How do companies and brands go wrong? Why they make such strategic mistakes that taken near extinction? With all the knowledge and experience, company large and small do go wrong in their marketing, branding, or business strategy. This book highlights such examples and explain what and how such big names went wrong, and to derive lessons to avoid such mistakes from happening by others.

Impressed with the economic performance of Malaysia, triggered an interest in examining how Malaysia (then under PM Mahathir) managed to pull out of the financial crisis of 1997, that gripped much of South East Asia. Years later, Malaysia managed to pull itself out of the financial crisis, and to be a rising Asian tiger. This early interest has turned into love and affection to a country with unique history, resources, and marvelous people. The deeper my research of Malaysia, the more my frustration grew with the lack of ability of a nation to move into a unique socio-economic position. That is, to equalize with Singapore, or compete at the global level with Korea. I chose 2020 to publish this body of work, because I was waiting to confirm my hypothesis that Malaysia will not manage to achieve Wawasan 2020 (vision 2020), which is to be amongst 1st world nations. Failing to achieve vision 2020 is no coincidence. Malaysia is stuck in the middle between cheap production countries such as Vietnam and Korea, and services-based economies such as Singapore. The first essay that follows the introduction is called The Phenomenon of Economic Inertia. The premise for this research paper is that Malaysia is suffering from a phenomenon of inertia, economically however, that it is incapable of pulling itself out of its current position like many developing nations) for number of reasons. With corruption being deeply rooted in the varying layers of society, and a leadership that failed to control corruption (as in the case of Singapore) and move the country into globally competitive position. This is what is meant by a “Phenomenon of Inertia” that is a conscious self-inflicted condition. The human factor in the hypothesis of “Phenomenon of Inertia” does comprise of society at large; people, leadership, and institutions. Managerial practices in Malaysia are still hierarchical and power based. Such hierarchy and power bases, are an evident participant in the inner-play of socio-economics of the Malaysian nation. The Malaysian current state of affairs (as of 2020) is self-inflicted condition. With the Malaysia education system being deeply flawed. This naturally led into the state of Malaysian lack of industrial competitiveness, which is not breaking through its global competitors. With so much to offer, Malaysia still has a great chance to make the leap forward to achieve its Wawasan to be realized in a later date, as long as it gets there. This will entirely depend on the will of the Malaysian people collectively.

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

A guide to Michael Porters thinking on competition and strategy, classic and current.

Most company's change initiatives fail. Yours don't have to. If you read nothing else on change management, read these 10 articles (featuring “Leading Change,” by John P. Kotter). We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you spearhead change in your organization. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management will inspire you to: Lead change through eight critical stages Establish a sense of urgency Overcome addiction to the status quo Mobilize commitment Silence naysayers Minimize the pain of change Concentrate resources Motivate change when business is good This collection of best-selling articles includes: featured article "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail" by John P. Kotter, "Change Through Persuasion," "Leading Change When Business Is Good: An Interview with Samuel J. Palmisano," "Radical Change, the Quiet Way," "Tipping Point Leadership," "A Survival Guide for Leaders," "The Real Reason People Won't Change," "Cracking the Code of Change," "The Hard Side of Change Management," and "Why Change Programs Don't Produce Change."

A revised edition of the bestselling classic This book covers strategy for organisations that operate more than one business, a situation commonly referred to as group-level or corporate-level strategy. Corporate-level strategy addresses four types of decisions that only corporate-level managers can make: which businesses or markets to enter, how much to invest in each business, how to select and guide the managers of these businesses, and which activities to centralise at the corporate level. This book gives managers and executive students all the tools they need to make and review effective corporate strategy across a range of organisations.

This book will provide empirical evidence of blunders committed by firms from small developing countries that operate in developed country markets. It will identify lessons that managers who are looking to do business in international markets can learn in order to lessen the mistakes in markets that are psychically distant.