Sustainable, superior returns accrue to companies that focus on what they do best. It is that simple. Yet it is incredibly hard to internalize. It is a rare company that focuses on what we do better than anyone in making every operating decision across every business unit and product line. Rarer still is the company […]
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Taking the High Road to Competition: Achieve Business Capabilities Coherence
Taking the Go-to-Market Platform Design Route to Gain Competitive Advantage
The routes to market that Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies use to sell and service their trade account is essentially critical. It determines their sales volume, their ability to deliver the proper levels of customer service in a cost-effective manner, and their success at securing scarce retail shelf space for their products. Yet, only a […]
How To Sustain Momentum in Business Transformation
In today’s exponentially disrupted business environment, incremental improvement is not enough. It is not enough to win today. We have to be able to continue to evolve today and in the future. In the world of unprecedented disruption and market turbulence, Business Transformation today revolves around the need to generate new value. We need to […]
Key Account Management: How to Manage Large Global Accounts?
Large accounts make up a significant portion of business for most B2B companies. Therefore, losing an important customer can have detrimental effects on the organization. The significance of key accounts is urging top B2B companies to revisit their key account management approaches. Additionally, the increasing level of sophistication of the purchase process being adopted—such as, […]
Retail Strategy: How to Effectively Manage IT Costs
The Retail industry is under constant pressure by low margins and ever-increasing rivalry. Weak consumer spending; saturated markets; increased consumers demands for service and lower prices; and intense competition has put significant strain on retail bottom lines and growth avenues. Thus, Retail Strategy must evolve to accommodate these market changes. Such low margins force the […]
When Execution Becomes Imperative: Learn the 5 Principles of Innovation Strategy
In an era of digital business and rapid technology change, virtually no company can ignore the imperative to innovate. Failing to do so is an invitation to lose business. To learn how companies are responding to this mandate, PwC conducted a major global study in 44 countries. The goal was to understand how leaders view […]
Real Estate 101: Developing an Integrated Real Estate Strategy
Disruption is constantly changing the retail business environment. In fact, it is adding complexities to it with every passing day. Sweeping changes in consumers’ behaviors and the challenges to retail economic models are pushing the current retail models to undergo considerable transformation. A number of organizations that possess a sizable property portfolio find it challenging […]
Capabilities-Driven Strategy: The Key to Getting your Growth Strategy Right
Formulating a Capabilities-Driven Strategy (CDR) is easy, but the execution is difficult, especially in turbulent times. This is not the time to find a cave and hibernate until the economic storm passes. It is unlikely that the storm will pass anytime soon. Capabilities-Driven Strategy is the only way to remain equipped for perpetually stormy weather. Companies […]
Strategic Cost Reduction Primer: A Systematic Approach to Transforming Costs
Cost Optimization Programs are hard to manage, sustain, and often tend to fall short of delivering the promised value. The failure could be attributed to many reasons—including lack of clearly delineated objectives, failure to account for operational difficulties, internal resistance to change, trying to cut corners from everywhere, not paying attention to planning optimal utilization […]
When the Going Gets Rough, Unlearn to Learn the 5 Leadership Practices of Capabilities-Driven Strategy (CDR)
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. The more we play golf, the more we realize that there is a negative correlation between how hard we swung and how far we hit the ball. […]
Strategy and Finance Alignment: The Key to Optimizing Target Operating Model
Industries today are in a state of flux driven by volatile market forces. Although every company devises a strategy for creating long-term differentiation for goods and services, still various dynamics are emerging. Across industries, market changes are affecting how Finance needs to operate. Finance must anticipate the implication of these various dynamics and forces evolving […]
When FAST Beats SMART: The Strategic Method to Goal Setting
Goal Setting used to be done in a conventional way. Managers hold one-on-one meetings with their subordinates to set goals. Performances are reviewed against objectives and these are linked to promotion and bonus decisions. The same managers aspire their goals to be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. But this conventional wisdom of […]