There are many examples of organizations who were once leaders in their field with great resources in people, intellectual property, and access to capital. These once towering idols somehow lost their way. Some even disappeared. It is said that “success has many parents, but failure is an orphan.” Pick one example of a business disaster to research and describe in which the demise was due to a failure to innovate. With sufficient research, quantify the once lofty position and chronicle either the mistakes made, or opportunities missed. Based on what you have learned in class, why did the leaders fail to chart the right course – any cognitive traps, risks unmitigated, ignorance of key trends, poor technology strategy, resources misallocated, or failure to capitalize on opportunities right under their noses? Be as specific as you can, with detailed examples to support your reasoning. In the second part of your paper, use your 20-20 hindsight to creatively make a winner out of one of history’s losers. Craft an “alternate reality” and propose how things might have gone differently with you as the leader. Consider specific factors under the management’s control, or otherwise knowable at the time. What insights would you have derived, and how? How might you have allocated resources, discovered unmet needs, forged the right alliances, taken prudent risks, established feedback loops or invested in advanced technology? Walk the reader through a timeline of your actions, and the resulting effects. Take some risks with this assignment – write your own best-case scenario. Projects should use 1-inch margins, 11-point type, 1-1/2 line spacing (that is halfway between single and double spaced) and be no longer than about three written pages, not counting any graphs, diagrams or figures, which can be placed at the end, or interspersed with the text. Include any such materials necessary to clarify or validate your assertions, and demonstrate mastery of course material – visuals really help! Some general rules: Do not do both individual projects on the same topic, unless both the research and the conclusion consist of unique work. If you choose to do a project on a subject discussed extensively in class, your project must add new insight to the subject and contain your own assertions to get full credit. Use a variety of sources to get multiple perspectives on your topic. Technical, financial, trade and general interest media use very different lenses to view the same subject. Feel free to take some risks in this assignment – go outside the expected if the insights derived from your research give you an unconventional viewpoint – that’s how fortunes are made.
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