I by IMD

I by IMD offers first-person business intelligence from the brightest thinkers in academia, business and society. Written by experts for experts, we present a platform for debate on the latest issues in management, strategy, technology, finance, team building and innovation. Our content ecosystem is designed to spark conversation and deliver actionable insights to a broad and engaged global audience. We host conversations – via articles, comment pieces, videos and podcasts – about the latest issues in management. Whether ideas about companies or office politics, we aim to spark debate – you may not agree with everything you read here – and to deliver actionable insights to an engaged global executive audience.

WELCOME • Let’s work to protect the wealth of nations

ECO SYSTEM ING Why relinquishing control can strengthen competitive advantage • Ecosystems promise a new way to compete, yet most squander the opportunity by bolting them onto old strategic logic. Mark Greeven makes the case for putting ecosystem thinking at the heart of how leaders set direction, govern value, and build advantage

Why whisky isle’s digital ecosystem is a golden blend • Trust and governance, not data and technology, will separate winners from losers in the race to build ecosystems that sustain value. A remote Scottish island offers a few clues to the way ahead, explain Michael Wade, Mark Greeven, and Konstantinos Trantopoulos

Beware of the billion-dollar business with zero employees • AI-driven ‘algorithmic corporations’ could replace humans with ruthless, automated systems that exploit labor, manipulate pricing, and prioritize shareholder value. But governments have the tools to prevent this dystopian future if they choose to use them, writes Jerry Davis

SUSTAIN ABILITY 2.0 • Innovation, value creation, and improved performance should replace ‘virtue signaling’ and ill-defined ‘purpose’, argue Goutam Challagalla and Frédéric Dalsace

5 leadership principles for ‘clean winners’

Why AI job interviews are no laughing matter • While humor boosts likability and success with human recruiters, it risks backfiring with AI interviewers. Candidates must adopt a ‘bilingual’ strategy to avoid being penalized, say Jamie Gloor, Cecily Cooper, T Bradfort Bitterly, and Clemens Stachl

The start of the deal How to pitch your opening offer • Setting an ambitious anchor in a negotiation can deliver big rewards, but it can also risk disaster. Drawing on 90 studies, Martin Schweinsberg offers a framework for a more informed approach to deal-making

Rebuilding trust in a bank that was once on shaky ground • Slawomir Krupa, CEO of Societe Generale, tells Jean-François Manzoni how restoring financial discipline and protecting the bank’s capacity to innovate under pressure helped restore faith in one of Europe’s oldest institutions

WHAT CHINA’S CHANGES MEAN FOR LEADERS

15 leading questions … • Marco Arcelli, CEO of Acwa, the Saudi-based power generation and water desalination company, reveals what motivates and inspires him

Taking responsibility, not shortcuts, is the bedrock of success • Did you make your bed this morning? By mastering small disciplines and focusing on fundamentals, leaders build credibility, embrace ownership, and drive meaningful, long-term success, says Shelley Zalis

5 steps to better leadership

Driving high performance is about more than the need for speed • Once in pole position on the grid. Atlassian Williams F1 Team is rebuilding its competitive advantage. In conversation with Susan Goldsworthy, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Ann Perrins, explains how people, culture, and learning accelerate performance

Tap into the talent of the ’high potentials’ aged 50 and above • Organizations should stop using rigid assessments, embrace ’messy’...