Harvard Business Review - 2005.04.pdf

How Leaders Growpage 66Understanding Big Riskspage 7854How Strategists Really Think:Tapping the Power of AnalogyGiovanni Gavetti and Jan W.Rivkin 66Seven Transformations of LeadershipDavid Rooke and William R.Torbert 78Countering the Biggest Risk of AllAdrian J.Slywotzky and John Drzik 92The Quest for Customer FocusRanjay Gulati and James B.Oldroyd 102The Relative Value of GrowthNathaniel J.Mass 14Forethought35HBR Case StudyClassor Mass?Idalene F.Kesner and Rockney Walters 49Different Voice Strategic Intensity A Conversation with World Chess ChampionGarry Kasparov114HBR at LargeSelection Bias and the Perils of Benchmarking Jerker Denrell 121Best Practice The Half-Truth of First-Mover Advantage Fernando Suarez and Gianvito Lanzolla 131Executive Summaries 136Panel Discussion FocusYourThinkingApril 2005 www.hbr.orgpage 54TLFeBOOKTLFeBOOKTLFeBOOKNEW YORK LONDON PARIS MILAN TOKYO CHICAGO TROY DALLAS BEVERLY HILLS PALM BEACH BOSTONTLFeBOOKTLFeBOOKTLFeBOOKTLFeBOOK6harvard business reviewCOVER ART:JIM FRAZIER F e a t u r e s92The Quest for Customer FocusRanjay Gulati and James B.OldroydWhat do customers really want?What does your com-pany really need to know about them?You wont find out simply by conducting a survey or installing a CRMsystem.The road to enlightenment is much longer andharder than thatbut those who go the distance have the profits to show for it.102The Relative Value of GrowthNathaniel J.MassYou might be surprised at how much more valuable itcan be to grow than to cut costs.Now you can determinewhich of your corporate strategies are working to delivervalue and whether you are pulling the most powerfullevers for value creation.continued on page 86654How Strategists Really Think:Tapping the Power of AnalogyGiovanni Gavetti and Jan W.RivkinThe exhilarating feeling of“Ive seen this situation before!”leads sometimes to strategic breakthroughs,sometimes to disaster.Heres how to make sure your analogical reasoning is on the money.66Seven Transformations of LeadershipDavid Rooke and William R.TorbertFew leaders try to understand their leadership styles.They should,because those who undertake a voyage of personal understanding and development can trans-form not only their own capabilities but those of theircompanies.78Countering the Biggest Risk of AllAdrian J.Slywotzky and John DrzikYou can hedge,but you cant hide from“strategicrisks”the events and trends that can devastate yourcompanys growth trajectory and shareholder value.Learn to anticipate and manage these threats system-atically.(You may even be able to turn some of them into growth opportunities.)HBRApril 2005547892102TLFeBOOK2005 Merrill Lynch&Co.,Inc.Merrill Lynch provides fi nancial advice and strategic insight to position both issuers andinvestors for success in achieving their objectives.Our integrated teams working across multiple disciplines bring the full strength of our resources together on behalf of our clients.We leveragerigorous analysis,knowledge of the markets and structuring expertise to help our clients identify opportunities and realize their goals.This is howMerrill Lynch develops and delivers exceptionalfi nancial solutions for exceptional clients.UPHOLD YOUR GROWTH PROJECTIONS.UPHOLD YOUR BOND OBLIGATIONS.UPHOLD YOUR SHARE VALUE.JUST DONT UPHOLD THE STATUS QUO.TLFeBOOK8harvard business review10FROM THE EDITORWhen Businesspeople Think As several articles in this issue makeclear,understanding how managersminds churn is often more importantthan knowing what theyre thinking.14FORETHOUGHTProfessional service firms may no longerbe the best role models for corpora-tionsHR?A launching pad?A sys-tem for scripting successful TV adsThink twice before trimming HQ staffKnowledge work is(basically)here tostayConsumers do know the differencebetween“tall”and“medium”The“bro-ken windows”crime-prevention theoryapplies to business as wellEarnings inmiddle-wage countries are stagnatingWhat your logo font says about youHR needs to segment talent strategi-callyAvoid an overload of meetingsThe coming of femtosecond lasers.312004 MCKINSEY AWARDS35HBR CASE STUDYClassor Mass?Idalene F.Kesner and Rockney WaltersNeptune Gourmet Seafood has a vastamount of excess inventory.If the com-pany slashes prices or creates a low-priced brand to get rid of the surplus,itcould trigger a price war,cannibalizesales of its other products,and destroyits premium image.49DIFFERENT VOICEStrategic Intensity:A Conversation with World ChessChampion Garry KasparovThe greatest challenge for highly suc-cessful people is to stay passionateabout being at the top,says the worldsnumber one chess player.The secret tolasting triumph?You must be lucky inyour enemies.Departments10April 200590STRATEGIC HUMOR114HBR AT LARGESelection Bias and the Perils of Benchmarking Jerker DenrellLooking to successful companies forbest practices may seem like a no-brainer,but its an approach thatsdoomed to failure.121BEST PRACTICEThe Half-Truth of First-MoverAdvantage Fernando Suarez and Gianvito LanzollaS