HBR's 10 Must Reads on Platforms and Ecosystems (with bonus article by "Why Some Platforms Thrive and Others Don't" By Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti)


Book Description

Help your company adapt to the new rules of competition. If you read nothing else on creating value with business platforms and ecosystems, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you reap the rewards of multisided platforms (MSPs)—or defend your company against these formidable opponents. This book will inspire you to: Assess the threat of disruption from platforms in your industry Decide whether and how to play with increasingly powerful platform businesses Choose the right strategy for transforming your product into a platform Harness network effects to maximize value for the partners in your ecosystem Shift from managing products to managing interactions Learn when moving first and growing fast will work—and when it won’t Manage winner-take-all dynamics This collection of articles includes "Pipelines, Platforms, and the New Rules of Strategy," by Marshall W. Van Alstyne, Geoffrey G. Parker, and Sangeet Paul Choudary; "Strategies for Two-Sided Markets," Thomas R. Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker, and Marshall W. Van Alstyne; "Finding the Platform in Your Product," by Andrei Hagiu and Elizabeth Altman; "What's Your Google Strategy?," by Andrei Hagiu and David B. Yoffie; "In the Ecosystem Economy, What’s Your Strategy?," by Michael G. Jacobides; "Right Tech, Wrong Time," by Ron Adner and Rahul Kapoor; "Managing Our Hub Economy," by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani; "Why Some Platforms Thrive and Others Don't," by Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti; "Spontaneous Deregulation," by Benjamin Edelman and Damien Geradin; "Alibaba and the Future of Business," by Ming Zeng; and "Fixing Discrimination in Online Marketplaces," by Ray Fisman and Michael Luca. HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever‐changing business environment.




HBR's 10 Must Reads 2019


Book Description

A year's worth of management wisdom, all in one place. We've reviewed the ideas, insights, and best practices from the past year of Harvard Business Review to keep you up-to-date on the most cutting-edge, influential thinking driving business today. With authors from Thomas H. Davenport to Michael E. Porter and company examples from Facebook to DHL, this volume brings the most current and important management conversations right to your fingertips. This book will inspire you to: Make stronger connections and build greater trust among people who work on multiple teams Engage customers and employees alike with the help of artificial intelligence Channel your outrage about sexual harassment in the workplace into effective action Consider how CEO activism can generate goodwill for your company--and weigh its risks Pair data with qualitative research to increase diversity in your organization Remain competitive in a hub economy by using your company's assets and capabilities differently This collection of articles includes: "The Overcommitted Organization," by Mark Mortensen and Heidi K. Gardner; "Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management?" by Raffaella Sadun, Nicholas Bloom, and John Van Reenen; "'Numbers Take Us Only So Far,'" by Maxine Williams; "The New CEO Activists," by Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel; "Artificial Intelligence for the Real World," by Thomas H. Davenport and Rajeev Ronanki; "Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy," by Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann; "Thriving in the Gig Economy," by Gianpiero Petriglieri, Susan Ashford, and Amy Wrzesniewski; "Managing Our Hub Economy," by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani; "The Leader's Guide to Corporate Culture," by Boris Groysberg, Jeremiah Lee, Jesse Price, and J. Yo-Jud Cheng; "The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership," by Joseph L. Bower and Lynn S. Paine; and "Now What?" by Joan C. Williams and Suzanne Lebsock.




HBR's 10 Must Reads on Communication (with featured article "The Necessary Art of Persuasion," by Jay A. Conger)


Book Description

The best leaders know how to communicate clearly and persuasively. How do you stack up?If you read nothing else on communicating effectively, read these 10 articles. We’ve combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you express your ideas with clarity and impact—no matter what the situation. Leading experts such as Deborah Tannen, Jay Conger, and Nick Morgan provide the insights and advice you need to: Pitch your brilliant idea—successfully Connect with your audience Establish credibility Inspire others to carry out your vision Adapt to stakeholders’ decision-making style Frame goals around common interests Build consensus and win support




HBR's 10 Must Reads on Negotiation (with bonus article "15 Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer" by Deepak Malhotra)


Book Description

Learn to be a better negotiator--and achieve the outcomes you want. If you read nothing else on how to negotiate successfully, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you avoid common mistakes, find hidden opportunities, and win the best deals possible. This book will inspire you to: Control the negotiation before you enter the room Persuade others to do what you want--for their own reasons Manage emotions on both sides of the table Understand the rules of negotiating across cultures Set the stage for a healthy relationship long after the ink has dried Identify what you can live with and when to walk away This collection of articles includes: "Six Habits of Merely Effective Negotiators" by James K. Sebenius; "Control the Negotiation Before It Begins" by Deepak Malhotra; "Emotion and the Art of Negotiation" by Alison Wood Brooks; "Breakthrough Bargaining" by Deborah M. Kolb and Judith Williams; "15 Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer" by Deepak Malhotra; "Getting to Si, Ja, Oui, Hai, and Da" by Erin Meyer; "Negotiating Without a Net: A Conversation with the NYPD's Dominick J. Misino" by Diane L. Coutu; "Deal Making 2.0: A Guide to Complex Negotiations" by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius; "How to Make the Other Side Play Fair" by Max H. Bazerman and Daniel Kahneman; "Getting Past Yes: Negotiating as if Implementation Mattered" by Danny Ertel; "When to Walk Away from a Deal" by Geoffrey Cullinan, Jean-Marc Le Roux, and Rolf-Magnus Weddigen.




Competing in the Age of AI


Book Description

"a provocative new book" — The New York Times AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Now with a new preface that explores how the coronavirus crisis compelled organizations such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Verizon, and IKEA to transform themselves with remarkable speed, Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani show how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have restricted business growth for hundreds of years. From Airbnb to Ant Financial, Microsoft to Amazon, research shows how AI-driven processes are vastly more scalable than traditional processes, allow massive scope increase, enabling companies to straddle industry boundaries, and create powerful opportunities for learning—to drive ever more accurate, complex, and sophisticated predictions. When traditional operating constraints are removed, strategy becomes a whole new game, one whose rules and likely outcomes this book will make clear. Iansiti and Lakhani: Present a framework for rethinking business and operating models Explain how "collisions" between AI-driven/digital and traditional/analog firms are reshaping competition, altering the structure of our economy, and forcing traditional companies to rearchitect their operating models Explain the opportunities and risks created by digital firms Describe the new challenges and responsibilities for the leaders of both digital and traditional firms Packed with examples—including many from the most powerful and innovative global, AI-driven competitors—and based on research in hundreds of firms across many sectors, this is your essential guide for rethinking how your firm competes and operates in the era of AI.




The Economics of Platforms


Book Description

Digital platforms controlled by Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, Tencent and Uber have transformed not only the ways we do business, but also the very nature of people's everyday lives. It is of vital importance that we understand the economic principles governing how these platforms operate. This book explains the driving forces behind any platform business with a focus on network effects. The authors use short case studies and real-world applications to explain key concepts such as how platforms manage network effects and which price and non-price strategies they choose. This self-contained text is the first to offer a systematic and formalized account of what platforms are and how they operate, concisely incorporating path-breaking insights in economics over the last twenty years.




HBR's 10 Must Reads 2021


Book Description

A year's worth of management wisdom, all in one place. We've reviewed the ideas, insights, and best practices from the past year of Harvard Business Review to keep you up-to-date on the most cutting-edge, influential thinking driving business today. With authors from Marcus Buckingham to Amy Edmondson and company examples from Lyft to Disney, this volume brings the most current and important management conversations right to your fingertips. This book will inspire you to: Rethink whether constant, candid feedback really helps employees thrive Move beyond diversity and inclusion to creating a racially just workplace Adopt connected strategies that anticipate your customers' needs Navigate the challenges of dual-career relationships Understand when data creates competitive advantage—and when it doesn't Break through the organizational barriers that impede AI initiatives Lead in a new era of climate action This collection of articles includes “The Feedback Fallacy,” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall; “Cross-Silo Leadership,” by Tiziana Casciaro, Amy C. Edmondson, and Sujin Jang; “Toward a Racially Just Workplace,” by Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo; “The Age of Continuous Connection,” by Nicolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch; “The Hard Truth about Innovative Cultures,” by Gary P. Pisano; “Creating a Trans-Inclusive Workplace,” by Christian N. Thoroughgood, Katina B. Sawyer, and Jennica R. Webster; “When Data Creates Competitive Advantage,” by Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright; “Your Approach to Hiring Is All Wrong,” by Peter Cappelli; “How Dual-Career Couples Make It Work,” by Jennifer Petriglieri; “Building the AI-Powered Organization,” by Tim Fountaine, Brian McCarthy, and Tamim Saleh; “Leading a New Era of Climate Action,” by Andrew Winston; and “That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief,” by Scott Berinato.




The Business of Platforms


Book Description

A trio of experts on high-tech business strategy and innovation reveal the principles that have made platform businesses the most valuable firms in the world and the first trillion-dollar companies. Managers and entrepreneurs in the digital era must learn to live in two worlds—the conventional economy and the platform economy. Platforms that operate for business purposes usually exist at the level of an industry or ecosystem, bringing together individuals and organizations so they can innovate and interact in ways not otherwise possible. Platforms create economic value far beyond what we see in conventional companies. The Business of Platforms is an invaluable, in-depth look at platform strategy and digital innovation. Cusumano, Gawer, and Yoffie address how a small number of companies have come to exert extraordinary influence over every dimension of our personal, professional, and political lives. They explain how these new entities differ from the powerful corporations of the past. They also question whether there are limits to the market dominance and expansion of these digital juggernauts. Finally, they discuss the role governments should play in rethinking data privacy laws, antitrust, and other regulations that could reign in abuses from these powerful businesses. Their goal is to help managers and entrepreneurs build platform businesses that can stand the test of time and win their share of battles with both digital and conventional competitors. As experts who have studied and worked with these firms for some thirty years, this book is the most authoritative and timely investigation yet of the powerful economic and technological forces that make platform businesses, from Amazon and Apple to Microsoft, Facebook, and Google—all dominant players in shaping the global economy, the future of work, and the political world we now face.




Platform Strategy


Book Description

During the last decade, platform businesses such as Uber, Airbnb, Amazon and eBay have been taking over the world. In almost every sector, traditional businesses are under attack from digital disrupters that are effectively harnessing the power of communities. But what exactly is a platform business and why is it different? In Platform Strategy, Laure Claire Reillier and Benoit Reillier provide a practical guide for students, digital entrepreneurs and executives to understand what platforms are, how they work and how you can build one successfully. Using their own "rocket model" and original case studies (including Google, Apple, Amazon), they explain how designing, igniting and scaling a platform business requires learning a whole new set of management rules. Platform Strategy also offers many fascinating insights into the future of platforms, their regulation and governance, as well as how they can be combined with other business models. Benoit Reillier and Laure Claire Reillier are co-founders of Launchworks, a leading advisory firm focused on helping organizations develop and scale innovative business models.




Matchmakers


Book Description

A different kind of matchmaker. Many of the most dynamic public companies, from Alibaba to Facebook to Visa, and the most valuable start-ups, such as Airbnb and Uber, are matchmakers that connect one group of customers with another group of customers. Economists call matchmakers multisided platforms because they provide physical or virtual platforms for multiple groups to get together. Dating sites connect people with potential matches, for example, and ride-sharing apps do the same for drivers and riders. Although matchmakers have been around for millennia, they’re becoming more and more popular—and profitable—due to dramatic advances in technology, and a lot of companies that have managed to crack the code of this business model have become today’s power brokers. Don’t let the flashy successes fool you, though. Starting a matchmaker is one of the toughest business challenges, and almost everyone who tries to build one, fails. In Matchmakers, David Evans and Richard Schmalensee, two economists who were among the first to analyze multisided platforms and discover their principles, and who’ve consulted for some of the most successful platform businesses in the world, explain how matchmakers work best in practice, why they do what they do, and how entrepreneurs can improve their chances for success. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an investor, a consumer, or an executive, your future will involve more and more multisided platforms, and Matchmakers—rich with stories from platform winners and losers—is the one book you’ll need in order to navigate this appealing but confusing world.