Columns

Strategy Matters: How To Develop Criteria For Achieving Business Goals

December 11, 2008 | When the economic picture shifts, so does the criteria for success. How do you know you're winning? How do you change goals when the competitive ground is different, yet still keep the team aligned? Criteria development is crucial to the establishment of new or revised strategy.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: How To Gather Facts For Tough Decisions

November 13, 2008 | In bad times, it's tempting to slash costs and cut head count. But acting blindly on those impulses can damage your company more than any economic downturn. Business owners should use their company strategy as the foundation for tough decisions, and making good choices means gathering hard data.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: 8 Strategy Secrets For Midlevel Managers

October 7, 2008 | Midlevel managers often get a bum rap. Yet, they're often the secret sauce that keeps on organization's strategy on track. For the C-suite, they're a valuable sanity check on strategy, and for front-line employees they're the keepers of the company culture and capabilities. When great, they're also quick thinkers who solve problems and make things happen.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: 6 Ways To Be A Better Leader

September 25, 2008 | All of us may be leaders of ideas, but many of us also are leaders of people. It's important that we prepare ourselves for both roles and understand our power and responsibilities. Unfortunately, few of us have been trained about the choices and decisions we must make as leaders.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: 5 Structural Elements Of Strategy

September 11, 2008 | Strategies fail over and over again for the same reason: businesses ignore the 5 key structural elements of strategy. Miss one and your strategy is doomed to fail.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Understanding Generation X

August 26, 2008 | With Generation X firmly entrenched in the modern workplace, it's important to understand how this generation ticks -- whether you're a Gen Xer yourself, a baby boomer, or a Gen Y millennial -- so you can execute your strategy more effectively and grow your business.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Understanding Generation Y

August 26, 2008 | With Generation Y taking more and more responsibility in the workplace, it's important to understand what makes this generation different -- whether you're a Gen Y millennial yourself, a Gen Xer, or a baby boomer -- so you can relate to them as colleagues and customers and keep your business growing.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: 6 Ways to Strategize Like Enterprises

July 15, 2008 | Effectively implementing and executing business strategy can be the difference between success and failure. By strategizing like enterprises, smaller businesses can meet their objectives and level the playing field.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: 5 Reasons Why Strategy Fails

July 2, 2008 | Following best practices can help drive a successful business strategy, but understanding what the "worst" practices are is just as important. Here are five reasons strategy fails in small businesses, in midsize businesses, and in large enterprises
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: 9 Ways to Develop Team Motivation

June 19, 2008 | When the ancient Greeks invaded, they burned their ships so there was no choice but to move forward. By "burning the boat" on your next initiative, you can motivate your employees to contribute to the objective and help your business succeed.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Smaller Businesses Move Quickly to Strategic Alignment

June 5, 2008 | Even seasoned business leaders struggle to put strategy into action, focusing on the "what" at the expense of the "how." Because smaller businesses have more visibility into the interdependencies, conflicts, resources, and deliverables that often hobble larger organizations, they can move more nimbly to put strategy into action.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Eight Great PowerPoint Myths

May 15, 2008 | PowerPoint presentations that flood the audience with glittering graphics, brazen bulleted lists, and endless animations may look great, but they often drown out the message. Just because you can use every PowerPoint feature doesn't mean you should
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Killer E-Mail Marketing -- Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse

May 1, 2008 | Knowing your audience is critical to successful e-mail marketing. Smaller businesses that take the time to know who they're communicating with do better than those that quickly push out messages just because they can
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Positive Branding and the Customer Experience in Purchasing

March 27, 2008 | What is it like to buy your product? If a smaller business manages the purchasing experience well, the reward is not only a loyal customer who buys again and is your advocate but also a polishing of your brand. Here's how
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Get Connected With Social Media

March 13, 2008 | People are more connected than ever and the latest technologies are fueling the social media craze. As a smaller business, you need to get connected with your customers -- before your competition does
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: How to Get Your Business to Listen to, and Execute, Your Plan

February 27, 2008 | Figuring out what is wrong in your smaller business is hard. Getting others to help you fix it is even harder. Here are 10 ways to get everyone on board
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: From Porter's Five Forces to the Permeable Corporation -- A New Business Model

February 13, 2008 | Web 2.0 efficiencies disrupt old business models by reducing manufacturing and investment costs and decentralizing information. It's time for the permeable corporation, where success depends upon cooperation and interaction.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Killing Bad Ideas -- The Need for "Murder Boarding"

January 29, 2008 | Too many ideas can slow your organization's progress. This 5-step process can help your smaller business recognize what matters -- and what doesn't
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: 7 Steps to the Right Kind of Market Research

January 16, 2008 | Tapping into your customer base to learn what they need is critical to competitiveness. These 7 steps will help you get there.
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: An Online Guide To Market Research

January 16, 2008 | From survey sites to research Web sites to list management companies, here are all the links you'll need to do the right kind of market research
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting

Strategy Matters: Harnessing Crowdsourcing

December 19, 2007 | Crowdsourcing is a powerful new Web 2.0 business model any company can take advantage of -- not just software companies
By Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting