247 Articles found for subject: Best Practices

In science the key question is “Is it true?” In management the key question is “Does it work?” But context is critical: Just because an idea works in a particular case does not mean it is a universal truth.

If you set a stretch goal, make sure that the organization has some stretch in it, or it will break. To execute a strategy, you need a … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Stephen Bungay | Source: “Harvard Business Review” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

Two decades of research show that, while large deals still have their place, programmatic M&A strategies continue to create gains in excess total returns to shareholders, at lower levels of risk.

Content: Article | Authors: Jeff Rudnicki, Liz Wol, Patrick McCurdy, Paul Daume, Tobias Lundberg | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Mergers & Acquisitions

Companies should embrace nine imperatives that collectively explain “who we are” as an organization, “how we operate,” and “how we grow.”

Content: Article | Authors: Aaron De Smet, Chris Gagnon, Elizabeth Mygatt | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

One of the stated reasons for trying to get workers back into the office is the chorus of concern around the difficulties of sharing knowledge and experience amongst remote co-workers. New research, however, suggests a method that could improve this process both in the office and remotely: guided meetings between coworkers, which can easily happen in person or remotely. Compared to monetary incentives (without guidance … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Christopher Stanton, Jason Sandvik, Nathan Seegert, Richard Saouma | Source: “Harvard Business Review” | Subjects: Best Practices, Organizational Behavior

Companies create more shareholder value when executives and directors concentrate on long-term results. A new report highlights behaviors that allow them to maintain a long-term orientation.

Content: Article | Authors: Ariel Babcock, Kevin Sneader, Sarah Keohane Williamson, Tim Koller, Victoria Potter | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

Does corporate purpose influence firm performance? More than two decades ago, the scholars Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal argued that purpose, not strategy, structure or systems, was the essential precursor to effective management. Since then, the public discourse on purpose has gone up substantially. And while there’s a growing body of research on related topics — from CSR to ESG — when it comes … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Claudine Gartenberg | Source: “IESE Insight” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management, Organizational Behavior

Improve the odds of a successful business transformation by going “all in” to kick-start performance and remake your portfolio.

Content: Article | Authors: Chris Bradley, Marc de Jong, Wesley Walden | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management, Strategy

Startups that grow into transformative companies do two things: (1) they nail the basics and (2) they cultivate the right habits (core operating principles).

The first is mandatory. If you don’t get the basics right, in all probability your company won’t succeed. A list of things we consider basics:

• Fundraising (don’t run out of capital)
• Ship (don’t just talk about it, ship it)
• Customer focus (live

… [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: James Currier | Source: “NFX” | Subjects: Best Practices, Entrepreneurship, Management

Ask any business leader if he or she is good at solving problems and the likely response is, “Of course!” After all, business leaders spend a lot of their time navigating problems. If they weren’t good at it, those leaders would lose their jobs, wouldn’t they? Not if the organization doesn’t know what robust problem solving looks like. Most organizations don’t and as a result … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Karen Martin | Source: “ChangeThis” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

What does it take to make a true performance leap? The authors of Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick explain the key strategic levers their analysis has revealed, and how strongly you have to pull them.

Content: Article | Authors: Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt, Sean Brown, Sven Smit | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management, Strategy

What it means to be a great workplace has evolved. We have entered a new era, a new frontier in business. Our economy has evolved through agrarian, industrial, and ‘knowledge’ phases to the point where the essential qualities of human beings—things like passion, creativity, and a willingness to work together—are the most critical. In this ‘human economy,’ every employee matters.

Content: Article | Author: Michael C. Bush | Source: “ChangeThis” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management, Organizational Behavior

Companies understand that their suppliers are critical partners in lowering costs, increasing quality, and driving innovation, and leaders routinely talk about the need for strategic relationships with shared goals and risks. But when contract negotiations begin, they default to an adversarial mindset and a transactional contracting approach. They agonize over every conceivable scenario and then try to put everything in black-and-white. A variety of contractual … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: David Frydlinger, Kate Vitasek, Oliver Hart | Source: “Harvard Business Review” | Subjects: Best Practices, Legal

The midsized companies in the U.S. that grow the fastest understand their strong suits and play their hands accordingly.

Content: Article | Authors: Jeannette R. Gatchell, Thomas A. Stewart | Source: “strategy+business” | Subject: Best Practices

More than you might realize. Research finds management practices account for 20% of variation in productivity among certain firms.

Content: Article | Authors: Katia Savchuk, Nicholas Bloom | Source: “Stanford University” | Subject: Best Practices

When it comes to corporate financial performance, we typically think in absolute terms, measuring ROA in percentage points. We are less accustomed to thinking of corporate performance in relative terms, but knowing a company’s relative performance is essential to setting and achieving performance improvement targets and, eventually, exceptional performance.

Content: Article | Authors: Michael E. Raynor, Mumtaz Ahmed, Rob Del Vicario | Source: “Deloitte Review” | Subjects: Best Practices, Finance, Management

Despite strong pressures to focus on the short term, it is possible to manage for the long term and reap considerable rewards.

Content: Article | Authors: James Manyika, Sree Ramaswamy, Tim Koller | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Corporate Governance, Management, Strategy

Working on health works. It’s good for your people and for your bottom line.

Content: Article | Authors: Chris Gagnon, Elizabeth John, Rob Theunissen | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management, Organizational Behavior

We assessed the early moves of CEOs with outstanding track records; some valuable lessons for leadership transitions emerged.

Content: Article | Authors: Kurt Strovink, Michael Birshan, Thomas Meakin | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Corporate Governance, Management

Companies can become more agile by designing their organizations both to drive speed and create stability.

Content: Article | Authors: Aaron De Smet, Kirsten Weerda, Wouter Aghina | Source: “McKinsey Quarterly” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

Most executives today know their enterprises should be aligned. They know their strategies, organizational capabilities, resources, and management systems should all be arranged to support the enterprise’s purpose. The challenge is that executives tend to focus on one of these areas to the exclusion of the others, but what really matters for performance is how they all fit together. Consider the following questions, ideally with … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Jonathan Trevor | Source: “Harvard Business Review” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management