Elizabeth J. Altman

MIT Sloan Management Review — A United Nations agency with a sweeping mission and sprawling global presence may not appear to be the most likely place where companies can learn new techniques for accelerating innovation — but appearances can be deceiving. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an organization of 17,000 employees spanning 170 countries, focuses on solving the world’s most complex problems — ending poverty, ensuring healthy lives and well-being, providing affordable and clean energy, reducing inequalities, and more — through local, regional, and global initiatives and an annual budget of $5 billion. In our exploratory research, we have found that this organization is making exceptionally progressive innovation moves both at its headquarters and in the field by building and sustaining one of the world’s largest networks of accelerator labs — 60 of them, serving 78 countries.

Harvard Business Review — Many companies that sell products or services either don't realize they could turn their offerings into a platform business or struggle to do so. By becoming a multisided platform (MSP) that facilitates interactions between parties, a company may be able to provide new revenue sources while also preventing competitors from stealing market share from its product or service.

Harvard Business Review — More than a decade ago, Clayton Christensen's breakthrough book The Innovator's Dilemma illustrated how disruptive innovations drive industry transformation and market creation. Christensen's research demonstrated how growth-seeking incumbents must develop the capability to deflect disruptive attacks and seize disruptive opportunities.

Harvard Business Review — Rethink how your organization creates, delivers, and captures value--or risk becoming irrelevant. If you read nothing else on business model innovation, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you reach new customers and stay ahead of your competitors by reinventing your business model.

Harvard Business Review — Help your company adapt to the new rules of competition. If you read nothing else on creating value with business platforms and ecosystems, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you reap the rewards of multisided platforms (MSPs)--or defend your company against these formidable opponents.

hudsonbooksellers.com — The Travelers' Best Friend

hudsonbooksellers.com — The Travelers' Best Friend

emerald.com — Platforms, Open/User Innovation, and Ecosystems: A Strategic Leadership Perspective - Author: Elizabeth J. Altman, Michael L. Tushman

MIT Sloan Management Review — Ask leaders today how they define their workforces, and you'll immediately hear some version of "Well, that has become a very interesting question, and even more so recently." Today's workforces include not only employees, but also contractors, gig workers, professional service providers, application developers, crowdsourced contributors, and others... Abstract: Organizations’ workforce agendas no longer revolve solely around hired employees performing work along linear career paths. Workforces today comprise a range of internal and external parties including employees, contractors, gig workers, professional service providers, application developers, crowdsourced contributors, and others. Organizations recognize that they need to adopt an integrated approach to effectively manage an unintegrated workforce. However, significant challenges remain and best practices are scarce to address strategic and operational issues associated with workforces that span organizational boundaries. In this research, we define workforce ecosystems as structures that consist of interdependent actors, from within and outside the organization, which pursue both individual and collective goals. This article is based on a two-year research program comprising two global executive surveys and semi-structured interviews with corporate and military leaders and academic experts. We find that a workforce ecosystem approach can help organizations address shifts driven by technological, social, and economic forces. For instance, we recognize that more organizations are relying on nonemployees to accomplish strategic objectives; more work is becoming task- and project-based, and a growing number of executives are recognizing that a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce delivers better results. Organizations that adopt workforce ecosystems can take advantage of these shifts, and better align their work with their strategic goals and objectives.