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In most corporate settings, leaders are expected to inspire and direct employees--leading is something they do to followers. But in professional service firms, the situation is different. These firms tend to be full of powerful, opinionated experts who prize their autonomy. They don't easily accept the role of follower--and may be just as unwilling to act as leaders. A leader's authority is contingent upon their consent, which can be quickly withdrawn. In this context, leadership has to be a collective, not an individual, endeavor. It requires a grasp of three key dynamics: (1) Establishing legitimacy. To be accepted by their peers, leaders have to keep demonstrating an ability to generate revenue. (2) Maneuvering politically. Achieving consensus requires social astuteness and networking skill, and peers must believe the leader is acting in their interests, and (3) Negotiating perpetually. To strike a balance between asserting control and giving peers autonomy, leaders must always negotiate. These dynamics are both in flux and interconnected, and leaders have to constantly manage them.

Corporations are being pushed to dial down their single-minded pursuit of financial gain and pay closer attention to their impact on employees, customers, communities, and the environment. But changing an organization's DNA may require upending the existing business model and lowering profitability, at least in the short term. The authors' research suggests that successful dual-purpose companies build a commitment to creating both economic and social value into their core activities. This approach, which they call hybrid organizing, includes setting and monitoring social goals alongside financial ones; structuring the organization to support both; hiring and mobilizing employees to embrace them; and practicing dual-minded leadership.

Research shows that many people--even those with seemingly enviable careers--grow dissatisfied in their jobs in their mid-40s. They may regret past choices or feel stuck in a rut. But Kieran Setiya thinks the tools of his trade--philosophy--can help. He says sadness about the road not taken can be mitigated by attending to the people and pursuits that we cherish and wouldn't have without our careers. He notes that we spend much of our work time solving problems and meeting needs, so we should engage in some feel-good activities (inside or outside the office). And he suggests focusing less on projects and more on process, to replace a "What's next?" mindset with an appreciation for the present.

The All-Star shortstop and third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles talks about his two-decade career, mentoring teammates, having his father as a coach, and more.

To achieve positive economic, environmental, and social benefits, many incumbent manufacturing firms attempt to apply circular economy principles to their business practices. However, these firms often struggle to change their existing linear business models to circular models because the steps required for successful transformation are still poorly understood. Based on a multiple case study of eight business model transformation journeys, this article proposes a roadmap for circular business model transformation. It provides a step-by-step process to enable circular transition, allowing companies to meet environmental, social, and financial objectives and proactively address sustainability.

The emerging growth of the sharing economy demonstrates the need to understand the factors driving this growth and the business models and practices of sharing economy service (SES) companies. Using case vignettes as the research method, this article analyzes the operations of a large number of these companies and presents a set of building blocks that are useful for generating the business models of SES companies. An examination of the successes and failures in the practices of SES companies provides a number of managerial recommendations.

Fulfillment strategies that offer consumers a consistent shopping experience across different channels and devices through a variety of last-mile delivery options have emerged as a powerful engine for growth in the retail sector. To thrive in this new environment, retailers need to (re)configure their last-mile supply networks to achieve better alignment between delivery responsiveness, product variety, and convenience. This article reviews multiple case studies of leading retailers across geographical regions, maps these retailers' network configurations, and conducts consumer surveys to examine how retailers operate their last-mile distribution to cope with omnichannel demands. This study develops a typology consisting of four ideal forms of last-mile supply networks differentiated by the speed of delivery responsiveness and level of product variety. It proposes a set of prescriptive guidelines for retailers to undertake reconfiguration of their last-mile distribution.

Digital piracy challenges firms by reducing revenues and shifting consumption habits. Recently, some firms have successfully leveraged business models against piracy, but the understanding about this phenomenon still lacks depth and structure. This study examines the characteristics of digital piracy in some of the most affected industries; presents comparative case studies of two iconic firms, Spotify and Netflix; and analyzes their digital business model responses. This article then considers a generic digital content distributor and explains how business model responses contribute to generating and capturing value. Theoretical and practical implications for technological innovation, firm diversification, and network competition are also discussed.

The future of health care may change dramatically as entrepreneurs offer solutions that change how we prevent, diagnose, and cure health conditions, using artificial intelligence (AI). This article provides a timely and critical analysis of AI-driven health care startups and identifies emerging business model archetypes that entrepreneurs from around the world are using to bring AI solutions to the marketplace. It identifies areas of value creation for the application of AI in health care and proposes an approach to designing business models for AI health care startups.

Business models that unlock efficiency across entire networks are becoming increasingly common in the so-called sharing economy. However, the principles underlying these models can also be used in B2B settings. This article proposes some simple rules that managers can use in a systematic process to build similar disruptive business models. It illustrates these rules by deconstructing the go-to-market strategy that resulted in Vizio becoming the dominant flat panel TV vendor in the United States.

A new era of disruptive technologies and changing business practices is moving a number of industries toward the "real-time" enterprise. With increased capabilities and intensity of online digital platforms, managers need to deliver goods and services faster, and to respond rapidly to customers within a disruptive and dynamic business environment. It is therefore critical to ask what "real time" means to managers, what real-time management entails, and learn how enterprises capture business value through real-time management, especially when the ability to adjust and operate in real time must be ingrained in organization's culture, structures, and processes. We surveyed over 1,000 senior managers to better understand those issues and to get broader insights into enabling technologies and organizational mechanisms needed to transition more effectively into real-time management. Interviews provided deeper insights about managerial perceptions of real time, and about how, depending on the manager's focus, real time generates value to the enterprise. We show that managers, who use "real time" in different ways, articulate different facets of experience and practices, leading to the Fast & Flow framework. Thinking of real time as "Fast & Flow" presents a sensemaking that is better attuned to the organization, the market, and a technology-driven state of flux. We provide insights for managers to build a "Fast & Flow" responsive enterprise and to transition to real-time management.

Companies seeking to lead organic growth in their industry should start with a coherent, positive innovation narrative and reinforce it with action. Four innovation levers that organic growth leaders use to stay ahead of competitors are: (1) investing in innovation talent, (2) encouraging prudent risk-taking, (3) adopting a customer-centric innovation process, and (4) aligning metrics and recognition with innovation.

The biggest consumer goods companies shell out more than $1 billion a year for R&D but lately have seen no appreciable impact on their sales. That's troubling for companies whose growth has plateaued in recent years. In contrast, some smaller competitors that spend less on R&D - but do so more shrewdly - have seen a significant boost in sales. In this sector, innovators needn't bet big to reap returns.

Companies often treat social media as the conversation that represents what consumers are saying about any given brand. But research shows that online and offline conversations are different beasts. Even though they both drive sales, they need to be measured and managed separately.

While anonymous feedback in teams can sometimes be less than constructive, when used the right way, digital chat tools that provide anonymity can help managers gauge employee morale and drive change.

Digital customer service agents (known as virtual assistants, chatbots, or softbots) are typically used to sift through and process only the most straightforward customer inquiries, such as requests for basic information. At most companies, complex issues get passed along to human agents. In that regard, public sector agencies in Australia are ahead of the curve: They are using digital agents to handle complex inquiries from citizens, and businesses stand to learn much from these applications.

There are clear benefits for companies allowing website users to login with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Google. But the ease of user access that social logins make possible comes at a price: The platforms learn a great deal more about users' buying and searching behavior via these agreements - information that could wind up helping the company's competitors (including the platform itself) down the line.

The world of hackathons brings the study of balancing high-speed, creative autonomy and administrative control to bear in many interesting ways for managers across different industries.

The field of neuromarketing, sometimes known as consumer neuroscience, studies the brain to predict and potentially even manipulate consumer behavior and decision making. Over the past five years several groundbreaking studies have demonstrated its potential to create value for marketers. But those interested in using its tools must still determine whether that's worth the investment and how to do it well. "Neuromarketing" loosely refers to the measurement of physiological and neural signals to gain insight into customers' motivations, preferences, and decisions. Its most common methods are brain scanning, which measures neural activity, and physiological tracking, which measures eye movement and other proxies for that activity. This article explores some of the research into those methods and discusses their benefits and drawbacks. Potential users of neuromarketing should be cautious about partnering with specialist consulting firms--experts warn that the field is plagued by vendors who oversell what neuromarketing can deliver. One neuroscience and business professor suggests using a checklist: Are actual neuroscientists involved in the study? Are any of the consultancy's methods, data, or tools published in peer-reviewed journals? Is its subject pool representative?--a question that is particularly important for global brands. Do the consultants have marketing expertise along with scientific knowledge? Do they have a track record of success? And can they prove when challenged that they will offer insights beyond what can be gleaned through traditional methods?

Three leading researchers--a marketing professor, a philosopher, and a neuroscientist--talk with HBR about the ethical implications of neuromarketing. Although consumers typically accept that their purchase behavior is public, these experts say, they think of their brains and thoughts as private, which can lead to backlash against organizations that use neuromarketing tools. And while informed consent is standard in the academic world, it's not always strictly adhered to on the industry side. Another big concern, particularly among consumer advocacy groups, is subconscious influence. But, says one of these researchers, "nothing neuroscience could ever measure could definitively drive a particular purchase," because so many other factors have input: mood, hunger, the presence of friends, how a product is displayed. Nevertheless, neurotesting could be used to target vulnerable populations--say, by trying to create ads that will induce more teenagers to vape. Conversely, it has been shown to increase the effectiveness of public service announcements. "One way to think about all these issues," says another of these experts, "is that neuroscience incrementally improves our ability to generate effective marketing messages in many areas--it's like turning up the dial a bit on the effectiveness of marketing. That dial turns up the ethical implications, too."