Recessions

When times are good, businesses tend to stick with what’s working. “It’s served us well so far,” goes the reasoning, “so why mess with success?” We fall into ruts where we don’t question whether the approach we’re using is truly the best one—we just work to push it further. It’s during these periods that needless […]

One of the key arguments in The Silver Lining is that companies have to find ways to "love the low end" to connect with budget conscious customers and...

How biases trap qualified job seekers in a cycle of rejection — and how to help them break free.

We are entering a sustained period of inflationary price pressures. This is for real and is different from the past high inflation periods. Three key...

Populist anger is boiling all around us. An Economist cover proclaims “the war against the rich.” A Wall Street Journal headline reads “small business versus bailed-out banks” with a photo of picketers demonstrating outside a Bank of America branch in Chicago (they also held a prayer vigil). Outrage over the AIG bonuses was widespread. Polls […]

This is post 3 in a series of blog posts from downturn strategist Darrell Rigby and fellow partners at Bain & Company. We will walk you through the tools and strategies you need to survive the current downturn and to improve your competitive position. To go deeper and complement these posts, we will provide early […]

Manufacturers in emerging markets are getting fewer orders from multinationals - which are shocked by many suppliers' bankruptcy. Both groups must evaluate...

During the recession, companies like Procter & Gamble, Hyundai, and Best Buy used adaptive pricing strategies, such as introducing lower-priced versions...

By instigating the dot-com crash, the capital markets have placed the entire new economy at risk.

To maintain worldwide competitiveness, the West must adopt strategies achieve a balance between productivity and welfare goals

Toyota Division (USA) cancelled its dealer meeting for 2009 in an effort to save money. According to Automotive News, Toyota had staged its most recent dealer get-together in October. In a recent post, I wrote about the need for executives to meet regularly with their key constituents. But economic realities may dictate meeting cancellations, and […]

They feast on cheap credit, which is drying up.

Here’s what successful companies did last time around.

As free trade agreements become more popular, they present global executives with thorny strategic and operational decisions.

U.S. patent filings likely will decline this year for the first time since 1996, according to a government report, fueling more handwringing about the fate of American innovation. David Kappos, the former IBMer now in charge of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, discussed this and a raft of other issues with me last month, […]

President Obama’s address to the joint session and the country last night was a three-act drama. The first third of the speech covered the economic mess, and was a well-constructed speech in itself. Here, Obama addressed the short-term problems America faces. The second act covered four initiatives: energy, health care, education, and debt reduction. These […]

Over the next few posts, I'm going to discuss what might be the five great challenges facing industrial age capitalism - and how they could be answered....

Job seekers’ risk aversion during downturns makes growth even harder for startups.

This week’s question for Ask the Coach: Keeping employees’ committed and motivated during tough economic times seems like a tall task, especially after downsizing or program cutbacks. What should I do to keep our employees ‘in the game’? Marshall: I hear this concern every where I travel these days. Who doesn’t? My friend Joe Wheeler, […]

Three strategies that will help you save your accounts.