Giant Steps in Management: Innovations That Change the Way We Work

Chapter . Introduction: Giant steps in management

The field of management is never short of new ideas – or at least new riffs on old ideas. As we write this, the business bestseller lists include such tantalizing titles as The world is flat, Blue ocean strategy and The long tail; Fortune magazine is offering the inside story on Google’s corporate culture; and the consulting firm, McKinsey, is highlighting its newest thinking on ‘global trends and corporate strategy’.

As a well-read and thoughtful manager, you want to be on top of these latest ideas. You want to know how the business landscape is changing. And you are constantly looking out for that spark of insight that will give you, or your company, a competitive edge.

But at the same time, you ...