A revolution is now underway. Most innovation occurs first in software.1 And software is the primary element in all aspects of innovation from basic research through product introduction:

Software provides the critical mechanism through which managers can lower the costs, compress the time cycles, and increase the value of innovations. It is also the heart of [...]

Information technology implementation in organizations has gone from automating back-office clerks to supporting the complex tasks of autonomous knowledge workers. The research I report here is not about new organizations or those transcending a deep crisis; rather, it concerns the push and pull of managers attempting to implement a new technology. It tells the story [...]

The pricing of services in the United States is a mess. Consider these examples:

In 1992, Congress enacted the Cable Act to rein in prices in the cable television industry. This legislation, prompted by widespread consumer dissatisfaction with price increases and poor service, gave broad regulatory powers to the Federal Communications Commission and local communities. Although [...]

A firm decided to redesign its research and development process. Because the effort was critical to its success, the firm applied two parallel approaches to the process. One was a classical reengineering effort in which a small group of managers and consultants designed a radically different way to do research. In the other approach, a [...]

Superstition has always had a big impact on human behavior, sometimes yielding macroeconomic effects for even the most industrialized societies. An example of the effects of superstition is the rate of Japanese births from 1960 to 1990 (see Figure 1). A general, steady decline is evident in recent decades. But what jumps out is the [...]

IBM is making a comeback. Although many observers had counted the company out — “It’s a dinosaur, an implosion, a wreck,” various commentators said — its revival was probable, even predictable, because cycles of decline and revitalization have been the company’s pattern through many decades.
Part of the pattern has been its slow confrontation of new [...]

Although most managers recognize the critical role a companywide vision can play today, many are intimidated by the challenge of developing one. The author offers guidance by first explaining how and why a vision works. He then presents a template tested in the corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors for creating an effective vision. Finally, his analysis of why some great visions fail can help executives avoid potential pitfalls.