University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
What Matters Now
Book

What Matters Now

How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

Gary Hamel
Jossey-Bass, 2012
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Prolific management author Gary Hamel blends an almost nostalgic call for ethical action with tips for managing members of the Facebook generation. He cites case studies ranging from Apple to Morning Star to W. L. Gore & Associates. Though the book feels fragmented at times, it is an accessible, smooth read, and the title’s imperative unifies its disparate, passionate pieces. getAbstract recommends this worthy treatise to Hamel fans, managers, innovators, those interested in corporate culture, and managers or workers struggling with change.

Summary

Big Ideas

Organizational leaders should consider their work in light of five pivotal, overarching concerns: values, innovation, adaptability, passion and ideology.

1. Why Values Matter

Leaders should be stewards who guide and care for the people who work for them, who protect and promote their organizations’ values, and who conserve organizational resources. A steward is loyal, fair, giving, accountable and prudent. As the world’s economy becomes increasingly interwoven, actions in one area affect all others. If your company functions on a global scale, you must hold yourself to a higher ethical standard. Given the speed of word of mouth across the web, acting ethically and making sound decisions are always pragmatic. A firm’s actions are no longer private; they affect the public sphere. Capitalist thinkers from Adam Smith to Ayn Rand have argued that capitalism creates a greater “common good” by leaving individuals free to pursue their self-interest. But that individualism works only within the framework of “ethical principles”: You can’t do anything you want, but you can do anything you want within moral boundaries.

Capitalism and business management...

About the Author

Gary Hamel, founder of The Management Lab think tank, has written many works on management and innovation, including The Future of Management.

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