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Organizations are held back by an obsolescent work operating system that was built for the Second Industrial Revolution, with work defined as "jobs" and workers defined as "job-holding employees." Leaders must adopt and implement a new approach to organizing work that deconstructs jobs into tasks and deploys workers based on their skills, not job descriptions.

While much of the Western world focuses on aspects of China that appear to threaten other nations, we should not ignore the lessons that can be found in China’s remarkable evolution as a marketplace innovator. The first key fundamental lesson to take from China’s digital innovators is the benefits of fully embracing user-driven innovation, starting with unmet customer needs, rather than transformational technology embodied in what you are sure will be a killer product. The second major lesson that Chinese digital innovators can teach us is to go beyond digital functionality and offer users an all-embracing digital lifestyle. While Google and Facebook derive most of their revenues from online advertising, Tencent and Alibaba’s online advertising accounts for a fraction of their revenues, because they follow a different business model, which constitutes the third fundamental lesson that the West can learn from China’s digital innovators. While Western companies fret about growing user bases to grow advertising, most Chinese digital innovators focus on generating profits by selling an ever-increasing portfolio of products and services designed to satisfy unmet customer needs or contribute to a more complete digital lifestyle.

Within a workplace, emotional landscapes the collective composition of employee sentiments directly influence how people make sense of situations. Managing these landscapes can help in the pursuit of organizational strategic objectives. Current advice recommends strategies such as encouraging general suppression of emotions or giving generic pep talks. Instead, leaders need to respond to employees' emotional states with more nuance.

Experienced executives rely too much on old playbooks PLUS the downside of creative superstars, a better way to manage virtual queues, and more.

Companies that want to increase their innovativeness often copy hip start-ups by adopting agile practices like stand-up meetings. Too bad they don't really work.

Judging from how they're portrayed in the media, it would be easy to dismiss family businesses as hotbeds of power-playing, backstabbing, and favor-currying, ultimately destined to fail; think of the Murdochs and News Corp, or the Redstones and National Amusements, to name just two. But many family businesses have enjoyed success for decades, even centuries. The authors explore five aspects of ownership that are crucial to whether a family business thrives or perishes: the type of ownership (whether a sole owner, a partnership, or another arrangement); the governance structure; how "success" is defined; what information the owners will (and won't) communicate to other family members and stakeholders; and how to handle the transition to the next generation.

Extensive research shows that when employees get hands-on managerial support, they perform better than when they're left to their own devices, but unnecessary or unwanted help can be demoralizing and counterproductive. So how do you intervene constructively? The authors share three key lessons learned during 10 years of study: (1) Step in only when people are engaged in a challenging task and ready to accept help; (2) clarify that your role is to offer assistance, not take over the project or judge anyone; and (3) align the rhythm of your involvement to employees' needs, determining whether the situation calls for intensive guidance in the short term or intermittent path clearing over a prolonged period. These strategies are especially valuable for helping teams that are physically separated, as so many are during the current pandemic.

A manager grapples with the question of flexible work schedules. This fictional case study by Thomas J. DeLong features expert commentary by Elizabeth McKinnon and Rachel Thomas.

The iconic recording artist on courage, compassion, and resilience.

A manager grapples with the question of flexible work schedules. This fictional case study by Thomas J. DeLong features expert commentary by Elizabeth McKinnon and Rachel Thomas.

A manager grapples with the question of flexible work schedules. This fictional case study by Thomas J. DeLong features expert commentary by Elizabeth McKinnon and Rachel Thomas.

When 2020 began, the world was literally on fire, and things got worse from there. In a wide-ranging interview, best-selling author and Harvard Business School Professor Rebecca Henderson shares key insights from her latest book, Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire, which was short-listed for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. After describing the key changes required to the capitalist system, including 'rewiring finance', she describes what each of us can do-as an employee, a consumer and a citizen-to shape the world for the better.

The authors-senior editors at Bloomberg News and The Economist-argue that the global pandemic has laid bare the weaknesses of Western societies. In an excerpt from their book of the same title, they share part of their recipe for reform. Among their recommended reforms are 'Stop Subsidizing the Rich and the Old', 'Reinvigorate Talent' and 'Unleash Technology'. While they focus on the U.S. in the book, their wake-up call can be applied to any western nation. In the end, they say, COVID-19 gives us an opportunity to re-think the design of our entire system-something that hasn't happened in decades.

Faced with pandemic-related challenges and risks, business leaders are rightly concerned about how their companies will be affected by COVID-19 over the long term and what to do next. The global CEO of Deloitte describes how five fundamental leadership qualities can lessen the impact of the global pandemic - and enable an organization to emerge stronger. They include Put Your Mission First, Design from the Head and the Heart, and Aim for Speed Over Elegance. Going forward, he says clarity of thinking and communication will be at a premium, and leaders who can best exhibit this clarity will inspire their organizations to be prepared for whatever may come.

Conventional wisdom has held that business should keep a low profile on divisive political issues. Why risk drawing the ire of politicians, pundits, customers, shareholders or employees by wading into non-business concerns? And yet 72 per cent of Walmart customers now expect it to 'take a stand on important social issues' and 85 per cent agree that it should 'make it clear what values it stands for.' The paradigm is shifting, and in today's world, business leaders need to have expertise on both 'the gridiron' and 'the pitch'. The authors provide a 'playbook' for navigating this new territory, which includes empowering your team to communicate, adopting a readiness posture and playing the long game.

By all reasonable counts, the 2020 Tour de France 2 (Tour) probably should have been cancelled. The phenomenon could have become an extreme transmitter for the coronavirus (COVID). Had the grand tradition continued normally, it would have drawn millions of spectators, who would have gathered at venues throughout France, packed together for the best views of the field, within arm's reach of cycling celebrities who were accustomed to high-touch access, selfie embraces, and victory hugs. Many decisions and actions made during the Tour secured crisis aversion, and offer prime lessons for organizational crisis preparation and response, as described in this case.

The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project represented a clear opportunity for China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to aid in the economic development of a rapidly rising East African economy. Like most BRI projects across the globe, the project focused on transportation and logistical infrastructure. As a component of the Maritime Silk Road, the SGR could potentially open Eastern and Central Africa to global trade and development, including opportunities for China's business-export expansion. However, with the completion of the railway's first two stages, SGR's operating deficit and heavy debt obligations threatened the project's expansion and success. Many now questioned whether the project would truly benefit Kenya

This case describes Thailand's response to the global Covid-19 pandemic from when it started in January 2020, until early August 2020 when it was considered to be under control. While the Thai government managed to keep the coronavirus at bay, the pandemic nevertheless had exacted a heavy toll on the country. Businesses, small and large, were floundering - particularly those in tourism, a sector that had been the lifeblood of the kingdom's economy. Many Thais also had to adjust to working from home (WFH). This new normal would likely remain as the business-as-usual scenario for many months ahead. As a consultant to the Thai government, David Chong, had been brought in to review the country's Covid-19 crisis response, particularly on the performance of its reopening strategy, with an eye to preserving tourism and mitigating the impact on families and firms due to WFH arrangements. The critical questions that David needed to address were as follows: How could the economy be reopened safely and sustainably? How would the Thai society work, live, and play at home when so many were telecommuting? What are the critical decisions that the country should focus on?

Sterlite Copper (Sterlite), owned by Vedanta Resources Limited (Vedanta), was one of three major copper plants in India. However, the plant had been the subject of controversy and public protests. The people residing in Tuticorin, where the plant was located, considered Sterlite to be a major contributor to the air and water pollution in the neighbouring area. In light of the latest public protest on May 23, 2018, which was supported by several national and international non-government organizations, human rights activists, and Tamil solidarity groups, the Government of Tamil Nadu ordered a permanent shutdown of the plant. Since the plant contributed around 5 per cent to Vedanta’s operating profit, the closure of the plant not only threatened the earnings and profitability of the parent company but also damaged its brand image. The plant was a major source of copper for over 400 small and medium-sized industries in its downstream value chain. The closure of the plant put at risk the jobs of a large number of employees, which Sterlite supported both directly and indirectly through its value chain. What should Vedanta do in such a hostile environment?

XP, an investment platform, was on the verge of defining whether to do an IPO or selling off a majority stake to Itaú Unibanco, Brazil´s largest financial conglomerate. Under the leadership of Guilherme Benchimol, XP´s co-founder and CEO, XP had risen to become the largest independent investment platform in Brazil in 2017, reshaping the country's financial investment landscape by marketing itself as a "financial supermarket." The company offered digital seamless investment alternatives at low fees, pioneering a model leveraged across a wide network of independent financial advisors and disrupting a market dominated by large incumbent banks. By late 2016, XP raked in $71 million in net income, boasting over 340,000 clients and $20 billion in assets under custody. In turn, Itaú recorded $415 billion in total assets and net profits above $6.7 billion in 2016, serving over 55 million clients. Benchimol believed the game was just starting: Brazil presented an enormous market opportunity to offer more financial services to millions of new investment clients, but future growth would require additional funding. By the end of 2016, Brazil´s stock market began to show signs of recovery after a two-year performance slump, enticing XP to go public. Yet, Martin Escobari-an XP board member and partner at General Atlantic, the firm that owned 49% of the company by then-felt XP should explore the possibility of finding a potential buyer for XP, shortlisting Itaú among candidates. Although Benchimol openly criticized Brazil´s top banks and their treatment of clients, he realized Itaú´s privileged market position could provide XP with more credibility and, ultimately, more clients. Did it make sense to sell XP to Brazil´s biggest bank? Or should XP go public?