Breakthrough Ideas for 2004

Reprint: R0402A

HBR’s editors searched for the best new ideas related to the practice of management and came up with a collection that is as diverse as it is provocative. The 2004 HBR List includes emergent concepts from biology, network science, management theory, and more. A few highlights:

Richard Florida wonders why U.S. society doesn’t seem to be thinking about the flow of people as the key to America’s advantage in the “creative age.” Diane L. Coutu describes how the revolution in neurosciences will have a major impact on business. Clayton M. Christensen explains the law of conservation of attractive profits: When attractive profits disappear at one stage in the value chain because a product becomes commoditized, the opportunity to earn attractive profits with proprietary products usually emerges at an adjacent stage.

Joel Kurtzman asks where the “stupid money” is headed. Robert Sutton reports on the emergence of “no asshole”—excuse the crude language—rules. Daniel H. Pink explains why the master of fine arts is the new MBA. Joseph Fuller asks whether the useful life of the public company is over. Herminia Ibarra describes how companies can get the most out of managers returning from leadership-development programs. Iqbal Quadir suggests a radical fix for the third world’s trade problems: Get the World Bank to lend to rich countries so that there are resources for retraining workers in dying industries.

Clay Shirky describes how technology will allow companies to get vast amounts of real-time data from social networks. Thomas A. Stewart shows how jokes constitute a trove of information about what’s really going on in a company. And Ray Kurzweil makes the case that while high-tech stocks have seesawed, technology has marched steadily forward—and will continue to do so.