Tag Archives: leadership

How to Be Effective: Structuring Change, Managing Change, and Leading Change

When I talk to former students, clients, and executives, I’ve found that their biggest concern is being effective – going beyond conceiving great new things and actually driving them into practice. I’ve also seen that most people make two big … read on

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The Missing Element in Large-scale Change

Large-scale change. Most managers view it as the ultimate management challenge. I remember when I wrote my Harvard Business School Working Knowledge column, “The Challenges of Paradigmatic Change.” The column went out on the Web on a Monday morning, and … read on

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How Did Microsoft Become Microsoft?

First, a little quiz. Which company invented these cornerstones of the personal computer revolution: First personal computer First high-speed computer network First laser printer First graphical user interface (mouse, pull-down menus, etc.)? (The answer is three paragraphs down.) A few … read on

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Managing in a Deflationary Economy – A View From Malaysia

Today’s economic news features descriptions of our stalled economy, punctuated by concerns that we may slip into deflation. Most U.S. managers have not had direct experience with managing in a deflationary economy. This economic environment creates extraordinary challenges and requires … read on

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A Malaysian Perspective on Managing Mergers

One of the great pleasures of writing this blog is the opportunity to stay in touch with friends and former students. I received a nice note from Tenglum Low, who is a top executive in Malaysia. Tenglum took my course … read on

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Why Do Mergers and Reorganizations Fail?

I’ll always remember the immortal words of Murray Smyth, at the time CFO of one of the largest subsidiaries of a major distribution and manufacturing company, “If we haven’t reorganized in the last six months, it’s because someone missed a … read on

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The Early Days of Facebook

This morning, I noticed that the Harvard Crimson website featured a link to the original February 9, 2004 Crimson story reporting the creation of what is now Facebook. Note the quaint headline, “Hundreds Register for New Facebook Website“. Remember, this … read on

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