·Corporate Strategy
When Data Is Right but Decisions Go Wrong
Strategy fails not from lack of information, but from outdated assumptions about what it implies
#Strategy
235 results
·Corporate Strategy
A Merger Is Not an Idea
Why the Omnicom - Interpublic deal reveals a deeper failure of imagination in advertising
·Family Business & Inter-generational transitions
Inside Chennai’s Enduring Enterprises
A field report on family ownership, continuity, and the craft of building for the long term
·Corporate Strategy
The Best Stories of 2025
Ten of our best work through the year—on business, leadership, and geopolitical trends
·Corporate Strategy
The New Perimeter of National Security
Why India’s corporate leaders can no longer separate digital risk from strategic resilience
·Corporate Strategy
Why Emotions Are First Principles in Product Strategy
Products succeed when they answer what people feel, not just what they need
·Conscious Capitalism and Ethical Business
How Community, Not Competition, Can Renew Capitalism
The real job of management is managing the not always compatible expectations of stakeholders, says John Kay. The organizations that have been successful in the long run are the ones that managed these balances. Part 2 of a two-part conversation
·Corporate Strategy
Book Extract: From customer journeys to integrated experiences
A brand’s attempt at relevance and how AI worked for it. An extract from Sangeet Paul Choudary’s new book, “Reshuffle”
·Corporate Strategy
Power shifts and algorithms
Sangeet Paul Choudary in conversation with Shrinath V on how AI is changing business strategy. Part one of the two-part podcast: “The Next Game: Competing When AI Changes the Rules.”
·Corporate Strategy
Where to Play and How to Win in the AI Era
Sangeet Paul Choudary, author of ‘Reshuffle’, in conversation with Shrinath V. The final in a 2-part podcast: ‘The Next Game: Competing When AI Changes the Rules’
·Corporate Strategy
John Kay on Purpose, Profit—and the Perils of Thinking Like a Hare
In conversation with D Shivakumar, the acclaimed economist revisits the soul of business—from Boeing’s fall to Apple's hollow shell—and what real strategy should look like
·Corporate Strategy
WPP’s Existential Dilemma: Falling Prey to the AI Narrative
In chasing tech transformation, WPP’s board may have overlooked the nuances of its own business. And that could put the company in play
·Corporate Strategy
My top ten business books of 2024
The best books of the year on how the past informs the future, tackling tough situations, and technology
·Corporate Strategy
Tech Titans and Billion Dollar Bets
SoftBank insider Alok Sama talks about the mind of the investment company’s iconic founder Masayoshi Son, how venture capital operates, the tech bros, India’s true potential, and more
·Corporate Strategy
Just Do It, Again
Iconic brands have a strong core. Any attempt to transform the core, driven by big consumer and lifestyle changes, can be particularly tricky, as global sportswear brand Nike discovered recently
·Corporate Strategy
Heatwave, Flood & Water Stress: India Inc’s Tryst with Extreme Weather Patterns
Why businesses need a holistic climate action plan. Now!
·Corporate Strategy
Hybrids in an EV era
Propelled by the Toyota and Suzuki partnership, the resurgence of hybrids is a signal that the electric mobility revolution in India may take a lot longer than was assumed
·Corporate Strategy
Reliability wins customers
An extract from Harit Nagpal’s new book ‘Adapt: To Thrive, Not Just Survive’ on how the new CEO of an AC company that ranked fourth in a market of six big players, found a sustainable differentiator: making the company “easy to deal with”
·Corporate Strategy
Paytm: Emperor’s new clothes
At the heart of the fintech major’s precarious slide lies the abject failure of its Super App strategy. But that’s just one part of the story.
·Corporate Strategy
Eight best business books of 2023
An annual round up of the most memorable books of the year
·Corporate Strategy
Thompson ad mortem. Who cares?
Why did WPP decide to snuff out the identities of three of its most storied agencies—Thompson, Y&R and Wunderman—to create a new entity VML, the world’s largest creative company? The clues lie in the stock markets—and the immense pressures acting on its CEO Mark Read
·Corporate Strategy
Behind ITC’s hotels demerger
Chairman and MD Sanjiv Puri is trying to kill three birds with one stone
·Corporate Strategy
Noel Tata’s brahmastra
His value lifestyle brand Zudio has caught the attention of the entire retail industry. It also signals a coming of age of retail in small town India
·Corporate Strategy
Fintech Special Report Part 1: Indian fintech at a crossroad
The outlook for fintech companies has shifted from unchecked optimism to uncertainty. The rose-tinted glasses are off and some of the well-funded companies are pivoting. Their future will depend on their ability to look beyond technology as the panacea. Part 1 of a 4-part series
·Corporate Strategy
Fintech Special Report Part 2: From competition to collaboration
The ground reality has changed. Fintechs are realising that partnerships and ecosystem thinking are key to winning the market, not competing with the incumbents. Part 2 of a 4-part series
·Corporate Strategy
12 Deadly Sins That Bedevil Incumbents
Here’s a pattern that I’ve observed throughout my career: incumbents mostly lose; they somehow survive but don’t thrive. An incumbent growing faster than the market over a decade is more an exception, rather than the rule.
·Corporate Strategy
Adani’s NDTV takeover: The end game
The three-month-long takeover saga is reaching its climax. What happens next? (Updated on December 6, and December 24, 2022)
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #709: Paytm versus PhonePe
August 4, 2022: Admitting weakness; How CIA killed al-Zawahiri; Ironies never sleep
·Corporate Strategy
What’s holding up Gautam Adani’s takeover of NDTV?
More than two-and-a-half months have passed since Adani announced its intent. And yet there is no sign of a quick closure, as it was widely anticipated
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #698: A car that would open up mobility
July 20, 2022: Parle-G versus Udaan; Elon Musk’s madness; Summer explained
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #697: Betting against conventional wisdom
July 19, 2022: NSE’s old war horse; Age is just a number; Exponential thinking
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #691: Figuring out selling
July 11, 2022: The superapp fascination; Abe: The original democrat; Critics and artists
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #684: The enemy of creativity
June 30, 2022: Business and science; Managing Twitter; Cryptic clues
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights 683: Why can’t Netflix do better?
June 29, 2022: Decoding Agnipath; India’s gig economy; Bare your soul
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #677: Go directly to the source
June 21, 2022: The Sridhar Vembu story; Musk on Twitter; Confusion compounded
·Corporate Strategy
A battle of unequals
As the Adani group pushes through the doors at NDTV, owners Prannoy and Radhika Roy find themselves with their backs to the wall. What are their options?
·M&A and Cultural Integration
Gautam Adani’s midnight raid at NDTV—a developing story
The aggressive billionaire’s dramatic attempt to take over one of the country’s best known media firms has set the cat among the pigeons. Will Prannoy and Radhika Roy stand their ground? Here are the possible scenarios. (This is a developing story and we are updating it as things unfold. The latest update was on 31 August, 2022)
·Corporate Strategy
The hare and the tortoise
The R K Swamy Hansa group remains the last man standing, even as almost all the large homegrown advertising-led groups have thrown in the towel. How did the Swamy brothers, Srinivasan and Shekar, pull it off?
·Corporate Strategy
Building Back Better: Lessons from Zoho's founder
Sridhar Vembu and Sharad Sharma talk about creating resilient, uniquely Indian companies; questioning buzzwords and received wisdom; investing in deep tech; and more
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #646: After Steve Jobs
May 9, 2022: The danger of a single story; The trouble with Congress; Quality vs. price
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #632: The happiness paradox
April 18, 2022: What’s new about Tata Neu?; What’s Elon Musk up against?; Mad at aggregators?
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #630: Design for the extremes
April 13, 2022: Teenage sadness; On Sevantibhai of Kolkata; No country for foodies
·Corporate Strategy
Making Sense of the 10-minute delivery phenomenon
Hari Menon, co-founder & CEO, BigBasket, deconstructs e-commerce’s latest obsession with superfast delivery
·Business Model Innovation
Tata Neu: Stripping the hype
Is it even a super app? Or a coalition loyalty programme? A loyalty business veteran dissects the challenges and complexities the Tatas—and customers—will have to grapple with
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #625: The pattern of truth
April 6, 2022: The evolution of Tata’s super app; The solo capitalist ecosystem; Two factor authentication
·Corporate Strategy
FF Insights #600: Learning organisations
March 1, 2022: A Third World Axis?; How 10-minute deliveries work; Theory of relativity
·Business Model Innovation
FF Insights #569: Unbundle the media business model
January 17, 2022: Decoding Omicron; The Turing trap; The problem with masses
·Corporate Strategy
FF Daily #547: Success can’t be taken for granted
December 13, 2021: Be customer-obsessed; How to communicate during the pandemic; Why map is not the territory
·Corporate Strategy
FF Daily #535: Test your assumptions
November 29, 2021: Camel economics; Power and the system; Two Indias