Written on
September 24th, 2012
When people ask NFL agent Eric Kaufman ’03 about sports careers, the first thing he does is try to discourage them. “If you can be discouraged, you won’t make it in the industry,” he told MBA students Sept. 20, 2012, at Thunderbird School of Global Management near Phoenix, Arizona. Kaufman’s own journey as an agent included minimum wage jobs and long periods without pay while serving clients such as former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Today Kaufman manages daily operations as president of Premier Sports & Entertainment in Santa Monica, California. “Everybody wants to work in sports,” he said. “I get resumes every single week from former collegiate athletes who played at the highest levels, and even pro athletes who want to get in.” For people who disregard Kaufman’s industry warnings, he offers at least six pieces of career advice. | Video: How to be an NFL agent (1:55) | Video: Path to Thunderbird (1:22)
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Written on
August 24th, 2012
By Kannan Ramaswamy, Ph.D., and Bill Youngdahl, Ph.D.
Bad bosses don’t wake up in the morning and ask themselves: “How can I derail the corporate strategy today?” Our research, based on surveys and interviews with more than 250 managers in 37 countries, shows that most ineffective leaders remain blissfully unaware of the harm they do to their organizations. They chuckle with everyone else when they read “Dilbert” cartoons about the Pointy-Haired Boss. We credit the disconnect to a “hindrance trap” that lulls emerging leaders into a false sense of accomplishment over a period of years or even decades. At least three forces contribute to this trap. | Video: When Bosses Do Harm (2:29)
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Written on
August 23rd, 2012
By Kannan Ramaswamy, Ph.D., and Bill Youngdahl, Ph.D.
Leaders get paid to think big, which means they sometimes announce ambitious initiatives and then leave the details for others to figure out. These leaders hand down the marching orders and expect targets to be hit. But they are not around at 3 a.m. to see the fallout on the rank and file. Leaders who pile on tasks and expect results — or else — use fear as their default motivational tool. A better way to inspire is to learn the strategic pathways, assess the organization’s capacity, recognize the individual and then convey the potential joy of accomplishment. | Video: Inspiring through fear (2:06)
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Written on
August 21st, 2012
By Kannan Ramaswamy, Ph.D.
The rank and file in many organizations big and small is usually plagued by doubts about the strategy that their company is supposedly pursuing. Often, these are not questions about the specifics of the chosen direction but ones of a much more fundamental nature. They typically wonder whether their organization does indeed have a strategy in the first place. To them, the stutter steps that their firm is making, a quick market entry here, a new product launch there, a set of technology alliances and acquisitions all seem unconnected to any central purpose. | Video: Stumbling Without Strategy (1:54)
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Written on
August 17th, 2012
By Robert D. Hisrich, Ph.D.
Traditional entrepreneurs — the kind who risk everything to launch a venture in their parents’ garage — spend much of their time fighting against government. They relate to the Rabbi in “Fiddler on the Roof,” who quips: “May God bless and keep the Tsar … far away from us!” They know that if government creates anything, it is usually bureaucracy. Rules, regulations, permit procedures and, of course, tax bills all come from City Hall. Government culture is simply not built for entrepreneurship. At least, this was my view before meeting Saudi official Amr Al-Dabbagh in January 2009. | Book: Governpreneurship: Establishing a Thriving Entrepreneurial Spirit in Government (Edward Elgar, Oct. 17, 2012)
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Written on
August 3rd, 2012
By Paul Kinsinger
Headlines often paint a grim picture of life in the Middle East. People who view the region from afar see a dangerous place full of angry extremists who can’t get along with themselves or others. Recent stories of human rights violations in Syria and power struggles in Egypt only strengthen the perception of dangerous fallout from the Arab Spring. Yet the media lens distorts reality by focusing on unusual or extreme events. At Thunderbird School of Global Management we believe the best way to understand a culture is to experience it firsthand. Westerners who visit the Middle East might be surprised by what they encounter at the corner café — just as Middle East observers coming the other direction might be surprised by the lack of race riots or hate crimes on your street. In both cases the reality is more mundane than what media headlines suggest.
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Written on
August 1st, 2012
By Karen Brown, Ph.D.
Assembling automobiles requires a different skillset than healing people, but many U.S. hospital executives are traveling to Japan to learn operational excellence from Toyota. The thought of health care administrators taking notes on an automobile assembly line might sound alarm bells to some. Medicine requires a human touch that does not apply to cars, and no two patients are the same. Yet Toyota has mastered many business behaviors that can be translated to service settings. Three of these involve putting quality first, preventing rework, managing handoffs.
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Written on
July 30th, 2012
By Amanda Bullough, Ph.D.
Entrepreneurship has taken a beating in the Great Recession that has lingered since 2008. Funding sources have dried up and projects have been put on hold as market leaders hunker down for the long haul. Yet the world needs innovators ready to create jobs, manage risks and drive growth. How do entrepreneurs bounce back from uncertainty and decline, and start businesses ventures in challenging times? Our research, based on 500 survey responses in the United States and abroad, reveals two major factors. The first is entrepreneurial self-efficacy, or belief in one’s ability to do what it takes to be an entrepreneur. The second is resilience, or the ability to persevere after hardship or failure. Both traits can be learned and practiced, which is good news for would-be entrepreneurs. Here are five steps that individuals can take:
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Written on
July 24th, 2012
By Kishore Dash, Ph.D.
When business leaders worried about globalization aren’t following developments in China, conversations usually turn to India. Collectively the two countries account for about one in three people on the planet. Despite India’s size, common misperceptions persist about the business environment. Here are four myths that could derail any market entry strategy: 1. One giant market awaits, 2. Indians speak English, 3. Engineers abound, and 4. Companies enjoy purchasing power parity.
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Written on
July 9th, 2012
By Paul Kinsinger and Karen Walch, Ph.D.
The concept of a VUCA world — one that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous — was introduced by the U.S. military as the Cold War ended and as the United States looked out over the emergence of a multilateral global landscape. The VUCA concept was brought home to many Americans after 9/11 but really gained currency in the private sector with the onset of the financial crisis in 2008-09, when companies and organizations all over the world suddenly found themselves faced with similar turbulence in their business environments and, subsequently, in their business models. Leaders in the new world of “permanent whitewater” must master the VUCA antidotes: Vision, understanding, clarity and agility.
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