Too often business leaders put a key fact on their mental backburner – their business is surrounded by a “containing system” that shapes their company’s opportunities, risks and outcomes. Not only should leaders align their business models with external market trends, they should try to influence or shape their containing system to best support their businesses. Here are two cases in point. As supply chain gurus, Boeing and GM have already assessed the impact of Japan’s recent natural disasters and are scrambling for parts. Less astute companies will discover over the next six months that their supply chains are more dependent on Japan than manufacturing managers ever understood. Journalist Barry Lynn predicted these disruptions in his 2005 book End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation. According to Lynn, America’s manufacturing sector has undergone a twin revolution. The…