Tag: management

Management Gurus Are Human Too!

wsj_logo In today’s (May 5, 2008 ) Wall Street Journal, Erin White wrote several interesting pieces about current business management thought leadership. New Breed of Business Guru Rises: Psychologists, CEOs Climb in Influence, Draw Hits, Big Fees and What Influential Business Thinkers Focus On: Top Guru’s Ponder Managers Worries, New Approaches. (subscription required)

Popular business thinkers can reap big rewards. Speakers’ bureaus say most of the top-echelon business speakers charge between $50,000 and $75,000 a pop. Among the most in-demand are “Good to Great” author Jim Collins, “Death by Meeting” author Patrick Lencioni, Dr. (Gary) Hamel, Harvard’s Prof. (Michael) Porter, and “Our Iceberg is Melting” author John Kotter, speakers’ bureaus say.

Fees are rising, notes Ron Christman, who runs executive-development workshops for nGenera Corp. and frequently hires gurus. Speakers “who five years ago might have been at 25[,000] are now at 50,” he says; less-prominent names can command $15,000. Throw in book royalties, and a top-ranked guru can reach at least $1 million a year.

Thomas H. Davenport, PhD and management professor at Babson College, compiled a ranking of influential business thinkers for the Wall Street Journal using the same methodology he used in his 2003 book, What’s the Big Idea? At the top of the 2008 list is Dr. Gary Hamel whose website is headlined by “Fortune magazine has labeled Gary Hamel “the world’s leading expert on business strategy” and The Economist calls him “the world’s reigning strategy guru.””

Unfortunately even gurus are not infallible. The first edition of Dr. Hamel’s 2000 book, Leading the Revolution “lionized” Enron Corp but thanks to some nifty editing, they were removed from subsequent printings. It’s not the first nor last time that this type of thing will happen. Seems gurus are human too, only just a little better paid.

For another view of influential business thinkers check out Thinkers 50 where Dr. Hamel currently ranks #5, up from #14 in 2005.

Cross posted in Center for Leader Development and Sea-Fever blogs.

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Monday Morning Motivator: Tom Peters – Gain Respect By Giving It

Way back around the time I was launching my business career, two McKinsey & Company management consultants, Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr., wrote In Search of Excellence, a book that would turn out to be a modern classic and launch a new genre of business literature.

Today Tom Peters runs his own management consulting firm industry. His books are perennial bestsellers and his website/blog is chockful of interesting and useful information. He is an energetic, engaging and insightful public speaker as this short clip about “respect” will attest.

[YouTube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=v-DYHdxcAw8]

If you enjoyed that and have a little more time (20 mins), watch this episode from The Charlie Rose Show. While its more than 10 years old, much of what they discuss in the interview is still relevant today.

[GoogleVideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7806818907646473885&q=tom+peters+charlie+rose&ei=vVgeSO-RC6TAqwO4nImwAQ]

If you want a daily dose of Tom Peters, you can register to receive his Daily Quote via email here.

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