In today’s fast-changing world, companies have to be more alert and responsive than ever. In this talk, Professor Birkinshaw will explain why established firms so often get stuck behind the curve, and what they can do to become more strategically agile. This involves getting smarter about how and when to respond to the forces of disruption. It also means thinking very differently about internal structures and behaviours. In particular, he will argue that firms need to develop a new organising model, the adhocracy, to complement the traditional emphasis for bureaucracy and meritocracy, which in turn demands executives to think very differently about their style of leadership.