HBR On Strategy

An Announcement from HBR On Strategy

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the last two years, HBR On Strategy has been a collection of  the best conversations and case studies with the world’s top business and managem...

The Strategic Advantage of Tapping Freelancers

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The rapid pace of technological change is making a big impact on hiring. Some organizations are dynamically securing freelance workers through platfor...

The Promises, Pitfalls, and Trade-offs of the Circular Economy

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Most businesses are built on a linear model: take, make, and discard. But that norm is reaching its limits, and leaders are under pressure to find sma...

Sustainability Is Fueling Innovation at Ferrari

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Ferrari, the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, committed to achieving carbon neutrality and to electrifying a large part of its car fleet, ...

Stress Test Your Strategy Before It Fails

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While many teams and organizations engage in scenario planning, most don’t go far enough. Arjan Singh, consultant and adjunct professor at S...

Rethink Your Pricing Strategies Amid Economic Uncertainty

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rafi Mohammed, founder of the consulting firm Culture of Profit, says a crisis or recession is not the time to panic and slash prices. He says leader...

AMD’s Lisa Su on Experimenting with AI

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

HBR editor at large Adi Ignatius speaks with Lisa Su, CEO of leading semiconductor company AMD, about the company’s evolution toward high-performanc...

A Lesson on Balancing Scaling with Stability

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In late 2013, Ryan Cohen, cofounder and then-CEO of online pet products retailer Chewy.com, was facing a decision that could determine his company’s...

The Right Way to Launch an AI Initiative

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Unfortunately, you can’t set up your organization’s artificial intelligence projects like just any other IT project. By their nature, AI endeavors...

The 6 Forces of Failure—and How to Protect Your Company from Them

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What can failures like Harley-Davidson Cologne or Cheetos Lip Balm teach us about success? Sean Jacobsohn, partner at Norwest Venture Partners and fou...

How to Turn Your Customer Base into a Community

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

”Community” is a buzzword that gets thrown around a lot in the business world. But what does it really mean to build one—and what does it take t...

Great Strategy Starts with Experimentation

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Stefan Thomke, professor at Harvard Business School, says running experiments can give companies tremendous value, but too often business leaders mak...

Bringing Innovation to an Underserved Market

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Founded in 2014, Thinx, Inc. makes absorbent underwear that can be worn during menstruation. But the feminine care market had seen virtually no innova...

To Make Better Decisions, Think Like a Venture Capitalist

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Venture capital firms notoriously embrace risk and take big swings, hoping that one startup will become a monster hit that pays for many other failed ...

How to Lead a Successful Turnaround

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When a company, division, or product line has been struggling for some time, it can feel nearly impossible to get things back on track. But big turnar...

Alphabet CEO on AI as a Workplace Collaborator

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The use of artificial intelligence—specifically generative AI—is growing rapidly, and tech giants like Google have an important role to play in ho...

How to Push for Change in a Large Organization

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Getting a big, bureaucratic organization to innovate or adopt new technologies is hard. That’s why Harvard Business School professor Maria Roche wro...

The Right Way to Make Data-Driven Decisions

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fueled by the promise of concrete insights, organizations are increasingly prioritizing data in their decision-making processes. But that process can ...

To Grow Profitably, Take It Slow

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many companies, especially in the tech world, have come to embrace the idea of growth at all costs. But according to research from Gary Pisano, prof...

Turn Your Supply Chain into an Innovation Engine

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a company that, in a matter of weeks, can develop, prototype, build, and deliver innovative products. That’s exactly what Haier, one of the ...

Using New Tech to Compete in an Old Industry

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The insurance industry is centuries old and has historically been dominated by a few large incumbents. To buy insurance, customers usually go through ...

The Key to Sustaining an Enduring Competitive Advantage

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a holy grail for many businesses — the search for sustainable competitive advantage. But Chris Zook points out that it’s elusive for most c...

A Restaurant Innovator’s Recipe for Strategic Growth

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For a long time in the restaurant industry, there were two types of dining experiences: fast food or table service. But Ron Shaich, founder and former...

A Middle Manager’s Guide to Executing Strategy

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine this scenario: Your company’s executive team has just announced their new master plan for growing the business. Now it’s your job, as a mi...

Competitive Strategy Lessons from the LIV Golf and PGA Tour Merger

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In June 2022, the first ever LIV Golf event teed off outside of London. Offering players larger prizes and more flexibility, LIV Golf aimed to disrupt...

Strategies for Managing Talent Amid Uncertainty and Competition

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the last half century, relationships between employers and their employees have evolved away from being rooted in long-term loyalty to a new paradi...

How McKinsey Resisted Disruption

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The consulting firm McKinsey has helped its clients navigate disruption in a wide range of industries. But what can we learn from how McKinsey itself ...

What It Takes to Thrive During a Crisis

25 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why did some companies thrive during the Covid-19 pandemic while others struggled? Keith Ferrazzi, founder of the consulting firm Ferrazzi Greenlight,...

How Glossier Maintained Brand Integrity While Scaling

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Glossier launched in 2014 as an e-commerce, direct-to-consumer makeup and skincare brand aimed at millennial women. From the start, Glossier’s found...

How to Build Long-Term Social Value

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to succeed as a business while doing well by your employees? Harvard Business School professor emeritus Mike Beer has studied compan...

Strategies for Competing with a Tech-Driven Insurgent

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Looking at business news over the past decade (including a few HBR articles), you might assume that just about every traditional company has fallen —...

Scaling a Startup in Emerging Markets

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re a fast-growing company in an emerging economy, you need a strategy for competing in your home market in the short term. But you also need ...

Khan Academy: A Case Study in Scaling a Start-Up

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Khan Academy, the online global education nonprofit, launched in 2006 when founder Sal Khan created a few videos to help his cousin with her math home...

How to Navigate a Leadership Transition

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Leadership transitions are challenging for both organizations and the leaders who must directly navigate them. But Michael Watkins says they’re also...

How Globalization Has Changed Strategic Planning

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1992, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. signed NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the global business landscape began transforming. NYU...

Innovation Doesn’t Have to Be Disruptive

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Disruptive innovation has proven to be such a powerful idea that the word “innovation” is often equated with the broader idea of market disruption...

How a Coal Polluter’s New Strategy for Sustainability Transformed Its Business

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Enel, Italy’s state-owned power company founded in 1962, was one of Europe’s largest coal users and polluters. Now it is recognized as a leader in...

Don’t Just Create Value. Capture It.

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Creating value is table stakes for any business. But is your organization also capturing the value you create? IMD professor Stefan Michel says that m...

Lessons in Climate Change Strategy from the U.S. Navy

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change is causing severe weather, dangerously elevated temperatures, and water shortages around the world. Meanwhile, firms are struggling to ...

How to Get Forecasting Right

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Do you know the difference between accurate forecasting and effective forecasting? Technology forecaster Paul Saffo says accurate forecasting is nearl...

How Startups Can Turn Failure into Success

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

AptDeco, a peer-to-peer marketplace for used furniture, launched in New York City in 2014. Despite its complexity and high costs, the company grew qui...

To Set a Great Strategy, Start by Imagining the Future You Want

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some managers develop strategy by focusing on problems in the present, and that’s especially true during a crisis. But Mark Johnson, co-founder of t...

3 Signs It’s Time to Transform Your Core Business

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is your company’s existing growth formula finally reaching its limit? Bain & Company partner Chris Zook says you may need to redefine your core busi...

24 Steps to Launch a Start-Up

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many people aspire to entrepreneurship. But Bill Aulet, who has advised founders for decades, warns that it remains a high-risk endeavor. Aulet is a p...

Brand Strategy Lessons from Super Bowl Ads

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Super Bowl isn’t just American football’s championship game. It’s also one of the world’s biggest stages for brand messaging. In 2024, the...

How to Incorporate Influencers into Your Marketing Strategy

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Online influencers are an increasingly important way for companies to find new customers and drive sales. But if you’re a marketer hoping to target ...

How to Build a Dynamic-Pricing Strategy That Works

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

More and more companies are turning to pricing algorithms to maximize profits. But many are unaware of a big downside. Marco Bertini, a marketing prof...

How Rakuten’s Shift to English Transformed Its Culture

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2010, Japan’s largest e-commerce platform Rakuten was rapidly expanding into global markets when CEO Hiroshi Mikitani made a surprising announcem...

How to Scale a Start-Up

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Managing rapid growth is a huge challenge for young businesses. Even start-ups with glowing reviews and skyrocketing sales can fail. That’s because ...

Innovating Around an Existing Core Product or Service

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What do LEGO, GoPro, and CarMax have in common? Wharton professor David Robertson says they all have a similar strategy for growth that involves build...

When Collaborating with Competitors Makes Sense

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s an idea that’s a non-starter at many organizations: collaborating with a competitor. But Yale School of Management professor Barry Nalebuff s...

How Sodexo’s CEO Manages Global Strategy Across 50 Countries

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the chair and CEO of Sodexo, the France-based food services and facilities management company, Sophie Bellon leads one of the largest employers in ...

Microsoft: A Case Study in Strategy Transformation

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In early 2015, Microsoft’s senior leaders were facing a set of difficult decisions. The firm had been struggling to innovate and grow as fast as its...

Should Your Business Sell on Amazon?

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a dilemma facing more and more brands: Should your business sell on Amazon? It’s the most visited e-commerce platform in the U.S. and the dom...

Why Project-Based Work Fails — and How to Get It Right

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Companies of every size across the world are basing more of their work around projects, but research shows that nearly two-thirds of those efforts fai...

How Booking.com Sustains a Culture of Innovation

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Booking.com was founded by a Dutch university student in 1996. It grew slowly for almost a decade. But by 2011, the company was generating more than a...

How to Future-Proof Your Strategy

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

So much has been written about how to future-proof a strategy. But Peter Scoblic says that too many companies still rely on short-sighted strategies t...

How One Energy CEO Is Leading a Transition Toward Clean Energy

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the CEO of one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S., Lynn Good is leading Duke Energy’s aggressive transition to renewables and ne...

A Better Framework for Solving Tough Problems

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to solving complicated problems, the default for many organizational leaders is to take their time to work through the issues at hand. U...

Ask These Questions Before Choosing a Manufacturing Location

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the world’s largest automotive glass producers, Fuyao Glass, must decide where to fulfill its upcoming contracts. One option is their U.S.-ba...

What’s Behind the Success of Some Tech Start-Ups?

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The secret to success for many Silicon Valley tech companies isn’t necessarily that they’re ultra-nimble start-ups, or that they’re led by tech-...

Fortnite: Turning a Meteoric Rise into Sustained Growth

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1990s and 2000s, video game developer Epic Games had a string of mid-size successes. But the release of Fortnite Battle Royale in 2017 changed ...

Lessons from Amazon’s Early Growth Strategy

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

So much has been written about Amazon’s outsized growth. But Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta says it’s the company’s unusual appro...

Disruptive Innovation in the Era of Big Tech

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and businesses, ranging from small start-ups to global ...

Merging Competitors: U.S. Airways and American Airlines

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In February 2013, U.S. Airways announced that it would merge with American Airlines to create the world’s largest airline. During the acquisition, t...

The Key to Consistent Growth Is Having the Right Incentives

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is your growth strategy working consistently? Strategy expert Ken Favaro says creating and sustaining growth isn’t rocket science. However, you do h...

The Key to Preserving a Long-Term Competitive Advantage

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For more than a century, the pharmaceutical company Roche has been headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It’s one of more than a dozen pharmaceutical...

When Scaling Your Start-Up, Don’t Lose What Makes It Special

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati says the most successful start-ups have one thing in common: a soul. “Soul” goes beyond culture, p...

How to Fail Right

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all know Silicon Valley’s mantra: fail fast, fail often. But when is it OK to fail in the real world? Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmon...

How 8 Successful CEOs Allocated Capital to Build Durable Businesses

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Investor and author William Thorndike studied eight CEOs who outperformed the market and their peers. The group included big names, like Warren Buffet...

How Local Businesses Can Compete with Larger Rivals

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, Kwame Spearman left his consulting job in New York City to take over an iconic independent bookstore, the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver...

How to Build — and Maintain — Relationships with Your Shareholders

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Does your company have a strategy for working with investors? Whether your company is big or small, IBM’s former CEO Sam Palmisano says it’s essen...

Shifting Your Focus from Short-Term Efficiency to Long-Term Resilience

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Efficiency is usually something businesses strive for, but is it possible to be too efficient? Strategy expert Roger Martin warns that an obsession wi...

Best Buy’s Hubert Joly on Redefining Your Company’s Purpose

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Hubert Joly became CEO of Best Buy in 2012, online retailers like Amazon were exploding in popularity, and Best Buy was facing a sea change. But ...

Growth Strategy Lessons from the Middle East’s First Unicorn Start-Up

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Careem launched as the “Uber of the Middle East” in Dubai in 2012, with a mission to make life and work better for drivers in the region. Despite ...

Refocus Your Strategy for Success

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever put a lot of time and energy into strategy work, but instead of finding clarity, ended up even more overwhelmed by conflicting prioritie...

How IKEA Evolved Its Strategy While Keeping Its Culture Constant

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Swedish furniture maker IKEA found huge success producing quality furniture at affordable prices. But in 2017, the company was at a crossroads. It...

The Key to Identifying Your Most Valuable Customers

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Do you know who your “superconsumers” are, and why they’re so important for your strategy decisions? Growth strategy expert Eddie Yoon says they...

Does Your Family Business Have a Succession Plan?

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rohit Gera had turned his family’s boutique real estate development firm into a dynamic housing solutions innovator for urban Indian families. But a...

Competing with TikTok: When to Imitate, When to Differentiate

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2023, TikTok became the fourth largest social network by number of users, behind Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Meanwhile, competition in the ma...

How to Build a Start-Up — Without VC Funding

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As interest rates have risen in recent years, venture capital funding has dried up. How can founders grow their companies in this new environment? In ...

Inside BMW’s Decarbonization Strategy

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2023, the auto industry went through huge changes in pursuit of lower carbon emission. Some automakers announced their plans to stop selling vehicl...

You Need a Generative AI Strategy

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ChatGPT dominated news headlines in 2023. But generative AI isn’t just a hack to boost productivity. Many businesses are exploring its potential to ...

Lessons in Innovation from a Legacy Firm

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Pencil-maker Faber-Castell has been in business since 1761, but it is still innovating and adopting new technology. In this episode, Harvard Business ...

The Right — and Wrong — Ways to Cut Costs

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When companies cut costs, they tend to trim spending across the board. But Cesare Mainardi, former CEO of global management consultancy Booz & Company...

The Risks of Rebranding

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are you considering a refresh of your brand? Roger Martin, one of the world’s leading thinkers on strategy, says you should probably rethink that. I...

Corporate Governance Can Be a Growth Strategy

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jorge Quintanilla Nielsen started the private asset management firm Capital SAFI in 2007 — and planned to expand from Bolivia across South America. ...

Why Every Leader Needs “Aesthetic Intelligence”

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In addition to traditional and emotional intelligence, Pauline Brown argues that great leaders also need to develop what she calls aesthetic intellige...

The Strategy Mistake Too Many Startups Make

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Many founders try to emulate startups that have already become successful. But Thales Teixeira says that approach, which often involves trying to do t...

How Indra Nooyi Brought Design Thinking to PepsiCo

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As the former CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi played an important role in shaping the company’s global strategy. Perhaps most notably, she introduced de...

How to Expand Beyond a Direct-to-Consumer Strategy

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Direct-to-consumer businesses play an outsize role in disrupting industries. But after that initial disruption, industry competitors often adapt. Harv...

How Well Do You Know Your Core Customers?

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Who are your primary customers? Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons says that’s the most important question of your strategy — and the...

How to Thrive in Fast-Moving Markets

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What can we learn from fast-moving companies — like Amazon, Google, and Alibaba — about how to organize to promote strategic growth? University of...

How a Multinational Publishing House Pivoted to Digital

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Wolters Kluwer started in the 1830s as a publishing house. But the Dutch multinational corporation has grown into a global, information services compa...

How to Compete with a Fast-Growing Disruptor

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

OXXO was the dominant convenience store chain in Mexico—until its chief rival doubled in size almost overnight. In this episode, Harvard Business Sc...

Strategy Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To many people, strategy is a total mystery. But Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee says strategy doesn’t have to be complicated...

Measuring Your Long-Term Strategy’s Short-Term Success

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Major strategy shifts need time to play out. Customers have their habits, employees are used to doing things a certain way, and fine-tuning a plan tak...

How Eastern Bank Shifted Its Strategy to Compete with Online Lenders

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As technology changes everything, how can existing businesses create innovation and change from within? Harvard Business School fellow Karen Mills stu...

3 Ways to Build Critical-Thinking Skills

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When was the last time you practiced your critical thinking skills? Helen Lee Bouygues, an expert in business transformation, says many business probl...

How a Global Brewing Company Explored the Cannabis Market

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School senior lecturer Derek van Bever and former lecturer Stephen P. Kaufman studied global brewing company Molson Coors, as it prep...