Government

The widely held notion of “Japan, Inc.” is exaggerated; there is no monolithic business-government link. Even so, the cooperation (without incorporation) between the large corporate combines and the government bureaucracy is impressive in its strength and focus on the common economic good—especially in view of its achievements worldwide. As the economic power of the United […]

By pooling the resources of the poor and by sharing information, religious and financial institutions can work together to change inner-city economies.

We’ve been sharing thoughts in this blog about how the rapid growth of the emerging economies, along with other modern realities, will reshape the practice — and thus rewrite the rules — of capitalism. Many readers are aware that these are ideas in development for our forthcoming book on the topic. This week we decided […]

The best change agents almost never realize when it’s time to stop. That’s what makes them so good.

Editor’s note: For an opposing viewpoint on this topic, see Robert E. Litan’s and Hal J. Singer’s entry “Why Business Should Oppose Net Neutrality.” In business school, where I teach, students are often predisposed to see legal concepts as impenetrable and foreign. I watch the lightbulbs go on as they see that Microsoft’s antitrust woes, […]

And it’s changing the way they do science.

And no one is talking about it.

It’s a better predictor than economic self-interest.

An entire generation’s prosperity vanishing, food stamp use exploding. Welcome to the jobless future. This month’s jobs numbers drive home the point. The unemployment rate fell at the fastest rate for years — great news, right? Wrong. The lion’s share of the gains came from (wait for it) “temporary help services.” See what just happened? […]

When Ben Franklin wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac and the words, “A little neglect may breed great mischief,” he did not have price fixing in mind. To the 47 executives in companies in the folding-box industry convicted of price fixing, however, the words seem tailored to fit. In those companies convicted under antitrust laws in 1976, […]

And PayPal, Square, and other services don’t go far enough.

In many countries, diversified business groups substitute for the institutions that support effective markets in capital, labor, and goods and services. Their capacity for doing this must be strengthened through restructuring, not destroyed through dismantling.

Accommodations are always cheaper than lawsuits.

The conventional wisdom on leadership and management is clear: the first matters more than the second. Warren Bennis‘s classic On Becoming a Leader is typical. In a lengthy comparison between leaders and managers, he describes leaders as luminaries and managers as mere mortals. For example: • “The manager administers; the leader innovates.” • “The manager […]

Why AOL founder Steve Case is placing his bets across the rest of America.

Last week the United States held a hotly contested election that demonstrated the challenges and strengths of the American political system. Both major parties talked of all that was wrong in American politics: a future of deficits, the monetization of political life, and the prospect of endless political gridlock. Yet at the end of the […]

It led to fewer readmissions and complications.

It prioritizes short-term profits over patients’ health.

It's usually the non-verbal communication that leaves the lasting impression

Back in the Stone Age, when Harry Truman was president, to involve family in politics was considered unseemly. While there were exceptions to the general rule, Truman’s sentiments were typical. As his daughter Margaret recalled, “If there was one thing Dad dreaded, it was the thought of someone in his family getting involved in politics.” […]