Harvard Business Review - 2015.03.pdf

46 The Big IdeaReachi ng the Ri ch World s Poorest CustomersMuhammad Yunus et al.68 GrowthRed Ocean TrapsW.Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne116 Managing YourselfBri dgi ng Psychologi cal Di stanceRebecca HamiltonMARCH 2015MAKING STRATEGY WORKMarch 2015Contents58CULTUREWhy Strategy Execution Unravelsand What to Do About It Managers typically blame a lack of alignment,but the real problems lie elsewhere.Companies need to focus on two other areas:coordinating activities across units,and reallocating resources when market conditions change.Donald Sull,Rebecca Homkes,and Charles Sull68STRATEGYRed Ocean TrapsThe faulty assumptions that hinder a companys ability to create new markets W.Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne74 PROFESSIONAL SERVICESWhen Senior Managers Wont Collaborate For professional services firms,projects that span specialties are the most lucrative,but structural and cultural barriers get in the way of cross-disciplinary collaboration.Heres how individuals and their firms can lower those barriers.Heidi K.Gardner SPOTLIGHT ON WHERE STRATEGY STUMBLESABOVE Yayoi Kusama Love Is Calling (detail),2013 YAYOI KUSAMA.COURTESY OF DAVID ZWIRNER,VICTORIA MIRO GALLERY,OTA FINE ARTS,KUSAMA ENTERPRISEMarch 2015Harvard Business Review5Features March 201546THE BIG IDEAReaching the Rich Worlds Poorest Consumers“Social business”models seek to serve the vast numbers of people at risk of poverty in the developed world.Here are five companies that are paving the way in France.Muhammad Yunus et al.84MANAGING ORGANIZATIONSLeadership Summits That WorkContrary to what leaders and planners assume,you can have genuine and productive conversations with hundreds of people at once.Bob Frisch and Cary Greene96GOVERNANCECorporate Governance 2.0 Three core principles define a proposal for solving hot-button boardroom issues and achieving best practices in corporate governance.Guhan Subramanian106SALESMaking the Consensus SaleMore often than not,purchasing decisions rest in the hands of five or more individuals.Getting them to agree is a sales reps tallest order.Karl Schmidt,Brent Adamson,and Anna BirdFREDRIK BRODENHBR.ORG6 Harvard Business ReviewMarch 2015learn more at ?Mother Nature can be a tough customer.Thats why emergency responders around the world need to be agile and coordinated?multiple organizations can collaborate and coordinate in real time to outmaneuver emergencies no matter what device they are on.?Departments March 2015IN EVERY ISSUE 12 From the Editor 20 Interaction 36 Vision Statement 38 Strategic Humor 128 Executive SummariesEXPERIENCE116MANAGING YOURSELFBridging Psychological Distance Success in business may depend on narrowing(or sometimes increasing)your distance from tasks or other people.Rebecca Hamilton121CASE STUDY Can One Business Unit Have Two Revenue Models?Prior to their merger,two units pursued inventive strategies to make sales.That may have to change.Marco Bertini and Nader Tavassoli126SYNTHESISTechnology Doesnt Always Beat Labor Fresh takes on a perennial concern Walter Frick132LIFES WORKGoldie Hawn The“ditzy”Laugh-In veteran wants to teach children resilience.IDEA WATCH28CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGYThe Science of Sensory MarketingNew research suggests powerful ways for companies to connect with customers senses.PLUS The surprisingly slow pace of globalization,why a dutiful spouse is good for your career,and more34DEFEND YOUR RESEARCHPutting Yourself in the Customers Shoes Doesnt WorkEmpathy can sometimes backfire.41HOW WE DID ITFour basic rules guide the companys decisions about what services to offer and where.Michel Landel132EMILY SHUR/CORBIS OUTLINE“The fear of womens movies is embedded in the culture.”Can your spouse help you get promoted?page 32HBR.ORG10 Harvard Business ReviewMarch 2015Strategys MinefieldWant to know why we publish so much on strategy?Because its hard!Just ask anyone who has tried to lead a strategic transformation.A lot can go wrong.Our Spotlight in this issue“Where Strategy Stumbles”addresses this challenge.We look at some of the most common obstacles to successful implementation and offer insights on how to overcome them.In the lead piece,Donald Sull,Rebecca Homkes,and Charles Sull set out to debunk several pernicious myths about strategy execution,such as the idea that the best results require“sticking to the plan.”They aim to present a more accurate perspective,drawing on a survey of 7,600 managers in more than 250 companies along with dozens of experiments at organizations undergoing change.In an accompanying article,the authors of the best-selling book Blue Ocean Strategy,Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne,look at why so many companies fail to crack the code for identifying and capturing new markets.Theyve uncovered a number of ingrained assumptions and ideaswhat they call“red ocean traps”that anchor managers thinking and prevent the adoption of promising market-creating strategies.Dont miss this months Big Idea,on page 46,about how businesses can tap into the bottom of the pyramidnot in developi