Product launches

A new study found that the people leading the rollout can make all the difference.

Marketers need to meet people during unexpected pockets of free time.

In this edition of the HBR Executive Agenda, HBR editor at large Adi Ignatius shares insights from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the marketing world’s big annual meetup on the French Riviera.

Five steps to help you enhance the discovery process and deliver products that meet both customer needs and business goals.

A guide to getting the most from your product’s early adopters.

Countercyclical rollouts can be a smart tactic—but you need to keep several factors in mind.

Success isn’t just about recurring revenue — it’s about creating habits.

You might not be seeing potential hurdles.

Should you go all in, or take a more measured approach?

Four ways to do it well.

Better spacing improves learning.

You have to act like a real startup.

Get customers excited with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Meerkat, and more.

Not all companies can afford to keep secrets.

These companies provide a model for bootstrapping entrepreneurs.

Corporate social responsibility is becoming a clear priority: More than 6,000 companies in 135 countries have adopted the UN’s Global Compact, agreeing to align their operations with 10 principles relating to human rights, labor, environment, and corruption. But CSR remains controversial because of its impact on the bottom line. Critics charge that it saps firms—and […]

Joan Schneider and Julie Hall of Schneider Associates, coauthors of the HBR article Why Most Product Launches Fail, explain how to attract and maintain consumers’ attention.

Getting attention for a new offering is a big challenge. Five causes of flops—and how to avoid them

With all the commotion about the Apple iPad heading into the Easter weekend, you’d have thought it was the second coming. (Certainly its arrival was greeted with some throwing down of palms.) But while most of the buzz was about the coolness of its design and the game-changing nature of its functionality, not many analysts […]

A failure of execution forced Steelcase to ramp up the critical thinking that goes into product development.