article thumbnail

Sample Consulting Case Questions

Tom Spencer

The company started making handheld wireless devices in 1999 and gained substantial market share in the initial smart phone market prior to the release of the iPhone in 2007. CanadaCo, the largest discount retailer in Canada, currently holds the dominant market share in the industry. Turnarounds. Competitive Response.

article thumbnail

Outsider CEOs Are on the Rise at the World’s Biggest Companies

Harvard Business

That’s nearly double the rate from 2004 to 2007. Outsiders, in effect, have become more of an intentional leadership choice than a stereotypical hire in a turnaround or crisis situation. The industries facing the most disruption have brought in higher-than-average numbers of outsiders recently.

Company 28
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

4 Signs an Executive Isn’t Ready for Coaching

Harvard Business

The growth of the industry tells us so. And the number of business coaches worldwide has zoomed more than 60% since 2007, according to one coaching association. One CEO we worked with was known for his smart turnarounds of a large media company. The stigma of asking for or being assigned an executive coach is vanishing quickly.

article thumbnail

How to Pull Your Company Out of a Tailspin

Harvard Business

After studying and working with hundreds of companies in free fall, we’ve identified concrete steps that leadership teams can take to engineer successful turnarounds and transformations. In the photography industry, Leica provides a sharp example of how adding new capabilities can help a company reverse free fall.

Company 28
article thumbnail

The Mistakes PE Firms Make When They Pick CEOs for Portfolio Companies

Harvard Business

A private equity group led by TPG bought the company in 2007; at the time SCA had suffered more than four straight quarters of declining profits. This July Founders Equity sold OSI to Jordan Industries. Consider the case of Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA), a provider of surgical facilities based in Deerfield, Illinois.

Company 28
article thumbnail

4 Ways CEOs Can Conquer Short-Termism

Harvard Business

” Bertolini and his team studied the industry and concluded that a reasonable target was no more than 6% EPS. He developed a three-year plan for his turnaround vision, which was translated into annual and quarterly operating plans, and biquarterly responsibilities for his executive team.

Metrics 32