Why is it so difficult to have a clear strategic vision? Nate Silver says information overload is a major obstacle to accurate prediction today. The challenge for you as a business leader is finding “the signal in the noise” by honing your critical thinking skills and leveraging the company’s collective intelligence. 1. More information meansRead more…

Business continues to suffer from a bad reputation. A 2011 report from Gallop indicates that just 19% of Americans trust big business, representing only a slight rebound from 2009’s historic low of 16%. What has undermined business in developed markets? How can companies regain their legitimacy? The answer could be Conscious Capitalism. 1. Share aRead more…

Based on an interview with Anne Michaut-Denizeau and her article “Norlha: Restoring the glory of khullu wool for social development and environmental protection in the High Tibetan Plateau,” co-authored with Jean-Marc Guesné and Alice Sireyjol (Fact Reports 1339, October 2012). Year after year, the economic situation of the nomads of the Tibetan Plateau deteriorates. InRead more…

Companies with well-rounded build-borrow-buy growth strategies are 46% more likely to survive the next five years than those that do not diversify, according to a two-decade long study of hundreds of companies from around the world by authors Laurence Capron and Will Mitchell. So why do a full 40% of those surveyed insist on relyingRead more…

The revolution 2.0 is gradually shifting from technology and service sectors to energy and consumer goods. Within roughly 10 years, there will be a shift to more collaborative business models, with value creation shared between millions of small, autonomous, interconnected, and flexible economic actors. This is what Jeremy Rifkin calls The Third Industrial Revolution. TheRead more…

First seen as sources of cheap labor, then as uncharted markets, and, more recently, as sources of innovation, emerging markets are poised to take over as the world’s most dominant sites of value creation. Along with this shift in economic power come new game rules that are overturning Western ideas of business as usual. HowRead more…

Data has served for decades as a memory bank for companies — the hidden treasure of archivists and accountants. After gradually finding a place in the strategic planning of organizations, data now lies at the heart of what many commentators believe will be the next digital, economic, and social revolution. Here is a closer lookRead more…

Open up your strategy process to employees, clients, and partners? It may sound absurd, but it is what companies like 3M, Indian IT services provider HCL Technologies, and Dutch insurer AEGON have been doing. The results speak for themselves: better alignment between strategy and market opportunities, better employee engagement, and a decrease in the gapRead more…

Can leaders be idealistic and effective? Passionate and reasonable? Altruistic and capitalist? Can companies be full of good intentions AND effective? Largely inspired by Danone’s social entrepreneurship initiatives, the stories told by Emmanuel Faber provide an initial response to these questions. With doubts and questions, he offers insight into how to forge a sustainable relationshipRead more…

Based on an interview with Johan Hombert, professor of finance at HEC Paris, research@HEC no 26, April-May 2012. How do you achieve competitive markets when firms that sell an end product control the means of production (as is the case with the heavyweights of mobile telephony in France)? For Johan Hombert and his co-authors, theRead more…