Think Functionally, Act Strategically
WITH VIDEO: When a company competes on capabilities, its specialist leaders—in HR, IT, finance, and elsewhere—play a new, influential role.
Issue 70, Spring 2013
Cover story
In this issue
Designing the Right Supply Chain; Hyundai’s Capabilities Play; Beyond Functions, and More
Well-Tailored IT
Develop a sophisticated, more strategically oriented information technology approach.Designing the Right Supply Chain
Companies that align their operations to their strategy unleash superior performance.Beyond Functions
Conventional organizational structures may be obsolete. How about a model based on capabilities instead?Hyundai’s Capabilities Play
The Korean automaker’s explosive growth in the last few years — achieved through better quality, stylish design, and clever marketing — has made it a dynamic player in the U.S. auto industry.The Thought Leader Interview: Cynthia Montgomery
A Harvard Business School professor observes that leaders become better strategists by engaging in conversations about the purpose of a company.
Leading Ideas
The ABCs of Analytics
“Big data” can drive competitive advantage if companies follow a few timeless principles.
The Dueling Myths of Business
Author and scenario planning expert Betty Sue Flowers dissects the attitudes and beliefs that unconsciously influence leaders.
What the West Can Learn from Jugaad
The structured approach to innovation favored by mature companies can’t deliver the agility and differentiation they need today.
The Digital Government
How government agencies can use information and communications technology to increase efficiency—and better people’s lives.
s+b Trend Watch: Big Oil Loses Its Exploration Edge
The six integrated “supermajor” oil companies that once dominated oil and gas exploration are losing ground to independent companies.
Six Secrets to Doing Less
Why the best innovation strategies are rooted in the art of subtraction.
Predicting “Flash Crashes”
A controversial financial market indicator may be able to prevent short-term crises in the modern computerized trading world.
Essays
Product Management Gets Stronger
An innovative approach to managing product portfolios—the strong-form model—can help companies stay ahead of change.
Strategies for Global Connectedness
National efforts to expand international flows—of trade, capital, information, and people—can be a major leverage point for raising prosperity.
How to Keep the Promise of the Third Billion
A new index of countries links their future prosperity to raising the status of women.
Books in Brief
Betting against the Fragilistas
A review of Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Fill ’er Up
A review of Private Empire, by Steve Coll.
Sourcing Growth
A review of Build, Borrow, or Buy, by Laurence Capron and Will Mitchell.
Need Skills? Start Training
A review of Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs: The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do about It, by Peter Cappelli.
Recent Research
When Companies Become Social Activists
Joining boycotts brings tactical and long-term benefits.
Trending articles
- 1.Reimagining consumer insights at PepsiCo
Stephan Gans, PepsiCo’s Chief Consumer Insights and Analytics Officer, wants to bake real-time, data-rich insights into the food-and-beverage giant’s commercial decision-making processes.
- 2.Jargon monoxide, friction fixers, and the meeting that could have been an email
Organizational psychologist and best-selling author Robert Sutton discusses companies’ obstacles and catalysts for getting things done.
- 3.Daniel Kahneman: The Thought Leader interviewThe Nobel Prize–winning economist parses the roles of emotion, cognition, and perception in the understanding of business risk.
- 4.The rise of the eco-friendly consumerDuring the pandemic, people have become more sensitive to the environmental impact of their shopping decisions—and companies are responding.
- 5.10 principles of organization designThese 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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