Two converging factors--the ubiquitous presence of technology in organizations and the recent technology downturn--have brought chief information officers (CIOs) to a critical breaking point. They can seize the moment to leverage their expertise into a larger and more strategic role than ever before, or they can allow themselves to be relegated to the sideline function of "chief technology mechanic." Drawing from exclusive research conducted by Gartner, Inc., with thousands of companies an...

More than a decade ago, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton introduced the Balanced Scorecard, a revolutionary performance measurement system that allowed organizations to quantify intangible assets such as people, information, and customer relationships. Then, in The Strategy-Focused Organization, Kaplan and Norton showed how organizations achieved breakthrough performance with a management system that put the Balanced Scorecard into action.Now, using their ongoing resea...

Does it seem you’ve formulated a rock-solid strategy, yet your firm still can’t get ahead? If so, construct a solid foundation for business execution-an IT infrastructure and digitized business processes to automate your company’s core capabilities. In Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution, authors Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David C. Robertson show you how.The key? Make tough decisions about which processes you must execute well, th...

Industry after industry is becoming technology-driven as software rapidly eats the world. As it spreads, so do complexity and opportunity. There are clear signs that the traditional B2B business model designed 125 years ago as a simple “make, sell, ship” approach for early manufacturing companies is no longer capable of delivering the full potential of high-tech and near-tech solutions. B4B seeks to frame what is possible in an age where suppliers are connected to their customers in real t...

Named as BusinessWeek's #1 Management Educator, expert Dave Ulrich and his team of authors bring human resources a whole new way of thinking and practicing—moving the focus from internal issues to actively helping to set business strategies. Businesses of the future need "all hands on deck" when implementing new ways to stimulate grown and cost efficiency, and this includes human resources.In HR Transformation, the team presents a four-phase model of transformation that sh...

Use data, technology, and inbound selling to build a remarkable team and accelerate salesThe Sales Acceleration Formula provides a scalable, predictable approach to growing revenue and building a winning sales team. Everyone wants to build the next $100 million business and author Mark Roberge has actually done it using a unique methodology that he shares with his readers. As an MIT alum with an engineering background, Roberge challenged the conventional m...

THE MARKET-PROVEN PRINCIPLES OF SOLUTION SELLING FOR TODAY'S HIGH-SPEED, HIGHER-PRESSURE SALES ENVIRONMENTThe long-awaited sequel to Solution Selling, one of history's most popular selling guidesNearly 10 years ago, the influential bestseller Solution Selling literally rewrote the rules for selling big-ticket, long-cycle products. The New Solution Selling expands the classic text's cases, examples, and si...

Tips on making your call center a genuine profit centerIn North America, call centers are a $13 billion business, employing 4 million people. For managers in charge of a call center operation, this practical, user-friendly guide outlines how to improve results measurably, following its principles of revenue generation, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. In addition, this new edition addresses many industry changes, such as the new technology that's transforming today's call cen...

Most companies have massive amounts of data at their disposal, yet fail to utilize it in any meaningful way. But a powerful new business tool - analytics - is enabling many firms to aggressively leverage their data in key business decisions and processes, with impressive results.In their previous book, Competing on Analytics, Thomas Davenport and Jeanne Harris showed how pioneering firms were building their entire strategies around their analytical capabilities. Rather tha...

Most companies waste billions of dollars on technology. Don't be one of them.If you need the best practices and ideas for unleashing technology's strategic potential--but don't have time to find them--this book is for you. Here are eight inspiring and useful perspectives, all in one place. This collection of HBR articles will help you:- Clarify corporate strategy with your IT department- Fund only IT projects that support your strategy- Transform IT investme...

This practical guide reveals the project management methodology and processes that will give you the advantage to ensure your projects' success--and advance organizational goals.As a seasoned project management consultant and instructor for the American Management Association, author Jack Ferraro has gained years of experience bridging the gap between project managers and functional managers to help countless teams improve their performance. In this book, he demyst...

Set the bar for outstanding performanceA follow-up to the top-selling Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews, this book provides managers with phrases and goals that describe expected future performance from their direct reports. A timesaving job aid for any performance review or plan, the book:Makes it easy for managers to set high performance goals for executives, management, or non-managers employeesIncludes many categories of g...