Rosabeth Moss Kanter
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Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a renowned Harvard Business School professor (holding the Ernest L. Arbuckle Chair) and author whose strategic and practical insights have guided leaders of large and small organizations for over 25 years. The former Editor of Harvard Business Review (1989-1992) and a consultant to major corporations and governments worldwide on issues of strategy, innovation, and leadership for change, she has been named to lists of the “50 most powerful women in the world” (Times of London), placed in the top 10 on the annual list of the “50 most influential business thinkers in the world” (Accenture and Thinkers 50), and called one of the 9 “rock stars of business” (American Way). In 2001, she received the Academy of Management’s Distinguished Career Award. She is also known for her classic 1977 study of tokenism, A Tale of "O", on how being different -- "being an O among X's" -- can explain much of the behavior often located instead in personal characteristics.
She is the author or co-author of 16 books, with translations into 17 languages. Her latest book, Confidence: How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin & End (a New York Times business and #1 Business Week bestseller), describes the culture and dynamics of perpetually successful organizations compared with those in decline, and how to lead turnarounds, whether in business, health care, education, sports, community organizations or countries. Her prizewinning book, Men & Women of the Corporation (1977), offered insight to both individuals and organizations about corporate careers and the individual and organizational factors that promote success; a spin-off cartoon video, A Tale of ‘O’: On Being Different, is among the world’s most widely-used diversity tools. It shows how being visibly different -- "an O among the X's -- can explain much observed behavior often attributed instead to personal characteristics ("You know how O's are."). A related book, Work & Family in the United States, set a policy agenda, now celebrated by the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for the best research on that issue. Another award-winning book, When Giants Learn to Dance, showed how companies worldwide mastered the new terms of competition at the dawn of the global information age; and World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy, has guided public officials and civic leaders in enhancing their local social economies.
She has received 22 honorary doctoral degrees and numerous leadership awards, and her book The Change Masters (1986) has been called one of the most influential business books of the 20th century. Through Goodmeasure Inc., the consulting group she co-founded, she partnered with IBM to bring a Web-based version of her leadership tools for businesses, developed over a decade, to K-12 public education. She is an adviser to the CEOs of large and small companies, serves on numerous boards and national commissions, wrote (from 2004-2006) a biweekly national “Business of America” column for the Miami Herald and Knight-Ridder/Tribune new service, and speaks widely, often sharing the platform with Presidents, Prime Ministers, and CEOs worldwide at national and international events, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Currently, she is leading a new initiative at Harvard: how to build higher education vehicles for advanced leadership, ensuring that successful leaders at the top of their professions can apply their skills not only to managing their enterprises but also to helping solve the most challenging national and global problems.
