Unshackling Employees

By Gary Hamel
June 16, 2011 at 10:36am

In a WSJ post I promised that I’d lay out a blueprint for building a company that’s as nimble as change itself—and I will, but first I’d like to share an anecdote about a simple experiment in workplace freedom.

Why Don't IT Departments Give Employees More Freedom?

By Gary Hamel
June 8, 2011 at 10:32am

Do you feel hamstrung by your company’s IT policies? Are the IT tools you have at home more up-to-date than ones you’re forced to use at work? Do you wish you had more control over your IT environment at work? If so, you’re not alone.

A while back in the Wall Street Journal, Nick Wingfield dared to question the totalitarian policies of the average corporate IT department–and boy-oh-boy does he make some good points.

The Management 2.0 Challenge

By Gary Hamel
May 24, 2011 at 10:49am

Over the last decade, the Internet has had a profound impact on business. It has spawned a slew of new business models and has helped make operating models vastly more efficient. By contrast, the Web’s impact on management models has been relatively modest.

efficiency, harvard, hbr, Innovation, management innovation, McKinsey, organization, web 2.0
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How to Tell If You’re a Natural Leader

By Gary Hamel
May 20, 2011 at 9:19am

I’ll bet you know a natural leader. Maybe you are one.

Maybe you’re a mom who started a support group for the parents of children with special needs.

Maybe you’re a concerned citizen who mobilized a group of preservation-minded neighbors to halt the destruction of a venerable old building.

Maybe you’re a churchgoer who convinced some of your fellow parishioners to help mentor at-risk kids.

Or maybe you simply organized your company’s first softball league.

The Hidden Costs of Overbearing Bosses

By Gary Hamel
May 6, 2011 at 11:52am

At one time or another, most of us have probably worked for a boss who was self-absorbed, vindictive, or just plain inept — a real-life equivalent to Dunder Mifflin’s Michael Scott. One of my first jobs was for an HR manager who thought the best way to humble a cocky new MBA was to have him spend hours sorting files into alphabetical order. Needless to say, he didn’t get the best out of me or anyone else that worked for him.

Three Forces Disrupting Management

By Gary Hamel
April 25, 2011 at 9:13am

Most of the industrial pioneers who created “modern” management—individuals like Frederick Taylor, Frank Gilbreth, Henry Ford, Alfred Sloan, and Donaldson Brown—were born in the 19th century. These bold thinkers would no doubt be surprised to learn that their inventions, which included workflow optimization, variance analysis, capital budgeting, functional specialization, divisionalization, and project management, are still the cornerstones of large-scale management systems.

Management Moonshots Part III

By Gary Hamel
April 16, 2011 at 10:44am

Editor's note: This is the third in a series of three posts (previously published in The Wall Street Journal) introducing the Moonshots for Management that now make up the framework for the MIX. We're republishing them here to give an introduction for those readers of the MIX who may not be familiar with them, as well as to provide some of the rationale behind the moonshots for those are already acquainted with them.

Management Moonshots, Part II

By Gary Hamel
April 13, 2011 at 10:46am

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of three posts (previously published in The Wall Street Journal) introducing the Moonshots for Management that now make up the framework for the MIX. We're republishing them here to give an introduction for those readers of the MIX who may not be familiar with them, as well as to provide some of the rationale behind the moonshots for those are already acquainted with them.

The Future of Management: Is it Deja vu all over again?

By Julian Birkinshaw
April 8, 2011 at 11:08am

If you are a regular reader of the MIX, you probably already have a point of view on the future of management. Indeed, the MIX was created to help accelerate the evolution of management, 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 years ahead.

Best of the MIX on Web 2.0 and Management Innovation

By David Sims
April 7, 2011 at 11:15am

One of the most interesting themes of MIX content in the year since we launched has been the role of technology in management innovation, especially social networks. Mavericks and MIXers alike have made made the argument that the effects of Web 2.0 technologies on the organization and the people in it are huge -- not minor changes to the way we work, but revolutionary changes to the way we view work.