N2Growth Blog

AUGUST 12, 2010

Decisioning by consensus usually results in no decision being made, or an intellectually dishonest, watered-down decision that is so full of compromises, hedges and caveats that a non-decision might have been preferable.

Consensus 388

Consensus Team Building Blog Team 388

The Horizons Tracker

JUNE 26, 2022

If automation is restricted to Sun Belt states (including Florida, Texas and Arizona)—because the technology may not initially work well in rough weather—about 10% of the operator hours will be affected,” they explain. The data contained information on trucking shipments and the operator hours required to fulfill those shipments.

Osborne 75

Osborne Transportation Operations Hedge 75

Strategy Driven

DECEMBER 6, 2020

After all, with so many happy customers under your belt, there’s no reason to deprive potential new clients of your skillfully manicured lawns and pristinely trimmed hedges. It’s specifically designed to streamline business operations and improve productivity, whether it’s in servicing current clients or even marketing to new ones.

Quality 74

Quality Software Efficiency Hedge 74

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Acutely aware of the competitive edges timely data offers sophisticated investors, the company's ever-entrepreneurial cofounder once proposed that Google launch a hedge fund. Google may not have a hedge fund, but it's unlikely that high IQ hedge funds aren't using Google's data to better manage their own situational awareness and risk.

Hedge 15

Hedge Core Competence CFO ROI 15

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 16, 2018

On January 6, 2017, JANA Partners , a New York–based activist hedge fund, and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) sent a letter to Apple’s board of directors that may change the future of activist investing. Tim Ellis/Getty Images. But it is reportedly not alone.

Hedge 12

Hedge Long-term Short-term Letter 12

Strategy Driven

MAY 25, 2011

And that response is hidden inside ‘business’ behaviors – sandbagging quotas, hedging on stretch goals, and avoiding accountability or commitment. A young, inexperienced, but talented associate had what he thought was a plan for a powerful new marketing initiative. The CMO agreed, and the meeting took place.

Company 62

Company Venture Capitalist Film Reputation 62

HR Digest

MAY 2, 2019

I was at a conference recently and one of the speakers remarked that “Culture hedges against the risk of uncertainty.” They’ve helped drive the development of mobile payment solutions to promote financial inclusion in emerging markets. We’re always looking for ways we can be a positive influence in the markets where we operate.

Resources 40

Resources Human Resources Leadership Pipeline Learning-by-Doing 40

Strategy Driven

MAY 25, 2011

And that response is hidden inside ‘business’ behaviors – sandbagging quotas, hedging on stretch goals, and avoiding accountability or commitment. A young, inexperienced, but talented associate had what he thought was a plan for a powerful new marketing initiative. The CMO agreed, and the meeting took place.

Company 50

Company Venture Capitalist Film Reputation 50

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 19, 2011

If inventory levels are predictive of sales and earnings surprises, could one invest based on inventory turns and beat the returns one gets in the market? Based on these results, the three designed an investment strategy that handily outperforms the market even after controlling for factors like risk and size of firm. Retailers beware!

Retail 15

Retail Marketing Benchmarking Fixed Assets 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 3, 2011

There's a beguiling little moment in the financial-crisis documentary Inside Job where hedge fund billionaire George Soros describes the principles of oil tanker design. Financial markets are like that, Soros goes on. From the same letter: [N]o company operates in a vacuum. Why did M&T make such out-of-character investments?

Banking 17

Banking Crisis Letter Hedge 17

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 24, 2016

This disconnect is a major problem for the continuing development of efficient capital markets. Given their size and appetite for diversification, these gigantic investors are a significant source of financing for many companies and governments in the developed world, and their investment activities can and do move markets.

Operations 8

Operations Intangible Assets Venture Capitalist Hedge 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 15, 2014

It is generally accepted that efficiency represents the optimal, aspirational state for any market. Efficient markets, which feature many buyers and sellers and perfect information flowing between them, determine the “right price” and hence allocate society’s resources optimally. Think about how markets evolve.

Efficiency 9

Efficiency Marketing Real Estate Price 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 19, 2012

Once the book had been written, I had to market it. And, since innovation was on everyone 's mind, I was soon also working with chief innovation officers and heads of strategy, business development, and emerging markets — anything that required innovation. So, not surprisingly, I frequently get asked just how I did it.

Succession 21

Succession Diversity Open-book Innovation 21

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

Beginning with Criticality, they might ask, “How critical is the oil pipeline in Abuja, Nigeria, to the company’s overall operations?” The CSO would rank Criticality like this: 5 – Loss of the pipeline would stop operations. 4 – Loss would reduce operations considerably. 3 – Moderate impact.

Tools 15

Tools Risk Management Budgeting SWOT 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 7, 2017

But with the departures of a number of high-level HR leaders in late 2016, head of operations Ryan Graves largely took on the head HR role in addition to his other duties. That is like setting up a finance organization to do exotic risk hedging before putting in place basic reporting and compliance.

Compliance 15

Compliance Hedge Human Capital Finance 15

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 23, 2012

Trend lines, market sizing, and competitive benchmarks that served companies well during periods of gradual market evolution do little good in industries where new technologies create seismic shifts, demand is uncertain, and rivals emerge from left field. The company could merge with Dell.

Strategy 16

Strategy CEO Strategic Planning Consensus 16

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 12, 2013

Everybody has been piling on to hedge fund manager Bill Ackman lately. Or at least the market''s. That''s what activist hedge fund managers like Ackman do. It also doesn''t follow from Bebchuk, Brav, and Jiang''s evidence that more hedge fund activism would necessarily be a good thing. I''m not joining in.

Hedge 8

Hedge Short-term Long-term Finance 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 26, 2017

The marketing, underwriting, and servicing of SME loans have largely taken a backseat. New digital entrants have spotted the market opportunity created by these dynamics, and the result is an explosion in online lending to SMEs from fintech startups. Other sectors of retail lending have not fared much better.

Banking 15

Banking Stage-Gate Credit Scoring Competitive Advantage 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 5, 2012

So why do companies spend millions on big data and big-data-based market research while continuing to ignore the simple things that make customers happy? Big data is today's panacea, the great new hope for unlocking the mysteries of marketing. What If Google Had a Hedge Fund? We all have. BIG DATA INSIGHT CENTER. More >>.

CAPEX 15

CAPEX Balanced Scorecard Hedge Software 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 15, 2012

Institutional banking businesses — including trading operations — typically don't have high barriers to entry. financial institution has pulled back or failed, there has almost always been a European bank or a Japanese bank or some other player willing to take over its trading operations or enter the market in its place.

Banking 11

Banking Hedge Constraint Operations 11

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 13, 2013

Its primary social metric is the number of lives reached in base-of-pyramid markets. Robin Hood, on the other hand, is a grant-making foundation created by hedge fund managers with a penchant for hard numbers. The MCC's approach is even more complex as it operates on a 20-year time horizon.

Long-term 11

Long-term Due Diligence Metrics Cost-Benefit Analysis 11

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 18, 2013

Success begets not only further success but also harder-to-meet market expectations. In terms of sales volume, product line diversity, operating system flexibility, R&D spending, and even customer loyalty , Samsung has emerged as a fierce competitor that has bested former industry champions like Nokia and Apple. Brand confidently.

Brand 10

Brand Customer Loyalty Hedge Wilde 10

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 30, 2013

In fact, Amazon was only operating at such a high burn rate because it could. That opportunistic approach to financial markets has defined Amazon since it went public in 1997. When Uncle Wall Street (also known as Mr. Market ) is in a generous mood, Bezos is always ready to take advantage by putting investment ahead of profitability.

Training 13

Training Bond Christensen Long-term 13

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 27, 2018

Apple and Google, for example, each control a popular mobile phone operating system platform (and key apps on that platform), Amazon controls the largest online merchant platform, and Facebook controls the largest social network platform. He noted his agency’s “particular concerns in digital markets.” In the U.S.,

Company 14

Company Advertising Incentives Engineering 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 10, 2017

Many investment banks and hedge funds operate this way, as do some law firms, consulting outfits, and tech titans. The book’s title and subtitle capture the spirit of this kind of workplace, where human scale matters more than massive revenue and big market share. The ethos is up-or-out, sink-or-swim, rank-and-yank.

Health Care 15

Health Care How To Hedge Environment 15

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

When Thai flooding created significant shortages in the hard disc drive market, manufacturers lost millions of dollars. This lack of comfort with both the quantitative aspects of risk and the more sophisticated options available to operational executives is (in some industries literally) dangerous.

Supply Chain 10

Supply Chain Chief Procurement Officer Risk Management Management 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 10, 2013

As noted management expert Geoffrey Moore told me with respect to high-velocity competition, "I''m not sure you ever want to be in the public markets." Its RAZR thin phone was a huge success in the mid-2000''s, and the market raved. Take Motorola, for instance. Take Motorola, for instance. So we are left with a quandary.

Venture Capitalist 10

Venture Capitalist Competitive Advantage Restructuring Short-term 10

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

military operations in Vietnam. Stuart Roden, Co Fund Manager of Lansdowne Partners'' flagship fund, one of the world''s largest hedge funds, tells me he sees one of his primary roles as being the person who challenges his staff to consider how they could be wrong, and then assess how this might impact on their decision-making.

Consensus 12

Consensus Hedge Diversity Stress 12

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 10, 2014

One representative example: April’s Education Innovation Summit , where more than 2,000 people energetically discussed how technology and markets are charting the future of education globally. The transformation in education technology and markets is happening with the business leaders and money-men of higher education barely present.

Real Estate 10

Real Estate Education Disruptive Innovation Asset Management 10

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

military operations in Vietnam. Stuart Roden, Co Fund Manager of Lansdowne Partners’ flagship fund, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, tells me he sees one of his primary roles as being the person who challenges his staff to consider how they could be wrong, and then assess how this might impact on their decision-making.

Consensus 12

Consensus Hedge Diversity Stress 12

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 24, 2017

Then, via price dynamics determined by market supply and demand, the value is settled on by the network of participants, rather than by a central authority or government. As of March 2017, the market capitalization of the ether token was more than $4 billion.). Insight Center. Business in the Era of Blockchain.

Venture Capitalist 15

Venture Capitalist Due Diligence Finance Long-term 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 12, 2012

2 in its market; he also insisted that every business provide value no competitor could match, and that they all should be able to gain leverage from GE's distinctive strength in complex, engineering-intensive industrial enterprises — or they wouldn't fit. We have seen the market penalize that approach.

Welch 9

Welch Diversity Hedge Chemicals 9

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 4, 2014

for 10+ years; deployment of design as an integrated function across the entire enterprise; evidence that design investments and influence are increasing; clear reporting structure and operating model for design; experienced design executives at the helm directing design activities; and tangible senior leadership-level commitment for design.

Venture Capitalist 9

Venture Capitalist Fashion B2B Hedge 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Southwest’s decision in 2007 to hedge against increases in the price of jet fuel proved remarkably prescient. The decision not to shut down an uncompetitive product line or exit an unprofitable market can consume as much scarce management time and other resources as any merger. But sometimes the big decision will go horribly wrong.

Hedge 10

Hedge Restructuring Execution Download 10

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 27, 2014

He is no Jim Simons , using his mathematical genius to outsmart the market in (to an outsider) incomprehensible ways. stock markets over Icahn’s career, it’s a simple factual assertion — the total return on the S&P 500 has substantially outstripped economic growth. But applied to U.S. Why’s that?

Hedge 8

Hedge Venture Capitalist Letter Reputation 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 3, 2014

There’s a wonderful scene (one of many) in Michael Lewis’s new book, Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt , in which John Schwall, then the head of product management at RBC Capital Markets in New York, decides one day in 2011 to figure out how stock trading had evolved into a high-speed, unfair race he thought it had become.

Long-term 9

Long-term Open-book Marketing Hedge 9

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 10, 2018

Those analyses rely on publicly available data sources, but software providers have accumulated growing amounts of private data on almost every aspect of their customers’ technology, operations, people, and strategies. Active investors such as hedge funds seek to outperform the market and index providers.

Benchmarking 8

Benchmarking Software B2B GAAP 8