Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Many social enterprises start small and grow fast. This puts a premium on the need to develop, or recruit, talented people who can take on evolving roles and responsibilities. Leaders plead lack of time and money to make development a priority. How do you develop, or hire, the staff you will need? But it was growing fast.

Banking 8

Banking Fast Follower Tools Survey 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

That is, your innovation offer is so compelling or valuable that your customers willingly to adapt themselves to it (these themes are developed more explicitly in my Harvard Business Review Press ebook ). Being a "fast follower" is much easier to manage than being a "fast transformer."

Consensus 10

Consensus Welch Retail CEO 10

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2015

But Samsung’s new mobile wallet strategy may be a sign that they are finally becoming a true leader and shedding their image as a fast follower. Its foray into this industry comes on the heels of product entries by Google and Apple. The most pressing concern may be competition from companies other than device manufacturers.

Technology 8

Technology Retail System Industry 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 6, 2018

They are planning to be “fast followers” — a strategy that has worked with most information technologies. It’s true that some technologies need further development, but some (like traditional machine learning) are quite mature and have been available in some form for decades. System Development Time.

Company 8

Company Maturity System Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 7, 2016

Together they’d decided to invest a sizable portion of their meager marketing budget to partner with Soledad on developing and testing several marketing messages in key expansion markets, such as the UK. “I founded this company to give Peruvians stable, well-paying jobs and to help develop a new class of entrepreneurs.

Case Study 12

Case Study Price Brand Focus Group 12

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 15, 2016

GV portfolio company Savioke found itself in this same situation: the team had spent months developing a delivery robot for hotels, but felt paralyzed by big questions about the robot’s personality and behavior. Sprints encourage fast follow-up.

Consensus 8

Consensus Hotels Project Fast Follower 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 23, 2014

For example, new product development may be the lifeblood of a consumer products company—and thus need to be cultivated and resourced carefully—while in a low-cost producer, or fast follower company, product development may be only a nice-to-have activity.

Ulrich 8

Ulrich Cost Efficiency Consultative 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 1, 2015

The contrast could not be clearer: Amazon – fearlessly making big, risky bets like a serial entrepreneur; and Microsoft, eschewing disruptive innovation in favor of remaining the “ fast follower ” it has always been, wringing profit from previously proven technologies. There are some interesting recent developments.

Company 8

Company Software Long-term Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 3, 2017

The CEO of a large Australian company called me to relay a particular strategy development problem his firm was facing, and ask for my advice. Despite what many think, there are not generically great ways to win — e.g., being a first mover or a fast follower or a branded player or a cost leader.

First-mover Advantage 16

First-mover Advantage Retail Strategy Pharmaceuticals 16