Global Entrepreneurship Institute

Discussions About Combining Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Strategy 

Doing well has always been the priority of business. Corporate citizenship is evolving into a long-term commitment that aligns philanthropic strategies with business goals to boost profitability. So where does doing well fit into your business strategy? How do you measure your results? Here’s how you can make your company’s social contributions pay off. Continue reading ‘How does corporate social responsibility create value?’ »

Discussions About Performing a Corporate Social Responsibility Audit 

Is your company a good global citizen? Does your company “walk-the-talk?” How do you know? Do you want to “unleash” the social entrepreneurs at your work? This audit will help you measure your company’s actual social performance against the social objectives it has set for itself. Continue reading ‘What is a corporate social responsibility audit?’ »

Booz Allen Hamilton’s annual study of the world’s largest corporate R&D spenders finds two primary success factors: aligning the innovation model to corporate strategy and listening to customers every step of the way.

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Managing in High-Growth Environments

When a venture reaches Stage Five on the entrepreneurial life cycle, Full Launch and Growth, the venture team needs to be sensitive to certain high-growth management issues. Usually, rapid growth is seen as a positive sign of success. However, uncharted rapid growth can quickly change the status of an emerging growth venture from profitable to bankruptcy. Continue reading ‘How will you manage in the high-growth environment?’ »

Building Organizational Change Capabilities

It takes little time to destroy a high growth-potential venture. One turn-around expert says, “Ninety-five percent of the failures are due to internal problems. I can’t tell you how many companies I’ve been to that have the fast-growing-company plaque on the wall and are about to go under. They don’t have the systems and the people in place. Accounting is lagging. Purchasing is not done in the most efficient manner. Inventory gets out of control. All of a sudden, all these mistakes compound, and the least little burp kills them.” Continue reading ‘Is your company ready for your growth strategy?’ »

Corporate R&D labs used to be the key for companies to create competitive advantage. But in the 21st century, innovation is moving out of the lab and across the globe. That’s why Harvard Business School professor Alan MacCormack and his research collaborators believe that a real source of competitive advantage is skill in managing innovation partnerships.
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Discussions About Establishing Your Barriers to Entry

As you prepare your value map, consider how you can create an antibiotic against harmful organisms. Antibiotics have long existed in the biological world before Alexander Fleming’s work on penicillin in 1928. They are chemicals produced by one microorganism in order to prevent another organism from competing against it. Continue reading ‘What are barriers to entry?’ »

Discussions About Blueprinting Your Strategic Architecture

Research has shown that successful entrepreneurs create visions of the future, which inspires others to get involved in the venture. Howard Schultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks Coffee, says, “Vision is what they call it when others can’t see what you see.” Continue reading ‘What’s your strategic vision?’ »

Defining Your Core Competencies and Strategic Intent

In a June 1990 Harvard Business Review article, “The Core Competence of the Corporation,” Prahalad and Hamel outline the concepts of core competencies that still hold true today. A core competence is an intangible, not an asset that can be found on an accounting balance sheet, and not a patent (intellectual property.) Continue reading ‘What are your core competencies?’ »

In 1984, as a 19-year-old freshman, and going against one of the largest companies in the world, IBM, Michael Dell launched his company in his dorm room with $1,000. He had a vision that he could build computers made-to-order and sell them directly to consumers. His idea for a direct-sales business model came from observing the discontinuity in the way PCs were being sold at that time. Continue reading ‘Case In Point: Michael Dell & Direct-From-Dell Business Model’ »

Discussions about Strategic Leadership for Entrepreneurs: Inspiring, Motivating and Guiding the Venture Team.

Entrepreneurial success depends on the ability to think strategically, have a clear strategic vision, and achieve results quickly. Richard Siegelman, general partner at Kleiner Perkins, probes to find out how people got together and what motivates them as a group. He asks, “Is there a shared vision and culture?” Continue reading ‘What is strategic leadership for entrepreneurs?’ »

Discussions about Creating Your Growth Strategy

Growth is the very essence of entrepreneurship. Growth is the only vehicle that will deliver returns to your investors. And as we discuss in a previous Article, uncertainty and risk are a vicious cycle in high growth-potential ventures. Uncertainty and risk increase because the number of elements in the venture increases, the differences among those elements increase, and the interdependencies among those elements also increase. Continue reading ‘Why do we need a growth strategy?’ »

Discussions About Getting Sales Traction

Today’s venture capitalists look to market traction, or “referenceability,” as the single most important element before investing in a new business venture. Brooke Seawell, general partner of Palo Alto-based Technology Crossover Partners, which invests primarily in expansion and late-stage start-ups, says, “The most important thing is, can I go to four or five referenceable customers who can tell me why they like this company over competitors.” Continue reading ‘What is sales traction?’ »

Managing During Tough Times

During the easy times, everybody can make things happen. But tough times, especially economic downturns, require a different approach to managing. In fact, the ability to re-assemble the team and manage the interpersonal conflicts that arise during tough times is seen as very key to potential investors. But what can you do to maintain morale when tough times strike? Continue reading ‘How do we manage during the tough times?’ »

Benefits to Going Global

There are many benefits for entrepreneurs participating in global business activities. We group them in three categories: strategic, financial, and production related. Continue reading ‘What are the benefits to going global?’ »

Discussions About Intellectual Property

From the fifteenth century, when the first patent systems emerged in Venice, to 1790 when Thomas Jefferson served as the first patent examiner in the United States, intellectual property and the value in encouraging technological progress has been well-understood by governments through granting inventors sole rights to their creations for limited periods. Continue reading ‘What is intellectual property?’ »

Discussions About Business Model 

References to “business models” are frequent whenever aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business plans to potential investors. We feel that there has been a misguided approach of talking too much about business models, perhaps because the definition of business model is not clear. Continue reading ‘What is a business model?’ »

Understanding the Benefits of Strategic Planning For Entrepreneurs

Your venture’s goals and strategy define the purpose and competitive advantage that will set it apart from others. Your goals help define your intent, and strategy is the plan of action that describes activities for dealing with the environment and for reaching your venture’s intended goals. Continue reading ‘What are the benefits of strategic planning?’ »

Discussions About Building A Sustainable Competitive Advantage

What is needed and quite often ignored by entrepreneurs is a business strategy. The business strategy defines a reason for competing and a reason for organizing. It is the tight integration of these two reasons that lays the foundation for your superiority over rivals serving a particular market. Continue reading ‘What is a competitive advantage?’ »

Conducting A SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is an essential exercise for formulating new business strategies. It combines an internal analysis of strengths and weaknesses, with an external environment analysis of opportunities and threats. Continue reading ‘What is a SWOT analysis?’ »