Weekends are time when things slow down a little. Your weekend shouldn’t be two more regular workdays. That’s a sure road to burnout. Take time to refresh yourself. Take time for something different. Take time for some of that reading you can’t find time for during the week.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. This week there are articles about business ecosystems.

From Adi Gaskell: Why The Flow Of Ideas Is Vital For An Innovation Ecosystem

“Trade secrets come into their own as people move between rival firms in a sector. The inevitable disclosure doctrine suggests that it is inevitable that important information about your former company will be leaked when you move to a new firm, even if you don’t do so intentionally. The law basically says that you can’t be expected to forget your past experience, so even if you aren’t covered by a noncompete clause or anything of that nature, it’s still to be expected that you bring your experience with you into your new role. Hence, legally speaking, firms can prevent you jumping ship to a rival.”

From Irving Wladawsky-Berger: Once Lumbering, Now Innovative Incumbents Hit Their Stride

“Overall, respondents were evenly divided on whether the key to the future are established markets or new ones.But they stand in close agreement on two areas:68% of executives said that their organizations will emphasize customer experience over products, and 63% said that they will continue to expand their networks of business partners.”

From Irving Wladawsky-Berger: Blockchain – the Networked Ecosystem is the Business

“Since it first came to light a decade ago as the public, distributed ledger for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, people have struggled to understand what blockchain is all about and what it’s truly good for. This is not unusual for potentially transformative technologies in their early stages, as was the case with the Internet, and is still the case with AI. The key question is whether blockchain has the potential to become a truly transformative technology over time. With few exceptions, the answer is positive.”

From Richard Straub: What Management Needs to Become in an Era of Ecosystems

“Much more complex than linear supply chains, business ecosystems are groups of companies and other actors (platform providers, government agencies, independent contractors, co-creating customers, and so on) whose contributions come together to produce value. The idea is that each of these parties could benefit if they took a more holistic view of their collective efforts.”

From Michael G Jacobides: Goodbye business as usual

“How should leaders adapt to the new world of business ecosystems? For a start, they need to realise that their customers now call the shots.”

Book Suggestions

Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies by Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaeufer

The Death of Competition: Leadership and Strategy in the Age of Business Ecosystems by James F. Moore

The Design Thinking Playbook: Mindful Digital Transformation of Teams, Products, Services, Businesses and Ecosystems by Michael Lewrick, Patrick Link, et al.

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