strategy+business Summer 2017

How many geniuses does it take to run a company? As the influential technology and media commentator Shelly Palmer notes in our Thought Leader interview, artificial intelligence (AI) will soon be robust enough to overtake many jobs, even those that require managerial and creative skill (page 132). Business professionals, at every level of the hierarchy, will need to apply some truly artistic genius on a day-to-day basis or we, too, may be vulnerable. This is an especially critical matter for the entertainment and media (E&M) industry, which is getting more and more competitive, especially when it comes to generating original and compelling content. Hence this issue’s focus on “artificial imagination.” Three articles here, developed as part of PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, explore the range of possibilities when algorithms become…

In the summer of 2016, pedestrians on New York’s Fifth Avenue encountered crowds of (mostly young) people, hastily running into Central Park, smartphones in hand, shouting out Pokémon character names and cross-street locations. Within weeks of its release on July 6, 2016, the Pokémon Go app attracted 40 million daily active users and created a level of in-app engagement that Facebook could only envy. The Pokémon Go fad has faded, but it holds important lessons for companies intent on reaching and engaging consumers where they are, especially retailers: The game, the first truly social augmented reality (AR) experience, enthralled a new breed of omniconnected consumers as nothing else had done previously. The people who embraced the augmented reality of Pokémon Go inhabit a world where the line between real and digital…

The notion of a typical consumer, one whose gender, age, ethnicity, and zip code can be used to make reasonably accurate assumptions about purchasing behavior, is a thing of the past. The most predictable characteristic of today’s consumers may actually be their variability — they’ll choose different brands depending on where they are shopping and the occasion they are shopping for. This trait is a logical extension of today’s retail environment: Many consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories now consist of hundreds of brands, and new niche products launch every week. People can shop at supermarkets, warehouse stores, convenience stores, and a huge array of e-commerce sites. And there are far more ways for marketers to engage with shoppers, including mobile apps and social media. Finding consumers in the moment requires a…

For outsiders observing a scandal at a company or organization, the situation often seems implausible or incomprehensible. How did leaders let it happen? Why did so many people go along with the wrongdoing? And why did it go on for so long? The view from inside a scandal-plagued organization is considerably different. We know that, in business as in life, good people sometimes do bad things — whether it’s a small lie or a giant fraud, a one-time act of dishonesty or an ongoing deception. Maryam Kouchaki, an assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, has made understanding this phenomenon a prominent theme of her academic career. After studying physics as an undergrad in Tehran, and earning an MBA along the way, Kouchaki came to the U.S. in 2007…

Anyone attempting to lead change in an organization knows to expect some resistance. Change is not a rational process; no matter how positive the future you are creating, it’s natural for humans to struggle with it. Such resistance is no less frustrating for being predictable. At times, it can seem that all that stands between you and your goals is a few naysayers and whiners. And to those on a mission, such reactions can seem like putting one’s head in the sand. “The old business is not coming back,” one CEO told me. “We have to innovate or we will die.” Faced with negative remarks, critical questions, or stony silence, change champions naturally begin to interact more with those already on board, consciously or unconsciously distancing themselves from those who “don’t…

Assuming the leadership of a 165-year-old institution that appears to be in long-term decline can be a daunting task — especially if it faces deep-rooted financial challenges, eroding market position, drops in quality, a fading reputation, an aging physical infrastructure, and an influential cadre of veterans satisfied with “good enough.” This was the challenge Bob Grossman faced when he became the dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center in July 2007. In the 10 years since, however, rather than preside over further decline, Grossman has led the institution, which comprises both NYU School of Medicine and NYU Hospitals, to an impressive comeback. The dramatic turnaround engineered by Grossman offers lessons for any manager seeking to overcome chronic underperformance. Confronting an entrenched, entitled workforce — the tenured faculty in an academic medical…