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Category: Communications Insights

Building Blocks of the Elevator Pitch

Welcome to orientation! Faculty director and Associate Professor, Michelle Shumate, PhD led the first workshop about the Elevator Pitch. Pre-orientation, we were asked to prepare and memorize a 30 second Elevator Introduction. The content is a short, clear, and impressive snippet of what you would say to a leader in a company you currently work

The Creative Class

Want to succeed in society today? One global strategy that Professor Gaonkar recommended is to belong to the creative class. Belonging to this specific class will make you more economically secure. What is the creative class you might ask? Well, the creative class includes those who work in science and engineering, architecture and design, education,

Long Tail vs. Blockbuster Strategy

Long tail and blockbuster strategy might be terms you have heard before, or they could be completely new to you. Both are very important to understanding how companies determine how to spend and invest in products or movies. Long tail can be used in the marketplace for almost everything, including the retail world and media

Synergy

As I am enter my mid-20s, I am starting to realize the value that cooking has. It provides a hot meal on those cold winter nights and an excellent excuse to invite friends over to dinner. Alas, I was never taught how to cook nor the skills required to prepare a wholesome meal. I knew

Burger King’s Hot Dogs

In last week’s Communication Strategy and Competition course, Professor Aron introduced an article about Burger King selling hot dogs and the impact it may have. Burger King is unique to other fast food restaurants because it uses open-flame grills to cook their meat. (Think about it – Burger King’s hamburgers have grate lines, but McDonald’s

Where is Your Focus?

When developing a business strategy or mission, how much attention should you give your competitors? Is it better to focus on your company’s strengths and weaknesses, or try to imitate the strengths of your rivals? This is one of the questions that arose from our latest class session. As individuals, we are tempted to compare

Creating a Competitive Advantage

It’s the objective that every company would love to achieve – to create a competitive advantage over their rivals in the industry. A competitive advantage is when a company has more economic value than the other companies in an industry. An example of this is Facebook in social media. Even though there are other options

Strategy – Is the NFL Too Big to Fail?

It was a great first day of class in the Winter Quarter. The weather was unseasonably warm in Evanston for early January and everyone in the program came back from the Break refreshed and ready to learn. I am taking the Communication Strategy and Competition course which looks at how and why firms make decisions.

2015 Alumni Panel | Leveraging Your MSC Degree

On February 7, 2015 a panel of MSC alumni spoke to current students during a lunchtime presentation about how to best leverage the MSC degree. Panelists included: Penelope Johnson, MSC 2013 (moderator);  (L-R at table) Toby Cortelyou, MSC 2012; Aspasia Apostokis Miller, MSC 1994; Mary Kelley, MSC 2011; Jason S. Kenne, MSC 2012; and Brandon

MSC Professor Irving Rein’s New Book is Now Available

MSC Professor Irving Rein, together with Ben Shields and Adam Grossman, has recently published a new book titled: The Sports Strategist: Developing Leaders for a High-Performance Industry. This book blends authors’ extensive industry experience and academic expertise to provide a comprehensive view of leadership strategies that will position readers and their organization for sustainable success