Evolve! Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow
by Rosabeth Moss Kanter
(Harvard Business School Press)

In her new book Evolve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow, HBS professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter declares that soon there may be only three principal types of companies in the world: dot-coms, dot-com enablers (technology and service providers), and "wannadots" (established companies seeking to incorporate the Internet into their activities). These organizations must find ways to thrive in a digital age that Kanter believes is defined as much by new networks of relationships as by the innovative technology that makes them possible. Companies must learn to build and foster these relationship networks because they engender speedy and seamless interaction, encourage creativity and collaboration, and release the energy and brainpower that, according to Kanter, constitute the very "soul" of e-business in a rapidly emerging e-culture.

E-culture, she writes, "involves better ways of leading, organizing, working, and thinking." It is an environment in which individuals must evolve if they are to become leaders who can execute quick, effective decisions in an uncertain world. Kanter believes that attaining this higher level requires "deep systemic change ...and a deeper emphasis on human skills that build meaningful community out of mere connections."

Based on a landmark project with rare on-site access, over 300 interviews, and a 785-company global survey, Evolve! provides a hands-on blueprint for adopting the core principles of e-culture: treat strategy as improvisational theater; nurture networks of partners; reconstruct organizations as online and offline "communities"; and attract and retain top talent. Kanter illuminates the differences between older, more conservative companies and aggressive, born-digital dot-coms, highlighting best practices from e-culture pacesetters as well as cautionary lessons from Internet laggards. The book defines the skills that leaders need to master change in the e-environment — soon to become the environment for all business — whether they are leaders of Internet savvy companies or "wannadots" that seek to become more Web-enabled.

While acknowledging the Internet's import and impact, Kanter also argues that "cyberspace is full of reinvented wheels." "Yes," she writes, "the technology is revolutionary, network economics are different, and all the wheels must turn a lot faster, but the problems of leadership, organization, and change are similar to those we have experienced for decades. So even as this book breaks new ground in examining a set of big new challenges, it also rests on a foundation of enduring truths about people and organizations — a foundation that serves as a springboard for an evolutionary leap into a new, networked age."

Can Japan Compete?
by Michael E. Porter, Hirotaka Takeuchi, and Mariko Sakakibara
(Perseus Publishing/Basic Books)

Until recently, Japan's postwar rise was envied by the world as an economic miracle driven by better approaches to management and a seemingly superior form of capitalism. As HBS professor Michael Porter and his coauthors Hirotaka Takeuchi and Mariko Sakakibara state in their new book, "Just ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable to write a book with the title Can Japan Compete?"

It was some nine years ago, at a time when Japan's economic success was overwhelmingly credited to its government's involvement with industry, that Porter and his team began an in-depth study of the Japanese economy. This research was motivated by a previously overlooked question: If Japanese government policies and practices accounted for the nation's extraordinary competitiveness, then why wasn't Japan competitive in many of the industries where those policies had been prominently implemented?

The authors' research showed that in the industries where Japan was most competitive internationally — such as cars, video products, and robotics — government played a relatively minor role. By contrast, the country was least competitive in industries such as chemicals, aircraft, and software where there was significant government involvement.

While upsetting the West's conventional wisdom about the reasons for Japan's success, Porter and his coauthors emphasize that Japanese practices such as total quality and continuous improvement were valuable additions to U.S. industry. But, as they point out, if improvement of best practice is the driving force within an industry, its outcome is competitive convergence and eventually decreased profitability. The authors conclude that for Japan to succeed, "the missing link is strategy. Strategy rests on choosing a unique position by offering a different mix of value than competitors."

If Japan's economy is reenergized by strategic thinking and new competitive approaches, the United States will be forced to reexamine some of its own weaknesses, such as a poor education system, adversarial approaches to problem solving, a declining commitment to basic research, and short time horizons in both business and government. Japan, which is strong in all those areas, could once again be a formidable U.S. competitor. And that, say the authors, would ultimately be good for the United States.

HBS Press Books in Brief

(Harvard Business School Press)

In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work, by Don Cohen and Laurence Prusak, is the first book to examine and explain the role that social capital — the value inherent in human connections, including trust, personal networks, and a sense of community — plays in the successful running of organizations. Knowledge management experts Cohen and Prusak identify the social elements that contribute to knowledge sharing, innovation, and high productivity and show how nearly every managerial action can enhance or diminish an organization's social capital.

Profit from the Core: Growth Strategy in an Era of Turbulence, by Chris Zook, with James Allen, argues that a timeless strategic principle — building market power in a well-defined core business — remains the key source of competitive advantage and the most viable platform for successful expansion. Based on a ten-year, Bain & Company study of two thousand companies, the book identifies three factors that differentiate growth strategies that succeed from those that fail.

In Unchained Value: The New Logic of Digital Business, Internet expert Mary Cronin argues that corporations will fail at e-business as long as they continue to use the traditional value chain as the strategic model for the enterprise. She introduces a radically new model for organizations she calls the digital value system — based not on static, internally focused "chains" but on dynamic, external webs of relationships that take full advantage of the power, flexibility, and opportunity of the digital arena.

Radical Innovation: How Mature Companies Can Outsmart Upstarts, by Richard Leifer, Christopher M. McDermott, Gina Colarelli O'Connor, Lois S. Peters, Mark Rice, and Robert W. Veryzer, is a groundbreaking book that identifies the new managerial competencies firms will need in order to outsmart upstart challengers. Based on a study of twelve radical innovation projects, the book reveals the patterns through which game-changing innovation occurs in established companies — including General Electric and IBM — and outlines a paradigm for long-term success.

To order HBS Press books, call 800-545-7685 or visit www.hbsp.harvard.edu. Other books by HBS authors are available at the Business School Coop (617-499-3248; 617-547-5003 fax).

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