Today we present Jim Collins - #4 from Thinkers 50 ranking.

Jim Collins, author of books about what makes a great and long lasting company.

Great by choice: uncertainty, chaos and luck – why some thrive despite them all.
Jim Collins and Morton T. Hansen.
Random House Business Books, 2011.
xii, 304 pages.
ISBN: 9781847940889.

Second SKOLKOVO Himalayan XL Track finished in Nepal

In the end of April the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO’s students and graduates set off for a traditional expedition to Himalayas in Nepal. Within two weeks the group has covered more than 100 km, and the majority of participants have reached the height of 5800 m. The team leaders – Andrei Volkov, Dean of the SKOLKOVO business school and President of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, and Yuri Belonoschenko, Head of UralSib Asset Management, SKOLKOVO EMBA 7 student – have conquered Mera Peak (6476 m).

Pierre Casse: vision is a dream with a deadline!

On April 3 the SKOLKOVP MBA master class “Leadership: the new wave” hold by Pierre Casse, Professor of Leadership at the SKOLKOVO business school, took place on the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO Campus. Pierre Casse, a leading world expert in leadership, has told what it means to be a leader in the modern economic conditions. Below you will find his key points:

If the leadership is not around to turn different challenges into something new (ideas, opportunities etc.), then the mankind is regressing.

It's wrong to have an HR-department in your company - people are not resources anymore!

You should have a Human Talents department instead.

3 basic kinds of leadership: strategic leadership, organizational leadership and people leadership

Strategic leadership is about where you are going and how to get there.

It's a projection to the future, what you must do to make it happen.

SKOLKOVO MBA Bollywood video competition

On April 8 the SKOLKOVO MBA-4 students have started their Indian module! They have 8 weeks ahead to dive into the colourful Indian culture and develop projects from Indian clients! We have decided to give our students an extra challenge – the video competition SKOLKOVO MBA Bollywood. 5 teams have to shoot short movies in different genres in the Bollywood style!

According to the draw we are expecting to have 5 following films:
1. Melodrama “Indian spirit”
2. Soap opera “Indian insights”
3. Comedy “Indian way of doing business”
4. Fantasy “Indian women and men”
5. Documentary “Indian cuisine and peculiarities”

The winner will be determined via an online vote! Follow our news and don't miss the teasers!
 

SKOLKOVO Entrepreneurs’ Club meeting: startups with wow effect

On April 2 another SKOLKOVO Entrepreneurs’ Club meeting took place. That time we had Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage ventures, partner of Guy Kawasaki, Mikhail Konoplev, Operational Director, Airbnb in Russia and CIS, Andrei Zotov, Founder and Co-owner of ADJ Consulting. Participants have discussed lots of interesting topics and questions. Below you can find the key points voiced at the event.

Mikhail Konoplev
“The key point of the economics of joint use is that a joint access to resources is much more beneficial than their possession”.

Bill Reichert
“The thing you should achieve during your pitch is a wow effect. Investors give their money being guided by their hearts, not by their minds”.

“3 ways to make an investor fall in love with you: a team, technology, ability to turn the world and perception of it. Each startup has to decide what aspect to focus on while interacting with investors, find a basis for the wow effect”.

SKOLKOVO Entrepreneurs’ Club meeting: Igor Agamirzyan’s 6 thuths

On March 14 a SKOLKOVO Entreprneurs’ Club meeting took place on the SKOLKOVO business school Campus! No wonder the Lounge Bar was packed with people - we had striking speakers:

• Igor Agamirzyan, CEO and Chairman, RVC;
• Esther Dyson, Chairman of Board, EDventure Holdings, Board member, Yandex;
• Misha Lyalin, CEO, ZeptoLab, Founder of Cut The Rope.

That time we have tried a mixed format of the meeting – a Skype conversation with Esther Dyson and live performances. We have recorded the Skype discussion and are going to decode it next week, for now here are Igor Agamirzyan’s points:

Truth#1 “All new technological industries have been created in a similar manner!”
Truth#2 “The higher a technological industry is, the fewer market leaders there are”
Truth#3 “A period of brands consolidation always ends with such industry’s state when it starts to stagnate technologically”
Truth#4 “What is the next big think? — physical & digital!”
Truth#5 “All income centres move from production facilities to soft and design”
Truth#6 “The generator of profit is engineering and design!”

By the way, the third SKOLKOVO Startup Academy’s class starts studying on April 11!

Meeting with Igor Gundobin, expert on direct private investments in the BRIC countries

As you know the SKOLKOVO business school aims to teach leaders for the emerging markets. How does it work, why is it important and what opportunities can emerging markets provide? You can find all the answers during the meeting with Igor Gundobin, expert on direct private investments in the BRIC countries, on March 23! The topic for the discussion is "High-growth market – taking the lead". Graduates of the SKOLKOVO MBA programme will also take part in the meeting and will share their experience. Registration required.

 

Open Discussion “Russian business: how to catch the wave?”

The Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO knows how and where to move in order to ride on the wave of success and how to build up business in Russia that has “its own special way”. That is why we invite you to join the open discussion with the SKOLKOVO business leaders:

• Ruben Vardanian, Founder of the SKOLKOVO business school , Co-Head of Sberbank CIB, Board member at Rosgosstrakh;
• Andrey Rappoport, President of the SKOLKOVO business school, First Vice Chairman of the Board of RUSNANO;
• Vladimir Preobrajensky, Head of research of the SKOLKOVO business school.

We are waiting you on March 21, at 10:00 a.m., at the Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow (Ukraina). Registration required!
For more detailed information, please, visit www.skolkovo.ru or contact our consultants:
Anna Nekrasova, +7 919 777 42 98, Anna_Nekrasova@skolkovo.ru
Ekaterina Vechkanova, +7 916 777 82 80, Ekaterina_Vechkanova@skolkovo.ru

V. J. Govindarajan and his book "Reverse innovation: create far from home, win everywhere"

More great experts and litrature recomendations from the SKOLKOVO business school library managers! This week let us introduce you #3 from Thinkers 50 ranking - V. J. Govindarajan, an expert in international business, strategy and innovation, and his book!

“If a business can be destroyed, then it eventually will be destroyed. It is only a matter of whether you do it to yourself or a rival does it to you.”
 “Strategy used to be about protecting existing competitive advantage, but not any more. Today it is about finding the next advantage.”

 Reverse innovation: create far from home, win everywhere
Vijay and Chris Trimble
Harvard Business School Press, 2012
256 pages
ISBN: 9781422157640

Instead of developing products in rich countries and then trying to export them worldwide, maybe with scaled down features, reverse innovation is about products first adopted in the developing world. Surprisingly often these innovations defy gravity and flow uphill. Reverse innovation combines a global strategy with an intense focus on local needs and preferences. This book shows how, counter intuitively, there are many circumstances when business models and products developed in emerging markets can provide new opportunities in rich economies also. Three key points for multinationals:
- to capture growth in emerging markets it is necessary to innovate, not just export

 - leverage opportunities to export innovation from emerging markets to other similar economies and eventually to the mainstream
- keep watch on the emerging giants, the rapidly growing native companies

Today on paper. Tomorrow in reality

The Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO and International Paper announce a contest among progressive and ambitious entrepreneurs! The winner of the IPship contest will receive a grant of € 40 000 to enter the SKOLKOVO MBA programme. For more information visit the open discussion with Franz Marx, President of International Paper Russia, that will take place on March 13, at 6:30 pm on our Campus! Please register!

 

Open discussion with Vladimir Preobrajensky

If you are interested to find out how the business chooses its leaders and understand what entrepreneurial leadership means, we invite you to take part in an open discussion with Vladimir Preobrajensky, Head of research at the SKOLKOVO business school, Board member at New Economic School, Board member of the Agat fund. We are looking forward to seeing you on our Campus on March 5 at 8 p.m. The discussion topic is “MBA: A Farewell to Illusions”. Registration is required.
What questions within that topic would you like to discuss with Vladimir Preobrajensky? Share with us your ideas in the comments.

 

Bas Godska: “20% of calls are sales”

On February 16th more than 60 entrepreneurs took part in a master class on e-commerce held by Bas Godska, international specialist with 13 years of working experience! That was one of the most informative and interactive master classes. Bas has eagerly given detailed answers to numerous participants’ questions as well as lots of practical recommendations.

Below you will find key points of Bas’s performance and slides from his presentation. Here are two formulae that determine success in e-commerce. Keep them in mind and thoroughly assess each feature regarding your business

GO Inside: On the highest level

“Have you seen the American action film “300” - 300 referring to the 300 Spartans? Well, this is a similar tale, only the Spartans in this case are deans of Russian universities. There were 300 and now, after a highly competitive selection procedure for admission onto the programme, only just over 100 remain. Their fate is sealed and they are destined for success,” says Alexey Gusev, Director of Public Sector Programmes at the SKOLKOVO Education Development Centre, when describing the participants of the “New Higher Education Leaders” programme.

What is so special about the programme? Why are top managers of leading Russian universities so interested in it? And why did Dmitry Medvedev himself, Chair of the SKOLKOVO Advisory Board, say that, “The project to train 100 state university deans is very important for the school”?

“The programme will have a system-wide effect. It’s not just about education, it’s an attempt to change the mindset of university managers,” says Alexey Gusev. “We know how to develop an entrepreneurial, business way of thinking. It’s time to use the experience we’ve gained on the corporate programmes and put it into the non-commercial sector”.

W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne - new experts from Thinkers50

The SKOLKOVO business school library managers continue to introduce experts from the Thinkers50 global ranking!

Please meet W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne - professors of strategy and management and authors of Blue Ocean strategy.

“A blue ocean strategy is about pursuing differentiation and low cost simultaneously. In contrast, in competitive strategy, differentiation is achieved by providing higher value at a higher cost.”

“A blue ocean strategist does not gain insights about reconstructing market boundaries by looking at existing customers, but by exploring noncustomers.”

Blue ocean strategy: how to creat uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant
W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
Harvard Business School Press,
2005 xv, 240 pages
ISBN: 9781591396192

A red ocean is the existing world of competition where companies succeed by outperforming each other. A blue ocean is an untapped market space ready for growth. Instead of fighting over existing customers, a blue ocean strategist reaches beyond existing demand. This book looks at the sequence of strategic moves needed to create value innovation, the hallmark of a blue ocean strategy. The authors quantify the impact of blue ocean strategies by analyzing the launch of over 100 companies and comparing their revenues and profits. The findings show a significant advantage accruing to the small percentage of companies who manage to exploit a blue ocean. Test your understanding of the key concepts of blue ocean strategy here.

GO INSIDE: Delicate solutions

We continue to present our readers the sixth issue of the SKOLKOVO Go Inside magazine article by article!
As we mentioned earlier, Samsung Electronics Russia became SKOLKOVO business school’s technical partner. Go Inside talked to Oleg Artamonov, senior technical specialist at Samsung Electronics Russia, to find out what innovations in the field of electronics they have in store for us in the near future.

Delicate solutions by Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO

GO INSIDE: SKOLKOVO MBA atlas

We are happy to present you the sixth issue of the SKOLKOVO Go Inside magazine! Below you can find the first article from the magazine. You can also read the entire magazine here.
So, what is so special about the 4th SKOLKOVO MBA class?

SKOLKOVO MBA Atlas by Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO

Meet first expert from global ranking Thinkers50

Starting from now SKOLKOVO business school library managers will introduce experts from the Thinkers50 global ranking. They will also recommend one book of each expert.

Meet Clayton M. Christensen - world expert on innovation and growth.

Courtesy Company

“It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time. If you give in to “just this once,” based on a marginal cost analysis, you’ll regret where you end up. You’ve got to define for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe place.” 

“You may hate gravity, but gravity doesn’t care.” 

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.