The secret to success for many Silicon Valley tech companies isn’t necessarily that they’re ultra-nimble startups, or that they’re led by tech-savvy geniuses. Andy McAfee says their success often has more to do with a specific type of corporate culture that focuses on finding unconventional solutions to hard business problems. McAfee is a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and he’s the author of The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset That Drives Extraordinary...

In the 1990s and 2000s, video game developer Epic Games had a string of mid-size successes. But the release of Fortnite Battle Royale in 2017 changed the company’s path forever. The game was a blockbuster. By 2019, Fortnite had registered more than 250 million users, with 10 million concurrent users. But Fortnite’s phenomenal success raised a new question for Epic: How could they turn this singular hit into a series of growth opportunities? In this episode, Harvard Business School...

So much has been written about Amazon’s outsized growth. But Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta says it’s the company’s unusual approach to strategy that has captured his scholarly attention. Gupta has spent years studying Amazon’s strategy and its founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos. In this episode, Gupta shares how Amazon upended traditional corporate strategy by diversifying into multiple products serving many end users, instead of having a narrow focus. He argues that some of...

In 1995, the late and legendary Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen introduced his theory of “disruptive innovation” right here in the pages of the Harvard Business Review. The idea inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and businesses, ranging from small start-ups to global corporations. Three decades later, debates have emerged around how the theory should be applied — especially within technology start-ups that have driven so much economic growth since 2000. In this...

In February 2013, U.S. Airways announced that it would merge with American Airlines to create the world’s largest airline. During the acquisition, then-CEO Doug Parker and his board had transformative decisions to make. How should two large corporations merge their operations? Which members of each company’s C-suites should stay? How fast should they move on these changes? Parker knew that these strategic decisions would send important signals to employees, customers, and competitors. In...

Is your growth strategy working consistently? Strategy expert Ken Favaro says creating and sustaining growth isn’t rocket science. However, you do have to understand the difference between “organic” growth and “inorganic” alternatives, which come through a merger or acquisition. Favaro is the chief strategy officer at BERA Brand Management. Formerly he was a senior partner at Booz & Company—now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In this episode, he argues that it’s important to...

For more than a century, the pharmaceutical company Roche has been headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It’s one of more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies that have long been based there. Howard Yu, Lego Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School in Switzerland, discusses how this industrial cluster is a unique example of enduring competitive advantage. He explains how these companies offer a counter-narrative to the pessimistic view that you can’t stay ahead of the...

So, you’ve successfully scaled your start-up and you’re growing into a mature company. What, if anything, should you retain from those early days? Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati says the most successful organizations have one thing in common: a soul. “Soul” goes beyond culture, purpose, or even the founder. It’s about having three things: strategic business intent, a strong connection to customers, and a stellar employee experience. Gulati argues that if you don’t preserve...

We all know Silicon Valley’s mantra: fail fast, fail often. But when is it OK to fail in the real world? Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson says it depends on how and why you fail. She’s an expert on psychological safety and the author of the book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well. In this episode, she explains the difference between good and bad types of failures. One has to do with experimentation, while the other is rooted in inattention or lack of...

Think of CEOs who have made strong rates of return for investors and built durable businesses. What strategies do you associate with their success? Investor and author William Thorndike studied eight CEOs who outperformed the market and their peers. The group included big names, like Warren Buffet and Katharine Graham, but also other leaders who are virtually unknown today. One example is Henry Singleton, an MIT-educated electrical engineer who led Teledyne Technologies from 1960 to 1986. ...

In 2020, Kwame Spearman left his consulting job in New York City to take over an iconic independent bookstore, the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado—his hometown. Spearman saw an opportunity to reinvent the local business to build a community space after the pandemic. But to keep the store successful, he had figure out how to compete with online retailers and big box stores, amid technological change and shifting business models. In this episode, Harvard Business School...

Does your company have a strategy for working with investors? Whether your company is big or small, IBM’s former CEO Sam Palmisano says it’s essential to build relationships with your shareholders before there’s a specific problem to address. In this episode, you’ll learn how to communicate with your investors to meet their needs — without needing to change your strategy. When Palmisano was leading IBM, he offered investors detailed multi-year projections of revenue growth, rather than...

Efficiency is usually something businesses strive for, but is it possible to be too efficient? Roger Martin is professor emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He warns that an obsession with eliminating inefficiencies in U.S. companies has come with social and economic costs. He sees those downsides in everything from staffing to wages and even corporate debt levels. But he argues that it’s not too late for businesses to change their priorities. In this...

When Hubert Joly became CEO of Best Buy in 2012, online retailers like Amazon were exploding in popularity, and Best Buy was facing a sea change. But Joly famously turned around the struggling electronics retailer by changing the organization’s holistic strategy. He prioritized fair pay for workers, opportunities for employees to advance, and working with consumers, the larger community, and even competitors. In this episode, you’ll learn how Joly re-defined Best Buy’s purpose and aligned...

Careem launched as the “Uber of the Middle East” in Dubai in 2012, with a mission to make life and work better for drivers in the region. Despite technical, cultural, and financial challenges, Careem eventually became the Middle East’s first unicorn start-up, valued at more than a billion dollars. It was acquired by Uber in 2019 for $3.1 billion. In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Shikhar Ghosh discusses his case, “Careem: Raising a Unicorn.” He explains how the company...

Have you ever put a lot of time and energy into strategy work, but instead of finding clarity, ended up even more overwhelmed by conflicting priorities? Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee says it doesn’t have to be this way. He argues that all companies should simplify and focus on two value drivers: customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. In this episode, he offers step-by-step guidance for implementing a value-based strategy in your organization, using a...

The Swedish furniture maker IKEA found huge success producing quality furniture at affordable prices. But in 2017, the company was at a crossroads. Its beloved founder had died, and the exponential rise of online shopping posed a new challenge. In this episode, Harvard Business School professors Juan Alcacer and Cynthia Montgomery break down how IKEA developed, selected, and embraced new strategic initiatives, while fortifying its internal culture. They studied how IKEA made big changes for...

Do you know who your “superconsumers” are, and why they’re so important for your strategy decisions? Growth strategy expert Eddie Yoon says they’re your most passionate, most valuable customers—not just because they spend more than average, but because their insights can help you improve your products and services. “You start with superconsumers and ask them to figure out what would need to be true for you to pay double the price of what I sell you now today,” he explains. “If you ask any...

Rohit Gera had turned his family’s boutique real estate development firm into a dynamic housing solutions innovator for urban Indian families. But as he prepared to retire, Gera had to decide who would take over for him. Should he define a strategy for future growth and pick a successor who would enact it? Or should he identify his replacement and allow them to set the company’s new strategy? And should Gera’s replacement come from within his family or not? In this episode, Harvard Business...

In 2023, TikTok became the fourth largest social network by number of users, behind Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Meanwhile, competition in the market for short-form videos intensified. Instagram introduced Reels and YouTube launched Shorts—innovations that imitated TikTok’s approach. In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee discusses imitation as a competitive strategy among the leading social networks. Standard business strategy emphasizes the need to...

As interest rates have risen in recent years, venture capital funding has dried up. How can founders grow their companies in this new environment? In this episode, a founder who grew a $600 million company using just $10,000 of his own money, shares his strategy. Mike Salguero is the CEO and founder of the meat subscription service ButcherBox. He explains how he formulated a growth strategy that had a laser focus on costs and creatively leveraged the marketing power of influencers. This...

In 2023, the auto industry went through huge changes in pursuit of lower carbon emission. Some automakers, like Ford, Mercedes, and General Motors, announced their plans to stop selling vehicles with internal combustion engines. The reaction from investment analysts was overwhelmingly positive, despite the fact that the production of electric vehicles (EVs) actually increases emissions in the supply chain. In contrast, BMW decided to pursue a more flexible decarbonization strategy. Their...

ChatGPT dominated news headlines in 2023. But generative AI isn’t just a hack to boost productivity. Many businesses are exploring its potential to create new products and services, which requires entirely new strategic work. In this episode, HBR’s editor in chief, Adi Ignatius, speaks to Microsoft’s head of strategy Chris Young and Harvard Business School professor Andy Wu, an expert in growth and innovation strategy. They lay out Gen-AI’s emerging value chains and break down the...

Pencil-maker Faber-Castell has been in business since 1761, but it is still innovating and adopting new technology. In this episode, Harvard Business School associate professor Ryan Raffaelli discusses his case, “Faber-Castell.” He explains how the company balances stewardship of its brand with innovation and evolution, and how leaders decide when—and when not to—adopt new technologies. Plus, he breaks down Faber-Castell’s “generational” approach to formulating strategy to sustain their...