Firing line news: EMBA-5 studying process

On Saturday evening on Campus of the SKOLKOVO business-school we met Elena Tretyakova, EMBA-5 Programme manager, and managed to ask her a couple of questions while students were having their classes. Elena told us how the Executive MBA studying process was going on.

- Elena, what is the current EMBA 5 module about?

- These days the students are studying organizational behavior & human resources management , and in April we’ll have financial accounting and analysis module.

- Do students work in teams or individually?

- They are engaged in everything: group work, games and, surely, case studies. Due to such a format the students learn a lot of useful and interesting tools, ideas and approaches. This time the assignment will be to analyze a real case (problem to solve) from their company. Five students have pitched their cases, so, teams have started to form around those students. Problems that should be solved by the teams are really challenging, and what is crucial for the students themselves, the result is significant for the company and, hopefully, they’ll take those recommendations into action, I mean this is not kind of work that will result in a pile of unneeded documents.

Top 10 books for innovators

Here's English version of Helen Edwards' article, published on Forbes Russia. The original Russian version you can find here.

Innovation is the lifeblood of the global economy and a strategic priority for nearly every CEO around the world. These new books about innovation published in the last year tell us how to “think different” and how to put ideas to work in the real world. A key message from the research is that openness encourages innovation: the ground zero of innovation is not the microscope but the conference table where researchers meet to discuss their work. Furthermore everyone’s innovation skills can be improved.

Fotobank / Getty Images

The innovator’s DNA: mastering the five skills of disruptive innovators

Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen
Harvard Business Review Press, 2011
296 pages.
ISBN: 9781422134818

Where do disruptive business models come from? This book looks at individual creativity in the business context. It is based on a large study of business innovators from companies including Amazon, Dell, eBay, Skype and PayPal. There are five discovery skills which distinguish the innovator from everyone else. These are questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting resulting in the ability to associate new ideas and make connections. The book also introduces the idea of the innovation premium, that is the extent to which the market value of a company is higher than can be attributed to its existing business, and identifies those companies, some obvious and some surprising, which are high on this measure. The leaders of these companies recognize the importance of discovery skills and are able to integrate them into the organizational culture.

What matters now: how to win in a world of relentless change, ferocious competition, and ustoppable innovation
Gary Hamel
Jossey-Bass, 2012
Xii, 282 pages
ISBN: 9781118120828

Although companies all around the world are cutting back, business guru Gary Hamel points out that the only future is in continuous innovation. He identifies 5 types of innovative companies:
• rockets who introduce new business models but may have difficulty staying
innovative.
• laureates, often high tech companies with big research departments which
innovate narrowly year on year.
• artistes, the creative businesses where innovation is the primary product.
• cyborgs, the great innovative companies – Google, Amazon and Apple.
• born-again innovators, established companies who transform themselves.
Hamel also has insights into how innovators think, their ability to challenge beliefs everyone takes for granted, to spot underappreciated trends, to value non obvious competencies and assets, and to meet unexpressed needs.

Advice on business literature from Helen Edwards

A new selection of business literature from SKOLKOVO Library Project Manager Helen Edwards - read, discuss and advise the most interesting books!

Standing on the sun: how the explosion of capitalism abroad will change business everywhere

Christopher Meyer and Julia Kirby
Harvard Business Review Press, 2012.
vi, 292 pages
ISBN: 9781422131688

Emerging economies are experiencing dramatic growth. The advanced economies that in 2000 consumed 75% of the world's output will by 2050 consume just 32%. This book describes how a new version of capitalism is taking hold in places least invested in the status quo. New trends include a wider definition of success than just the return on equity, learning to "see in colour" rather than just the black and white of financial statements; a new ownership of "externalities, the environmental and social impact of business; and the growth of collaborative networks "the invisible handshake". Writing about the fourth sector, self sustaining but for-benefit enterprises, the authors remind us that the whole point of having an economy is to make people better off.

The hedgehog effect: the secrets of building high performance teams

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries
Jossey Bass, 2011.
xxv, 289 pages
ISBN: 9781119973362

Competitive advantage lies with organisations which can create a great place to work. This book discusses the central problem in teams, the dilemma between the desires for both closeness and distance, the balance between loose, inefficient connections and stifling interconnections. The author argues that a purely rational perspective on teamwork fails to acknowledge the unconscious dynamics which affect behaviour. Using fables and archetypes as well as examples from the coaching of executive teams, the book discusses the nature of teams, relationship patterns and the challenge for organisations. The book concludes with the story of an organisational change accomplished through group coaching.

Marketing plans: a complete guide in pictures

Malcolm McDonald and Peter Morris
Wiley, 2012.
162 pages
ISBN: 9781119943136

Opening with a cartoon of a jungle this book goes through the whole marketing process -planning, audits, objectives and strategies, communication, pricing, forecasting and systems implementation - all in pictures. This vividly illustrates common problems such as ridiculously large and varied product lines or the difficulty the marketing planner may have communicating his function to others in the organisation. The illustrations also take the reader through processes such as the launch of a new product, advertising and distribution.

SKOLKOVOBusinessDialog first meeting

Dear all, we are happy to present the new student initiative – SKOLKOVOBusinessDialog. On March 1 the first meeting of SKOLKOVOBusinessDialog participants took place; it was dedicated to energy engineering “Energy audit and power saving: new opportunities”. In future guys plan to hold regular meetings for students and graduates who are interested in experience exchange, searching for business partners and discussing of new business directions.

And for now there are some details about the meeting held. Among visiting speakers there were: Mikhail Korolev (EMBA 2011 graduate, Institute of Energy Systems, chairman of the board of directors of Energotest, stakeholder), Sergei Sitnikov (guest, Baker&McKenzie CIS Limited), Vladimir Volik (guest, Partner at Branan). And we offer a short description of each speaker’s performance.

Mikhail Korolev spoke about trends in the sphere of energy efficiency in Russian and about perspective business spheres that should be paid attention to, “The energy efficiency potential amazes. Applying a western method we can save dozens of billions dollars”. Mikhail highlighted three kinds of the energy efficiency potential: technical, financial and economic. With the emerge of energy efficient projects the most needed branches are energy audit, counter production and sale, energy efficient equipment production and sale, energy service contracts, financing of energy service companies, equipment leasing.

SKOLKOVO Entrepreneurs’ Club meeting: luxury products

Recently another SKOLKOVO Entrepreneurs’ Club meeting has taken place; it was dedicated to elaboration and marketing of luxury products (find report about the previous meeting here). Among speakers there were visiting world famous specialists: the expert Gregory Furman (Founder of International Council for Luxury Marketing), Mayur Bhatnagar (director of the LVMH Group), Gary Fowler (President of Fowler International).

As all guests had gathered and there was no free seat left, Gregory Furman started his performance. He said that clients were becoming more and more preferential concerning goods choice, in the majority of cases it was connected with the fact that almost 90% of Americans with high income had earned that money on their own, they hadn’t inherited it. Mr. Furman has given some advice concerning that issue:
-the luxury customer wants to know what is the best and why it’s the best
-discount is death in luxury
Moreover, Mr. Furman talked a little about his company’s activity. Please, find more detailed information on the web-site.