Interview: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Kanter is the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. She advises major corporations and governments worldwide, and is the author or co-author of 15 books, including her most recently published Confidence: Others include Evolve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow. Other award-winning bestsellers include Men & Women of the Corporation, The Change Masters, When Giants Learn to Dance, and World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Frontiers of Management. Her current work focuses on leadership of turnarounds – how winning streaks and losing streaks begin and end – which she is examining in businesses, major league sports, inner-city schools, and countries whose economic fortunes have changed. She is also interested in the development of new leadership for the digital age – how to guide the transformation of large corporations, small and mid-sized businesses, health care, government, and education as they incorporate new technology, create new kinds of alliances and partnerships, work across boundaries and borders, respond to accountability demands, and take on new social responsibilities. Kanter’s most recent and, in my opinion, her most valuable book is SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Ptofits, Growth and Social Good, published by Crown Business.

Here is a brief excerpt from my interview of her.

Morris: What do the most effective organizations share in common?

Kanter: They demonstrate the “Five Fs”: They are focused, flexible, fast, friendly, and fun. They are constantly improving on what they do and how they do it. They are resilient and can rapidly respond to problems as well as to opportunities. By “friendly” I mean partnership-oriented, understanding the value of collaboration across organizations as a way to get more for everyone, appreciating the value of each and every person involved in the enterprise. Friendly people are caring people, eager to provide encouragement and support when needed most. Not just associates in the workplace but also customers, vendors…literally anyone with whom there is contact.

Throughout human history, people have developed strong loyalties to traditions, rituals, and symbols. In the most effective organizations, they are not only respected but celebrated. It is no coincidence that the most highly admired corporations are also among the most profitable. Why? Because everyone involved is committed to certain non-negotiable core values. Traditions keep them alive. Rituals such as special occasions reaffirm them. Symbols serve as constant reminders of their enduring importance.

Morris: What about innovation?

Kanter: It is absolutely essential and everything begins with curiosity. A great thinker once described innovative thinkers this way: “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’” Innovative thinkers are constantly asking questions such as these. How can we improve recruiting, hiring and training. How can be add greater value to our products and services by making them even better? How can we do more to nourish the personal as well as professional development of our people? What more can we do as a good citizen where we do business? Without constant innovative thinking, an organization will have few (if any) of the Five Fs.

If you wish to read the entire Kanter interview, please contact me at interllect@mindspring.com.