by Michael Watkins - Publications - Faculty & Research

30 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Tracks of My Tears: Reconstructing Digital Music

At the dawn of the digital music era, record labels went along with a pricing scheme devised by Apple that they are still paying for today. The idea to "unbundle" albums into separate tracks sold for 99 cents each suddenly... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

06 Jul 2009
What Do You Think?

Are You Ready to Manage in an Irrational World?

proved that each generation perceives its actions as rational but to (the) next it may appear irrational. This is the path to growth and development of civilization." Frances Pratt said, "What is normal and rational is framed by... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

06 Jan 2010
What Do You Think?

Is a Stringent Climate Change Agreement a Pot of Gold?

conversion of inventions into commercially viable innovation. As Allen Roberts points out, " lacking as we do a worthwhile VC industry the history of the last 100 years where Australia exports all its great ideas with little return will continue." View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

01 Mar 2018
What Do You Think?

Two Decades Later, is the 'New Economy' Finally Here?

in September, 2000. It described the enthusiasm at that time for a "New Economy," one driven by information technology and characterized by “greater growth and lower unemployment than ever before... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

18 Aug 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Business Plan Contest: 15 Years of Building Better Entrepreneurs

and context. By afternoon, 28 teams in the business and social venture tracks will be named semifinalists. A later round of judging will narrow the field to nine finalists, with the winners to be announced just over two weeks later. First... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education

13 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Small Businesses Are Worse Off Than We Thought

If the COVID-19 crisis lasts four months, 65 percent of small retailers say there’s a good chance they’ll be forced to close permanently by the end of the year. Among restaurants and bars, 70 percent expect to go out of business if... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

01 Feb 2022
What Do You Think?

Is Concierge Management an Answer to the “Big Quit”?

the same true for employees today, many of whom are performing their work remotely, outside the traditional office setting? We’ve previously discussed here the need for greater “voice” among “officed” employees as part of the effort to foster inclusion. The problem is... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

30 May 2019
What Do You Think?

Is There a Distinctive West Coast Style of Management?

of the OR” vs. the “genius of the AND” Only four of the 18 companies in their sample were based on the West Coast. But their point of view would be adopted by many startups in Silicon Valley and the venture capitalists funding them. The... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

What Great American Leaders Teach Us

overall database. Tony Mayo, executive director of the Initiative, describes the project and what business leaders can take away from it in this interview. Sean Silverthorne: Can you describe the genesis and mission of the Leadership Initiative? Tony Mayo: Chaired... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

15 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

Black Swans and Big Trends Can Ruin Anyone's Internet Prediction

years, curious to see if its ideas had stood the test of time. I was surprised by the book’s sober tone. It has a morning-after hangover vibe: “I guess last night was amazing, but I can’t remember it all; I must have blacked out. Now it... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Technology

22 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Silo Lives! Analyzing Coordination and Communication in Multiunit Companies

paper, "Communication (and Coordination?) in a Modern, Complex Organization," written by Harvard Business School postdoctoral fellow Adam M. Kleinbaum, and professors Toby E. Stuart and Michael L. Tushman.... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

17 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

What Hospitals Must Learn to Compete

all patients, all needs, and through all channels. Professor Michael Porter and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg in their book, Redefining Health Care, use the term “strategy vacuum” to describe what’s happening in these markets. "It’s... View Details

Keywords: by Alumni Bulletin Staff; Health

02 Oct 2017
What Do You Think?

Do Bitcoin and Digital Currency Have a Future?

technology underpinning Bitcoin is the important part of the story. This technology will transform many aspects of life in a positive way.” Prithwis Mukerjee suggested that this is already happening in a “scheme to simplify the payment of GST in India.” View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Financial Services

21 Feb 2005
Op-Ed

Is Business Management a Profession?

in other spheres that are vital to the interests of society (such as law and government, military affairs, health, and religion, to consider the classic examples), modern societies have responded by creating the institutions that we know... View Details

Keywords: by Rakesh Khurana, Nitin Nohria & Daniel Penrice