Harvard Business Review

APRIL 15, 2024

From the takeoff and landing of a space shuttle to managing uncontrollable bleeding in the operating room, there are vital lessons to be learned from these industries and adapted into others. Start by proactively envisioning worst-case scenarios through brainstorming sessions, scenario planning, and risk assessments.

Health Care 23

Health Care Uncertainty Scenario Planning Brainstorming 23

Center for Creative Leadership

JUNE 22, 2020

Effective strategic leadership – and the ability to solve strategic leadership challenges – requires different skills and perspectives than those required by day-to-day operational leadership. Operational leaders must meet short-term targets, master their functional area, and create stability for focused execution.

Leadership 106

Leadership How To Long-term Short-term 106

HR Digest

OCTOBER 7, 2020

A structured strategy for managing workforce can bring consistency into overall operations during today’s challenging times by putting people first. At the heart of any organization’s talent management strategy is headcount planning to ensure that it has the right number of talent with the right skills.

Management 98

Management Supply Chain Crisis Scenario Planning 98

Strategy Driven

OCTOBER 25, 2013

Another energy industry client operated coal mines. What-if scenario planning is similar to the processes utilized in overall company strategic planning and visioning. The crisis plan must be part of the bigger process, not an adjunct or afterthought. Finally comes Crisis Training.

Crisis Management 75

Crisis Management Crisis Risk Management Budgeting 75

Strategy Driven

NOVEMBER 2, 2012

Have you done scenario planning of measures beyond your immediate control, i.e. external factors which profoundly impact your livelihood? Growth, defined as increasing revenues each year (rather than improving the quality of company operations). Continuous quality improvement within your own operation.

Strategic Planning 66

Strategic Planning Budgeting Planning Competitive Advantage 66

CO2

JANUARY 2, 2011

The Empathy Map looks like this: In this chapter the authors walk you through processes to arrive a enhanced design like Customer Insights, ideation, providing an introduction to the value of visual thinking, how to use prototyping, story telling, and Scenario Planning.

Business Model 141

Business Model Executive Coaching Execution Blog 141

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 15, 2018

The supply chain is the heart of a company’s operations. Rio Tinto, the global mining-and-metals company, is exploring how digital technologies can automate mine-to-port operations. For a small number of leading retail companies’ control towers have become the nerve center of their operations.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Management Retail Technology 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 30, 2017

Not Operating at Your Peak. For example, you may be strategizing on a project that requires scenario planning. To simulate the scenario and possible outcomes, you can’t be too rigid. This kind of scenario planning will take your mind off constant focus but also prepare your brain to reach your goals.

Scenario Planning 12

Scenario Planning Self-aware Energy Short-term 12

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 6, 2014

This isn’t a retread of scientific management , nor is it an updated take on scenario planning. Scientific management and scenario planning, while forward-thinking, rely on information that’s in the rear view mirror. It’s an entirely different animal. Fire TV, Amazon Prime) and to stock its warehouses.

Strategy 12

Strategy Scenario Planning Scientific Management Supply Chain 12

Harvard Business Review

MAY 29, 2017

Interestingly, all these intrusions into business operations typically do not come from the Kremlin but from local officials who seem eager to gain the Kremlin’s favor amid instances of elevated international tensions. This environment is altering how multinational firms operate in the country and market their products.

Policies 9

Policies Supply Chain Politics Long-term 9

Harvard Business Review

MAY 15, 2018

The sooner firms have a Brexit plan, the faster they can focus on managing these competitive dynamics. How to Plan for Brexit. Companies need a working group that regularly assesses Brexit impacts relative to competition, and a strategic plan for their UK business that is straightforward, flexible, and easy to track.

Planning 8

Planning Supply Chain Strategic Planning Workshop 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 6, 2014

This isn’t a retread of scientific management , nor is it an updated take on scenario planning. Scientific management and scenario planning, while forward-thinking, rely on information that’s in the rear view mirror. It’s an entirely different animal. Fire TV, Amazon Prime) and to stock its warehouses.

Strategy 8

Strategy Scenario Planning Scientific Management Supply Chain 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

The essence of the phenomenon is the fact that each stage in the supply chain plans its capital projects and operations, including inventory levels, based on its future expectations. Macroeconomic data during the 2008 financial crisis show the bullwhip effect operating on a much broader scale. For example , U.S.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Retail Crisis Operations 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 13, 2012

At the start of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, it was a catalog of minor operational and logistical problems that led journalists to start reporting on "the glitch Games." Risk mitigation is now integrated into decision-making and operations, and no longer treated as just an input into the calculation of insurance premiums.

Risk Management 15

Risk Management Management Committee Insurance 15

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

One way to reinforce this assumption is to engage in scenario planning before pulling the trigger, preferably by engaging people who will be affected by the change. Start all projects or change efforts with the conscious realization that there could be surprising outcomes.

Airlines 14

Airlines Supply Chain Scenario Planning Travel 14

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2017

Organizations can now engage with customers and employees like never before, and the virtual environment holds the potential to drive operational efficiencies, save time and money, and open the exploration of new commercial avenues. This age is ripe with opportunity. They are also prepared to take risks.

Organization 8

Organization SPM Content Agility 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Although it is too early to tell if Tunisia and Egypt will prove the exceptions rather than the rule when it comes to dramatic political transitions in the Middle East, multinationals operating in the region have already faced significant losses. In terms of scenario planning , firms would think about alternative paths.

Strategy 14

Strategy Politics Short-term Long-term 14

Harvard Business Review

MAY 14, 2013

They''re a keystone of what we call a "future-back" approach to strategy, which unlike the "present forward" nature of most strategic-planning processes, doesn''t operate under the assumption that tomorrow will be pretty much like today, and the day after pretty much more of the same. Organizations should have their moonshots.

Scenario Planning 8

Scenario Planning Consensus Strategic Planning Innovation 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 3, 2015

It would be an antidote to the insularity that so many boards are criticized for, and a useful complement to the simulations and war-game tools that help with scenario planning and anticipating competitors’ moves. The pressure for boards to become more “digital” is coming from a number of sources.

Scenario Planning 8

Scenario Planning Tools Technology Compliance 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 2, 2016

Steve Jobs, a regular meditator, made use of mindfulness practice to challenge operating assumptions at Apple and to enhance creative insight in planning. Google’s Chade-Meng Tan , has developed dozens of such workplace meditation modules that could fit neatly into planning retreats. It can’t hurt.

Strategy 8

Strategy Goleman Strategic Planning Parcell 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 16, 2016

American companies should familiarize themselves with these multiple challenges, while identifying potential business partners, sizing the market potential for the company’s product, and understanding the challenges of operating alongside the Cuban government.

GDP 8

GDP Telecommunications Scenario Planning Travel 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 31, 2013

We see advances in materials, processes, and information technology that will make possible entirely new kinds of products and can radically alter how manufacturers operate. For example, in a world of rising and complex risk, they will need to adopt planning systems that don't rely on point forecasts, but use scenario planning.

Globalization 9

Globalization Supply Chain Pharmaceuticals McKinsey 9

Strategy Driven

JANUARY 8, 2019

For me, the ideal timeframe for futurist thinking is 5-10 years, because although no one can successfully predict the future, in this window you are more likely to be able to clearly see where things are going according to current operating models.

Flextime 74

Flextime How To Scenario Planning Consultative 74

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 7, 2017

of the votes were in favor, providing a strong signal that climate change is an important financial risk and that shareholders want to know more about what companies are doing to transform their operations and products to remain competitive in a low-carbon world.

Tips 8

Tips Supply Chain Proposal Decentralization 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 14, 2015

On the other, they acknowledge that it’s all but impossible to operate above the political fray. An intrepid energy industry executive we know takes a novel, planning-based approach to managing politics, and we’ve taught the same method to many female executives over the years.

Politics 8

Politics Strategy 360-Degree Feedback Mentor 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 20, 2017

Multinational companies operating in Mexico are facing a great deal of uncertainty. Many of the companies we work with that have operations in Mexico have taken up scenario planning to prepare for a range of potential economic and political changes in the country that could affect their businesses.

Supply Chain 9

Supply Chain Depreciation Uncertainty Marketing 9