It’s a common mistake. Instinct often compels marketers to position their company – or its products or services – as the hero of the “story.” But by focusing on themselves, they’re forgetting their most important champion…
Year after year, Congress fails to reach consensus on important issues, the electorate screams for change, and voters become more polarized along the lines of party and ideology. These struggles aren’t causes of America’s political malaise, says Michael E. Porter, co-chair of the U.S. Competitiveness Project at Harvard Business School; they’re symptoms of a much larger problem…
From traditional drive-throughs to food trucks, the fast-food landscape has never been more crowded or competitive. Yet, despite its odds, Pal’s Sudden Service – a U.S. chain of local hamburger restaurants – is experiencing steady growth and continues to expand. It’s all about scale…
Price communicates. Your brand messages might say to your customers, “We value you,” but your pricing practices often refute your claim – whether you realize it or not…
Companies struggle with innovation, and Greg Bernarda believes he knows why. They’re still operating in the 20th century, a world where exploitation – executing and scaling products and services in known environments – is key currency for success. To compete in the 21st century, companies need to…
Want good economic news? Look to the American middle market.
Every business must price what it sells. It’s inescapable and indispensable – and deeply misunderstood. But it doesn’t need to be that way, says marketing and monetization expert Marco Bertini.
Apple is fighting a long, grinding campaign. Their goal is the adoption of Apple Pay, their mobile payment system, and the battleground is the billions of financial transactions that happen every day. Horace Dediu, leading mobile industry analyst, writes, “There are no decisive battles won or lost, only the relentless pressure to make progress against a reluctance to change.” In other words, the true enemy isn’t the competition in the mobile payment system space – it’s the nonconsumption of customers who are already comfortable with cash and card swipes. And Dediu thinks that Apple is winning.
Taddy Hall and Karen Dillon, partners of Jobs Theory creator Clay Christensen, team up to walk through a compelling real-world application of Jobs Theory in this video. After introducing the theory, Hall applies it to a case study of International Delight’s recently introduced iced coffee line. Hall looks at the jobs performed by iced coffee in general, i.e. why consumers “hire” it every day, and then walks through the innovation process that created an entirely new product category in grocery store refrigerators.
Are you preparing today for tomorrow’s global trends? In other words, are you thinking like a futurist? Amy Webb’s “The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe is Tomorrow’s Mainstream” (PublicAffairs, 2016) has revealed her methodology for answering vitally important questions about the future, and earned the 2017 Axiom Business Book Gold Award in the Business Technology category.
If your venture is located outside of one of the traditionally entrepreneurial mega-cities (Boston, Bangalore, Beijing, etc.), how can you best benefit both your company and the community? According to…
Why does your product or service matter to your customer? What aspects of it are the most (and least) important? What exactly is the value that you provide? Alex Osterwalder can help you figure it out.
One of the most important books of 2016.
In Rwanda, more than 80% of the population lives in homes with a dirt floor. In India, only 25% of the population can afford a refrigerator. Such poverty-stricken countries are not markets for business – or are they?
Do you really understand what your product means to your customer?
Negotiation is an essential part of everyday life; in business, it’s critical to success. Michael Wheeler just launched a new online negotiation certificate program at Harvard Business School.
What does trust mean in this new world and how can you build it with people?
“We don’t often think of leaders as artisans, but like good craftspeople, good leaders go about their work thoughtfully and purposefully.” It’s an insightful comparison gleaned from Hal Gregersen’s experiences as a leadership advisor and as the mentee of a master craftsman, National Geographic photographer Sam Abell.
What can your organization accomplish by creating shared value? It can help change the world – while making more money.
Last year, companies collectively spent $680 billion gambling on R&D. And for the most part, their bets haven’t paid off. It doesn’t have to be this way, according to Clay…
There’s no question Tesla is a remarkable brand. Just the name evokes emotionally charged responses from both its critics and its champions. It records quarterly losses by the millions, and rarely hits company goals or meets new vehicle launch deadlines. Yet, Tesla has what your organization (and every other) covets…
Trying to satisfy your customers is a misguided mission. There is no such thing as a perfectly and permanently satisfied customer, argues Gabor George Burt, an innovation pioneer and mastermind on re-imagining market boundaries…
You’re on a mission to know more about your customers. Stop. The extraordinary variety and volume of data you’re collecting at unprecedented speed and analyzing in sophisticated ways while hoping it leads to successful innovation isn’t working…
The number of people displaced by conflict is at the highest level ever recorded – one in every 113 people on the planet is a refugee, asylum seeker or internally displaced.
Middle children. Middle class. Middle market. None of them get enough attention – but according to Tom Stewart, it’s the American middle market that matters most to your growth.
On the surface, China’s dominance seems a given. The country’s GDP is likely to surpass that of the U.S. (though not until at least 2028). It’s already the world’s largest…
In life, you can do everything right and still fail. Same goes for business. A well run, seemingly thriving company nose dives, succumbing to disruption. It’s the classic innovator’s dilemma…
The first line of Robert Kaplan’s 1996 seminal book reads, “Imagine entering the cockpit of a modern jet airplane and seeing only a single instrument.” The analogy suggested it should…
Companies find it increasingly challenging to justify long-term, risky R&D investments. Innovation and strategy expert Gary Pisano believes it’s time to consider a different financing model, and he draws inspiration…
As Big Data continues to change the way we live and work, companies are recognizing the importance of analyzing and communicating data findings with business leaders across the company. To…
Smart thermostats control an array of home devices, transmitting usage data back to manufacturers. Networked industrial machines autonomously coordinate and optimize work. Cars send virtual software upgrades to enhance performance…
By the middle of this century, global population will reach nearly 10 billion people, consuming ever more resources and leading increasingly complex lives. What will our cities be like? What…
Whether hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a force for good or evil is one of America’s most divisive issues. Backers emphasize the economic value and future promise of energy independence; critics…
It is a rare CEO who doesn’t list innovation as a top priority. But innovation remains an elusive beast for most. Massive R&D investments have been made, processes built, training…
As the U.S. infrastructure crisis reaches a fever pitch in news coverage, public opinion and the next election cycle, Harvard’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s new book Move: Putting America’s Infrastructure Back…
If there’s one thing Americans can agree on, it’s the sorry state of our country’s infrastructure. We’re stuck, quite literally, and the inability to move affects every aspect of business…
“How Smart, Connected Products are Transforming Competition” just published on Harvard Business Review’s website. Read it now as it will only be available, in full and for free, for two…
Robert F. Kennedy once said a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) measures “everything except that which makes life worthwhile.” Even Simon Kuznets, chief architect of the macro-economic metric, warned against…
Some believe rules are made to be broken; others consider rules mere suggestions for when circumstances call for them. But in business, rules – three of them, in fact –…
For all of our talk about globalization, are we really as connected as we think? Renowned economist and global strategist Pankaj Ghemawat argues that as leaders around the world hail…
Sure, every single business and sector is being disrupted. But where will we find the vision, creativity, and leadership to innovate to address this? That’s where Rosabeth Moss Kanter comes…
While the controversies and political differences in Washington have captured the attention of most health care consumers, health care practitioners and policymakers are focused on the progress taking place in…
Corporate credibility continues to deteriorate. Global natural resources are scarcer than ever. And for many Americans, “the dream” is slipping further from reach. Many fault big business for these pressing…
U.S. competitiveness is indeed at a crossroads. Confidence in the country’s leadership position is waning while profound pessimism for its future stays steady. The good news is – according to…
© 2017 Stern Strategy Group
