Issue 63, Summer 2011

Cover story

Strategy & Leadership
CEO Succession 2010: The Four Types of CEOs

by Ken Favaro, Per-Ola Karlsson, and Gary L. Neilson

Booz & Company’s annual study of turnover among chief executives — now increasingly diverse, as the world’s largest companies migrate to emerging economies — suggests that the nature of the job varies with the role of the corporate core.

In this issue

Strategic Bets, The Future of Women Leaders in the Middle East, The Art of the Business Narrative, and More

Finance
The Next Winning Move in Private Equity

by Ken Favaro and J. Neely

To outperform their rivals, private equity firms will need to enhance their ability to spur organic growth in the companies they own. (And public companies will need to follow.)
Strategy & Leadership
Strategic Bets

by Ram Charan and Michael Sisk

Sooner or later, most global business leaders will have to put their entire enterprise at risk. Here’s how to do it successfully.
Global Perspective
The Future of Women Leaders in the Middle East

by DeAnne Aguirre, Melissa Master Cavanaugh, and Karim Sabbagh

A number of high-profile women are chipping at the “cement ceiling” in the Gulf countries and making it possible for others to do the same.

Comment

Energy
Will Your Next Electric Company Be a Global Oil Enterprise?

by Viren Doshi, Robert Oushoorn, and Robert Famulok

As the energy markets evolve, oil and gas majors should consider diversifying into power generation.
Thought Leaders
The Art of the Business Narrative

by Art Kleiner

Hollywood producer, executive, and entrepreneur Peter Guber makes the case that telling purposeful stories is an essential skill for leaders.
Finance
Banking on Social Media

by Johannes Bussmann, Paul Hyde, and Jörg Sandrock

Retail banks can use Facebook, YouTube, and other new platforms to better reach their “Generation C” customers.
Organizations & People
Retooling Labor Costs

by Harry Hawkes, Albert Kent, and Vikas Bhalla

Despite years of cutbacks, many companies’ pay structures are still unbalanced. Here’s a dispassionate, logical way to realign them.
Strategy & Leadership
Data Points: Corporate Incoherence

More than half of surveyed executives don’t buy their company’s strategy.
Operations & Manufacturing
Focus and Scale on the Internet

by Tim Laseter

The next wave of online business models must focus narrowly, rather than blindly pursuing scale.
Organizations & People
Eat Your Peas: A Recipe for Culture Change

by Rutger von Post

The methods used by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to promote health in a West Virginia city can also be used to raise organizational performance.
Strategy & Leadership
Crafting Best-in-Class Business Intelligence

by Jamie Campbell, Kenny Kurtzman, and Adam Michaels

Start by choosing the metrics that matter most for your company, and then ensure the support of your employees and partners.
Finance
The New Financial Matchmakers

by Bob Rice

The rise of private market networks is changing the capital markets and opening up new opportunities for business leaders and innovators.

Conversation

The Thought Leader Interview: Henry Chesbrough

by Rob Norton

To escape the commodity trap — and to compete effectively in a knowledge-based economy — business leaders of all kinds need to reinvent themselves as innovators in services.
New Views of Microeconomics

by David K. Hurst

A review of Identity Economics, by George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton.
New Views of Capitalism

by David K. Hurst

A review of The New Capitalist Manifesto, by Umair Haque.
New Views of Management

by David K. Hurst

A review of Practically Radical, by William C. Taylor.
New Views of Sustainable Commerce

by David K. Hurst

A review of Earth, Inc., by Gregory Unruh.
Is Creativity a Bad Trait for a Senior Leader?

by Matt Palmquist

Supporters of the status quo — not the creative types — are seen as more effective.

Trending articles

1.Six reasons successful leaders love questions
Asking questions and listening to the questions of others helps leaders make better decisions.
2.Aiming AI at society’s toughest challenges
As Chief Science Officer of Alphabet’s innovation arm, David Andre applies AI to moonshot challenges—and sees generative AI as a pivotal new tool in his efforts.
3.Does culture really eat strategy for breakfast?
This chestnut of the business world overlooks the importance of—and the challenge of creating—a clear strategy.
4.How fearless organizations succeed
Amy Edmondson describes three steps leaders can take to create psychological safety, the prerequisite for greater innovation and growth.
5.10 principles of organization design
These fundamental guidelines, drawn from experience, can help you reshape your organization to fit your business strategy. See also “A guide to organization design.”

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