CSO Insights

Market Entry Through New Business Model Design

Entering a new market with new products that target new customers requires a new business model. It is a powerful strategic initiative that changes the rules of competition. It also represents a […]

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How Can You Get More Value Out of Cost?

Companies are squeezed for profits all the time. Pressure comes from multiple fronts: customers have more information making pricing more transparent; product proliferation is increasing cost to serve; globalization is creating a […]

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Strategic Controls: Implementation control to stay on track

The performance of the business depends on its ability to execute its strategy in light of various changes on the ground. Implementation control is one of several strategic controls at the disposal […]

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Defensive Business Strategy: When failure is not an option

In today’s markets, protecting your business is just as essential as growing it. Competitive attacks are frequent and come from diverse sources, including direct and indirect competitors, global players, niche players, and […]

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When Strategic Alliances Make Sense

A strategic alliance is an important lever of corporate value creation. It leverages the capabilities of a partner company to take advantage of an attractive business opportunity that the firm would not […]

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Do You Know Why Your Organizational Costs Are Rising?

The costs associated with organizational alignment deal with two functions:  coordination and administration.  Coordination costs include resources dedicated to facilitating information sharing, knowledge transfer, and communication.  These resources may comprise teams, committees, […]

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Innovation Strategy: Five Customer Inputs That Matter

The age-old view that if you build it they’ll come is rarely successful. But neither is the concept of asking customers what they want. If they knew the answer, they would have […]

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Business Strategy: Why strategic control points count

Strategic control points are the critical foundations for the business to safeguard and enhance value. The concept was first introduced in the late 1990’s.(1) Strategic control points (SCPs) provide the infrastructure for […]

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Effective Strategic Planning: Getting Critical Success Factors Right

Critical success factors (CSFs) are the factors or activities necessary for the business to be successful.  Knowing your organization’s CSFs is extremely important because it allows management to devote the resources of […]

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Digitization: Driving Disruptive Innovation

The phenomenon of digitization has expanded its impact broadly and deeply across all industries. Digital value chains, e-businesses, smart products, smart machines, and the “internet of things” have disrupted brick-and-mortar businesses and […]

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