461 Posts found for Source: Knowledge@Wharton

Carol Bartz is widely-known in Silicon Valley for two things: being a high-profile executive at some of the best-known technology companies, and being a pull-no-punches speaker who says whatever is on her mind. Both traits were in evidence at a recent talk on Wharton’s San Francisco campus during which she discussed how bad bosses can be as instructive as good ones, how important it is … [ Read more ]

Content: Thought Leader | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Career, Leadership

During a recent visit to Wharton’s San Francisco campus, Tom Perkins, co-founder of the fabled Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, talked about risk-taking, his mentor David Packard, the downside of corporate VC, ethically challenged Wall Street, and networking vs. “cronyism,” among other topics.

Content: Thought Leader | Author: Tom Perkins | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

For many, implementing an innovation strategy, which requires changes within an organization, means adding layers of new processes. Lisa Bodell, author of Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution, argues that there are straightforward ways to make change without bogging down the organization. Bodell insists that whether an organization is doing exceptionally well or struggling, now is the time to address … [ Read more ]

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Lisa Bodell | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Competitive Intelligence, Management, Strategy

Why do some people get promoted, while others do not? What distinguishes CEOs from all others? To answer these questions, New York Times editor Adam Bryant has interviewed more than 200 CEOs for his Corner Office column. In his book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, Bryant shares what he has learned from Xerox CEO Ursula … [ Read more ]

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Adam Bryant | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Leadership

Discussions of financing often center on questions of equity and debt. But there is another, often overlooked, way that companies raise cash — selling assets, such as a division or plant, which are not core to their primary business. In a recent paper, Wharton professor Alex Edmans and PhD candidate William Mann examine the choice of issuing equity versus selling assets and discuss a new … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Finance

Being right, knowing how to define things, understanding the difference between what is true and false: None of this is the point. What is important is to understand the results of events, not the events themselves. Real intelligence lies not in the individual, but in the evolutionary process — the ongoing process of trial-and-error. In this process, options (essentially, the freedom to experiment with uncertainty) … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Decision Making, Wisdom

Why would anyone good join a high-risk startup? Remember, this is early stage stuff. What you need to do is develop the idea, get the risk out up front, then roll the money in and develop the company. At that point, experienced high-profile executives can be brought in.

Content: Quotation | Author: Tom Perkins | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Most MBAs may look for a structured career path, but a surprising number – more than 20% of Wharton MBAs surveyed — became entrepreneurs and found themselves happier than their peers because of it.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Career, Entrepreneurship, MBA Related, Miscellaneous MBA-related Resources

Word-of-mouth buzz is highly valued by marketers, but generating it can be a tricky proposition. In a new paper, Wharton marketing professors Jonah Berger and Raghuram Iyengar discuss how marketers can be more precise in crafting their campaigns to achieve better results. It’s not as simple as blanketing the web with pop-up ads or blasting the airwaves with commercials, they note. It’s about picking the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Marketing / Sales

In order to generate new ideas, remain competitive and unlock breakthrough innovations, Phil McKinney argues that we need to ask more questions. Most recently vice president and chief technology officer for Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) $40 billion personal systems group, McKinney retired in December 2011. During his nine-year tenure at HP, McKinney founded and directed the company’s innovation program office. In his new book, Beyond the Obvious: … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Phil McKinney | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Innovation

Does working in teams make people less receptive to outside input? How can social comparisons undermine trust in working relationships? How do the training and technical knowledge entrepreneurs take from previous employers impact the success of their new ventures? Wharton professor Jennifer Mueller and lecturer Julia Minson, and professors Maurice Schweitzer and Evan Rawley, respectively, examine these issues, and what they mean for business, in … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Organizational Behavior

In the world of mergers and acquisitions, the goal is to take two (or more) companies and seamlessly integrate processes, products and people. When trying to pull off a successful deal, however, many senior executives focus their attention on the financial aspects of mergers and fail to consider their psychological implications, Wharton management professor John Kimberly says. In a new paper, Kimberly and his co-author … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Mergers & Acquisitions

Recent high-profile scandals at Penn State, MF Global Holdings, Olympus and elsewhere raise questions about why organizations often fail to address significant internal problems that at best impede performance, and at worst could have devastating effects. In hindsight, especially to observers, it is clear what should have been done. But for employees, exposing such problems is more complicated than telling right from wrong, say experts … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Ethics, Organizational Behavior

In March 2010, Sheena Iyengar, a professor at Columbia Business School, published a book titled, The Art of Choosing. Iyengar, who is blind, says the book reflects her interest in how people make choices, including how they are able to navigate both the opportunities and responsibilities that an abundance of choice can bring. In a video presentation, Iyengar offers Knowledge@Wharton viewers her perspectives on the … [ Read more ]

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Sheena Iyengar | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Customer Related, Marketing / Sales, Organizational Behavior

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron plans to create a national well-being index. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has formed a team that includes two Nobel Prize-winning economists to come up with a system for measuring the nation’s well-being. In China, happiness indexes have become so popular that cities there compete for the title of China’s happiest city. Many now argue that purely economic measures … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Nic Marks | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Economics

By the time we make a purchase, we have read reviews, compared prices and fully evaluated our options, whether we are buying a pillow or a Porsche. In the face of newly empowered consumers, marketers have had to rethink how they can win at the point of purchase. Jim Lecinski, Google’s managing director of U.S. sales and service, has written an e-book, Winning the Zero … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Jerry Wind, Jim Lecinski | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Marketing / Sales

In his new book, The Leader’s Checklist, Wharton management professor Michael Useem presents a collection of 15 principles that can help leaders navigate successfully through even the most difficult circumstances. Using such milestone events as the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners in 2010, the collapse of AIG in 2008 and the surrender of the Confederate army at Appomattox in 1865, Useem illustrates the difference … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Michael Useem | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Leadership

Wharton management professor Ethan Mollick has a message for knowledge-based companies: Pay closer attention to your middle managers because they may have a greater impact on company performance than almost any other part of the organization. Mollick’s research, based on an in-depth analysis of the computer game industry, is presented in a new paper titled, “People and Process: Suits and Innovators: Individuals and Firm Performance.” … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Ethan Mollick | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Organizational Behavior

“Performance reviews.” The words strike fear and dread in the hearts of employees everywhere. Their angst is understandable: Performance reviews typically are not done often enough and all too often are done poorly. Recently, however, the increasing number of knowledge-based companies and a new generation of employees are dramatically changing the performance review process.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Management

The basic theory of why companies issue stock options to their employees is fairly simple: Profit from exercising those options creates what employers hope is an incentive that will motivate employees. But new research by Wharton professor Peter Cappelli and senior fellow Martin J. Conyon finds that the practice only impacts employee performance when workers earn a sizable payoff from exercising their stock options. Even … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Martin J. Conyon, Peter Cappelli | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Organizational Behavior