Many companies capture and regularly apply detailed market and operating data in ways to improve their strategies and decisions. But if many companies can do this, any insight your company may gain can eventually be adopted by competitors. Where is the gain? How can you use business analytics to create sustainable competitive advantage? Preliminary research shows that there are five factors that will help you turn your company’s business analytics into powerful advantages that last. February 2008

By Prof. Tom Davenport;

One of the most difficult challenges in business is to innovate from within a large organization, where each department and division competes for resources and attention. These internal forces exert a powerful drag, yet some companies seem able to overcome this and successfully produce and employ new ideas. In this his fourth article in the series, Professor Neal Thornberry shows us how an entrepreneurial manager worked to overcome many obstacles inside giant IBM and successfully built a new business line. December 2007

By Prof. Neal Thornberry;

Summer 2007 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the introduction of the Apple II, the first true personal computer. Driven by a belief that everyone should be able to use a computer, its inventor, Steve Wozniak, pioneered an ingenious combination of low-cost design solutions to create a machine that set the standard for all following PC’s and began a business and societal revolution that is still going on today. What did he learn along the way about how to innovate and create great products, how to spot and work with the most inventive engineers and what are his views about the future of computing? Read our interview with this passionate innovator for answers to these questions and much more. October 2007

Professors Allan Cohen, Jay Rao and BI Staff;

Through the work of his Menlo Park Lab Edison proved that research to discover innovative new products could be profitable. Prior to his discoveries leading to recorded sound, lighting systems and electrical generation, companies conducted research only to support existing products. His many successes led others to pursue innovation as a driver of their business strategy and this trend has magnified throughout this century, leading to a continuous flow of new inventions. To start this revolution Edison had to first create the whole business of innovation and all its processes.

James Watkinson & Insight Staff;

We’ve all used data to make business decisions, but a new approach to analytics is dramatically changing company strategies and the science of decision-making. In his new book Prof. Davenport looks at how companies like Netflix, Capital One, Harrah’s Entertainment and even the Boston Red Sox are changing the game through the use of very focused, data-driven insights that create competitive advantage through better decisions and execution. September 2007

Prof. Tom Davenport & Jeanne Harris;

America's greatest inventor spawned many businesses. In fact, his work led to the creation of entire industries. Edison was a prodigious worker, challenger of the status quo and identifier of opportunities. What can today's leaders learn from Edison and how does he rate against our modern criteria for leaders?

James Watkinson & Insight Staff;

Recent surveys have shown that few executives are satisfied with the results of their company’s innovation efforts, but in looking closer at this problem Prof. Tom Davenport finds that many companies have a very narrow view toward innovation that fails to identify and manage it as a portfolio in terms of how they source, fund, monitor, and assign responsibility. What are the possible types of innovation that organizations can and should pursue? Read more. April 2006

Prof. Tom Davenport;

Professor, author and acclaimed entrepreneurial guru Jeffry Timmons has been working on entrepreneurship and teaching venture capitalism at Tsinghau University, one of China’s most influential universities. We spoke to him about his experience there to understand some important points, such as what entrepreneurial issues are important for China to learn and how teaching entrepreneurship is different in China. March 2007

Dr. Jeffry Timmons & Babson Staff;

In the last of his recent interview series Southwest Airlines Executive Chairman Herb Kelleher speaks with the Insight about the challenges faced by the airline in its early entrepreneurial years as they worked to create a new market segment in air travel, how they managed the strategy, people and growth as the company transitioned to become a large organization, and his thoughts about the future of his famous company. In closing, we present our own view of Southwest Airlines people, culture and strategy drawn from a field visit with one of their airport operations. July 2005

By Professor Allan Cohen, James Watkinson and Jenny Boone;

Often we think of entrepreneurial leaders as the people who start companies or who run them, but in his recent book: Lead like an Entrepreneur Prof. Neal Thornberry says that many of these people do not work at the top of the company, but instead manage a unit, division, or branch of the business. Here they continuously stir the pot, challenging and pushing their people to think and act entrepreneurially and creating a culture for successful innovation. Professor Thornberry calls these people entrepreneurial “accelerators” and this month we review a real-world example from Siemens Medical.

Prof. Neal Thornberry and Insight Staff;

GE CEO Jeff Immelt has concluded that the future of global business will present a slow-growth environment and if you’ve been reading the papers or watching TV you can’t have missed the fact that GE has responded by betting big on growth through innovation. To spur this, the company, which is famous for its disciplined and focused management, has recently begun to apply this same top-down approach to foster innovation across all of its business lines. Can top-down innovation work? Will it crowd out bottom-up innovators in the organization? Is there room for both? GE is betting a lot of money on this. August 2005

Prof. Eric Mankin;

For years many have tried to break the Microsoft lock on the software market, including the US Government. Even larger forces may be at work now in the form of hundreds of millions of business and individual users in China and India who's need for more affordable solutions may sweep away the windows monopoly. Read here about the signs and meanings of these huge potential changes in the IT field.

Prof. Martin Anderson;

If product and technology innovation starts with someone that disagrees with the acceptability of current solutions, then we can’t be surprised that Dean Kamen thrives on it. He and his team at DEKA Research have used a contentious, non-corporate approach to innovation that has produced a stellar record of results, including creation of the first wearable medical infusion pump, the portable dialysis machine and the Segway Human Transport. Read on and learn more about this inventive rebel and the way he leads innovation. August 2006

Prof. Allan Cohen, Prof. Jay Rao and BI Staff;

If you asked the question: Which leadership qualities get the most respect in your organization, where would innovation rank? Despite all the media attention and boardroom pronouncements, the field-level opinions will surprise you. Even more surprising to many is the degree of recognition that innovation gets in places not known for innovative thinking. It sounds like its time for many businesses to turn their talk into real action. July 2006

By Prof. Eric Mankin;

The emergence of constant access to information and product markets for consumers and suppliers has transformed marketplace dynamics to the point where companies now have just two strategic choices: be a distributor of value, or a restrictor of value. This month Professor Anderson defines the characteristics of each, the market forces driving this change and a look at what related emergent network business models are developing along with rules for each business strategy.

Martin Anderson;

Some people are surprised to learn that many entrepreneurs work successfully in larger, established companies. Among them is a particular type of leader we call explorers, who take an active role in the market paying attention to the latest trends, competitor moves, and customer opportunities. Their efforts often produce industry or market changing new business ventures. In this article Prof. Thornberry reviews the nature of entrepreneurial explorers through the story of John Kilcullen’s success in creating the Dummies book series. June 2006

Prof. Neal Thornberry and Insight staff;

For as long as there have been large companies there have been smaller ones that have succeeded in knocking off their larger foes using innovative ideas. Can large companies create a systematic and sustainable approach to innovation? After studying companies like GE, Texas Instrument and IBM, Dean Mark Rice answers: “Yes, through commitment, clarity of focus, a dedicated organizational structure, portfolio management methods, and building a base of innovative talent”

Mark P. Rice;

As companies increasingly realize that business processes do not end at their walls, and extend far into other partner enterprises and markets we are forced to view our business models primarily as a series of connections. Understanding the connections that make up your business will be a key to creating value and building competitive advantage. This month we look at the steps required to help you uncover and understand the key connections that drive your business.

Martin Anderson;

New ideas are the lifeblood of competitive advantage, but how do successful people find new ideas and move them to fruition. Where do they search? Once found, how do they package an idea for acceptance? And lastly, how do they advocate and turn the idea into action?

Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak;

Martin Anderson;

Thomas Alva Edison and his staff of experimenters created the process of modern innovation and launched the world on the road of continual discovery that has taken us from light bulbs to the moon and from analog relays to microcircuits. The product innovations created by the Wizard as he was called in his day, produced entire industries, but contrary to the commonly held image of him as the inspired inventor, working alone to turn out new products across an amazing range of uses, a closer look reveals a very different Edison. In this article we explore the methods Edison used to produce the practical innovations that changed the world around us.

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Do you have an idea for a new product, or a way to enhance your customer’s experiences, or a method for improving operating efficiencies? Are you using the best approach to succeed as a leader of innovative ideas? As Prof. Neal Thornberry reveals in his new book, Lead Like An Entrepreneur, the answer depends on where you choose to look for new ideas, the type of opportunities you’re seeking and the role you take in moving these ideas forward. Together, these factors combine to form 4 distinct leadership types, each of which fit different company environments and goals. In this article, our first in a series drawn from the book, we begin to summarize aspects of the entrepreneurial mindset and describe the four types of innovation leaders and their methods. March 2006

Prof. Neal Thornberry and Insight staff;

Herb Kelleher, Co-founder and Chairman of Southwest Airlines shares his views on the skills, characteristics and personal tools needed to successfully build new enterprises and develop new business ideas even in larger companies. Feb. 2003.

James Watkinson & Insight Staff;

Change, change, change. Management is constantly seeking change, yet most companies fail to convert these efforts into real value-creating results. This month Prof. Phil Dover reviews the change agent program at a well-known company to identify useful learning points.

Prof. Phil Dover;

As an enterprise grows it is easy for its strategy, market message and implementation to get so diffused that it can loose its way across the competitive landscape. This month Prof. Dhebar discusses a trip on Singapore airlines as an example of how entrepreneurial firms can avoid the drift into entropy.

Professor Anirudh Dhebar;

What does it take to overcome the problems faced in fast growth? Hear the insights of senior managers who have doubled and tripled the size of their companies while maintaining the ability to keep employees focused on the keys to success.

Prof. Keith Rollag;

How do you foster entrepreneurship in your mainstream business? Prof. Cohen speaks this month about the fact that leaders are not just those at the top; they can and must be in all kinds of jobs throughout the organization.

Prof. Allan Cohen;

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Launch a new product? Enter a new market? Invest in a cost reduction program? Do nothing? No matter what you do there is risk. In part two of Professor Allens' article we look at the 5 stages in venture management and several approaches for dealing with risk management.

Stephen A. Allen;

The information revolution has blurred the line between supply and demand chains. Because of this marketing is no longer about activity-based tools kept in a backroom and operations are no longer protected from customers by silo walls. This has created turmoil for the unprepared, but new tools are available to help combine marketing and operating perspectives, while at the same time understanding how customer and business activity either create or destroy value. These new tools are an effective way to assess and create a company's brand and positioning in the marketplace.

Martin Anderson;

Launch a new product? Enter a new market? Invest in a cost reduction program? Do nothing? No matter what you do there is risk. This month Professor Allen begins a multi-part series examining the nature of risk and making decisions under risk.

Stephen A. Allen;

In tough economic times its always easy for a company to hunker down and avoid all risks such as new innovative ideas. Do new ideas in business really matter? Is there an identifiable link between new ideas and company performance? If ideas really do matter, is the current economic draught the result of or lengthened by a lack of the next wave of innovative ideas? Regardless of your opinion new ideas are always popping up in your business and you'll want to be prepared to insure that only the best move forward.

Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak;

Prof. Kassarjian has received many questions asking for amplifications on important issues faced by leaders who are engaged in creating change within their organizations. Here you will find important questions from readers and answers from the Professor that may be helpful for many readers.

J. B. Kassarjian;

Our corporate customers are telling us that there are new skills that must be developed to help managers generate competitive advantage. Among these we are hearing a need for improvements in the way managers capture and use Market Knowledge. As a result of this feedback we are planning a new program on this subject.

Prof. Phil Dover;

If you're in a family business you know that few ingrediants can be more volatile than mixing blood and business. How can these conflicts be minimized? Prinicipals can take either of two approaches to cope with sibling rivalries: an arbitrary approach or a managed approach. Examining each of these approaches will offer us insights and suggestions into moving most effectively through the minefield of sibling rivalries.

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D. and Richard L. Narva, Esq.;

Entrepreneurs have always had to succeed by getting more result with fewer resources. Many companies have spent the last few years focused solely on cutting costs, but the environment is now changing and companies will need to shift toward seeking new growth opportunities. Because of it's lean approach to success a dose of entrepreneurship in your business may be just what the doctor ordered for renewed growth in today's business climate. How can you do this at your company? Can your people learn to be entrepreneurial.? What barriers will you face in trying to infuse entrepreneurship into your company?

Prof. Neal Thornberry;

Did the stock market wrongly skew business strategy in the 90's? Where do we go now that the strategy of managing to maximize short-term stock price has failed? Professor Marty Anderson gives us a different angle showing that a real social-industrial revolution is going on, a revolution that requires leaders to use strategies that are guided by cash flow creation.

Martin Anderson;

Finding good ideas is only the beginning of the process. This month Babson's professors answer questions on how do you manage entrepreneurial activities, and once you have an idea how do you move them forward?

A multi-media article with multiple authors;