strategy | Fast Company

In tribute to Mr. Rams

BY Mark DzierskSun Feb 12, 2012

THe Design world owes a debt of deep regard to Dieter Rams for his vision, influence and principles about what "good design" really is.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

5 Early Birds Share Everyday Productivity Strategies

BY Lydia DishmanSun Feb 5, 2012

We can't all be morning people, but we can crib from the caffeine-stained playbooks of successful early risers. Here's how.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

Conflict In The Workplace: Can't We Just Put Everyone Into Time Out?

BY Roberta MatusonTue Jan 24, 2012

Dealing with dueling employees is never easy. While it be great if we could just put everyone in their separate corners to cool off, there are more direct and effective steps to take. READ»

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S#*! Our Business Leaders Say: "We're in Business to Make Money"

BY Sam FordWed Jan 18, 2012

"We're in business to make money" and "we engage in marketing to market ourselves" are the kind of statements that send companies spinning into obscurity. And it is to serious business strategy conversations what "because I'm your dad" is to parent/child relations: a shortcut from someone who has no reasoned or considered approach.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

Training Yourself To See New Strategic Options

BY Kaihan KrippendorffWed Jan 18, 2012

Your ability to see new strategic options is a function of the number and variety of stories you recognize. We face a challenge and we don’t ask, “What does Porter’s Five Forces tell me to think about?” or “What does Clayton Christensen’s Disruptive Innovation model tell me to do?” Instead, we ask ourselves, “What does this remind me of?” Here's how to get out of that rut. READ»

STRATEGY | Comment

Framing Your Competition is Easy

BY Andrew CollinsMon Dec 26, 2011

How does a brand speak of the competition in public? Its not such an obscure question with today’s online trends, ease of chatter and likelihood of debates that you should consider a framework for how to do this most effectively. Anything worth doing will encounter competition – if not its unlikely to be worthwhile enough.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

4 Steps To Flustering Your Competition

BY Kaihan KrippendorffTue Dec 13, 2011

As Sun Tzu wrote, you should set multiple traps so that if your adversary doesn’t step into one, they back up into another. If you want to fluster your competition, you need to launch a flurry of disruptive strategies at them. Here are four steps to follow.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

As Job Dissatisfaction Heats Up, Don't Let Your Company Lose The Game Of Musical Chairs

BY Roberta MatusonFri Dec 2, 2011

Recent surveys show that the majority of workers will look for new jobs in 2012, yet employers continue to operate as if everything is fine. There's still time to prevent your talent from walking out the door; here are the first three steps to retaining your best assets.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

3 Ways To Respect The "Co" In Consumer

BY Clyde McKendrickThu Dec 1, 2011

As purchasing decisions continue to be increasingly driven based on the contribution the brand plays in society and culture, we are witnessing the birth of a new complex, dynamic, conscious type of buyer. Here's how your brand can adapt.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

How To Prepare When You Only Get One Shot At Persuasion

BY Kaihan KrippendorffTue Nov 29, 2011

Much of what is written about persuasion addresses the challenge of building influence over time. But when you have only one shot, you need to prepare differently.READ»

CORPORATE STRATEGY | Comment

To Move Your Business To A Higher Plane, Learn To Play 3-D Chess

BY Kaihan KrippendorffTue Nov 22, 2011

Great innovators think on multiple planes--think of the process as 3-D chess, the game Spock played to exercise his mind. 3-D chess requires you to not only protect against attack from pieces on your plane, but also from pieces above and below. A similar process of "strategic imagination" is the first step for anyone who wants to bring about significant change. READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

3 Proven Strategies To Keep The Internet From Killing Your Productivity

BY Aaron ShapiroFri Nov 18, 2011

You're probably reading this article during your workday as a distraction from whatever it is you’re supposed to be focusing on, which is likely sitting open and untouched in another window. Imagine how much you’d get done and how many fewer hours you'd have to work if the Internet weren't eating up all your time--follow these easy steps and you can make it happen. READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

8 Strategies To Fight Ordinary

BY Kaihan KrippendorffMon Nov 14, 2011

It used to take generations for your core business to devolve from the high-margin cutting edge to a low-price commodity. Now it can take just a few years. How can you fight commoditization and remain or become extraordinary and profitable in a fast-moving world? READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

5 No-Fail Ways To Elevate A Brand's Cultural Capital

BY Clyde McKendrickFri Nov 11, 2011

Less reliant on TV advertising than ever, brands need to find ways to spend less and create ideas that generate high cultural capital and viral buzz that will net high rates of media impressions. While this sounds like wishful thinking, in truth there are five core fundamentals to guaranteeing success.READ»

BARNES & NOBLE | Comment

What Every Company Should Take From Barnes & Noble: A Page From Their Corporate Playbook

BY Aaron ShapiroWed Nov 9, 2011

With the launch of the Nook Tablet and the announcement that it expects to generate $1.8 billion from the Nook line this year, Barnes & Noble did something that anyone who cares about technology and business should find inspiring: It became a technology company. Here’s what it did to transcend its would-be analog and fruitless future. READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

How The Founder Of GoDaddy Brought It Back From The Brink

BY Kaihan KrippendorffWed Nov 2, 2011

The samurai used to say goodbye to their families before battle. Having accepted death, they fought with focus, not distracted by thoughts of going home. Great innovators often undergo a similar ritual before their final battle--which is what GoDaddy's founder learned from his company's near-death experience. READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

Owning The Onramp: What Netflix Gave Up When It Ditched The DVD

BY Kaihan KrippendorffWed Oct 26, 2011

The onramp is the point at which customers enter the game, the position of power. If you can own the onramp, you can extract the value. But by moving to a model that others can copy relatively easily, the company invited competitors to start diverting its traffic. READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

Survive Or Thrive--The Choice Is Yours

BY Kaihan KrippendorffThu Oct 20, 2011

Despite the recent stock-market rally and the continued long-term bullishness I am seeing in most corporations, a huge portion of companies are worried about how they will survive. Here are four critical steps you can take to trigger a transformation, to move from just surviving to thriving.READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

What Amazon's Fire Reveals About Its Innovative Strategy

BY Kaihan KrippendorffWed Oct 5, 2011

If you look at Amazon's business model as a service instead of disconnected parts composed of books and devices and shipping, you start to see the strategic vision. The longer it takes competitors to "get" this picture, the longer Amazon will have their competitors guessing. What is the unique frame you are taking on your business?READ»

LEADERSHIP | Comment

Why Your People Don’t Trust You, And How To Fix It

BY Kaihan KrippendorffWed Sep 28, 2011

The pace of organizational change is accelerating and old methods of building team cohesiveness haven't caught up. No matter your length of tenure or your level of expertise, though, there is one key way in which you can win the trust and support of your employees. READ»