Morning Advantage: My Kingdom for a Developer
HBR.org 2012-06-06
Everyone in the room who is fully satisfied with their IT staff and has no concerns about finding and recruiting new technology talent raise your hand. OK, you way in the back, you can leave. The rest of us have a big problem to solve. Let's face it, the war for tech talent is only getting worse. Our needs aren't just growing, they are ever-evolving — and both the quantity and quality of top technologists is lacking, in some places severely. What to do? If you can't find 'em, you better keep 'em and train 'em, say three McKinsey consultants writing in their firm's eponymous quarterly. In addition to pulling out all the traditional retention stops — competitive salary, recognition, effective career coaching — the McKinsey team found several other approaches that have proven effective in keeping techies in the fold. First, don't get caught in the IT specialization trap. Instead, rotate high performers across tech domains and even into business and organizational functions. You'll be grooming more complete managers and exposing your talent to a broader array of opportunities. While you're at it, make sure top performers get meaningful face-time with senior leaders. It's an "irreplaceable motivator for high-performing technology staff," McKinsey reports.
Big Pharma's Questionable Start-Up Strategy (Technology Review)
Has big pharma cracked the code to solving their pipeline problems? Merck, Eli Lilly, and GlaxoSmithKline have all announced they are investing in early-stage biotech start-ups as a new product development strategy, hoping that external innovation will pick up where internal R&D has fallen short. But this is no sure winner. These investments "come at a time when early-stage biotech firms are struggling to survive," writes Jessica Leber. Many of the VCs that used to nourish these firms "are backing away from high-risk investments in the sector."
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AIRSPEED VELOCITY OF AN UNLADEN SWALLOW?
Three Questions to a Solid Business Strategy (Strategy+Business)
"The question 'What is strategy?' has spurred numerous doctoral dissertations, countless hours of research, and hearty disagreement among serious management thinkers," write Ken Favaro and two co-authors. "Perhaps this is why many executives also struggle with it." Nevertheless, leaders seeking to steer a business to sustained success need a succinct and pragmatic response. Good news: defining the fundamentals of your strategy is as simple as answering these three questions: 1. Who is the target customer? 2. What is the value proposition to that customer? 3. What are the essential capabilities needed to deliver that value proposition? So what are you waiting for?
Lean and Mean
The Competitive Advantage of Doing More with Less (European Business Journal) Facebook Flop Won't Scare Off Growth-Company Listings (CFO) The Economic Costs of Fear (Project Syndicate)