The Software as a Service (SaaS) industry is a competitive one. Due to cloud-based applications’ agile nature, startups can quickly create a product and release it to customers. But companies who fail to plan the launch of their products properly are likely to fail. As many as 92% of software companies cease to exist within […]
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Disruption Is Inevitable. How Do We Manage through Disruption?
No industry is safe from Disruption. Disruption can be born from a number of sources–e.g. new technology, regulatory changes, or a global pandemic, to name a few. In a 2017 PwC survey of 1,379 CEOs around the world, 60% said their market has already changed or completely reshaped in the past 5 years and over […]
The Strategic Goals Grid, an Alternative Framework to SWOT Analysis
One of the most popular Strategic Planning tool among executives is the SWOT analysis (or SWOT matrix). However, sometimes assessing the organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats is not enough to set the direction for the planning process or to implement Business Transformation. An alternative framework to SWOT analysis is the Strategic Goals Grid (SGG). […]
How to Differentiate Between General, Corporate, and Competitive Strategy?
Strategy and execution are the 2 critical elements that drive a business. However, leaders often struggle even with defining—let alone devising and executing—an effective strategy. Many of those who are responsible to deal with it fall short of describing how they typically employ it. This failure takes its roots from the fact that there is no […]
It’s the Age of Data, Time to Incorporate a Data Monetization Strategy into Digital Transformation
We are already living in the Age of Data. In fact, every organization operating today is essentially a data organization. However, only 1 in 12 are actually monetizing data to its full extent. Many organizations are already leveraging Data and Analytics to generate growth. Data Monetization is the means to achieve that growth. To achieve Data […]
How Do We Answer the Fundamental Question of Strategy: Are We Doing the Right Things?
At its essence, management just seeks to answer 2 fundamental questions: Are we doing things right? Are we doing the right things? The first question is addressed through Operational Management. Operational Management frameworks include Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), among numerous other Lean Six Sigma tools. The second is addressed […]
Pricing Perception: Is Reducing The Price The Best Decision?
Price wars have broken out in consumer industries around the world. In fact, retailers such as ALDI, Amazon, and Walmart have used price to position themselves against traditional competitors in the market, pinching margins all around. Prices are being reduced because of the belief that this will boost their perceived value to consumers, who implicitly […]
The Growth of a Giant: The Logistics Clusters in Supply Chain Management (SCM)
In the late 1990s, business strategist Michael Porter argued that clusters make business more competitive by increasing the pace of innovation and stimulating new business formation. National and regional governments quickly embraced the idea and immediately supported its development by providing the necessary funding support. As expected, good things started to happen: businesses became interested […]
4 Key Ingredients of Transforming Your Organization From A Product-based Business To Platform Business Model
Transformation from a product-based model to a platform model is a dream for many executives. More and more product companies are now shifting into a platform model. The drive behind such a shift is the huge success of platform companies—e.g., Amazon, Google, and Apple. These organizations started out as a retailer, search engine, and iPod […]
The Art (and Science) of Winning a Price War: The Price War Strategy
“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War Many companies are competing on the basis of low prices. Yet, Price Wars represent a fundamentally different dynamic than simply trying to get […]
Business Model Innovation: How to Create Scalable Business Models?
Scalability describes possible meaningful changes in magnitude or capacity. In business terms, it’s the capability of a system to enhance productivity upon resource augmentation. Scalability provides an organization the capabilities to develop compelling value propositions—that are hard to imitate by the rivals—and achieve profitable growth even in the wake of external threats, cut-throat competition, stringent […]
Strategic Management Done Right: Set up a Strategic Management Office (SMO)
Most organizations struggle with Strategy execution. In fact, numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value. Having a Strategic Management Office–i.e. SMO–may improve your chances of success. The […]
