Balanced Scorecard Revisited – How to Use BSC in Strategic Management

One of the most popular tools for strategy implementation is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). More than two decades after it was presented to the public by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992, the BSC has turned out to be one of the most popular management tools, which is not only used by … Read more

How to Use Key Performance Indicators for Strategy Implementation

Key performance indicators (KPIs) have become commonplace in large and medium-sized companies worldwide. However, despite the widespread use of KPIs, many companies still have not managed to get a high benefit from KPIs. Frequently, KPIs are just seen as a tool for measuring performance on an operational level. This approach misses the benefits KPIs can … Read more

The Strategic Importance of Corporate Core Values

Despite their widespread use, corporate core values are probably one of the most underrated factors for competitive advantage. Rise of Corporate Values After the Dot-com Bubble All major companies nowadays have defined corporate values for themselves. See for example the results of a study conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton and the Aspen Institute already in … Read more

Five Strategic Lessons from the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

The resignation of Martin Winterkorn as chief executive of Volkswagen on 23 September has so far been the climax of the emissions cheating scandal. On 22 September, Volkswagen admitted to using software to change emissions test results for 11 million of its diesel engine cars sold between 2009 and 2015. The cheating and the emissions … Read more

The Five Major Strategic Challenges for HR

Human resource management plays a key role for the sustained success of a company. While this has always been true, the relative importance of HR in today’s business environment of fast change and high complexity and uncertainty has even further increased. At the same time, the challenges for HR have changed, as two recent studies … Read more

Why Artificial Intelligence is Relevant for Your Business Strategy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time. The term was coined in 1955 by John McCarthy. The concept goes back to the early days of computing when British computer pioneer Alan Turing hypothesized about intelligent machines in his seminal paper on “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” (1950). Progress of AI has been slower … Read more

The Five Key Traits of Strategic Leaders

The prevalent pressure for good quarterly results has led to the dominance of executives with a short- to mid-term focus. This applies particularly to large corporations. Truly strategic leaders have become rare these days. However, in the current times of uncertainty and rapid change, strategic leaders are needed more than ever. What are the distinguishing … Read more

Business lessons from the World Chess Championship Match Carlsen – Anand | Part 4: Paying attention to details

Chess offers useful insights for business. On occasion of the current World Chess Championship 2014, I will highlight in a series of articles different business lessons to be learned from the game of kings. In part four, I explain why paying attention to details pays off in chess and business. Top chess players can focus … Read more

Business lessons from the World Chess Championship Match Carlsen – Anand | Part 3: Prepare for success

Chess offers useful insights for business. On occasion of the current World Chess Championship 2014, I will highlight in a series of articles different business lessons to be learned from the game of kings. In part three, I explore the role of preparation for success. Already three centuries ago, a famous American chess player knew … Read more

Business lessons from the World Chess Championship Match Carlsen – Anand | Part 2: Seizing the initiative

Chess offers useful insights for business. On occasion of the current World Chess Championship 2014, I will highlight in a series of articles different business lessons to be learned from the game of kings. In part two, I explore the topic of seizing the initiative. The second game of the World Chess Championship Match between … Read more