Companies that diversify their growth strategies are 46% more likely to survive the next five years than those that focus on one single approach, say Laurence Capron and Will Mitchell. How can companies juggle internal development, resource partnerships, and M&A? Based on Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma by Laurence Capron and Will Mitchell (Harvard Business Review Press, August 2012) and the interview with Yann Le Bihan, CEO of Sciforma, November 2012.

What do executives think about the future of data analysis? The answers from an MIT survey of 3,000 leaders around the world. Based on “10 Insights: A First Look at The New Intelligent Enterprise Survey” by Michael S. Hopkins, Steve LaValle, and Fred Balboni and “10 Data Points: Information and Analytics at Work” by Nina Kruschwitz and Rebecca Shockley (MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2010); “Competing on Talents Analytics” by Thomas H. Davenport, Jeanne Harris, and Jeremy Shapiro (Harvard Business Review, October 2010); “Swimming in Data? Three Benefits of Visualization” by John Sviokla (Harvard Business Review Blogs, December 2009).

Government declarations, explanations by economists and finance experts, mass media communication… Amid all of this uproar, Andreu Solé recommends refocusing on fundamental issues and thinking twice about the vocabulary used to describe current events. Above all, he urges people to consider events from a historical perspective. Contribution by Andreu SOLé, sociologist and economist, professor at HEC Paris (France) Business Digest, January 2009.

How can companies reduce costs without threatening their future? Based on “Driving Down Cost: How to Manage and Cut Costs Intelligently” by Andrew Wileman, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, June 2008, and on an interview with Chehab Wahby, lead partner, OC&C Consultants (Germany), January 2009.

Focus on managers' behavior at budget time. Based on “Games Managers Play at Budget Time,” by Richard Steele, and Craig Albright, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2004, and the interview with Norman Macintosh, honorary professor of accounting and management at Queen’s University, Canada.

Enlarging a company and thus produce higher revenue can generate a level of complexity that is greater, thus dragging profitability down. Based on “Unlocking Profitability in the Complex Company, When it Pays to Simplify for Value” by Jamie Bonomo and Andy Pasternak, Mercer Management Journal, no. 18, November 2004, and on an interview with Anis Bouayad, founder and CEO of AB Conseils, Inc., a strategy and alliance consultancy.

Strategic thinking is not just theoretical. Only when a new strategy is actually implemented do the difficulties begin. Dossier based on the book by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Strategy Maps, Harvard Business School Press 2004, and with the interview of Francesco Zingales, Professor at INSEAD.

How to align company identity and strategy. Based on the book by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Strategy Maps, Harvard Business School Press 2004, and the interview with Bernard Marr, Professor in the Centre for Business Performance at the Cranfield School of Management, Bedfordshire, U.K.