In this, the first part of a four-part conversation, Gary Hamel discussed with me his new book, What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation (Jossey-Bass 2012). Part I: The centrality of human passion

SD : In this “world of relentless change, ferocious competition, and unstoppable innovation” that you describe in your new book, how is the relationship between an organization and its customers and employees changing?

GH: Firms have to start with a profound sense of what is really in the customer’s interests, not merely how do they delight them, but also: how do they serve their interests and do the right thing by them in every setting? That has to animate everything they do.

As a result, every industry in the world is being reinvented from the customer backwards. I wrote the first cover story for Fortune magazine in 1997 on the Web. My basic argument was that the Web was going to create a fundamental shift in bargaining power between producers and consumers. This is already happening. Thus you can record a television show on Tivo. You can go online and instantly...