Heimbouch H
Harv Bus Rev. 2001 Jul-Aug;79(7):31-8, 40, 143.
As far as anyone could tell, Vigor Skin Care's star was rising, mostly on the strength of Ageless Vigor, its new line of enriched skin cleansers and cosmetics. In fact, this evening, the three employees responsible for developing the product line were slated to receive the parent company's highest award for performance. But CEO Peter Markles knew that despite the accolades, the business unit--and its "fearsome threesome"--had hit a rough patch in recent months. When Peter took the reins four years ago, Vigor Skin Care was the sleeping dog of the health-and-beauty industry; his challenge was to rejuvenate the maturing business. He knew a turnaround would require equal parts discipline, politics, and creativity--so he pulled together a team that could address those needs. Peter relied on Sandy Fryda, Vigor's longtime marketing director, to help him navigate the tricky political waters at headquarters. And he tapped 30-year-old Josh Bartola, a maverick contributor to Vigor Skin Care's research group, for his independent spirit and new product ideas. Their all-consuming, intensely collaborative efforts resulted in the successful Ageless Vigor line. Then reality set in. The team found the day-to-day operations of manufacturing Ageless Vigor, for all their necessity and urgency, a bit tedious. Peter felt relegated to troubleshooting distribution problems. Josh was having meetings with executives from another division who were actively recruiting the wunderkind. And Sandy was simply on the verge of burnout. Tonight, at the award ceremony, there would be speeches and applause and toasts. But tomorrow, Peter would have to face the question: Should he try to salvage the Ageless Vigor team? Four commentators offer their advice in this fictional case study.
就大家所知，活力护肤公司的声誉蒸蒸日上，这主要归功于其全新的强化皮肤清洁产品和化妆品系列——“逆龄活力”。事实上，今晚，负责开发该产品线的三名员工将荣获母公司的最高绩效奖。但首席执行官彼得·马克尔斯知道，尽管赞誉有加，但该业务部门——以及它的“铁三角”——在最近几个月遇到了麻烦。四年前彼得接任时，活力护肤公司在健康与美容行业中还默默无闻；他面临的挑战是让这个成熟的企业焕发生机。他知道，要实现转变需要纪律、权谋和创造力三者兼备，所以他组建了一个能够满足这些需求的团队。彼得依靠活力公司的长期营销总监桑迪·弗莱达，帮他在公司总部错综复杂的政治环境中周旋。他还发掘了活力护肤公司研究团队中30岁的特立独行的贡献者乔希·巴托拉，看中他的独立精神和新产品创意。他们全力以赴、高度协作，最终成功推出了“逆龄活力”系列产品。然而现实却接踵而至。团队发现，生产“逆龄活力”产品的日常运营，尽管必不可少且紧急，但却有些乏味。彼得感觉自己沦为了在解决分销问题。乔希则在与另一个部门的高管开会，那些人正在积极招揽这位神童。而桑迪简直就要累垮了。今晚，在颁奖典礼上，将会有演讲、掌声和祝酒。但明天，彼得将不得不面对这个问题：他是否应该努力挽救“逆龄活力”团队？四位评论家在这个虚构的案例研究中给出了他们的建议。
