Martin Reeves - New Leadership Imperatives

Inspiring the Next Game: Strategy Ideas for Forward Looking Leaders

BCG Henderson Institute

ISBN 9783110775082

e-ISBN (PDF) 9783110775174

e-ISBN (EPUB) 9783110775204

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.

2022 The BCG Henderson Institute

The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Groups think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business.

Leaders face a broad variety of challenges in an organization at any given time. These challenges range from establishing strategic goals to ensuring businesses reach their full potential to engaging customers and other stakeholders. As we have seen with the COVID-19 crisis, these responsibilities become even more complex in a crisis when employees and stakeholders turn to business leaders for direction. Moreover, amid social and geopolitical uncertainty, business leaders are increasingly being pressured to weigh in on a growing number of social and political issues.

Todays business climate creates new challenges and requires new approaches to leadership. Some existing leaders will rise to the occasion, while others will struggle to adapt. What will successful leadership require in the coming decade?

Leadership roles change based on the situation of the organization through digital transformations, crises, renewals, and other challenges. In Part I of this book, we discuss the modern role of leadership.

• Chapter 1, Leadership Matters: When, How Much, and How? dives into just how much impact CEOs have on company performance and what separates top-performing CEOs from the rest.

• Chapter 2, The Boards Role in Strategy in a Changing Environment, details the challenges that directors face, the capabilities they can bring to the table, and the best practices of forward-looking companies when it comes to the boards role in strategy.

• Chapter 3, A Lot Will Change So Must Leadership, discusses four imperatives for leaders as they transform their companies to become bionic, as technology reshapes organizations.

• Chapter 4, When Leadership Matters Most, outlines several common leadership traps across organizations, as well as guiding principles that leaders need to heed during a crisis.

• Chapter 5, Fostering Organizational Stamina, covers how leaders can address a rising sentiment of impatience and foster the stamina required for organizations to successfully adapt to new conditions.

To succeed over the long run, business leaders can no longer rely exclusively on traditional approaches to business management; they must learn from other fields as well. Part II of this book discusses leadership lessons drawn from different individuals and areas of expertise from the military to sports to psychology to neuroscience.

• Chapter 6, Lessons in Leadership from the Great Commanders, explores how leaders can learn a great deal from the great military commanders of history.

• Chapter 7, The Rewards of CEO Reflection, shows how by routinely setting aside time in their calendars, CEOs can reap the rewards of reflection.

• Chapter 8, A CEOs Guide to Leading and Learning in the Digital Age, explores building a learning ecosystem that elevates learning strategy to the CEO level and embraces new digital possibilities.

• Chapter 9, The Power of Inspiration, Perspiration, and Cooperation In Sports and in Business, looks at the performance of sports teams to show how other organizations can promote cooperation and improve performance.

Organizations do not operate in a vacuum but rather in a dynamic environment that they both influence and are influenced by. Part III concludes by discussing the evolving challenges leaders will face as they lead in this new environment with issues ranging from social polarization to geopolitical instability.

• Chapter 10, The Business of Business Is No Longer Just Business, discusses the relationship between business and other parts of society, and the profound implications for strategy and competitive advantage.

• Chapter 11, The Case for Corporate Statesmanship, makes the case for CEOs to take a bolder role in addressing some of societys major issues.

• Chapter 12, Mind the Gap: Navigating the New Fault Lines of Global Business, covers how multinationals, with business models built on operating across borders, can navigate the shifting geopolitical environment.

• Chapter 13, In Sync: Unlocking Collective Action in a Connected World, looks at how to leverage digital technologies to increase reach, speed, and ease of collective action.

• Chapter 14, How Business Leaders Can Reduce Polarization, offers 12 actions that CEOs can take to effectively reduce division and protect their businesses in increasingly polarized times.

In a world in which the role of a leader and the business environment are always changing, we hope this book will guide leaders in making the right choices for their organizations, their stakeholders, and society as a whole.