovation/#When:02:28:01Z Five Big Trends in Business Innovation in 2012 is cited in connection with banks and their customer service. You can read the entire blog here.]]> 2012-04-09T02:28:01+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/the-consumption-chain-solution-to-differentiation-that-lasts-the-build-netw/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/the-consumption-chain-solution-to-differentiation-that-lasts-the-build-netw/#When:17:54:01Z Rita Gunther McGrath, is to develop the habit of thinking creatively about differentiation.

McGrath first espoused this theory in her classic Harvard Business Review article, Discovering New Points of Differentiation, which she coauthored with Ian C. MacMillan in 1997. McGrath and MacMillian noted that companies, in seeking to differentiate themselves, had become too focused on end products or services and, as a result, were missing other opportunities to interact with customers. "We believe that if companies open up their creative thinking to their customers' entire experience with a product or service--what we call the consumption chain--they can uncover opportunities to position their offerings in ways that they, and their competitors, would never have thought possible," they wrote.

That was 15 years ago. Build recently caught up with McGrath to ask what has or hasn’t changed since then. Here are a few highlights of the conversation..]]> 2012-04-06T17:54:01+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/harvard-business-press-names-rita-mcgrath-as-one-of-masters-of-innovation/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/harvard-business-press-names-rita-mcgrath-as-one-of-masters-of-innovation/#When:21:12:39Z Rita McGrath is the only woman named, and is included with such well-known names as Thomas Alva Edison. To read about all the Masters, click here. To read about Rita McGrath, click here.]]> 2012-03-30T21:12:39+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/fastcompany-cites-rita-mcgrath/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/fastcompany-cites-rita-mcgrath/#When:20:41:40Z The Little Black Book of Innovation by Scott Anthony, Rita McGrath's writings are also cited:

"There's much more to say about the topic of testing, and the writings of Rita McGrath, Peter Sims, Steve Blank, and Eric Ries are replete with practical tips.

To read the entire post, click here. ]]> 2012-03-21T20:41:40+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/marketing-profs-compliments-rita-mcgraths-posts/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/marketing-profs-compliments-rita-mcgraths-posts/#When:21:50:20Z Rita McGrath writes like a favorite professor; Bill Taylor is the sage mentor; and Scott Anthony is the forward-thinking colleague. I value their unique sensibilities and communication styles, and could easily identify who wrote what if their bylines suddenly vanished. To read the entire post, click here.


]]> 2012-03-12T21:50:20+00:00 http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/harvard-business-review-article-cited-in-china/ http://ritamcgrath.com/news/detail/harvard-business-review-article-cited-in-china/#When:21:10:54Z Rita Gunther McGrath, associate professor of management at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and her fellows, on corporate growth. Only 10 companies in the world have over five percent of annual growth over a ten year period ending in 2009. China's Tsingtao Brewery made the list at #6. To read the entire post, click here.]]> 2012-03-12T21:10:54+00:00