Article at a glance:

The next revolution in interactions

• As more 21st-century companies come to specialize in core activities and outsource the rest, they have greater need for workers who can interact with other companies, their customers, and their suppliers.
• Thus the traditional organization, where a few top managers coordinate the pyramid below them, is being upended.
• Raising the productivity of employees whose jobs can't be automated is the next great performance challenge—and the stakes are high.
• Companies that get it right will build complex talent-based competitive advantages that competitors won’t be able to duplicate easily—if at all.