Strategy & Leadership
The New Supercompetitors
Companies that realize the power of their capabilities can shape how industries evolve.
Issue 76, Autumn 2014
Cover story
In this issue
The Entrepreneurship Coach, Kill Your Performance Ratings, Lenovo Goes Global, and More
Organizations & PeopleThe Entrepreneurship Coach
Working with startups showed Ernesto Sirolli how anyone can have more impact: Shut up and listen.
Global PerspectiveLenovo Goes Global
China’s most recognizable brand has plans to overtake Apple and Samsung.
Organizations & PeopleKill your performance ratings
Neuroscience shows why numbers-based HR management is obsolete.
Thought LeadersRobert Sutton’s Guide to Excellence
The Stanford professor’s latest research explores the practices that enable companies to scale what they do best.
Leading Ideas
Global PerspectiveDoing Business Where Governance Is Weak
Eight principles for succeeding in markets prone to ethical and legal risks.
Young ProfsThought LeadersKatherine Milkman on why fresh starts matter
The Wharton professor says moments when you wipe the slate clean can help you meet your goals.
Organizations & PeopleDoes Your Company Keep Its Promises?
Despite best intentions, many businesses struggle with “commitment drift.”
Operations & ManufacturingWarfare, Software, and Industrial Design
The benefits of an organic, more iterative approach to product development.
Consumer Productss+b Trend Watch: Supermarkets’ Misguided Strategy
Why are grocery stores building up while sales go down?
Essays
For Honda, Waigaya Is the Way
At the Japanese auto giant, unplanned, agenda-free meetings are ubiquitous and indispensable.
How Old Industries Become Young Again
Five indicators reveal when your sector is about to be transformed by dematurity.
Reimagine Your Enterprise
Make human-centered design the heart of your digital agenda.
Three Secrets of Organizational Effectiveness
How the practices of “pride builders” can help you develop a high-performance culture.
Books in Brief
Genius Is a Team Effort
Michael Schrage reviews two notable books by veteran Silicon Valley journalists that seek to explain collaborative charisma.
The Downside of Competition
In A Bigger Prize, former CEO Margaret Heffernan argues that the corporate world has an unhealthy obsession with winning.
Moore’s Law is still changing everything
In The Second Machine Age, two MIT professors show how the exponential growth of new technologies is remaking the world.
Recent Research
The Art and Science of Add-On Fees
Companies must find a balance between the luxuries customers will pay for and the necessities they expect.
Trending articles
- 1.Question your successes as much as your failures
When the high-fives are over, it’s important to interrogate the reasons behind your wins.
- 2.Leadership when the chips are down
A century after his death, Ernest Shackleton and his unsuccessful Antarctic expedition offer a rich lesson on how to embrace failure.
- 3.Six reasons successful leaders love questions
Asking questions and listening to the questions of others helps leaders make better decisions.
- 4.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.
- 5.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.
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