329: McKinsey's Venkat Atluri, How to thrive in the ecosystem economy

Jim Hemerling is Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group's San Francisco office and a leader in the firm's People & Organization and Transformation Practices. He has been the leader of BCG Greater China and is a Fellow of the BCG Henderson Institute. His work with clients and his research focuses on holistic human-centric approaches to organizational transformation. Jim is a co-author of BCG's new book - Beyond Great: Nine Strategies for Thriving in an Era of Social Tension, Economic Nationalism, and Technological Revolution. Global companies remain hamstrung by organizational forms that leave them mired in bureaucracy and slow to respond to changing needs. To grow in the volatility of the 21st century, firms must go beyond the familiar matrix structure and reconfigure themselves in more flexible ways. COVID-19 and its myriad effects on ways of working will force leaders to rethink how they build teams and acquire, upskill, and retain talent. Hemerling and his colleagues launched a study of dozens of global companies to determine successful leadership strategies and found that, though seemingly obvious, the best leaders put people and their needs first, rather than regarding them as resources to exploit. Hemerling and coauthors write about these topics in Beyond Great: Nine Strategies for Thriving in an Era of Social Tension, Economic Nationalism, and Technological Revolution (October 6, PublicAffairs). BCG's first major book in years, it will redefine strategy in the post-COVID era. Extending their research far beyond the expected Silicon Valley players, Hemerling and his coauthors at BCG looked at over fifty companies and interviewed hundreds of CEOs across sectors and geographies. The trends: By 2030, companies around the world will have some eight-five million skilled jobs unfilled—a gap that will exact a severe economic toll; In a 2018 BCG survey of 366,000 people from two hundred countries, ranked "good work-life balance" as much more important than "financial compensation" Over 40 percent of hiring managers anticipated that nontraditional educational criteria—like a coding "boot camp"—would soon be just as good a credential as a college degree when evaluating candidates. For incumbents to thrive amidst these challenges, they must deploy new strategies that touch every part of their business, from value propositions and global supply chains to leadership and social responsibility goals. A huge part of this is leadership and the future of work—how to retain employees, attract top talent, and navigate tension when global forces are changing attitudes about work and life. Examples of innovative leadership: Deemphasizing hierarchy encourages employees to take ownership of projects and propel them forward without bothering to seek approval from bosses; Exploiting the gray area of informal conversations that typically take place between colleagues allows employees to break free from their daily work and innovate; Gamifying candidate screening and identifying talent via online competitions and hackathons to appeal to a new generation. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

14 Apr 20211h 1min

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we're going to focus on four major themes from last week's news. To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for "Strategy Skills" in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

13 Apr 202129min

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we're going to focus on four major themes from last week's news. To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for "Strategy Skills" in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

5 Apr 202138min

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we're going to focus on four major themes from last week's news. To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for "Strategy Skills" in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

29 Mars 202147min

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we're going to focus on four major themes from last week's news. To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for "Strategy Skills" in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

22 Mars 202134min

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we're going to focus on four major themes from last week's news. To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for "Strategy Skills" in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

15 Mars 202141min

In today's episode of the Strategy Skills podcast, we have a conversation with Blair Sheppard, Global Head of Strategy and Leadership for PWC. Blair shares his views of looming global crises driven by wealth disparity, technological disruption, the polarization of people, and declining trust in society's institutions. Blair Sheppard is also the Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, where he taught for thirty-three years. He was the principal force behind opening Duke's campus in China, and the founder and CEO of Duke Corporate Education. Blair is a regular speaker at high-caliber international forums including the Global Solutions Summit, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and Slush. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) and lives in Durham, North Carolina (US). In his new book, TEN YEARS TO MIDNIGHT: Four Urgent Global Crises and Their Strategic Solutions, Blair sets out why that timeline is so crucial, what the most urgent challenges are and the key elements of a solution. The world faces four crises: A crisis of prosperity, with rising inequality, poor life choices for young people, the squeezed middle class and a mass of people on the brink of retirement but lacking the savings to sustain them; A crisis of technology, as our economic system drives innovation but fails to manage unintended negative consequences which pollute key elements of life support, from our atmosphere to our news; A crisis of institutional legitimacy, as traditional institutions try to maintain their existing structures in the face of major global forces, and find themselves buckling and warping rather than adapting; and, A crisis of leadership, as those who should help us manage these crises instead focus on narrow priorities rather than leading the world towards holistic solutions. Get access to sample training from our advanced programs here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

11 Mars 20211h 10min

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we're going to focus on four major themes from last week's news. To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for "Strategy Skills" in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

9 Mars 202138min