Martin Harrysson

Product management has experienced at least two significant waves of change in the last couple of decades. The first wave was the shift from on-prem infrastructure to cloud, which allowed product managers to shift from requirement-getters to product visionaries developing minimum viable products.

The second wave was driven by the consumerization of technology, which led PMs to be more anchored in design thinking, make data-driven product … [ Read more ]

What programmatic acquirers do differently

McKinsey findings bolster the case for programmatic M&A. But beyond doing more deals, what gives programmatic acquirers an edge—and how does their dealmaking translate to value creation?

In the spotlight: Performance management that puts people first

Performance management systems help people continuously develop—but most companies fall short of best practices. A set of defined design choices can help guide leaders forward.

Nathan Furr

We all want possibility, transformation, change, and innovation, but the only way to get to that is through uncertainty. If we want those things, we need to get better at navigating uncertainty as individual leaders, as teams, and as organizations. Organizations need to ask themselves, “Do we have the ability to face uncertainty? What is our uncertainty ability?” I believe uncertainty ability is like a … [ Read more ]

Nathan Furr

Great leaders challenge their organizations. They see the opportunity that uncertainty creates to learn quickly, to do new things. But they also, on the other hand, support their people and pay attention to the anxiety that uncertainty creates. Great leaders create a rich soil to sustain their people.

Jessica Nordell

If we look at the distance between that minimum standard and how we actually want to interact with one another—with trust, kindness, respect, love, and care—there’s a very big gap. Laws can only do so much. You can’t legislate kindness; I can’t order you to treat me with respect. What this means for organizations is that policies are essential, but it’s also important to create … [ Read more ]

Today’s good to great: Next-generation operational excellence

Is tech accelerating your business operations—or getting in the way? To get lasting value from their tech investments, business leaders need a renewed understanding of operational excellence.

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Power is not something like a bottle of water that gets used up the more you drink it. It’s something that gets created the more effectively you use it.

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Breaking rules has many advantages. The first advantage of breaking the rules is that it catches people by surprise. […] The rules are made by those already in power. If you’re already in power, follow the rules. If you’re not, make your own.

Jeffrey Pfeffer

No one is hired to win a popularity contest—you’re hired to get things done. You’re hired to make things happen, so when you show up to lead a group of people, those people want many things from you. What they don’t necessarily want from you is your authentic self.

What they need from you is inspiration. They need energy, even if you’re not feeling energetic that … [ Read more ]

Jeffrey Pfeffer

We know that educational credentials help predict salary. We know that gender and race help predict salary, even though they shouldn’t. We know that years of service, or seniority, helps predict salary, and there’s some evidence to suggest that years of service is one of the more important predictors of salary.

Gender, race, years of service, and educational credentials all have nothing to do with performance. … [ Read more ]

Jeffrey Pfeffer

I would define power as the ability to get things done your way in contested situations.

Andy Penn

Your strategy can change from time to time, the businesses that you are in can change from time to time. Technology changes from time to time. But your culture and the way you work and therefore your ability to attract and motivate talent—and then to apply that to different, new problems—is what’s sustainable.

Five paths to TSR outperformance

It’s hard for companies to significantly beat long-term market TSR, harder still for the largest corporations, and hardest of all in the face of low growth. But industry endowment needn’t be destiny.

How high performers optimize IT productivity for revenue growth: A leader’s guide

New research offers business and technology leaders insights into the age-old challenge of improving IT productivity.

Gen AI: Opportunities in M&A

Generative AI is already making its way into the day-to-day world of M&A, and more use cases are emerging. How should companies approach the opportunity?

Richard Rumelt

The big dysfunction that happens on boards is we say, “Let’s bring in outsiders, people with different backgrounds and representing different social, political, and economic interests.” That’s great, except now you have a roomful of people who don’t understand the business. The language these people have in common is financial accounting, so that’s what they concentrate on. As long as things are going great that’s … [ Read more ]

Richard Rumelt

Some people say, “Strategy is important, but it’s really about execution.” That’s silly. That’s like saying, “We have a military strategy, but our soldiers are too fat to walk.” Execution is part of strategy, of course. Strategy is about what is important and the challenges you face. If one of these challenges is that the organization is dysfunctional, then that’s strategic. If your managers are … [ Read more ]

Richard Rumelt

[Strategy] has to do with a focus of strength against weakness. In business, it’s a focus of strength against opportunities or problems. That focus of strength is essential. If you focus resources on a weak point, even if it’s a great opportunity, you are not acting strategically.