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The image of one omnipotent and charismatic CEO, alone at the top of the company, is closely held both in business theory and practice. But the authors argue that under the right conditions, co-chiefs -- two or even three individuals sharing the top job -- can benefit the organization because different leadership styles and competencies are simultaneously available to most effectively deal with differing situations. Notable examples past and present include Google, IMAX, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. From their study of over 100 companies that adopted power-sharing -- sometimes productively, sometimes not -- the authors conclude that it is most likely to work when the relationship between the co-CEOs evinces complementarity, compatibility and commitment. Further, careful design of the leaders' shared and separate responsibilities -- especially regarding communication mechanisms (for external constituents, inside the organization and between each other) -- is required. Lastly, it is essential that there be co-evolution, in which each of the co-leaders show willingness to change over time and allow their relationship to further develop. In that spirit, the authors offer seven practical "rules of engagement" for forming power-sharing structures with good potential for success, for ensuring smooth day-to-day functioning and for adjusting these relationships as conditions change.

The differences between veterans, boomers, Xers, Ys.

Research shows that the most important factor for driving innovation is company culture.

Managing intellectual property rights used to be straightforward. A company produced great innovations, obtained as many patents as possible and exploited those patents in the marketplace. But the intellectual property world has changed argue the authors. Today, leading companies are focusing on securing only the essential protections they need to exploit their innovations. Most businesses, though, continue to pursue the old "more is better" strategy. In effect, they're flying blind when it comes to managing their IP portfolio. The authors identify three key areas where leading companies drive profits and effectively manage their intellectual property. First, they have a strong market focus, which provides them a clear sense of the "freedom of action." Second, the leaders can articulate how they will derive value from each potential patent and ruthlessly prune patents that cannot generate an attractive overall return. Finally, top-tier organizations hire only the best talent to lead their IP efforts. Following this blueprint will allow companies to successfully manage a more complicated IP landscape.

The place of multinational corporations in China has rapidly changed since the 1970s. No longer expected to bring cash and management expertise to China, the authors argue that MNCs have taken on a new role as teachers and role models. However, recent high-profile mistakes including a McDonald's Corp. (of Oak Brook, Illinois) ad that over 80% of Chinese surveyed found offensive, show that MNCs are not entirely up to this task. They illustrate the consequences of this inability to cope and suggest eight strategies for improving MNC's success in China: Think local-act global, don't apply double standards, don't bend the rules, avoid making "symbolic" acquisitions, avoid employing aggressive tactics over intellectual property rights, guard against management insensitivity, don't "strip mine" profits and don't use China as a lab. The authors then go on to show how these strategies can be executed to increase MNC's profits and standing in China.

Why publicly praised executives tend to underperform.

How environmental cues influence consumer behavior.

Over the last decade, the Internet has transformed many aspects of the way business is conducted -- from how goods are bought and sold to where work is done. To explore what might constitute the next generation of Web technologies and what effect they will have on the nature, purpose and management of organizations, MIT Sloan Management Review contributing editor Martha E. Mangelsdorf talked with two leading experts: Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Center for Digital Business and the George and Sandra Schussel Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and Andrew P. McAfee, associate professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. Brynjolffsson and McAfee are confident that the future emphasis of some businesses will be on the use of Web 2.0 technologies to support innovation, creativity and information sharing rather than just to achieve cost cutting. They discussed the complementary relationship between traditional managerial tools, such as ERP and CRM, and the evolving modes of collaboration and communication, such as wikis. McAfee pointed out that one set of tools allows good ideas to percolate upward, after which the very structured process-management technologies can be used to replicate the innovation -- with brutal efficiency in some cases. Companies in very turbulent, information-intensive industries tend to be the ones that have gone the furthest with deploying the new Enterprise 2.0 infrastructure and the mindset that goes along with it, said McAfee. There are "softer cultural things" that companies can do to promote creativity among employees, Brynjolfsson said, which gives them the freedom to work laterally or diagonally within their organizations. The cultural shift away from the classic notions of productivity and output, such as billable hours, is more difficult for some companies to manage, and neither Brynjolfsson nor McAfee sees any technology that by itself will resolve this dilemma. According to Brynjolfsson and McAfee, technology innovation is engendering a whole set of complementary innovations in organizations that actually heighten the role of managers and executives. In fact, they said, it will be managers who will have to increase the ambient level of participation in and contribution to these Enterprise 2.0 environments. Companies cited in the discussion that are integrating the new technologies and cultivating the complementary cultural changes include Google, retail pharmacy chain CVS, Spanish fashion retailer Zara and Canadian software developer Cambrian House.

A company’s policies provide insight into its culture.

Societal consequences give power to formal sanctions.