I have really enjoyed my Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) elective with our lecturer Scott Moeller. It has been a fascinating mix of strategy and financial analysis. For our coursework we had to create a presentation that analysed Kraft’s acquisition of Cadbury. The acquisition was big news at the time as Cadbury is an iconic British brand and the bidder, [...]
Gain control of enterprise technology with IT architecture principles
The title for this post is a bit of a mouthful but many companies will feel the need to take control of a spiralling, siloed technology landscape. Gaining control of your IT architecture begins with the definition of enterprise wide architecture principles and standards. Developing and enforcing these guidelines helps companies maintain the most appropriate and efficient [...]
Quick ways to improve your ecommerce store
Most of us have a lot of experience using online stores, if you combine that knowledge by listening to your online customer’s feedback or watching them use your online store there are a few themes that start to emerge. If you are looking for quick wins to make your ecommerce store more effective try focusing [...]
The most important ecommerce success metrics
Investment in ecommerce is one area that does not seem to have been affected by the downturn in the economy. Many companies are investing their reduced budgets online as it can be one of the best ways to increase sales with comparatively little investment. I have built many ecommerce sites from the ground up over [...]
The four stages of IT architecture maturity
The MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research developed a capability maturity model that defines four stages of architecture maturity. Each stage involves organisational learning about how to apply IT and business process discipline as strategic capabilities. As companies move through each stage they can realise benefits rangin from reduced IT operating costs to greater strategic [...]
Traditional approaches to venture capital by GPs in Europe and the USA
My Private Equity elective coursework was one of the most enjoyable so far. Traditional approaches to venture capital by GPs in Europe and the USA. I have a lot of interest in venture capital and private equity so it was really fun to research the European and US investment returns data in more detail. Executive [...]
How to scale professional service firms
Introduction My latest report attempts to identify common factors that influence scaling in professional service firms (PSF). The sample draws from small and medium (up to 100 people), UK-based firms who deliver services to UK clients. We interviewed a sample of professional service firms using a structured list of interview questions and this data was then [...]
How to describe and create a business model
Business models fascinate me; how businesses define, reinvent or change their business model is one of the most interesting parts of business strategy. I recently read an article called Reinventing Your Business Model by Mark W. Johnson, Clayton M. Christensen, and Henning Kagermann, which in my opinion had an interesting approach to describing a business model. What is a [...]
Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) foundation and practitioner exams
This week I have had an intensive training course to prepare me for my MSP practitioner exams. To start with I had 15 hours of pre-work to complete which included reading the MSP manual, practicing some mock exam questions and reading the syllabus. As the manual is over 290 pages needless to say this took more than [...]
If you don’t want your unprofitable customers someone else will
I am back at lectures today for the start of the second year of my MBA. I am now studying my electives and I have chosen a strategy/ technology track which is where my interests lie. Today I am starting “Strategies for Fast Track Venturing”, which from the course outline is to study theories and techniques [...]