How to Design a Winning Company
The eight components of your organizational genome hold the secret to unleashing superior performance.
Issue 72, Autumn 2013
Cover story
In this issue
An Uncommonly Cohesive Conglomerate, How Ready Are You for Growth, , The Thought Leader Interview: Loran Nordgren, and More
An Uncommonly Cohesive Conglomerate
How United Technologies Corporation—owner of Pratt & Whitney, Otis Elevator, and a wide range of other businesses—became one of the major corporate success stories of the past two decades.How Ready Are You for Growth?
A Booz & Company study reveals that only 17 percent of companies are poised for a profitable future.The Thought Leader Interview: Loran Nordgren
The cofounder of unconscious thought theory explains how taking a break and distracting the mind can lead to higher-quality decision making.
Leading Ideas
The Business Case for Nature
By demonstrating the value of investing in the environment, conservationists can forge unexpected partnerships and reap large-scale benefits.
The Big Bite of Small Brands
Upstarts are gaining market share across consumer packaged goods categories. Here’s how incumbents can respond.
How to Let 999 Flowers Die
For innovation to flourish, variation must go hand in hand with selection.
Daniel Pink’s New Pitch
In today’s markets, we are all salespeople.
Is the Arctic the Next Emerging Market?
The earth’s northernmost regions are rich in resources. The challenge will be accessing them sustainably.
Essays
To an Analog Banker in a Digital World
What happened to recorded music is about to happen to you. But only a few banks are making the right moves from branches to online services.
Life in the Matrix
As companies evolve away from traditional hierarchies, a major cultural shift is required.
The Secret to a Successful Divestiture
When you are selling part of your company, don’t just offer buyers a potential asset; give them the capabilities to gain value from it.
Books in Brief
Strategic Change without Tears
A review of Strategic Transformation: Changing while Winning, by Manuel Hensmans, Gerry Johnson, and George Yip.
The Wizards of Money
In The Alchemists, economic journalist Neil Irwin argues that the financial crisis of 2007–08 made the central bankers of the U.S., U.K., and Europe the most powerful people on earth.
Feminine Values Ascending
A review of The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future, by John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio
A Robot Ate My Job
A review of Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age, by Marty Neumeier.
Recent Research
Getting IT and Marketing Managers to Make Nice
Differing views about technology usage can hurt a company’s performance.
Trending articles
- 1.A better way to market sustainable products
Research by NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business and PwC highlights the differences between messages that connect with customers and those that miss.
- 2.A flexible routine can help you change for goodThe most effective habits create stability but avoid rigidity.
- 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.From principles to practice: Responsible AI in action
How can companies unlock the value in artificial intelligence while mitigating the downsides? We asked leaders in this quickly changing field to weigh in.
- 5.The secret recipe for organizational culture is no recipe
Culture emerges from a variety of ingredients within your organization, and cookie-cutter approaches won’t get it right.
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