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Leadership and Innovation at Goizueta
At Goizueta Business School, the roles of leadership and research are exemplified not only in the classroom but also through conferences and intellectual endeavors held throughout the school year. From world-class faculty who embrace courageous inquiry to students who eagerly apply newly acquired leadership and organizational skills, the Goizueta community is abuzz with innovative projects and offerings. We hope you enjoy these highlights from the Diversity Leadership Conference, the Emerging India Summit, and the Knowledge Futures: The Agility Imperative Symposium, which showcase the range of depth of learning and innovation available at Goizueta.
Former Burger King CEO John Chidsey on Change and Why Results Trump the “Beauty of Strategy”
During his nearly seven years at Burger King Corporation, John Chidsey moved from CFO to CEO and headed a team that took the struggling company from a seven-year slide in sales to its current position as a top-100 global brand. The company's rebound to health helped lure investors, and late last year 3G Capital, a Brazilian-backed private equity firm, purchased the company for $4.2 billion. Before the end of his tenure in May, Chidsey visited Emory University, where he delivered the keynote address at Goizueta’s 12th annual Undergraduate Business School Leadership Conference. In a subsequent conversation with Knowledge@Emory, Chidsey discussed his tenure as Burger King’s CEO, the power of social media, and what it’s like to manage a multinational corporation in globally turbulent times.
Consultant Charlene Li on Technology and Open Leadership
For CEOs who recognize the need for social media but are accustomed to a firm hand in guiding the helm of their organization, relinquishing control can be a daunting strategy. According to Charlene Li, author and founder of the Altimeter Group, there are ways to engage the new open relationships inherent in social technologies without handing over the reigns of the business. In an interview with Knowledge@Emory, Li discusses her new book Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead, social media's ROI, and specific technology trends her firm is watching in 2011.
The Shifting Dynamics When Leaders Leave
As the October 26 opening game of the 65th NBA season approaches, sports commentators and enthusiasts continue to debate the highly publicized announcement by basketball phenom LeBron James earlier this summer that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. James’s decision impacts both teams: the Cavs are left with a void in leadership and a significant loss in star-fueled revenue, while Miami has to shuffle a lineup that already includes such talent as Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Faculty at Emory University's Goizueta Business School say that James’s move raises fundamental questions of communication, marketing, and management, adding that the dynamics between leaders and teams in the sports world are strikingly similar to those in the corporate world.
New Normal: The Rootless Professional
In the new book Next Stop, Reloville: Life Inside America’s New Rootless Professional Class, author Peter T. Kilborn explores the world of American professionals who move every three or four years for a job. Spurred on by the growth of global business, many workers find this career path professionally rewarding. The constant moves, however, are redefining for many the notion of community and even of self-identification, argues Kilborn, a journalist who worked with Emory University's Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life (MARIAL) while doing research for his book.
UPS' David Abney on Tackling Tough Times and Delivering Results
During the recent economic downturn, United Parcel Service (UPS), the worlds’ largest package delivery company, saw a dramatic drop in shipment volume and, along with it, tanking profits. With less money to spend, David Abney, chief operating officer of UPS, looked for ways to cut costs and streamline operations. As a result, the company trimmed expenses by $1.4 billion in 2009, and Abney believes up to 65% of those cost reductions will be sustainable over the next several years. In a conversation with Knowledge@Emory prior to his appearance at a Goizueta Business School Executive MBA Alumni event this past February, Abney discussed the tough decisions and how he fully expects UPS to emerge from the recession a better company than it was going in.
'We Don't Eat Scones': Magic Johnson Proves He Has the Acumen for More than Hoops
When former NBA standout Magic Johnson began approaching investors to launch his first business venture, everyone wanted his autograph, but no one was particularly interested in offering him money. Moreover, they said his plan to open high quality restaurants and movie theaters in inner city neighborhoods would never turn a profit. The 6-foot-9 Johnson persisted, and today his company owns or operates hundreds of businesses in 85 cities across 21 states. During a recent presentation at Wharton, the Olympic gold medalist credited his success to an ability to help partners see the potential in urban, predominately African-American and Latino communities.
Mitt Romney On “Creative Destruction,” Innovation, and Why No Apologies are Needed for American Greatness
During a recent visit to Emory University's Goizueta Business School, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney candidly discussed the U.S. economy and its impact on the states, healthcare reform and his new book, No Apologies: The Case for American Greatness. Romney, the former CEO of Bain & Company and co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm, hashed over these issues with Jeffrey Rosensweig, associate professor of finance and director of the school’s Global Perspectives Program, saying that he's baffled by the public’s recent penchant for bashing businesses and the executives that run them. “You don’t help the wage earner by attacking the wage payers,” he explains.
The Changing Face of the American Workforce
The American landscape has changed. Unemployment rates remain stubbornly high at close to 10%, companies and state governments are being forced to shed jobs, cut services and close schools, while the lack of capital continues to stifle small business and job creation. With daunting domestic problems from a growing deficit to gridlock in Congress, what's the mindset of the American worker? Knowledge@Emory recently spoke to Rick Gilkey, professor in the practice of organization and management at Goizueta Business School and associate professor of psychiatry at Emory University’s School of Medicine, to gain insight into the tenor of Americans during this uncertain time.
Christine King Farris on Education, Contributing to Society, and the Importance of Knowing Oneself
The sister of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Christine King Farris is a noted educator in her own right and serves as associate professor of education and director of the Learning Resource Center at Spelman College in Atlanta. Last month, Farris was the keynote speaker at the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Awards, sponsored by Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and the Goizueta Business School. After the ceremony, which honored people and organizations in greater Atlanta whose work exemplifies the legacy of Dr. King, Farris spoke with Knowledge@Emory about her career, life and views on education.
Equifax CEO Rick Smith on Leadership in Tough Times
“Difficult times either break you and expose your weaknesses or make you a better leader,” says Rick Smith, CEO of the $1.94 billion data reporting company Equifax. Speaking to a packed audience as part of the Dean’s Leadership Speaker Series at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, Smith shared his thoughts on what lies ahead for the U.S. economy, how Equifax plans to respond, and his rules of leadership.
Verizon Wireless Jim McGean Takes Your Calls on Managing for Change and Success
Jim McGean, Verizon Wireless president of the South Area and an Emory University alumnus, entered the telecommunications industry when a 2½-pound phone cost $3,000 (plus an additional 75 cents per minute) and was relegated to the car. Twenty-one years later, cell phone service providers boast 95 percent penetration in the U.S., and Verizon is the number two seller of digital music in the U.S. In a recent Q&A with Knowledge@Emory, McGean discusses how Verizon is facing off against Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based services, harnessing converging technology and keeping the smart phone relevant in this new world full of “smart things.”
The Changing Profile of African American Politicians
Today’s African American politicians are a different breed from their older counterparts, argues Gwen Ifill in The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama (Doubleday, 2009). This newer generation’s distance from the civil rights movement, their more business-friendly posture, and their considerable educational accomplishments have reduced the separate-but-unequal political structures that once prevailed between black and white politicians. But some veteran black leaders wonder if this younger generation will effectively develop public policies to address structural racism and the concerns of the majority of African Americans. Andra Gillespie, assistant professor of political science at Emory University, also offers insight.
Deloitte Chairman Sharon Allen on Ethics, Decision Making and Career-Life Balance
Deloitte LLP Chairman Sharon Allen has garnered many “firsts” in her life. She was the first woman elected to serve on the $11 billion company’s U.S. board of directors and the first woman to chair its U.S. board. As chairman, Allen is responsible for corporate governance and oversees the organization’s relationships with multinational clients. During a recent visit to Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, Allen discussed three issues that students and alumni could control regardless of the economic environment: decision-making, business ethics and career-life balance.
Flying High: Microsoft's Stephen Elop Balances Future Vision with Present-day Realities
After spending most of his career at companies that competed with Microsoft, Stephen Elop became president of Microsoft's Business Division a little over a year ago. Following his keynote address at the recent Wharton Business Technology Conference, Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Elop about how the company intends to balance its traditional strengths with its goal of moving forward to the next generation of connected software applications. Elop also discussed ways in which the current economic crisis is reshaping Microsoft's business strategy, among other topics.
