Inside the Mind of the CEO
This interview series explores the critical decisions today’s chief executives face.
Issue 92, Autumn 2018
Cover story
In this issue
Organizations & PeopleChanging the conversations that kill your culture
Deceptive messages can undermine your enterprise from within. Relabel and reframe them to develop positive narratives.
Features
Operations & ManufacturingDigital Champions
The interlinked platforms that make up Industry 4.0 represent a new kind of challenge for manufacturers and other technology-intensive companies. With four key business ecosystems, they can make this new world their own.
Strategy & LeadershipDanny Meyer’s recipe for success
How the restaurant mogul behind Union Square Cafe, Shake Shack, and many other dining destinations uses culture to drive scale. See also “Building a Culture of Hospitality: Danny Meyer’s Team Prepares for Service.”
Leading Ideas
Strategy & LeadershipThe Bionic Company
Businesses need to develop their behavior, cognitive, and network capital so they can create and capture value that competitors can’t erode.
Marketing, Media & SalesWhy You Need to Keep Your Customers Close
Subscription models can bring a steady revenue stream for companies that understand the customer life cycle.
s+b BlogsStrategy & LeadershipUsing improv to transform how you lead
By embracing the concept of “yes, and,” managers can improve how they communicate. See also “Three Questions to Help You Become a ‘Yes, And’ Leader.”
Thought LeadersAre You Spending Way Too Much on Software?
Author and technology consultant Dave McComb on how to curb runaway IT spending.
TechnologyThe future of artificial intelligence depends on trust
If it is to drive business success, AI cannot hide in a black box. For more insight, see “3 Steps to Building Trust in AI.”
Essays
Operations & ManufacturingThe rise of the last-mile exchange
Keeping up with the growing volume of e-commerce will require delivery companies to disrupt their long-standing business model.
Global PerspectiveHow to collaborate when you don’t have consensus
Three “stretch” strategies can help teams move forward when members can’t agree and don’t like or trust one another.
Strategy & LeadershipIf Cash Is King, Why Doesn’t It Rule?
With tax rules changing and interest rates set to rise globally, companies need to organize their operations around a new value equation.
The Thought Leader Interview
Thought LeadersOath CEO Tim Armstrong Believes in the Promise of the Mobile Consumer
The company that owns AOL and Yahoo is investing in content, software, and better online user experiences for marketers and consumers.
Books in Brief
How to Make Property Work Better for Society
In their new book, Eric A. Posner and E. Glen Weyl argue that rethinking the ownership of assets can lead to greater economic efficiency and equality. See also “Summer Reading: 8 Business Books – in Pictures”
Back from the Brink?
A new book argues that the global financial crisis that began in 2008 would have been much worse without American financial innovation.
The Enthusiasms of Tom Peters
In his exuberant new book, the management guru sums up 50 years of experience with exhortations to pursue excellence.
Recent Research
s+b BlogsThe Unfunny Side of Wisecracking Bosses
Although supervisors’ humor can boost workplace morale, too many jokes or the wrong sort can leave employees feeling disengaged and more apt to break the rules.
Trending articles
- 1.The new way NatWest Group is making work better
The UK bank’s Group COO Jen Tippin explains the bold moves behind the company’s HR evolution.
- 2.The inside-out approach to customer-centricity
You can’t transform your customer experience unless you align the organizational culture—especially the day-to-day behaviors of employees—to reach a clear outcome.
- 3.A leader’s handbook for managing culture
Harvard Business School professor emeritus James Heskett sums up the insights he’s gleaned in more than 30 years of studying corporate culture.
- 4.10 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.”
- 5.The fortune at the bottom of the pyramidLow-income markets present a prodigious opportunity for the world’s wealthiest companies — to seek their fortunes and bring prosperity to the aspiring poor.
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