Despite those (supposed) qualities, however, some recent studies are starting to show that the practice of using formal business plans as a corner stone of business ventures is not as widely spread as the theory suggests. Caddell mentions, for instance, a recent study that appeared on the Inc Magazine, outlining the following statistics…

Most organizations identify their customers as one single entity. If a certain company is producing miniatures of racing cars its customer is going to be boys aged between 3 and 12 years right? Well, it is right, but only to a certain extent. Those young boys are certainly the “users” of the product, but they are not the only people involved in the buying process. Apart from the “users” you will also have the “purchasers”, who in this case will probably be the parents and the “influencers” who could be the close friends or family.

Since the beginning of the business administration science its theories were entangled with war analogies. One of the most mentioned books of the past decades, in fact, was The Art of War, written more than 2000 years ago by the Chinese general Sun Tzu.

- Women get to decide 83% of all consumer purchases
- Women write 80% of all checks and pay 61% of all bills

Design is starting to gain attention from corporations all over the world. The discipline itself is expanding beyond “form and look” to include processes and business strategy in general. Corporations are also using design as a tool to stimulate creativity and foster innovation on the market.

A solid and well-crafted strategy is vital for the success of companies, specially if they are operating in emerging and high-tech sectors where innovation plays a central role. This point is clear and beyong discussion. What is not so clear, however, is what forces within a company are responsible for the formulation of that strategy.

In our modern economy many industries are facing a shortage in managerial talent. At the same there is a need to improve the responsiveness and the collaboration among employees and among different departments and business units.

It is important to differentiate between strategic planning and strategy innovation. Most corporations indeed have defined processes only for carrying out the former, basically studying historical data and making extrapolations for the future.