Winning Moves Blog

In my previous blog post, I stressed that Microsoft must build on its strengths to succeed. Now, Microsoft bought Nokia’s phone business and this warrants a look at some of the strengths that Microsoft might build on. Microsoft has strengths in its Windows and Office product lines, and Microsoft’s position in Continue reading “Windows, Office and Corporate Markets: Are They the Building Blocks for Success at Microsoft?” »

The departure of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has fueled much discussion about what Microsoft must do to compete successfully when changing technology may threaten its strongest products.

It is often said that bigger bets and greater risks are needed when giant corporations show signs of Continue reading “As Technology Changes, Microsoft Doesn’t Need Bigger Bets; It Needs to Strengthen Strategy” »

An article in the Wall Street Journal Magazine (Soapbox The Columnist feature, July/August 2013) offered advice from six individuals whose work entails considerable risk. These six individuals participate(d) in risky activities such reporting on wars, investigating infectious disease in the jungle, climbing Mount Everest, and winning an Olympic skiing medal. Only one of the six was in business, successfully founding restaurants, an endeavor for which the risk of failure is high. According to my research, many of the same principles Continue reading “Taking Successful Strategic Business Risks Parallels Lessons from Risky Work” »

I’ve said in my previous writing that brainstorming does not drive successful innovation. This is the case because success does not come from generating the wildest ideas. According to my 25+ years researching business success and failure patterns, innovation success results from selectively pursuing the right ideas, generally ideas that evolve from your existing strengths. A new book related to this, Continue reading “Think Inside the Box Beats Brainstorming’s Wild Ideas” »

Bloomberg Businessweek recently (April 15-21, 2013) featured several brief how-to articles on a variety of subjects. One of them, was “How to Reinvent a Brand” as told to Susan Berfield by Lew Frankfort, CEO of Coach, a company that went from a $550 million business to $5 billion in about a decade.

Short but valuable, the article includes what my 25+ years of research into business success and failure patterns finds is one of the most–if not the most–important Continue reading “Avoid the Fatal Error: a Key How-To Rule for Reinventing Your Brand” »