Welch legacy doesn't convince all: Semco boss says business isn't war

Abstract

Purpose

To provide a concise briefing on the most topical issues and relevant implications from the top 400 management publications in the world.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the argument in context.

Findings

Steve Smethurst reports on the successful work on value innovation and tipping‐point leadership carried out on behalf of Norwich Union Insurance (UK) who sought the help of academics at Insead Business School in France to develop a leadership strategy to support value innovation and organizational change. Paul Hemp interviews Kevin Sharer, the CEO of biotechnology giant Amgen. Sharer speaks frankly about past experiences – and past mistakes – which have been crucial to his career. In a wide‐ranging, enlightening conversation, he touches on matters including coaching, recruitment, risk‐taking, taking time to listen, knowing the difference between the urgent and the important, and having the ability to operate at many levels. A.J. Vogl interviews Ricardo Semler, principal shareholder in Semco, a federation of ten companies with a Brazilian base. Semler's ways of working will be seen by some as futuristic, perhaps bizarre, and may not be workable in all organizations. But his unusual approach to working conditions, which offer employees a huge amount of flexibility and freedom, are his way of providing a welcome alternative to military‐style command‐and‐control hierarchies which he feels might be fine for fighting a war but not for running a big company.

Originality/value

Provides implementable strategies and practical thinking that has influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Citation

(2005), "Welch legacy doesn't convince all: Semco boss says business isn't war", Strategic Direction, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 16-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/02580540510571692