In February 2013, U.S. Airways announced that it would merge with American Airlines to create the world’s largest airline. During the acquisition, then-CEO Doug Parker and his board had transformative decisions to make. How should two large corporations merge their operations? Which members of each company’s C-suites should stay? How fast should they move on these changes? Parker knew that these strategic decisions would send important signals to employees, customers, and competitors. In this ep...
Apr 10, 2024•28 min
Is your growth strategy working consistently? Strategy expert Ken Favaro says creating and sustaining growth isn’t rocket science. However, you do have to understand the difference between “organic” growth and “inorganic” alternatives, which come through a merger or acquisition. Favaro is the chief strategy officer at BERA Brand Management. Formerly he was a senior partner at Booz & Company—now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In this episode, he argues that it’s important to focus on c...
Apr 03, 2024•16 min
For more than a century, the pharmaceutical company Roche has been headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It’s one of more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies that have long been based there. Howard Yu , Lego Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School in Switzerland, discusses how this industrial cluster is a unique example of enduring competitive advantage. He explains how these companies offer a counter-narrative to the pessimistic view that you can’t stay ahead of the compe...
Mar 27, 2024•26 min
So, you’ve successfully scaled your start-up and you’re growing into a mature company. What, if anything, should you retain from those early days? Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati says the most successful organizations have one thing in common: a soul. “Soul” goes beyond culture, purpose, or even the founder. It’s about having three things: strategic business intent, a strong connection to customers, and a stellar employee experience. Gulati argues that if you don’t preserve these...
Mar 20, 2024•27 min
We all know Silicon Valley’s mantra: fail fast, fail often. But when is it OK to fail in the real world? Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson says it depends on how and why you fail. She’s an expert on psychological safety and the author of the book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well . In this episode, she explains the difference between good and bad types of failures. One has to do with experimentation, while the other is rooted in inattention or lack of training. Edmo...
Mar 13, 2024•37 min
Think of CEOs who have made strong rates of return for investors and built durable businesses. What strategies do you associate with their success? Investor and author William Thorndike studied eight CEOs who outperformed the market and their peers. The group included big names, like Warren Buffet and Katharine Graham, but also other leaders who are virtually unknown today. One example is Henry Singleton, an MIT-educated electrical engineer who led Teledyne Technologies from 1960 to 1986. Thornd...
Mar 06, 2024•14 min
In 2020, Kwame Spearman left his consulting job in New York City to take over an iconic independent bookstore, the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado—his hometown. Spearman saw an opportunity to reinvent the local business to build a community space after the pandemic. But to keep the store successful, he had figure out how to compete with online retailers and big box stores, amid technological change and shifting business models. In this episode, Harvard Business School associate pro...
Feb 28, 2024•30 min
Does your company have a strategy for working with investors? Whether your company is big or small, IBM’s former CEO Sam Palmisano says it’s essential to build relationships with your shareholders before there’s a specific problem to address. In this episode, you’ll learn how to communicate with your investors to meet their needs — without needing to change your strategy. When Palmisano was leading IBM, he offered investors detailed multi-year projections of revenue growth, rather than quarterly...
Feb 21, 2024•14 min
Efficiency is usually something businesses strive for, but is it possible to be too efficient? Roger Martin is professor emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He warns that an obsession with eliminating inefficiencies in U.S. companies has come with social and economic costs. He sees those downsides in everything from staffing to wages and even corporate debt levels. But he argues that it’s not too late for businesses to change their priorities. In this episod...
Feb 14, 2024•26 min
When Hubert Joly became CEO of Best Buy in 2012, online retailers like Amazon were exploding in popularity, and Best Buy was facing a sea change. But Joly famously turned around the struggling electronics retailer by changing the organization’s holistic strategy. He prioritized fair pay for workers, opportunities for employees to advance, and working with consumers, the larger community, and even competitors. In this episode, you’ll learn how Joly re-defined Best Buy’s purpose and aligned incent...
Feb 07, 2024•29 min
Careem launched as the “Uber of the Middle East” in Dubai in 2012, with a mission to make life and work better for drivers in the region. Despite technical, cultural, and financial challenges, Careem eventually became the Middle East’s first unicorn start-up, valued at more than a billion dollars. It was acquired by Uber in 2019 for $3.1 billion. In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Shikhar Ghosh discusses his case, “Careem: Raising a Unicorn.” He explains how the company scaled it...
Jan 31, 2024•21 min
Have you ever put a lot of time and energy into strategy work, but instead of finding clarity, ended up even more overwhelmed by conflicting priorities? Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee says it doesn’t have to be this way. He argues that all companies should simplify and focus on two value drivers: customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. In this episode, he offers step-by-step guidance for implementing a value-based strategy in your organization, using a “value map...
Jan 24, 2024•28 min
The Swedish furniture maker IKEA found huge success producing quality furniture at affordable prices. But in 2017, the company was at a crossroads. Its beloved founder had died, and the exponential rise of online shopping posed a new challenge. In this episode, Harvard Business School professors Juan Alcacer and Cynthia Montgomery break down how IKEA developed, selected, and embraced new strategic initiatives, while fortifying its internal culture. They studied how IKEA made big changes for the ...
Jan 17, 2024•25 min
Do you know who your “superconsumers” are, and why they’re so important for your strategy decisions? Growth strategy expert Eddie Yoon says they’re your most passionate, most valuable customers—not just because they spend more than average, but because their insights can help you improve your products and services. “You start with superconsumers and ask them to figure out what would need to be true for you to pay double the price of what I sell you now today,” he explains. “If you ask any regula...
Jan 10, 2024•21 min
Rohit Gera had turned his family’s boutique real estate development firm into a dynamic housing solutions innovator for urban Indian families. But as he prepared to retire, Gera had to decide who would take over for him. Should he define a strategy for future growth and pick a successor who would enact it? Or should he identify his replacement and allow them to set the company’s new strategy? And should Gera’s replacement come from within his family or not? In this episode, Harvard Business Scho...
Jan 03, 2024•29 min
In 2023, TikTok became the fourth largest social network by number of users, behind Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Meanwhile, competition in the market for short-form videos intensified. Instagram introduced Reels and YouTube launched Shorts—innovations that imitated TikTok’s approach. In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee discusses imitation as a competitive strategy among the leading social networks. Standard business strategy emphasizes the need to differe...
Dec 27, 2023•35 min
As interest rates have risen in recent years, venture capital funding has dried up. How can founders grow their companies in this new environment? In this episode, a founder who grew a $600 million company using just $10,000 of his own money, shares his strategy. Mike Salguero is the CEO and founder of the meat subscription service ButcherBox . He explains how he formulated a growth strategy that had a laser focus on costs and creatively leveraged the marketing power of influencers. This is the ...
Dec 20, 2023•33 min
In 2023, the auto industry went through huge changes in pursuit of lower carbon emission. Some automakers, like Ford, Mercedes, and General Motors, announced their plans to stop selling vehicles with internal combustion engines. The reaction from investment analysts was overwhelmingly positive, despite the fact that the production of electric vehicles (EVs) actually increases emissions in the supply chain. In contrast, BMW decided to pursue a more flexible decarbonization strategy. Their plans i...
Dec 13, 2023•25 min
ChatGPT dominated news headlines in 2023. But generative AI isn’t just a hack to boost productivity. Many businesses are exploring its potential to create new products and services, which requires entirely new strategic work. In this episode, HBR’s editor in chief, Adi Ignatius , speaks to Microsoft’s head of strategy Chris Young and Harvard Business School professor Andy Wu , an expert in growth and innovation strategy. They lay out Gen-AI’s emerging value chains and break down the competitive ...
Dec 06, 2023•37 min
Pencil-maker Faber-Castell has been in business since 1761, but it is still innovating and adopting new technology. In this episode, Harvard Business School associate professor Ryan Raffaelli discusses his case, “Faber-Castell.” He explains how the company balances stewardship of its brand with innovation and evolution, and how leaders decide when—and when not to—adopt new technologies. Plus, he breaks down Faber-Castell’s “generational” approach to formulating strategy to sustain their business...
Nov 29, 2023•18 min
When companies cut costs, they tend to trim spending across the board. But Cesare Mainardi , former CEO of global management consultancy Booz & Company, says that cost cutting should be a careful, strategic process. In this episode you’ll learn how to ensure that your company’s strategic capabilities aren’t negatively affected by necessary cuts. You’ll also learn how top leadership can work with teams to understand the trade-offs involved in reducing costs. Mainardi is now a business strateg...
Nov 22, 2023•16 min
Are you considering a refresh of your brand? Roger Martin says you should probably rethink that. “When you rebrand, the [consumer’s] subconscious is saying ‘whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, where's that thing we were comfortable with?’ And in some sense, it puts you back to square one. You're now competing to establish a new habit,” he explains. Martin is the former dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto — and one of the world’s leading thinkers on strategy. In this ep...
Nov 15, 2023•11 min
Jorge Quintanilla Nielsen started the private asset management firm Capital SAFI in 2007 — and planned to expand from Bolivia across South America. As a private firm, Capital SAFI isn’t required to have a board, but he knew that governance would be one of the main aspects potential partners would evaluate. In this episode, Harvard Business School professor V. G. Narayanan discusses his case, “Building the Governance to Take Capital SAFI to the Next Level.” He explains how Nielsen selects board m...
Nov 08, 2023•30 min
Do you have good AI? That’s “aesthetic intelligence” — not artificial intelligence. Pauline Brown , former chairman of North America for the luxury goods company LVMH, argues that great leaders need to develop “aesthetic intelligence” to stand out among competitors. They need to understand how their products or services can “elicit true delight.” “When you look at the research, the vast majority of reasons that anyone will buy one product over another is based on how that product or service make...
Nov 01, 2023•28 min
Many founders try to emulate startups that have already become successful. But Thales Teixeira says that approach, which often involves trying to do too much, too quickly, can lead to failure. In this episode, you’ll learn how to find customers who aren’t being served by existing businesses and how to work with early adopters to improve your product and service. You’ll also learn when to focus on developing your technology and when to make key hires — with real-world examples from Uber, Airbnb, ...
Oct 25, 2023•25 min
As the former CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi played an important role in shaping the company’s global strategy. She shifted PepsiCo’s focus to healthier products, worked to improve sustainability, and perhaps most notably: introduced design thinking into the company’s innovation process. “It’s a fine line between innovation and design. Hopefully design leads to innovation, and innovation demands design,” Nooyi tells Harvard Business Review editor-in-chief Adi Ignatius . In this episode, you’ll lear...
Oct 18, 2023•15 min
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses play an outsize role in disrupting industries. Think of eyeglasses and Warby Parker or mattresses and Casper. But after that initial disruption, industry competitors often adapt. Harvard Business School professor Len Schlesinger and Matt Higgins , the co-founder and CEO of private investment firm RSE Ventures, studied the teledentistry company SmileDirectClub and wrote a case study about its challenges as it scaled. In this episode, they break down how SmileDi...
Oct 11, 2023•32 min
Who are your primary customers? Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons says that’s the most important question of your strategy –— and the hardest to answer. Simons says that many firms make the mistake of defining their customers too broadly. To succeed, you have to target your resources at the people who really drive the most value. “Resources are limited…and the more people we call customers, the more we’re diffusing resources and attention over all kinds of different entities and co...
Oct 04, 2023•15 min
What can we learn from fast-moving companies—like Amazon, Google, and Alibaba—about how to organize to promote strategic growth? University of Michigan business professor Dave Ulrich went inside these companies to study how their internal structure keeps them nimble, innovative, and market-oriented. “That mental model of what an organization is, it’s about power, it’s about control, it’s about clarifying decision rights,” he tells IdeaCast host Curt Nickisch . “I think that mental model of an or...
Sep 27, 2023•22 min
Wolters Kluwer started in the 1830s as a publishing house. But the Dutch multinational corporation has grown into a global, information services company and now earns more than 90 percent of its revenue from digital products. “We had to move quickly and we had to do a certain set of strategic things, or the company might not survive,” chair and CEO Nancy McKinstry tells IdeaCast host Curt Nickisch . In this episode, McKinstry discusses how she successfully shifted the company’s strategy to focus...
Sep 20, 2023•26 min
