Writers at strategy+business choose the best reads of the year in seven categories.

Running a company in a pandemic-impacted world, the trouble with “managers,” and more of the most read stories this year.

Writers at strategy+business pick the year’s best books in seven categories.

The magazine’s longtime art director chooses 15 memorable covers from our first 25 years.

How to build a world-class data and insights capability in the post–COVID-19 world.

Get ready to put your knowledge of all things business to the test with a puzzle celebrating our 25th anniversary.

Applying design thinking principles will enable a quick bottom-up reform, with changes driven by a deep understanding of your people.

When faced with uncertainty, successful companies prepare and act, rather than react.

B2B companies can use the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to reevalute what clients and stakeholders need, and accelerate products and services that will better serve them.

Organizations that shift compliance from a cost of doing business to a position of strategic value can generate significant competitive and cost advantage, and build trust. For more insight, see www.pwc.com/compliance-transformed.

How do you keep — and deepen — your vital connection to consumers at this most critical time? Here are six practices to guide you. 

For businesses battling the COVID-19 crisis, it may be hard to envision what the world is going to look like in the future. What is clear is that uncertainty will remain constant. These insights from five CEOs on how they manage in uncertain times — which were published before the pandemic — are a reminder that resilience and agility are important drivers of success, whatever the economic and business environment.

Two years’ of interviews with CEOs from around the world reveal how leaders view the effect of technology on their workforces. For more insight, see PwC’s 23rd Annual Global CEO Survey.

How to think like a CEO, handing off the baton after a long tenure, and more of the most read stories this year.

We look at how executives and those on their way to leadership roles can navigate today’s complicated business landscape.

Express your own commitment as a leader in a more effective way. For further insights, read “10 principles for leadership.”

How leaders can use digital twin technology to optimize their company’s health. For more insights, see www.pwc.com/digitaltwin.

Writers at strategy+business pick the year’s best books in seven categories.

The first step to rebuilding trust is to be aware that change and complexity are constant and that everyone — customers, regulators, employees, and the general public — are potential stakeholders. 

How to raise the skills of your employees so that they can move successfully into the future. For further insights, read “10 principles of workforce transformation.”

Create an early warning system to avoid self-sabotaging behaviors. For further insight, read  “Develop a personal early warning system to avoid making bad leadership choices.”

A comprehensive way to build talent and fill jobs in our rapidly changing digital economy.  For further insights, read “A strategist’s guide to upskilling.”

A selection of books perfect for your commute — or the beach.

Financial services is full of customer pain points that could be resolved with the help of voice-assisted devices. For further insight, read  “Banking on voice.”

Five game-changing practices to help those waiting in the wings succeed. For further insights, read “Succeeding the long-serving legend in the corner office.”

The next time you’re confounded by an unexpected or confusing situation at work, use these practical strategies to move forward with greater success. For further insights, read “Three ways to demystify disappointments at work.”

Taxes are often viewed as simply a compliance issue. But what if organizations thought of taxes as a way to benefit their businesses now, and help them plan for a better future? Here, a collection of articles delves into different corners of the tax world to explain how it’s done.

Dan Cable, professor of organizational behavior at the London Business School, argues that although managers need an element of control to get results, change efforts should happen with less work and more play. For more insights, visit the Transformation Talks podcast series.

Moya Greene, former chief executive of Royal Mail, shares insights on how to approach a complex change initiative involving multiple stakeholders. For more insights, visit the Transformation Talks podcast series.

Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Studios, talks about making change efforts meaningful by involving people at every level of the process. For more insights, visit the Transformation Talks podcast series.

Two strategies to help you be a more self-assured leader.  For further insights, read “How to regain your confidence when it falters.”

The monetary value of information about a single person’s online and offline activity may reach $10 a month by 2025 in the U.S. For further insights, read “Tomorrow’s Data Heroes.”

An essential pocket guide for your digital transformation, from legacy technology systems to the platforms of the future. For more insight, read “10 Principles for Modernizing Your Company’s Technology.”

Workers today want careers that fit their values, are enjoyable, and contribute to society. Here’s what business leaders can do to deliver on this idea of “good work.” For further insights, read “Good Work.”
 

The gap between the world’s poorest consumers and others is diminishing. For more insight, read “The New Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.”

Despite all the information available about artificial intelligence — and the efforts business leaders are making to come to terms with this technology — there are still some takeaways you should consider this year. Gain additional insights with PwC’s 2019 AI Predictions.

Four ways to help your CSO create value. For more insight, see the 2018 Chief Strategy Officer Benchmarking Study from Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting business.

Inside every company, people work across functions to meet their own goals and their firm’s priorities. But relationships that start out well often become adversarial over time. For more insight, read “Turning ‘Accidental Adversaries’ into Allies.”

Three key trends that are shaping value-added and sales taxes. For more insight, read “It Pays to Keep Tabs on Indirect Taxes.”

The revenge of print, why our brains fool us, and more of the most read stories this year.

Improvising in a structured manner will help ensure big bumps in the road don’t throw you completely off course. For more insight, read “How to Fail Successfully.”

Writers at strategy+business pick the year’s best books in seven categories.

Four building blocks that are essential to every major change effort. For more insights, visit pwc.com/transformation.

They’re outdated, inaccurate, misleading, or simply eye-roll inducing. For more insight, read “How the Right Business Language Can Catalyze Change.”

Three ways to work across deep divisions. For more insight, read “There’s No Such Thing as Difficult People.”

To be a more agile leader, nurture the habits that accelerate your learning capacity and be aware of the ones that block new experiences. For more insight, see “Leaders: Break Through Your Learning Blockers.”

How to resolve issues without compromising your values. For more insight, read “Collaborating Isn’t the Only Option.”

It is human nature to distrust what we don’t understand, and much about AI may not be completely clear. For further insights, read “The Future of Artificial Intelligence Depends on Trust.”

Bringing digital prowess and sustainable practices together should be at the forefront of strategic thinking for any business. For further insights, read “Digital Technology and Sustainability: Positive Mutual Reinforcement.”

The power landscape is changing quickly, providing new opportunities for both upstarts and traditional utilities.

A quick look at the challenges faced by location-independent freelancers, and the opportunities they present for organizations. For more insight, read “Designing a Future for the Untethered Workforce.”

By carefully selecting the change-driving behaviors that are right for your organization, and the mechanisms to spread them, you can drive cultural evolution. For further insights, read “Make Your Company’s Culture Go Viral.”

A selection of books perfect for your commute — or the beach.

Scenes from Union Square Cafe as the staff gets ready to open for the day show the company’s culture of “enlightened hospitality” in action. For more insight, read “Danny Meyer’s Recipe for Success.”

Three tactics your team can use to encourage fair — and useful — fighting. For more insight, read “Why Teams Should Argue.”

Approach every conversation as an opportunity to improvise. For more insight, read “Using Improv to Transform How You Lead.”

Tips for clarifying your thoughts and testing new ideas. For more insight, read “Journaling Can Boost Your Leadership Skills.”

Four steps that can help you lead your organization past its self-defeating limits. For further insights, read “Conversations That Kill Your Culture.”

If you want to advance in your job and find meaning in your day-to-day work, consider these strategies. For further insights, read “What to Do When Success Leaves You Empty.”

A look at the artwork from the recent pages of strategy+business, on themes including overcoming bias at work, competitiveness in the age of digitization, and the ethics of CEOs.

Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen on how female professionals can change self-limiting behaviors. For related insights, read “How Women Can Succeed by Rethinking Old Habits.”

The greatest learning often takes place when we step outside our comfort zones.
For further insights, read “Two Simple Concepts to Free Up Innovation.”

It’s a self-reinforcing cycle that starts with pride. For more insight, read “How to Harness Employees’ Emotional Energy.”

Eight ways that AI is likely to reshape business in the next 12 months. For further insights, see PwC’s study.

Seven books that will help you kick off 2018 on a sound footing.

Among all the articles we’ve published over the last year, here are the ones that drew the most attention.

Myanmar’s emergence on the global stage will not follow the same trajectory as other frontier nations. For further insights, read “Myanmar’s Halting Economic Steps onto the Global Stage.”

How to develop a coherent strategy to face today's technological threats. For more insight, read “10 Principles for Winning the Game of Digital Disruption.”

Our writers’ selection of the year’s best business book in seven categories.

Break out of the habit and address the issue that is holding back your career.

The fear of disruption is often exaggerated. In reality, organizations that are threatened by new technologies and new players usually have more time than they realize to craft an effective response. For further insights, read “The Fear of Disruption Can Be More Damaging than Actual Disruption.”

A selection of books perfect for your commute — or the beach.

The founder of the apparel company talks about how much personal growth leaders should demand — of employees and themselves. For further insights, read “Eileen Fisher and the Personal Side of Leadership.”

Whether you’re sinking beneath your workload or sailing through with ease largely depends on your ability to suss out subtle challenges and turn them into opportunities.

A look at the major challenges and opportunities in your industry. For more insights, read the full collection of trends from Strategy&.

A graphic showing why more chief executives are being ousted for ethical lapses, and some tips on how to prevent missteps. For more insight, read “Are CEOs Less Ethical Than in the Past?”

Ten tips to navigate the opportunities and uncertainties of this great wave of technological change. For more insight, read “10 Principles for Leading the Next Industrial Revolution.”

How to get the strategists and implementers in your company to work together effectively. For more insight, read “10 Principles of Strategy through Execution.”

Ten tips to help you get your reorg right the first time. For more insight, read “10 Principles of Organization Design.”

The editor of the International Economy outlines a plan for restoring income growth based on encouraging startups and competition.

What really happens to human systems — machines, processes, and businesses — when smart machines enter the picture? For related insights, read “Five Overlooked Principles Shaping the Destiny of Your Business.”

Interviews with dozens of women who have risen to the C-suite illuminate triumphs, travails, and important lessons.

Having a clear sense of who you are will help you grow coherently, and outpace the competition. For further insights, read “Pulling the Triggers That Pull Companies.”

Among all the articles we’ve published over the last year, here are the ones that drew the most attention.

A handy guide for enterprise leaders on managing the U.K’.s split from the European Union. For more insight, read “Business Beyond Brexit.”

The remarkable gains in productivity in growth in the post–World War II years ground to a halt in the 1970s — and we’re still living with the fallout.

Neuroscientists are learning how executive decision makers can use their minds to transform organizations. For further insights, read “The Neuroscience of Strategic Leadership.”

The former Federal Reserve chairman’s remarkable career offers insight into the links between politics and markets.

The “top shelf” picks in our Best Business Books 2016 roundup.

Digital technologies are changing the game even in places where you might not expect it, including how pizzas get delivered and how household appliances function. For further insights, read “Software-as-a-Catalyst.”

From income inequality to gridlock, progress is coming from some unlikely sources.

Innovation and superior performance aren’t just for Silicon Valley disruptors and global giants.

A handy pocket guide for engaging with your users. For more insight, read “10 Principles of Customer Strategy.”

As machines grow smarter and capture more of the value associated with work, how will people continue to keep busy and thrive?

Understanding your personal strength can help guide your career choices.

A look at what the last Communist country in the Americas can offer international companies. For further insights, read “Reconnecting Cuba.”

Not every new entrant in your market is a disruption. Learn how to diagnose and respond to threats. For further insights, read “Diagnosing Dislocation.”

Ten principles for empowering people and building high-performance companies. For more insight, read “The 10 Principles of Organizational DNA.”

Last year, startups died at a rate of one per week. When it comes to scaling, the chances of survival are even lower. For further insights, read “The Chrysalis Effect.”

Ten tips in one graphic.

Can we train ourselves to stop ignoring the obvious dangers we face?

Ten principles that can enable you to unlock your company's potential. For more insight, read “10 Principles of Strategic Leadership.”

Ten time-honored tools and techniques in a graphic. For more insight, read “10 Principles of Leading Change Management.”

Most companies lack people in positions of power with the experience and confidence required to challenge the status quo. For further insights, read “10 Principles of Strategic Leadership.”

Track your chances of becoming a chief executive at one of the world’s largest companies, based on a study of incoming leaders.

The security of barriers is based not just on keeping people out, but on watching people who come in. For further insights, read “Safety in the Cloud.”

Some examples, past and present, of how good design overcomes complexity. See also “Your Employees’ User Experience Should Be a Strategic Priority.” 

Stanford's Adina Sterling dissects popular strategies to recruit top talent. For further insights, read “Social Network Effects in Hiring.”

At its worst, culture can be a drag on productivity. At its best, it is an emotional energizer. Here's how companies can use it to gain a competitive advantage. For further insights, read “10 Principles of Organizational Culture.”

Among all the articles we’ve published over the last year, here are the ones that drew the most attention.

As s+b marks 20 years of publication, we look back (and forward) to reflect on the themes, people, and ideas that have animated two decades of original thinking. This photo gallery is part of the series of blog posts “Celebrating Two Decades of s+b.”

UNC Kenan-Flagler professor Mike Christian discusses techniques executives can use to improve interpersonal relationships and performance. For more related insights, read “Mike Christian on Mindfulness and Mental Energy.”

This photo gallery is part of the article “Best Business Books 2015.”

Comparing R&D spending in 2007 and 2015 reveals the new geography of innovation. See also “Innovation’s New World Order.”

Every successful business needs both high-potential producers and high-potential performers. Which one are you?

By identifying your top talent and putting them in the right position, you’re increasing your odds of creating new businesses.

In looking to its past, the company recognized the unique capabilities that are now shaping its future. See also “How Adidas Found Its Second Wind.”

Brett Gilbert, associate professor at Rutgers Business School, discusses how clusters, or groups of companies that congregate in a region around a particular field, are evolving. For more related insights, read “How Tech Clusters Form.”

The entire history of management ideas can be seen as a series of answers to a few pragmatic queries.

Companies are using advanced data analytics to focus on a range of new business problems, and have found there are several keys to success in using big data. For more related insights, read “Overcoming Big Data’s Challenges.”

The unusual perspective of high-performing entrepreneurs allows them to turn good ideas into great businesses.

Leadership author and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith — who is always skeptical of catchphrases like employee engagement — talks about the qualities necessary to galvanize individuals’ commitment at work. 

To become a better leader, you need to start by asking yourself tough questions, and follow through.

Large companies can lose billions of dollars when they don’t plan for changes in leadership. See also “The $112 Billion CEO Succession Problem.”

How the Mexican company developed the global capabilities needed to support its international business strategy. For more insights, read the related article.

Former BP policy development manager Christine Bader discusses why CSR efforts fail - and how to help them succeed. For more insights, read the related blog post.

The Center for Creative Leadership’s Jennifer Deal on how organizations can respect their people’s time. For more insights, read the related article.

Harvard University social psychology professor Ellen Langer says organizations can make better decisions by setting the right context. For more insights, read the related article.

Are you ready for what’s coming in your industry? For more insights, read the full collection of perspectives from Strategy&.

Among all the articles we’ve published over the last year, here are the ones that garnered the most attention.

INSEAD professor Erin Meyer discusses how companies can boost the efficiency of their multinational teams by focusing on how they communicate across cultures. For more insights, read the related article.

This slideshow is part of the article “Best Business Books 2014.”

This slideshow is part of the article “Warfare, Software, and Industrial Design.”

Companies that realize the power of their capabilities can shape how industries evolve. For more insights, read the related article.

In this video, Wharton professor Katherine Milkman explains how to motivate people to move beyond their past failures and achieve their goals. For more insights, read “Katherine Milkman on Why Fresh Starts Matter.”

Watch this video to see why traditional employee evaluations are flawed. For more insights, read “Kill Your Performance Ratings.”

Stanford’s Robert Sutton discusses the mind-set and strategies of companies that are most adept at building and spreading high standards.

MIT professor Thomas Malone predicts that new technologies will enable more decentralized decision making and ultimately more freedom in business. For more related insights,  read “Thomas Malone on Building Smarter Teams.”

DeAnne Aguirre, senior partner with Strategy&, discusses techniques that can help companies transform quickly and effectively. For more insight,  read “10 Principles of Leading Change Management.”

Successful companies, MIT professor Thomas Malone says, take advantage of collective intelligence theory to improve their performance. Also read “Thomas Malone on Building Smarter Teams.”

MIT professor Thomas Malone discusses what makes a group smart, why women can increase a group’s collective intelligence, and more in this exclusive interview with strategy+business.

MIT professor Thomas Malone discusses why women can increase a group's collective intelligence; read “Thomas Malone on Building Smarter Teams.”

Rita Gunther McGrath says digitization is affecting strategy in new ways—for instance, by removing entry barriers and requiring greater flexibility. For more related insights, read “The Thought Leader Interview: Rita Gunther McGrath.”

Automakers are far more confident about diesel’s popularity in the U.S. than they are about hybrids or electric cars. Here's a look at the real value of diesel.

Rita Gunther McGrath uncovers how companies can tap into more dynamic tools to develop better strategies for how and where they’re competing. For more related insights, read “The Thought Leader Interview: Rita Gunther McGrath.”

Rita Gunther McGrath explains why organizations need to shed their old-fashioned mentality about how they recruit people in order to fill the talent gap. For more related insights, read “The Thought Leader Interview: Rita Gunther McGrath.”

Rita Gunther McGrath reveals why innovation and strategy have converged—and what that means for how companies do business. For more related insights, read “The Thought Leader Interview: Rita Gunther McGrath.”

To assess how well you’re retaining your top talent, take our interactive quiz.

Rita Gunther McGrath outlines the hot-button issues that companies are facing in 2014. For more related insights, read “The Thought Leader Interview: Rita Gunther McGrath.”

Eric Ries talks about how the “build, measure, learn” principle can help companies innovate and get ahead. For more related insights, read "Why Eric Ries Likes Management."

The associate professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management discusses the life cycle of a financial crisis. For more related insights, read “Efraim Benmelech on Financial Contagion."

A new wave of software innovation is about to transform industry — and give the United States the chance for a lasting edge.

In the fourth video interview of this five-part series, Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, describes his system of innovation accounting—and how it can convert learning into dollars. For more related insights, read “Why Eric Ries Likes Management."

In the third video interview of this five-part series, Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, discusses why it's important to attach metrics to the process of learning, using an idea he calls "validated learning."

The Lean Startup author says that entrepreneurship is management — and describes how that concept can help achieve better results at any company.

In the first video interview of this five-part series, Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, tells Paul Michelman, executive editor at strategy+business, that entrepreneurs exist everywhere—and discusses what that means for innovation at big companies.

Our review of the year's best business books, in pictures.

Do you help bring out the best in your people or do you inadvertently hold them back from superior performance? Complete this assessment to find out.

Kellogg’s Loran Nordgren says the key to unlocking unconscious thought is being motivated to find answers.

Former Strategy& senior partner Ken Favaro explains to former s+b executive editor Paul Michelman that when leaders substitute visions, missions, purposes, plans, or goals for the real work of strategy, they send their firms adrift.

Former Strategy& senior partner Ken Favaro speaks with former s+b executive editor Paul Michelman about understanding the real value of corporate strategy and the head office.

In the third part of our In Conversation video series, Kellogg's Loran Nordgren argues that while conscious thought helps you identify available options, unconscious thought helps you figure out which choice is best.

In the second part of this "In Conversation" video series, Kellogg's Loran Nordgren talks about how tapping into the unconscious can spark creativity and innovation in the corporate world.

In the first part of this four-part video series, Loran Nordgren, an associate professor at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, tells Amy D'Onofrio, enterprise practice coordinator at Booz & Company, that taking a break and distracting the mind can lead to higher-quality decision making.

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.

The earth’s northernmost regions are rich in resources. The challenge will be accessing them sustainably. This slideshow is part of the article “Is the Arctic the Next Emerging Market?

A visual history of AeroVironment’s seemingly impossible innovations since it was founded in 1971.

Harvard Business School professor Cynthia Montgomery speaks with Booz & Company partner Ken Favaro about why strategy needs to be reimagined, and how a leader can help define what a business is and why it matters.

Systems therapist David Kantor speaks with Booz & Company partner Rutger von Post about how leaders can tap into "structural dynamics" to create better-performing teams.