April 10-11, 2017

prof. William P. Barnett

Stanford University

Structured Value-Creation through Innovation Strategies

Prof. Barnett will discuss (a) how companies can purchase innovations, and the boundary conditions of these strategies for smaller companies (from global perspective); and (b) how companies should create value by ensuring product-market fit in case of radical innovations where markets do not exists. While purchasing of innovation is a short-term strategy that can ensure survival, continuous building of innovation capabilities is paramount for long-term company success. Such strategy implies strategic management of calculated risks that help a company learn through failure to deliver local/regional/global unicorn innovations.

May 22-23, 2017

prof. Sim B. Sitkin

Duke University

Paradox of Individual vs. Collective Value-Creation Strategies

Since long-term survival of firms implies a necessity for strategic turnarounds, increasingly the key value lies within the firm’s best employees (at all levels of decision-making). Thus, the lecture focuses on understanding key principles of selecting and developing top talents (both as specialist and as generalists) in order to acquire and develop capabilities necessary for balancing explorative and exploitative activities of the firm. Prof. Sitkin will closely focus on the concept of trust/distrust as the key element to getting great people to share great ideas thus enhancing individuals’ and organizational innovation potentials.

June 7-8, 2017

prof. Michael Ahearne

University of Houston

Challenging Sales Dogmas for Structured Value-Creation

Firstly, the lecture will analyze strategic decisions that company needs to make regarding executional functioning of sales department and optimization of its results. In that respect, the focus will be on: (a) structuring sales in the organization; (b) structuring sales principles and processes; and (c) managing sales over the long-run and short-run. Secondly, the lecture discusses sales as an important strategic tool for value creation: (a) from customer perspective, where sales can be used for creating short-term and long-term value growth for customers, and (b) from firm perspective, where sales can be used as an important touchpoint stimulating both incremental and radical innovations.

June 26-27, 2017

prof. Jonathan S. Feinstein

Yale School of Management

Value-Creation by Facilitation of Individual/Team Creativity

Lecture will focus on understanding creative processes of individuals and teams to identify strategic options that can stimulate creative output in organizations. Prof. Feinstein will focus on creative development of individuals engaged in creative endeavors, across a wide range of fields to facilitate and describe (i) the nature of creative interests and conceptions of creative interests, (ii) the development of creative interests, and (iii) the ways in which our interests and conceptions guide us and spark ideas and projects, leading to our creative contributions. Therefore, the lecture will challenge one’s ability to stimulate his/her own creativity, as well as to stimulate the creativity of others.

July 10-11, 2017

prof. Ajay K. Kohli

Georgia Institute of Technology

Challenging Market Dogmas for Structured Value-Creation

Lecture focuses on understanding the possibilities to use market knowledge to a firm’s advantage, rather than blinding the company actions. While companies sometimes claim that “their product was before its time”, the truth is that their market strategies were faulty, given product-market characteristics. Therefore, lecture discusses different strategies a firm can/should implement given the current/desired product-market fit. Strategies range from understanding consumers and their needs to purposeful management of consumers’ decision-making processes to create preferable market conditions for a firm’s products.

September 4-5, 2017

prof. Gregory Carpenter

Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Shaping Perceptual Monopolies as a Value-Creation Strategy

Lecture focuses on understanding (a) strategies that market pioneers can implement to create perceptual monopolies, and (b) strategies that market challengers can implement to have a chance at taking over the market leader’s monopolistic position in consumer minds. As markets exist only in consumer minds, prof. Carpenter will introduce the concept of resurgence which examines how companies can reinvent themselves by embracing a consumer perspective. By understanding the process of building the consumer into company’s value system, and building the company into a consumer’s value system, companies can successfully manage their monopolistic positions in consumers’ minds.

September 25-26, 2017

prof. John Deighton

Harvard Business School

Structured Value-Creation under Platform Markets Conditions

Lecture will focus on strategies that can be developed to address the challenges of modern markets which are characterized by contradicting trends: (a) markets of one, on both demand and supply side, as well as (b) hypercompetitive platforms markets, which minimize effectiveness of differentiation strategies. While some markets might take somewhat longer times to reach such solutions, others are facing global platform market conditions immediately. Prof. Deighton will focus on understanding the key principles driving some of the most successful platforms, and numerous market failures and opportunities they created for their competitors and partners.

February 19-20, 2018

prof. Bulent Gultekin

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Value Creation through Financial Decision-making

Lecture will focus on understanding financial decision-making challenges at corporate level, focusing on (a) challenges of creating value through financial management, and (b) challenges of harnessing value through equity financing. Regarding equity financing, discussion will analyze benefits and caveats of equity financing by (a) seeking strategic partner through mergers and acquisitions, and (b) seeking dispersed ownership structure through public offerings. As regional economy is intensely rushing toward industry consolidations, decisions on how to acquire capital and ensure growth are becoming essential and increasingly complex.