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. Operations. A leading financial services company is trying to reduce operating expenditures. Turnarounds. Should it sell rockets to competitors?

article thumbnail

??? Happy New Year: Predictions, Takeaways, and Thank you!

Wakeman Consulting Group: Dave's Blog

It isn’t just in college football because MLB’s attendance has been declining since around 2007. I’ll broaden my scope of attention a bit more by continuing to focus on strategy even though I know there will continue to be numpties that will say, “we don’t do strategy” or “that’s not how we operate”. You will get branding.

Sports 59
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

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

article thumbnail

The Decline of Yahoo in Its Own Words

Harvard Business

On Google’s earnings call for the first quarter of 2006 – more than a year before the iPhone was released and more than two years before the release of the first Android-operated smartphone – CEO Eric Schmidt went out of his way to talk about mobile. One of the most prominent is that Yahoo was late to mobile.

article thumbnail

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

Harvard Business

When a private equity firm adds a new company to its portfolio, analysts rigorously size up its financial, operational, and competitive condition. 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.

Company 28
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. Since Knudstorp took over, Lego’s revenues have increased by 400%, and its operating profit margin has increased from -21% to 34%.

Company 28
article thumbnail

4 Ways CEOs Can Conquer Short-Termism

Harvard Business

Great stories are credible, simple, consistent, and use both financial and nonfinancial metrics to link a long-term vision and firm values with a distinctive business strategy and focused operational priorities. They operated with a both/and mindset, seeking to deliver on immediate goals in a way that also built a sustainable future.

Metrics 33