Harvard Business Review - 2009.09.pdf

From the Editor Why Green Is Growing(When Not Much Else Is)HEN AN economy slips into reces-business there.The government invests in infrasion,the pattern is familiar:Growthstructural improvements in shipping and portslows,unemployment rises,and gov-services,aviation,tourism,and real estate-andernments fiddle with interest ratesmakes money from them rather than from cor-and stimulus spending to jump-start a recovery.porate and personal taxes.Foreigners can live inBut every recession brings a few surprises,asDubai very cheaply-albeit with no social benefitswell.For instance,in this downturn companiesor citizenship rights.and governments didnt walk away from greenOf course,any strategy you design will fall flatinitiatives.Quite the reverse,in the case of aif youre clueless about who your customers arecouple of 800-pound gorillas.In July,Wal-MartThe Female Economypoints out that althoughannounced plans to createwomen make far more purchase decisions thana universal rating systemmen do,they feel badly served by the companiesthat scores products onthey buy from.Businesses that sell food,fitnesshow environmentally andservices,beauty products,health care,and cloth-socially sustainable they are.ing have some of the greatest opportunities,butThat system should have athey leave a lot of money on the table,say Mi-huge effect on consumerchael J.Silverstein and Kate Sayre.The financialproducts worldwide-andservices industry is the least attuned to women.on competing retailersThe Coming Battle over Executive Paywarnssuch as Target and Tesco.that the public uproar over financial firmsout-China,meanwhile,allocatedsized bonuses is just the beginning-next year,210 billion yuan,or 5%,ofcompanies in the broader economy are going toits stimulus spending to sus-be more closely watched than ever before.Thattainable development.scrutiny could lead to smarter compensationTo what extent will thispractices,according to HBR deputy editor Karenenhanced commitment to sustainability cascadeDillon,but it could also lead to reformsthat tiethrough the global economy?The lead article inexecutiveshands unnecessarily.General Electricthis issues Spotlight on Sustainability and Inno-CEO Jeff Immelt told us that,in light of the cur-vation makes the audacious claim that compa-rent economic climate,he refused a bonus hisnies wont innovate successfully and as a re-board had approved earlier this year but that hesult wont grow-unless they throw themselvesabsolutely needs the freedom to determine howwhole hog into green initiatives.Smart compa-the other 300,000 people at GE are paid.nies now treat sustainability as innovations newDeath by Information Overloadis an enter-frontier,write Ram Nidumolu,C.K.Prahalad,andtaining,scary exploration of how badly were af-M.R.Rangaswami.The Spotlight also offers sixfected by all the data that assault us every day atleading-edge approaches to clean energy and awork.Are You Having Trouble Keeping Your Op-passionate essay by former U.S.president Billerations Focused?gives advice on how to keepClinton about programs in Africa that both sup-up operational excellence even as you launchport a cleaner environment and create entrepre-new businesses.And How to Manage Your Ne-neurial opportunities.gotiating Teamargues that youre much likelierThe rise of sustainability illustrates how cul-to succeed at the negotiating table if you first getture shapes strategy.W.Chan Kim and Reneeyour own folks working well together.Mauborgne do almost the opposite in HowStrategy Shapes Structure,which extends theirwork on blue ocean strategy.They use the city-state of Dubai to demonstrate the concept of low-cost,differentiated,reconstructioniststrategy.Dubai gives foreign investors unbeatable incen-tives and makes it easy and inexpensive to doAdi Ignatius10 Harvard Business Review I September 2009 I hbr.org