Blog - Kyle C. Murphy

Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies—Why Competitive Strategy Still Matters

Kyle Murphy December 24, 2025 0 Blog, Business generic strategies, michael porter

Understanding how firms compete—and why some outperform others—is central to business strategy. Competitive advantage explains not only a firm’s success or failure, but also broader industry outcomes, such as profitability, innovation, and market structure. Among the many frameworks developed to explain competitive behavior, Michael Porter’s model of Generic Competitive Strategies remains one of the most influential and […]

Competing on Resources—Why Resources Still Rule Strategy

Kyle Murphy September 27, 2025 1 Blog, Business, Leadership competitive advantage, leadership, management, resource-based competitive advantage, strategy

Every company likes to think its strategy is the sharpest tool in the shed. But the truth is, advantage doesn’t come from clever PowerPoints — it comes from the resources you’ve built and protected. Not just cash in the bank but also the kind of assets, capabilities, and intangibles that are hard for rivals to […]

Unforced Errors in Startups: How Founders Trip Themselves Up

Kyle Murphy November 13, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Entrepreneurship, Leadership founder mode, founders, leadership, management, startups

Startups thrive on visionary founders who are deeply committed to their ideas. They identify gaps in the market, see opportunities others don’t, and possess the relentless drive to bring something new into the world. However, for all the traits that make them successful, founders are also susceptible to what tennis commentators might call “unforced errors”—avoidable […]

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The Next Step for Generative AI: Specific Use Case Data Visualization

Kyle Murphy October 16, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Innovation, Technology leadership, management, servant leadership

Generative AI has come a long way in a relatively short time from its early applications, focusing primarily on non-use case-specific text generation and data interpretation. As AI permeates more industries, the demand for more sophisticated and visually-driven data representation is becoming essential. While valuable, managers and analysts realize that raw data or text-based outputs […]

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Servant Leadership: Getting Back to Its Roots

Kyle Murphy September 25, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Leadership leadership, management, servant leadership

I first read about the servant leadership model in the 1990s, and it made a lasting impact on me. I was a young advertising executive with too much ambition and ego and not really a clue how to lead others other than through sheer will. While leadership models constantly evolve, servant leadership is a timeless […]

Middle Management: Hidden Assets or Villains

Kyle Murphy August 14, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Leadership leadership, management, middle management, org structure

In most larger companies, middle management is the linchpin that holds organizational elements together and drives execution. However, these crucial roles can sometimes become points of friction, impeding the attainment of strategic goals, which leads to them being targets of criticism by leadership, employees, and shareholders. Interestingly, the fault doesn’t lie with the middle managers […]

Visualization of Data Analysis: A Key to Mitigating Cognitive Heuristics and Biases

Kyle Murphy July 30, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Economics, Leadership Behavioral Economics, biases, heuristics, leadership, management

Authors note: This is a revised post from a January 2024 article. I corrected a citation. Data-driven decision-making has been heralded as a silver bullet by management to better decisions, but cognitive heuristics and biases often cloud human judgment even with data, leading to suboptimal outcomes. With our immense amount of data, our brains use […]

Top Five Focus Areas for Founders and CEOs Scaling Up

Kyle Murphy July 17, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Entrepreneurship, Leadership ceo, leadership, management, scaling up

Scaling a company is one of entrepreneurship’s most exhilarating and challenging phases. Having navigated this journey multiple times, I’ve distilled the crucial focus areas founders and CEOs must prioritize. These five pillars are foundational to scaling up and doing so sustainably and strategically. 1. Strategic Vision and Alignment As a CEO, your foremost responsibility is to […]

You Get What You Inspect, Not Expect: The Art of Effective Leadership

Kyle Murphy July 3, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Leadership inspect, leadership, management, metrics, performance management

As a CEO, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that you cannot simply assume things will get done. Assumptions can lead to missed deadlines, unmet goals, and, ultimately, a failure to achieve the company’s strategic vision. However, there’s a fine line between ensuring accountability and becoming a micromanager. This is where the […]

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The Importance of an Operating Rhythm for Companies and How to Build One

Kyle Murphy June 6, 2024 0 Blog, Business, Leadership leadership, operating rhythm

Running a business is hard, but maintaining a consistent and effective operating rhythm can be the difference between success and stagnation. An operating rhythm refers to the regular cadence of activities and processes that drive a company forward, ensuring alignment, accountability, and agility. Here’s why it’s essential and how to build one. Why an Operating […]

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