18 Posts found for Author: Sean Silverthorne

In an update to his popular A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics, David Moss explains how the state of the macro economy affects managers, executives, students—and all the rest of us. In this excerpt, Moss illuminates David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Economics

Many companies get stuck on a plateau, unable to grow and burning through cash at a frightening rate. Frank V. Cespedes discusses how focusing on the right customers can generate growth again.

Content: Article | Authors: Frank V. Cespedes, Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Entrepreneurship

A British merchant’s long-forgotten work, An Essay on the State of England, could lead to a rethinking of how modern economies developed in Europe and America, and add historical perspective on the proper relationship between government and business. An interview with business historian Sophus A. Reinert.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Economics, History

In some respects, developing strategy is the easy part. Executing that strategy in alignment with strategic priorities is where real mastery of management takes place. Harvard Business School senior lecturer Frank V. Cespedes shows how it is done.

Content: Article | Authors: Frank V. Cespedes, Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Strategy

What happens immediately after a customer uses your product? Knowing the before and after around how your products are used will help you sell more — and build better future products.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: BNET | Subject: Market Research

If you ever wondered about the real value of goal setting in your organization, join the club. Despite the mantra that goals are good, the process of setting beneficial goals is harder than it looks. New research by HBS professor Max H. Bazerman and colleagues explores the hidden cost when stretch goals are misguided. Q&A.

Content: Article | Authors: Max H. Bazerman, Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Organizational Behavior

Harvard Business School professor William A. Sahlman’s article on how to write a great business plan is a Harvard Business Review classic, and has just been reissued in book form. Now a decade old, we asked Sahlman what he would change if he wrote the article today.

Content: Article | Authors: Sean Silverthorne, William A. Sahlman | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, People

When leading business thinker Gary Hamel analyzes the central problems with the modern hierarchical organization, he sees 5 debilitating deficits: too few voices are heard; creativity is confined and constrained; decisions are under informed; institutional barriers separate capital from talent; and an inability to adapt to fast-changing circumstances.

The fix? With its inherent ability to collect, store, share distributed data and knowledge, the Web can turn … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Gary Hamel, Sean Silverthorne | Source: BNET | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Corporate R&D labs used to be the key for companies to create competitive advantage. But in the 21st century, innovation is moving out of the lab and across the globe. That’s why Harvard Business School professor Alan MacCormack and his research collaborators believe that a real source of competitive advantage is skill in managing innovation partnerships.

Content: Article | Authors: Alan D. MacCormack, Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Innovation

Economist Joseph Schumpeter was perhaps the most powerful thinker ever on innovation, entrepreneurship, and capitalism. He was also one of the most unusual personalities of the 20th century, as Harvard Business School professor emeritus Thomas K. McCraw shows in a new biography. Read our interview and book excerpt.

Content: Article | Authors: Sean Silverthorne, Thomas McCraw | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Economics, People

New research from Harvard Business School’s Francesca Gino suggests that if we pay for information, we tend to overweigh its actual value.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Organizational Behavior

A new database on great American leaders offers surprising insights on the nature of leadership. A Q&A with Tony Mayo, executive director of the Harvard Business School Leadership Initiative.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Leadership

Multi-site nonprofit organizations shouldn’t be run like companies that make money, say HBS professors Allen Grossman and V. Kasturi Rangan. The key for nonprofit managers is to embrace a balance between affiliation and autonomy.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Nonprofit

When you are pitching your proposal to VCs, tell them an emotional story, says Nick Morgan. And put away the PowerPoint!

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Personal Development

A company’s decision on where to locate a facility must take more into account than simple labor costs, says Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. The new Cluster Mapping Project, developed at Porter’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, reveals detailed patterns of growth, resources, and competitiveness in forty-one regional clusters in the United States.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Strategy

Critics say Microsoft’s incredible two-decade run at the top of the computer industry has less to do with innovation than it does with bully tactics. But new research from Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack suggest a different reason: the company’s ability to spot technological trends and exploit key software technologies.

Content: Article | Author: Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Strategy

Critics say Microsoft’s incredible two-decade run at the top of the computer industry has less to do with innovation than it does with bully tactics. But new research from Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack suggest a different reason: the company’s ability to spot technological trends and exploit key software technologies.

Content: Case Study | Authors: Alan MacCormack, Marco Iansiti, Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Industry Specific, Strategy | Industry: Software | Company: Microsoft

What are the characteristics of companies that successfully transition in times of dramatic change? HBS professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter separates the leaders from the laggards in times of turmoil.

Content: Article | Authors: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Sean Silverthorne | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Leadership