Management Innovation

The authors’ research shows that the number of Americans describing themselves as digital nomads rose by 49% between 2019 and 2020, and that unlike in previous years, traditional job holders made up a majority of these workers in 2020. Despite the large and growing number of these employees, few organizations have formal policies and programs for them.

Many CEOs face something like the “$1 billion challenge”: how do I deliver the significant growth that the markets expect? For companies in established mature sectors with low singledigit growth prospects or where technological disruption is threatening to erode or even destroy the current business, this challenge is critical and even existential. Incremental growth through continuous improvement is simply not significant enough. While acquisition is one route, acquiring a $1 billion revenue business is both expensive and not without risk. Innovation is another route to growth, but creating new businesses requires “breakthroughs” and is unlikely to be delivered by core R&D.

The conversion toward ultra-high efficiency is worth the effort, as we have found this level of efficiency can lead to operational savings of more than 25%. In this Viewpoint, we share some of the key elements incumbent companies must consider when facing the challenge of ultra-high efficiency.

In the nearly three decades that he led Amazon, Bezos developed a series of unusual leadership principles — which some argue are the backbone of his success. Talk to anyone who’s ever worked there, and you don’t have to wait long before you hear the phrase “customer obsession” as the why behind the business. For a company to be successful it had to have happy customers — at almost any cost.

Organizations can reduce coordination complexity with modular thinking, microservices, and APIs.

What can you do today that you couldn’t do a year ago?

In a time of exponential growth in technology, we need to rethink the org.

As a senior partner at McKinsey & Company (US), the top three management consulting firms in the world and the “Goldman Sachs of the consulting world,” Aaron De Smet is particularly interested in the Rendanheyi management model that has “blossomed” around the world in recent years. On May 27th, he interviewed Mr. Zhang Ruimin, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Haier Group, to discuss Haier’s innovative management model and to seek a “golden key” to replicate it in global companies.

Many startups today have adopted a “self-directed” model, which includes flat organizational structures, minimal hierarchy, self-management, and an emphasis on empowerment. When these companies are small, this model confers all sorts of advantages. But it’s hard for companies to stick to that model when they grow and scale.

New technology creates adoption curves, and these curves regulate the pace of an organization generating future value. The ability to manage these adoption curves will dictate that pace and therefore the nature and composition of how organizations scale. This is organizational change management. It is how to decompose these “adoption curves” that sets apart those with competitive pace and those without it. Under a future fit strategy, there are three critical aspects organizations must consider as they explore what “at scale” means to them in pursuit of embracing and delivering adaptivity, creativity, and resiliency.

The latest research shines a light on some of the world’s quickest-moving companies.

The Laloux Culture Model is widely used as a guiding tool in agile transformation of companies and broader agile related discussions. The model not only distinguishes different management models in various types of organisations, but describes culture change that accompanies organisational evolution.

It is Accelerating. Volatile. Uncertain. Complex. Ambiguous.

Insights from over 2,000 global respondents reveal the recipe for an agile transformation that delivers real business impact.

Can Bolt’s “culture playbook” become the 2021 equivalent of Netflix’s famous “no vacation policy” PowerPoint deck?

A business is an abstract idea without people. Abstract ideas have no inherent value. People bring ideas to life. People create value. That’s true across the board. Now the role of human resources in a given firm — or how people create value — depends on the industry and the level of innovation at the company.

The biggest risk—and opportunity—in your business today? Your leadership, says Ram Charan, one of the world’s top CEO coaches. A guide to what you and your team must do to grab competitive advantage and exponential growth in a digital age.

Strengthening institutional resilience has never been more important.

It’s always been challenging to launch new ventures inside an existing business. One way internal startups can overcome some of the disadvantages they face is by seeking out external funding from venture capital firms — a model we call a venture buyout, or VBO.