Ken Cooper | Teaching Innovation.

In my previous post, I argued that the potential gains from globalization are larger than most people think. Since I only addressed possible benefits, it is perhaps unsurprising that readers were quick to point out many potential downsides. The global recession has recently and directly impacted the lives of many, most obviously in the form of rising unemployment — and the finger of blame is often...

Western multinationals — especially the most successful ones — consistently struggle to achieve their growth targets in emerging markets. Why? Because they try to repeat their past success formulas — the ones that work so well for them in developed markets.

This was the case at Harman, which had achieved extraordinary success in the high-end automotive infotainment systems for luxury cars. However, the...

I've just returned from a trip to Germany and Scandinavia, where I heard two different management teams debate what it meant to be "truly differentiated." Both teams were struggling with a familiar paradox: As consumers, we know almost instinctively when a product or service is really stands out from other available offerings and we seek it out accordingly. But it's much harder for a management team to design a differentiated product or service and deliver it to consumers consistently....

I wanted to understand how the U.S.'s failing infrastructure is affecting our economy, so I called Eric Spiegel. He's president and CEO of Siemens Corporation, the U.S. arm of the global technology, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure company. He also has 25 years of experience consulting to the energy, manufacturing, and utility industries. Here are his thoughts on what the U.S. needs to do to address our...

Following up on his pledge to provide greater support for manufacturing in his State of the Union address, President Obama has announced a proposal to cut the effective tax rate for manufacturers to 25%.

A number of economists howled against...