Business Thinking

Technological Windows is Steve Jobs's conception of the game of consumer technology. We look at how he used it over the course of his career. Note: this is a follow-up to and an update for the Commoncog Case Library Beta.

Two case studies of real world competitive advantage, followed by a question: was this a moat or not?

A concrete story of positive process improvement, deep from the trenches of early customer service at Amazon.

Most companies skimp on process improvement. But the surprising thing is that they do so not because they're bad or lazy — but because there are system dynamics that prevent them from doing so. We take a look at what those are.

Every experimentation and iteration loop looks the same, but the vast majority of folk in business don't seem to have the discipline to execute till the end. Why this is, and why it's hard.

Focus may be about saying no to good ideas, but it certainly doesn't mean doing one thing at a time. This is what focus looks like at an organisational level, told through the story of a business turnaround and the Marine Corps approach to war.

Several stories about one of the hardest maxims to put to practice in business.

Professor Rand Spiro on why (and how!) business cases are more important to learn from than synthesised business concepts.

Cognitive Flexibility Theory creator Rand Spiro on what complexity theory has to say about the wickedness of business.

Competitive advantages in business that come from cultural differences tend to be counter-positioning, not process power. Why this is surprising, and why it matters.