The
January-February 2010 issue of the Harvard Business Review has a list
of ten breakthrough ideas. I wouldn’t have paid much attention except
that the first and seventh ideas were out of synch. Managers and execs
were all dead wrong about motivation.
Changing a culture is about breaking rules. Initially that’s scary,
but I’ve found that it really works. Both ideas really grabbed my
attention. I’ll discuss them in detail in a coming post, but for now,
here are the ten breakthrough ideas according to the editors of Harvard
Business Review.
- What really motivates workers. Understanding the power of company progress.
- The technology that can revolutionize health care. It’s not high cost or high tech.
- What the financial sector should borrow. A military approach to keeping the economy safe.
- Getting the drugs we need. Simple standards would spur innovation.
- A market solution for achieving “green.” Financing that encourages retrofits.
- A faster path from lab to market. Removing the technology licensing obstacle.
- Hacking work. Learn to love the rule breakers.
- Spotting bubbles on the rise. We have the tools to sound the alarm early.
- Creating more Hong Kongs. How charter cities can change the rules for struggling economies.
- Independent diplomacy. Why pretend that only nation-states shape international affairs?
One of the real pluses of the business community is that when it
supports an idea, change can happen fast. I’ll be curious this coming
year to see which they’ll get behind.
