Innehållsförteckning för Fall 2013 från Rotman Management

The Legacy Issue EARLY ON IN OUR CAREERS, and even mid-way through, most of us don’t spend much time thinking about what our legacy will be. But the fact is, it is never too early to start thinking about the long-term impact you can have on your organization and the people around you. Executive development expert Robert Galford [see interview, page 78] argues that the sooner you start thinking about this, the better a leader you will be today. His simple definition of legacy applies to everyone, whether you are running an organization or serving on its front lines: “Your legacy is defined by how others approach work and life as a result of having worked with you.” We at the Rotman School have witnessed the formation of a great…

REAL STRATEGY — IN COMPANIES AND IN OUR LIVES — is created through hundreds of everyday decisions. As you live your life from day to day, how can you make sure you’re heading in the right direction? Our advice is to take a close look at where your resources are flowing. If they’re not supporting the strategy you’ve decided upon, then you are not implementing that strategy. In this article we will discuss a pervasive challenge for organization and individuals alike: what to do when the right decision for the long term makes no sense for the short term, which we call the ‘innovator’s dilemma’. Getting the Measures of Success Wrong More than a decade ago, Seattle-based SonoSite was founded to make hand-held ultrasound equipment — little machines that had…

MANY OF THE MANAGERS we meet harbour a deep, dark secret: they believe, in their hearts, that they lack creativity. Picasso they know they’re not: but being seen as short on a talent for invention these days is almost as bad as not knowing how to populate an Excel spreadsheet. It all seems so unfair. After years spent focusing on prudence and proving the ROI of any new idea, years spent trying not to look stupid, now all of a sudden we are also expected not to look — what would the word be — unimaginative? Despite popular misconceptions, innate genius isn’t the only way to solve business problems creatively. We just need to build a bridge to take us from current reality to a new future. The good news…

BIG DATA’ IS EVERYWHERE. Organizations of all types — large companies, entrepreneurial startups, governmental agencies and NGOs — have been encouraged to embrace the detailed, microlevel data generated by digital devices to become more efficient. Indeed, the potential of big data to improve organizational productivity is significant, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. In this article, I will argue that the most important opportunities arising from big data lie in addressing problems such as climate change, the fragility of our financial system, epidemic disease, widespread corruption, disenfranchisement of the poor, and the depletion of cheaply-extractable minerals, to name just a few of the most important problems of our time. In short: the ‘big promise’ of big data lies in making headway against the most significant management problems…

As head of innovation at Coca-Cola, some of the questions I ponder with my team from day to day might surprise you. One that has vexed us lately is, “Can we design a way to get plastics out of our oceans?” We think about this quite a bit. Another question is, ‘Can we design new ways to make it easier for more people to recycle?’ I travel a lot for work, and in some places, like Japan, recycling is part of everyone’s life. But I also lived in Mexico for a year, where recycling is not a high priority, so this is quite a relevant challenge, globally speaking. A third question we ponder is, ‘Can we design plastics that don’t use any petroleum?’ Imagine if we could take the oil…

Q & A How do you define ’Creative Intelligence’, or ’CQ’? A few years ago I was at a conference on innovation and design thinking at Stanford’s Institute of Design. Bill Burnett, who heads up Stanford’s design program, said something that really resonated with me: "We have GREs and SATs to measure math, verbal and writing scores; but we don’t even attempt to measure creativity." That got me thinking: what if we could develop a methodology to assess an individual’s Creative Intelligence, or ’CQ’? I started talking to some of the most creative people I know about how we might assess creativity. First up was [former] Rotman Dean Roger Martin, who was among the first to bring design thinking into a business school setting. He offered some simple advice: "Do…

How do you define the term ‘plutocrat’? The people I’m writing about in my book [Plutocrats:The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else] are part of the infamous one per cent, but my focus is really on the very top of the income distribution — the 0.1 per cent, whose average income is US$ 23.8 million. University of California, Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez has found a way to get at this very narrow slice of earners by looking at income tax data. What he has uncovered is that the most extreme change is happening not in the top one per cent, but in the top 0.1%. This is where we are seeing an exponential growth of inequality, which is driving broader statistical measures. Who are…

When you started out as an entrepreneur, you believed corporations were profit-obsessed and essentially evil. Just a few years later, almost everything you believed about business “was proven to be wrong.” What changed your view? Becoming an entrepreneur and building a company changed my life and everything I had thought was true about business. As we built our first store, Safer Way (a play on words of Safeway), I read every business book I could get my hands on. I didn’t know anything about how to run a business, but I knew I wanted to offer really high quality natural and organic foods, create a fun working environment and maybe make a little money. I had always believed that businesses were greedy and that being profitable had to come at…

You’ve said that leaders who see their role as ‘serving others’ leave the most lasting legacies. Why is that? My wife and I were on vacation one time and we stopped in Truckee, California to have something to eat. We saw a structure there that used to be the train station and on the side of the building was a wooden sign that read: “This building is dedicated to the memory of Ignatius Joseph Firpo. What we have done for ourselves dies with us; what we have done for others remains and is immortal.” We were so struck by the truth of those words. People don’t remember us for what we do for ourselves — for the size of our bank account, the car we drive or how big our…

THE ROOTS OF INTEGRATIVE THINKING can be found in a moment of panic. As Roger Martin tells the story — often with the hint of a smile — he was working in Toronto for Monitor Company, opening up the Canadian office of the strategy consulting firm. In this capacity, Roger found himself meeting with legendary Toronto corporate lawyer James (Jim) Tory. Tory was soon due to step down from his role as managing partner of Tory Tory DesLauriers & Binnington after an astonishingly successful run. Over his tenure, Tory had turned the family firm into one of Canada’s leading corporate law practices. His partners, looking to build a sustainable strategy for the firm following Tory’s retirement, had asked Roger to document the choices that had made Tory so successful. The…

WHAT DO WE EXPECT OF A GOOD STUDENT? A willing, intelligent mind diligently applied to coursework. Reliable and rapid recall. A calm, competent response to the pressure of testing. What else? Perhaps a disciplined mindset that assures homework will be turned in on time. The rigor to complete work correctly. An attentive and cooperative attitude in class. In the prevailing model of education, that kind of student will make straight A’s all the way. Even in today’s MBA and executive programs, these students will move to the head of the class. Over the last century successive waves of education reform have been focused on teaching and testing these best-and-brightest students. Yet surprisingly, using this outdated 20th century model, educators and students have lost traction. The good students, the ones who…

EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. Depending on whom you ask, it will either a) Liberate us from the drudgery of everyday life, rescue us from disease and hardship, and enable the unimagined flourishing of human civilization; or b) Take away our jobs, leave us broke, purposeless and miserable, and cause civilization as we know it to collapse. The first strand of thinking reflects ‘techno-utopianism’— the conviction that technology paves a clear and unyielding path to progress and the good life. George F. Gilder’s 2000 book Telecosm envisions a radiant future of unlimited bandwidth in which “liberated from hierarchies that often waste their time and talents, people will be able to discover their most productive roles.” Wired’s Kevin Kelly believes that, although robots will take away many jobs, they will…

SINCE THE EARLY-21ST CENTURY COLLAPSES of Enron, Worldcom, Adelphia, Health South and others, shareowners and legislators alike have sought to change the way the modern publicly-traded corporation is governed. One of the key targets of their efforts: short-termism — an excessive focus on short-term results at the expense of long-term interests. When choosing where to allocate their capital, major Canadian institutional investors are now seeking concrete evidence of long-term thinking. At the Institute of Corporate Directors annual conference this past May, Mark Wiseman (President & CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Rotman alumnus) and Dominic Barton (Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company) launched an initiative called Focusing Capital on the Long Term. Longterm thinking, Barton explained, “creates enduring benefits for companies, their investors, and society, while…

ARE YOU CREATIVE? When most adults are asked this question, their knee jerk reaction is to quickly answer, ‘No’. Why? Because somewhere along the way, we were trained to no longer expect or deem ourselves to be creative. For my own daughter, this happened early on, when an elementary school art teacher informed her that she must fill up the entire page with her art. What she ‘learned’ from this exchange was that she is not creative—and in different ways, most of your employees and colleagues have learned the same thing. The sad result: they are reluctant to offer up new ideas or to try to find a better way. Complicating matters further, Gallup has estimated that 71 per cent of employees in the average organization are not engaged in…

What is ‘the civil foundation’ of society, and what state is it currently in? The civil foundation is the layer of society where institutions and individuals come together to shape our collective future. [Former Dean] Roger Martin and I have worked together in recent years because we are in agreement that business is an extremely important voice in this conversation. At the Aspen Institute, we are interested in thinking through how business comes to the table and helps to shape that foundation constructively. I share the view of many Americans that our civil foundation is not in the best shape. Currently, it feels as though self-interest trumps the health of the commons. That said, this is a remarkably interesting time, because people in influential positions are increasingly asking fundamental questions…

“SO, YOUR GRANDFATHER was a slave?” the well-heeled Giovanni Agadi asked. The question angered the younger Zaccaria Stagnario, but he would not let his emotions betray him. The sun beat down mercilessly on the two men seated in the Piazza San Giacomo di Rialto. Despite the August heat, the Piazza was a hive of activity: Venetian merchants were frantically preparing for the annual convoy of galleys that departed at dawn, bound for the magnificent — and highly profitable — spice markets of Constantinople. Zaccaria desperately wanted to be onboard, but without an investment from Agadi, there would be no point. Agadi’s offer had been one-sided, and Zaccaria had refused, even though he was far from certain that he could find a better offer. “He may have the money, but I’ve…

THE STUDY OF CANADIAN BUSINESS HISTORY has been a glaring omission in management education in Canada. During his tenure, Dean Roger Martin attempted to correct this omission through the establishment of the $3 million Wilson-Currie Chair in Canadian Business History — a first at a graduate school of business. Since its establishment, the funds have been used towards creating courses and conducting research in this important area. With the introduction of a new MBA elective course in 2012 (“Comparing and Contrasting the Canadian and American Financial Systems”), it became evident that new material had to be developed: while there is a plethora of material on virtually every aspect of American business history, a deep void existed in Canadian business history. As a result, a number of case studies were commissioned.…

Interim Dean Named A VETERAN ECONOMIST and experienced academic administrator has been appointed as the Interim Dean of the Rotman School of Management: Prof. Peter Pauly will serve as Interim Dean (starting on July 1, 2013) for a one-year term, or until a new Dean is named. In his previous role as Vice-Dean, Academic, Prof. Pauly helped lead the Rotman School through its ambitious growth, which included the opening of a landmark building expansion last year. Prof. Pauly’s academic research interests are in the areas of econometrics, macroeconomics, and international economics. A leading scholar in the field of applied econometrics and macroeconomic modeling, his recent work has dealt with trade and exchange rate issues, and with the theoretical foundations of model-based forecasting techniques. The author of several books and more…

In 1997, you were enjoying a very successful career as a senior executive with Monitor Company. What led you to change your career course so dramatically? I have always believed that successful business people who care about society should, at some point, turn themselves to public service. I always figured I would do this when I was past the age of 50 — not 41! But former University of Toronto President Rob Prichard, who I had met through a consulting assignment, convinced me that this was the time to do it, and that this was a place where I could really contribute to my country. He made me believe that it was possible to take the University’s business school and make it something that the Canadian business community, the city…

David Kelley has infused his thinking into the legendary design firm he founded more than 20 years ago, creating thousands of breakthrough inventions and a growing appetite for Design Thinking. EDITOR’S NOTE: In January of 2013, Design Thinking reached a milestone when 60 Minutes featured “one of the most innovative thinkers of our time; a man who has had an enormous impact on our everyday lives.” Chances are, many viewers hadn’t heard of this visionary; but for our readers, his name was familiar. Following is an adapted excerpt from the segment, which indicates just how far Design Thinking has come in a few short years. DAVID KELLEY IS THE FOUNDER of the Silicon Valley global design firm IDEO. His company has created thousands of breakthrough inventions, including the first computer…

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, we had an especially prolific creative director at Ziba, the design consultancy where I serve as director. Her uncanny ability to generate concepts that no one else could see made her extremely valuable, and won us client after client through the sheer abundance and frequency of her ideas. She also had trouble completing projects. Those same clients she bowled over with creativity and insight grew increasingly frustrated by missed deadlines and blown budgets — not just occasionally, but on nearly every single project under her control. Around that time, a smart young intern at the studio was promoted to full-time project manager, and paired on a new client project with that brilliant-but-challenging creative director. Almost immediately, things went differently. Together, they hit deadlines, stayed within budget, and…

In 2004, you were happily retired when Coca-Cola President Donald Keough phoned you about returning as CEO. You have noted that Coke was experiencing ‘dark days’ at the time. What was going on? It was a combination of factors. The main issue was that there was no significant profit growth, and that was the result of a number of managerial issues. Morale was very low after two sets of layoffs. In addition, the company was undergoing investigations by the FCC and the Department of Justice, and there was a task force looking into our hiring practices. This range of issues led the Board to decide that it needed to make a change. You had retired from the company after spending your entire career there. Describe your situation. I’d had a…

How do you define a legacy? A person’s legacy is revealed in how their colleagues, employees and others think and behave as a result of the time they spent working with that person. Consider the people you see and work with every day; whether you know it or not, your words and actions have an effect on them. You might be encouraging them to take creative risks (or not); or encouraging them to view certain aspects of the business as more (or less) important than others. Each day, they leave their desks with a more complete sense of what you are doing for them (or to them), and over time, their behaviour is likely to be shaped in some manner by yours. The key is to be proactive, and to…

Canada is a small market competing with giants like the U.S. for the world’s best human capital. With limited resources and behemoth competition, what has been your approach to recruitment? Academics at the highest level are a lot like free agents in sports: they have choices. The one big difference from most of professional sports and other areas is that their choices are only marginally determined by monetary considerations. Of course, the financial conditions being offered have to be in the right ballpark, but beyond that, they want to be in a place with an international reputation, where they have an opportunity to interact with good people. Quality attracts more quality, and you have to make sure that you build a group around successful and well-known individuals to attract like-minded…

Describe your firm’s activity in Asia. TPG has been underwriting growth companies in Asia since we opened our first foreign office in Shanghai, in 1994. Since then, we have invested over $6 billion in 55 transactions throughout the region. We have a strong platform of financial services investments, banks and consumer finance; and today there is an intense focus on consumer themes to address the burgeoning consumer class. What key challenges are the Asian markets currently facing? It’s important to recognize that not all of the markets in Asia are in ‘developing’ mode. They include Japan, which is the third-largest economy in the world, and shrinking; China, which is still compounding at strong rates but is a highly-sophisticated market (and, I would argue, deserves lower risk premiums than Europe in…

CAN YOUR ORGANIZATION COUNT ON YOU to do what’s best for its long-term success? A few years ago, Steven Kerr shared a remarkable story as he refected on his experience as General Electric’s first Chief Learning Officer. GE’s legendary ‘Session C’ business review process involves an intensive examination of the ‘talent bench’ in each part of the organization. Unlike a financial or operational review — where a business leader has an incentive to cast his or her unit’s assets in the most favourable light — in an organizational review, they might prefer to protect or hide a star performer, to help ensure that the person stays in place. At GE, as Kerr tells it, ‘hoarding talent’ was viewed as no less than an ethics violation for which a leader could…

Complete details are available at rotman.utoronto.ca/events September 10, 5:00-6:15pm, Toronta Retail Experts Speaker Series @ Rotmart 2 Speakers: Duncan Fulton, SVP - Communications & Corporate Affairs, and Maureen Sabia, Chairman, Canadian Tire Moderator: Daniel Stoffman, Author Topic: Living the Canadian Dream: How Canadian Tire Became Canada’s Store (2012) September 12, 5:00-6:00pm, Toronto Ideas @ Rotman Speaker Series Speaker: Ty Burr, Film Critic, The Boston Globe Topic: The Modern Fame Game: How and Why Do We Obsess Over Movie Stars? (Knopf Double day, 1012) September 13,8:0 0-9:00am, Toronto Creativity in Business Experts Speaker Series @ Rotman Speaker: Alan Iny, Senior Specialist for Creativity and Scenarios, The Boston Consulting Group Topic: Thinking in New Boxes: A New Paradigm for Business Creativity (Random House, 2013) September 13,4:00-5:00pm, Toronto Marketing Experts Speaker Series @…