1、 ChallengeHas the United States lost its competitive edge?Have decades of outsourc-ing and downsizing drained the nation of its ability to innovate and grow?And if so,what on earth can we do about it?This month HBR tackles these questions in the most comprehensive single-topic package weve ever asse
2、mbled.Working with our colleagues at Harvard Business School,we have called on some of the worlds most original thinkers to explain the competitiveness challenge America faces and to help point the way forward.These articles arent meant to focus on the U.S.in isolation from the rest of the world.The
3、yre not intended to be triumphalist or,for that matter,defeatist.In-stead we hope to offer a clear-eyed look at what America is doing right,where it is coming up short,and what steps it can take to regain its competitive standing.We can think of no more important topic in this critical U.S.election
4、year.While diverse in its range and viewpoints,our 87-page package is animated by a core belief that American competitiveness is not just good for the United States.American innovations can fuel global growth,and a wealthy America will continue to buy from the rest of the world.Moreover,the lessons
5、we learn about competition are applicable to industries and nations everywhere.Many of the ideas in this issue were first presented last November at an HBS symposium organized by professors Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin.The gath-ering attracted some of Americas leading CEOsincluding Jamie Dimon of J
6、PMorgan Chase,Virginia Rometty of IBM,and Michael Lynton of Sony Pictures Entertainmentand initiated what we hope will become a lively national debate on what it means to be competitive in the 21st century.Whats next?HBS will take the discussion on the road,with events in more than a dozen cities in
7、 the U.S.and overseas.HBR will continue to search for the best ideas on how to restart Americas growth engine.Do you have some thoughts?Please send them to us at lettershbr.org.Adi Ignatius,Editor in Chiefhbr.org14 harvard business reviewMarch 2012From the E term“manager”is out-of-date,at the very l
8、east.Instead of supervising others,the true role for managers is to lead and develop people.Very little of that is actu-ally occurring.It doesnt mean we should eliminate all managers;rather,we should teach our managers how to lead.David Chard,president,EngagingMinds WorldwideOld-school,command-and-c
9、ontrol think-ing gives money and status to those who manage,not those who create.Senior business leaders would improve the mo-rale and productivity of their organizations if they removed the aura of managers who are made to feel that they are better than their teammates.We need smarter,more insightf
10、ul team members,not dictatorial managers.Change the way money is doled out and you will change everything.Roy Luebke,innovation consultantIdeally,an organization should not wait until someone becomes a manager to train him in management.Develop everyone and promote those who show a flair for leading
11、 and developing others.Or do away with the rigid structure and let the leaders be anointed by their followers.Stephen Booth,business analyst,Service BirminghamMany employees cant be taught to lead.Your best programmer may be the most amazing coder youve ever seen,but he may have poor people skills.I
12、f he is pro-moted because of his programming prow-ess but is now expected to spend time dealing with people,he will fail in his new role.(In fact,he has been set up to fail by HBR article by Gary Hamel,December 2011Imagine a company with no bosses,titles,or pro-motions.Its not impossible:Morning Sta
13、r,the worlds largest tomato processor,has been mak-ing this“managerless”model work for more than 20 years.Instead of structuring itself traditionally(and inefficiently)as a hierarchy,the company al-lows employees to manage themselves.They write personal mission statements and mutually agreed-upon le
14、tters of understandingand increase their own responsibilities.Their connection to the com-pany is more than just the promise of promotion.Innovation guru Gary Hamel concludes that this model“could work in companies of any size”if employees had the right tools.First,Lets Fire All the ManagersHBR blog
15、 post by Kare Anderson,December 2011Craft an Attention-Grabbing MessageSince our brains are wired to make con-nections,metaphor is a key ingredient in powerful communication.A friend once told me that a good metaphor does more than anything else to catch peoples attention.But I would suggest a coupl
16、e of other things for a speaker to keep in mind:empathy and knowing your voice.If you demonstrate that you understand your audience and know what they care about,you build trust and make your message relevant.On the other hand,knowing who you are and find-ing both a style and a message that is believable,coming from you,is just as important.At the company I work for,al-most everyone has gone through stand-up comedy training,a type of performance likewise driven by knowing yourself and your audie
