“We weren’t there to sell blinds. We were there to become better than we ever thought we could be”. This mantra, expressed by Jay Steinfeld, founder of Blinds.com underscores what it looks like when leaders create a… Read more »
Business Strategy
Somebody always knew: A conversation between Amy Edmondson and Rita McGrath, top-ranked global thinkers
The topic of psychological safety has taken the world by storm as we realize that in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world, there is a huge premium on fast learning. With the recent… Read more »
Can Agile Make Wherever You Work a Better Place?
The Great Resignation continues to gather steam as people in their millions re-evaluate their relationship with work. But not everyone has the luxury or the bandwidth to quit, at least not right now. And there is no guarantee… Read more »
The latest for the Flops File – Zillow Offers
It takes a special combination of ingredients to land in my “flops” file. You have to lose your parent company at least $50 million. You probably started out with big ambitious goals, all-at-once funding, leaders… Read more »
10 Questions to Ask Before You Believe in a Business Model
Some business models are inherently more attractive than others, yet investors and other stakeholders often don’t ask the obvious questions. Here’s a checklist that makes sure you are not one of them. People like to make… Read more »
Ecosystem Maturity and the Stepping-Stone Strategy
Introducing a new offering into an unripe ecosystem will doom your new venture. Instead, find a mini-ecosystem in which you can build a solution that works and use it as a steppingstone to reach your… Read more »
When HR really does get a seat at the table! Congratulations to Kathleen Hogan on being recognized as the HR Executive of the Year
It’s almost a meme among HR professionals – wanting a “seat at the table” while often being relegated to routine problem solving and dealing with the messier sides of humanity. But whoa, when its done… Read more »
Positioning: Beyond the Statement
Developing a positioning statement is often done as a fill-in-the-blank “Mad Libs” exercise. The power of insightful positioning, however, goes right to the heart of how you are creating value, and for whom. In marketing… Read more »
Thought Sparks Wrap Up – September 2021
Dear colleagues, Hey, everybody! We’re already through September?—?back to school, back to work, back to thinking about Q4! This monthly wrap-up of my weekly Thought Sparks news pieces will give you a short summary and… Read more »
How a Growth Gap can Sneak Up On You
This article was co-developed with Alex van Putten, Partner at Cameron and Associates, and draws from our 2017 article “How to Set More Realistic Growth Targets.” It’s always easy to project rosy growth goals that… Read more »
How Not to Blow Your First Marketing Campaign: 3 Factors
Most new product launches fail. One big, and unnecessary reason is focusing too much on the product or service offering and not focusing enough on how the thing will be brought to market. New! New!… Read more »
Thought Sparks Wrap Up – August 2021
Dear colleagues, Welcome to the monthly newsletter, with a wrap-up of my weekly Thought Sparks and some things to watch out for in September. If you’d like to get the weekly Thought Sparks delivered right… Read more »