In a business world where restructurings and mergers have become the norm, many business leaders are looking for ways to make cuts that allow them to keep top talent while still running flourishing companies. In The Essential Advantage, Paul Leinwald and Cesare Mainardi offer insight into the secrets of making strategic cuts that not only cause a business to grow in lean times, but also give it an advantage over its competitors. These advantages include strategic coherence, elements of a capabilities-driven strategy, creating value, and living coherence every day.
In Yes to the Mess, Frank J. Barrett presents a new pattern for leading and collaborating in organizations. Like experienced jazz players, leaders need to adopt the art of unlearning rigid, routine-based practices and embrace approaches that encourage simultaneous performance and experimentation. When people within an organization feel comfortable providing novel ideas and supporting each other in the fluid exchange of insights, the result is innovation. Jazz bands are flexible, organized, and combine sufficient constraints and synchronization to foster diversity. Innovative organizations can do the same to inspire exploration and experimentation by allowing their people to respond to intuitive insights.
Project management is a daunting task for both those who are new to the business world and seasoned veterans. Keeping a diverse group of people focused, motivated, on budget, and working together toward a common goal is always a challenging undertaking. In HBR Guide to Project Management, tips, advice, and tools are presented that will help both new and veteran project managers deliver results effectively and efficiently. From planning to build-up, implementation, and closeout, the HBR Guide to Project Management guides project managers through each step of their projects, thereby increasing their chances of delivering quality results on time and on budget.
Strategy forms the foundation of all successful companies, but developing an effective strategy and successfully executing it is a challenge for many. HBR’s 10 Must Reads On Strategy brings together articles written by business thought leaders that focus on key issues related to all aspects of strategy. By reading these pieces, leaders will gain insight into how to deal with the different facets of setting strategies and making them a reality.
Throughout the ages, stories have brought societies together and helped their members create a shared sense of the world. In fact, storytelling strategist and creative expert Jonah Sachs believes that stories have become the only means of communication with the power to build enduring connections between consumers and brands—connections that inspire people to reach higher, live better, and dream bigger than ever before. In Winning the Story Wars, Sachs pinpoints the roots of this power and how companies can tap into it. He also exposes the weakness of conventional marketing messages focused on human inadequacy and deficiency, explaining why modern consumers are hungry for value-based stories that help them see the potential in humankind and in themselves.
Negotiations occur in every aspect of our lives. Often people view negotiations as win-lose situations. However, it does not have to be that way. In Negotiating Success, Jim Hornickel suggests that “mutuality” is an effective way of approaching negotiations with the ultimate goal of having both sides win. He outlines techniques that can be used to build rapport with negotiating partners and reach the best possible outcome.
Anyone who thinks skills, education, and experience should be enough to snag a coveted position needs to think again. In This Is How to Get Your Next Job, Andrea Kay informs readers that behavior, attitude, and appearing to be a “good fit” are what tip the scales when an employer selects a new hire. Kay believes job hunters who are having a hard time getting hired need to pay attention to how they “seem” as much as what they have to offer. By paying attention to the “dos and don’ts” of job hunting and presenting a “best self” that matches the wants, needs, and preferences of the employer, any candidate can gain the competitive edge and land his or her dream job.
