We all know bad managers – be they ambitious and aggressive, doing whatever it takes to move up the corporate ladder, or the opposite: managers thrust into their position without the skill or the will to do the job properly.
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Is it time to put bureaucracy to bed? What has worked for businesses yesterday will most likely not work for businesses today or tomorrow. “Business is at crossroads and it’s time to focus on moments of truth, even if they’re uncomfortable truths” explained Gary Hamel, launching his new book What Matters Now: How to win in a world of relentless change, ferocious competition, and unstoppable innovation at London Business School. It is a time for businesses to adopt fundamental ideological changes to be able to sustain and compete within the marketplace. ... Continue Reading ...

Researchers in Management and Strategy worry a lot about bias – statistical bias. In case you’re not such an academic researcher, let me briefly explain.... Continue Reading ...

We all know that big, established companies struggle to respond to "disruptive" change. Blockbuster, HMV, Nokia, and Yahoo! are all current examples of companies who are struggling with this problem – they are trying to adapt, but are being held back by powerful and often invisible inertial forces. ... Continue Reading ...

Events are moving so fast that no-one knows how things will end up, but there's no question that most News Corp shareholders would like News Corp to divest its UK newspapers. ... Continue Reading ...

One of the key tasks of management is coordinating activities – making sure the right people are working on the right projects at the right time. Indeed, if you have ever worked in a management role in a large consultancy or an IT services company, you will know that this is a big part of the job – and one that causes enormous headaches. ... Continue Reading ...

If you are a regular reader of London Business School’s publications, you probably already have a point of view on the future of management. Indeed, business schools were set up in large part to help managers and students to understand the changes underway in the business world, so chances are you have already bought into the argument that we are going through a period of upheaval that will transform the way we work in organizations in the year ahead.... Continue Reading ...

We need to develop a more comprehensive understanding of what management is really about to make better choices. By going back to a basic definition of management—the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals—we can frame our discussion of the activities and principles of management much more explicitly... Continue Reading ...

It is only when the tide goes out you can see who’s swimming naked. And so, it is only when times get tough that you see whose business and management models are most robust. The global downturn has exposed the frailties of many organisations and confirmed the strengths of others.... Continue Reading ...

My HBR article on the End of Middle Management this month continues to bring in a postbag of interesting views. Here is Noah Barsky and Anthony Catanach from Villanova School of Business in Pennsylvania, USA. Their interest is particularly in the impact that technology itself has on the management of projects and the redefinition of the role of routine management. ... Continue Reading ...

I bumped into a girlfriend this week on the flight back to London after a New York meeting. Immediately she began to tell me about her 26-year-old son’s work hours. That week he had not made it home until after 1.00am in the morning and was needed in the office by 7.00am. She was proud of the salary he is earning, but also aghast at the pressure he is under. ... Continue Reading ...