Top Business articles of 2007

Our most widely read articles over the past year tended to focus on business strategy—including ruminations on how planning gets done, who gets to decide, and what can mess things up. There was also great interest in articles on technology (including software as a service and Web 2.0) and on the crafting of simple marketing messages. Read these articles now in case you missed them in 2007.

1. STRATEGY How to improve strategic planningIt can be a frustrating exercise, but there are ways to increase its value. (Premium)

2. ORGANIZATION Building the civilized workplaceNasty people don't just make others feel miserable; they create economic problems for their companies.

3. MARKETING How businesses are using Web 2.0: A McKinsey Global SurveyBy and large, executives are satisfied with their previous investments in Internet technology, and most are investing in trends that promote automation and networking online.

4. GOVERNANCE The CEO's role in leading transformationThe CEO helps a transformation succeed by communicating its significance, modeling the desired changes, building a strong top team, and getting personally involved. (Premium)

5. STRATEGY The halo effect, and other managerial delusionsCompanies cannot achieve superior and lasting business performance simply by following a specific set of steps.

6. CORPORATE FINANCE The new metrics of corporate performance: Profit per employeeMost measurements of performance are geared to the needs of 20th-century manufacturing companies. Times have changed. Metrics must change as well. (Premium)

7. STRATEGY Investing in sustainability: An interview with Al Gore and David Blood The former vice president and his partner in an investment-management firm argue that sustainability investing is essential to creating long-term shareholder value.

8. HIGH TECH Delivering software as a service A new delivery method is shaking the software industry's foundations. Traditional vendors should take heed.

9. GOVERNANCE Crafting a message that sticks: An interview with Chip Heath The key to effective communication: make it simple, make it concrete, and make it surprising.

10. MARKETING How companies are marketing online: A McKinsey Global Survey A survey of marketers from around the world shows where online tools are most important, how they're being used, and on which ones companies plan to spend more.

(From:The McKinsey Quarterly )