EDITORS’ NOTE
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their freedom.” Addressing these core areas can help you stay moti-
vated, boost your productivity and focus, and ward off feelings of
rootlessness and isolation.
As individuals, we’re working in new ways, but the con-
text in which we work and our organizations grow— or fail— has
changed too. “Managing Our Hub Economy” off ers a fascinating,
forward- looking, and sometimes chilling examination of the place
of business in society. Hub fi rms such as Alibaba, Apple, and Ama-
zon create real value for users but also concentrate data and power
in the hands of a few companies that employ a tiny fraction of the
workforce. Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and
Karim R. Lakhani argue that the hub economy will continue to
spread across additional industries, concentrating power even more.
“To remain competitive, companies will need to use their assets and
capabilities diff erently, transform their core businesses, develop
new revenue opportunities, and identify areas that can be defended
from encroaching hub fi rms and others rushing in from previously
disconnected economic sectors.”
Another new perspective on an old issue is found in “The
Leader’s Guide to Corporate Culture.” The conventional wisdom
has it that leaders are expected to create and change strategy, but
culture is ingrained, unchangeable, and “anchored in unspoken
behaviors, mindsets, and social patterns.” Not so, say Harvard Busi-
ness School professor Boris Groysberg and his coauthors. They argue
that it is possible to change your company’s culture, but fi rst you
must understand how it works. By integrating fi ndings from more
than 100 of the most commonly used social and behavioral models,
the authors created a framework that will allow you to model the
impact of culture on your business and assess its alignment with
your strategy. When properly managed, culture can help leaders
achieve change and build organizations that will thrive in even the
most trying times.
Most CEOs and boards are hyperfocused on creating wealth
for their shareholders. But managing for the good of the stock is
not always the same as managing for the good of the company—
especially when it leads to a focus on the short term. In “The
Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership,” Joseph L. Bower and