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Staples’ New Run at Strategic Innovation
Innovation Digital ArticleWhat do you do when the very breakthrough strategy that once made your business uniquely powerful now threatens to turn you into a commodity? That’s the question stationery supplier Staples is facing. I still remember when Staples changed my life. Before its 1986 opening, buying stationery and office supplies was a time-consuming, inconvenient, and expensive […] -
Anatomy of a Failed Launch — The Michelin PAX Tire
Innovation Digital ArticleIt is always instructive to examine how successful firms can go wrong, even in markets that they think they understand well. The market failure of the Michelin run-flat PAX tire illustrates the common mistake of failing to realize that even a groundbreaking product has to create a complete consumption chain. Broken links in the chain […] -
Five Warning Signs Your Innovation Efforts Are Going Off the Rails
Innovation Digital ArticleFor the past ten years, my colleague, Chris Trimble, and I have studied one critical question: What are the best practices for executing an innovation initiative? Execution is the poor stepchild of the innovation challenge. People love to engage in the hunt for the big ideas, but, let’s face it, without execution capability, an idea […] -
We Need More Transparency on the Cost of Specialty Drugs
Health and behavioral science Digital ArticleDecisions about drug formularies need to be made in broad daylight. -
Visualizing Hip-Hop Lyrics as Cultural Indicator
Design thinking Digital ArticleGraphics aren’t just an alternative to representation in words. -
Is R&D Getting Harder, or Are Companies Just Getting Worse At It?
R&D Digital ArticleReturns to innovation appear to be declining. -
Creating Breakthroughs at 3M
Innovation Magazine ArticleCompanies say they want breakthrough products, but most are far more adept at making incremental improvements to existing lines. A pioneering division at 3M successfully navigated a process that leads to breakthrough thinking. -
The Power of “Risktakes”
Leadership Digital ArticleYour animated interaction in response to my post The Miracle of Making Mistakes delved deep into the subject, broadened the interpretation of a mistake, and even coined a delightful new term: Risktakes. Thank you Notmd, Dawna, Brett, and all the others, who provided terrific insights over the past four weeks. A mistake is as an […] -
Innovators Go It Alone
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleFor a long time, Ford, Chrysler, and GM followed the same strategy: they built big gas-guzzlers. Asian competitors attacked that model, took market share,... -
How Intuit Innovates by Challenging Itself
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleThe key is a question-centric culture. -
The Difference Between a First Mover and a Category Creator
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleThere's more to breakthrough products than being first to market. -
The Risky Business of Diversification
Innovation Magazine ArticleOn the basis of a sample from the top 200 of the Fortune “500” and data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategies) project, this author gives some guidelines for established companies on what to expect from new ventures. He points out that it takes an average of 10 to 12 years before the […] -
Eight Essential Questions for Every Corporate Innovator
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleReflect before you leap into action. -
A Taxonomy of Innovation
Product development Magazine ArticleA Taxonomy of Innovation -
The Nichepaper Manifesto
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleDear Newspaper Magnates, So you're going to try and charge people for news yet again. Cart, meet horse. Journalists didn't make 20th century newspapers... -
The Power of Small, Flexible Teams
Ed Gilligan, president of American Express Company, describes how a small, cross-functional team launched Small Business Saturday in three weeks. -
The Cognitive Bias Keeping Us from Innovating
Creativity Digital Article“Functional fixedness” is the hobgoblin of uncreative minds. -
Way Faster than a Speeding Bullet
Innovation Magazine ArticleFemtosecond lasers emit pulses of light that last just a millionth of a billionth of a second. These lasers enable surgery so precise that a single mitochondrion can be removed without harming the rest of the cell, and machining so controlled that structures can be micromachined within a piece of glass. Eric Mazur, a professor […] -
Wall Street Is No Friend to Radical Innovation
Innovation Magazine ArticleTo the list of reasons to resent Wall Street, now add another: It’s a wet blanket on innovation. A new study by Mary Benner of the Wharton School (published this year in Organization Science) examines the way securities analysts research and report on incumbent firms in industries undergoing disruptive change. She finds that analysts tend […] -
How AI Is Helping Companies Redesign Processes
AI and machine learning Digital ArticleCompanies like Shell and DBS Bank are using it to change how their work gets done.
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The CEO of Abbott on Revamping Its Breakthrough Diabetes Device
Innovation Magazine ArticleUnsatisfied with the initial response, the company doubled down on the patient experience. -
Boards Need a New Approach to Technology
Boards Magazine ArticleBy worrying primarily about security and IT, they’re missing out on big opportunities across the sciences. -
The Legacy Company’s Guide to Innovation
Innovation Magazine ArticleHow to collaborate well and scale up fast -
AI Won’t Give You a New Sustainable Advantage
AI and machine learning Magazine ArticleBut using it may amplify the ones you already have. -
Is It Time to Pivot Your Strategy?
Corporate strategy Digital ArticleThree questions to help you decide when and how to correct the course. -
Can AI Help Your Company Innovate? It Depends
AI and machine learning Digital ArticleCompanies that use it for recombination see better results than those that use it for incremental improvements and radical innovation efforts. -
Should Your Company Build an Open or Closed Ecosystem?
Innovation Digital ArticleFour research-backed principles to help you determine what’s right for your company. - SPONSORED CONTENT FROM CANVA
The Creative Edge: Transforming Ideas into Impact
Developing employees ResearchHBR-AS Sponsored Article Sponsored By Canva -
3 Steps to Cultivate an Innovator’s Mindset
Managing yourself Digital ArticleEmbracing curiosity, engaging in continuous learning, and fostering collaboration can help fast-track your career. -
Firms Led by CEOs from Former U.S. Frontier Areas Are Awarded More Patents
Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleThe qualities that were needed to succeed on the frontier are the same ones needed to drive corporate innovation. -
Why Entrepreneurs Should Think Like Scientists
Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleFounders of start-ups who question and test their theories are more successful than their overly confident peers. -
The Middle Path to Innovation
Innovation Magazine ArticleForget disruption and incrementalism. Here’s how to develop high-growth products in slow-growth companies. -
Why Cross-Functional Collaboration Stalls, and How to Fix It
Collaboration and teams Digital ArticleResearch shows that 78% of leaders report “collaboration drag” — too many meetings, too much peer feedback, and too much time spent getting buy-in from stakeholders. - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM NVIDIA
Video Quick Take: Balancing AI-Driven Innovation With Data Responsibility
AI and machine learning Sponsor ContentSponsor Content from NVIDIA. - SPONSOR CONTENT WEBINAR FROM WORKDAY
How Technology Can Help Drive DEI Success
Diversity and inclusion Sponsor ContentSponsor content webinar from Workday. -
Should Your Brand Hire a Virtual Influencer?
Marketing SpotlightRelying on AI-generated personalities can be a low-risk, high-engagement strategy. -
Make Decisions with a VC Mindset
Organizational decision making Magazine ArticleThe key is to embrace risk, disagreement, and agility. -
Winning at Influencer Marketing
Management Digital ArticleOver the past 20 years the social media influencer industry has completely rearranged the way information and culture are conceived, produced, marketed,... -
Your Teams Should Drive AI Adoption — Not Senior Leadership
Innovation Digital ArticleMany companies appoint a designated senior leader to find ways to integrate new tech — and that’s a mistake. -
The 3-Stage Process That Makes Universities Prime Innovators
Business and society Digital ArticleHow these institutions carefully curate connections and relationships to take ideas from the drawing board into the marketplace.
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Dwyane Wade
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In July 2016, while on his annual China tour to help promote the sportswear brand Li-Ning, basketball superstar Dwyane Wade and his long-time business... -
Whose Life is This? A Creativity Exercise
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details The purpose of this technical note is to introduce a creativity exercise based on photo stimuli to business-school faculty and to discuss how it can be... -
The Premamrutha Dhaara Project: A Sustainable Drinking Water Solution with Social Impact
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Access to clean water is so critical for development and survival that the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal number 6 (SDG-6) was to ensure... -
Transforming Arizona's Health Care System: Developing and Implementing the Health-e Connection Roadmap
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details This case addresses the issues of leadership and change management in the process of transforming an industry through an innovative public-private partnership... -
Homage: Harnessing Technology to Tackle Singapore's Ageing Challenges
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Set in February 2018, the case follows Gillian Tee and Lily Phang, the co-founders of Homage, a Singapore-based tech startup providing on-demand home... -
Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which... -
The journey to digitize tennis: Infosys (B), the present
Management Case Study5.00View Details The ATP Leaderboards evolve to provide real-time insights for fans, players and coaches, while the Second Screen capability aids players in refining strategies.... -
Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (A)
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In late 2015, CEO Vince Forlenza was reviewing Becton Dickinson's transformation efforts designed to enable the company to innovate and grow in a changing... -
Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (B)
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details This supplemental case follows up on the Netflix Prize Contest described in Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (A). In the A case, Netflix CEO Reed... -
Amazon, Google, and Apple: Smart Speakers and the Battle for the Connected Home
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Amazon, Google, and Apple all offer their own smart speaker. The devices represent each firm's entry point into the connected home market. All three companies... -
Radiohead: Music at Your Own Price (A)
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In October 2007, the British band Radiohead caused a stir when it announced it would allow customers to decide how much to pay for its new album, released... -
The Year in Tech, 2024: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
22.95View Details A year of HBR's essential thinking on tech--all in one place. Generative AI, Web3, neurotech, reusable rockets to power the space economy--new technologies... -
Curana: Managing Open Innovation for Growth in SMEs (B)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details Supplement to case W17559. -
How Google's "One-Trick Pony" Grew to Become a Dominant Global Enterprise
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details As Google incorporated in 1998, in the midst of dot-com mania, it faced the need to raise growth capital after the 2000 dot-com crash, when VC investments... -
Zopa.com: From a Hot Idea to an Established Market Player?
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company... -
PremiumSoft: Managing Creative People
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details PremiumSoft had been a competitive player in the SQL software market for 10 years. Like many software companies, PremiumSoft's business model required... -
MOVE Guides (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details It was a crisp autumn day in London in 2012. Brynne Kennedy and Steve Black, the co-founders of MOVE Guides, were huddling with their lead software developer,... -
Godiva Japan: Think Local, Scale Global
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details This case tracks Jerome Chouchan's strategies and execution for a successful turn around of Godiva Japan's operations which was experiencing a decline... -
GLOBIS
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Yoshito Hori, dean of the Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University, was planning to launch a full-time English MBA program in September 2012.... -
Flying the Coop: TeleSign's Incubator Exit
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Ryan Disraeli, Darren Berkovitz, and Stacy Stubblefield co-founded TeleSign, an internet security company, while employees in an incubator called Curious...
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Staples’ New Run at Strategic Innovation
Innovation Digital ArticleWhat do you do when the very breakthrough strategy that once made your business uniquely powerful now threatens to turn you into a commodity? That’s the question stationery supplier Staples is facing. I still remember when Staples changed my life. Before its 1986 opening, buying stationery and office supplies was a time-consuming, inconvenient, and expensive […] -
Anatomy of a Failed Launch — The Michelin PAX Tire
Innovation Digital ArticleIt is always instructive to examine how successful firms can go wrong, even in markets that they think they understand well. The market failure of the Michelin run-flat PAX tire illustrates the common mistake of failing to realize that even a groundbreaking product has to create a complete consumption chain. Broken links in the chain […] -
Dwyane Wade
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In July 2016, while on his annual China tour to help promote the sportswear brand Li-Ning, basketball superstar Dwyane Wade and his long-time business... -
Five Warning Signs Your Innovation Efforts Are Going Off the Rails
Innovation Digital ArticleFor the past ten years, my colleague, Chris Trimble, and I have studied one critical question: What are the best practices for executing an innovation initiative? Execution is the poor stepchild of the innovation challenge. People love to engage in the hunt for the big ideas, but, let’s face it, without execution capability, an idea […] -
We Need More Transparency on the Cost of Specialty Drugs
Health and behavioral science Digital ArticleDecisions about drug formularies need to be made in broad daylight. -
Visualizing Hip-Hop Lyrics as Cultural Indicator
Design thinking Digital ArticleGraphics aren’t just an alternative to representation in words. -
Is R&D Getting Harder, or Are Companies Just Getting Worse At It?
R&D Digital ArticleReturns to innovation appear to be declining. -
Creating Breakthroughs at 3M
Innovation Magazine ArticleCompanies say they want breakthrough products, but most are far more adept at making incremental improvements to existing lines. A pioneering division at 3M successfully navigated a process that leads to breakthrough thinking. -
Whose Life is This? A Creativity Exercise
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details The purpose of this technical note is to introduce a creativity exercise based on photo stimuli to business-school faculty and to discuss how it can be... -
The Power of “Risktakes”
Leadership Digital ArticleYour animated interaction in response to my post The Miracle of Making Mistakes delved deep into the subject, broadened the interpretation of a mistake, and even coined a delightful new term: Risktakes. Thank you Notmd, Dawna, Brett, and all the others, who provided terrific insights over the past four weeks. A mistake is as an […]