The Business Book

DIRECTORY

KATHLEEN EISENHARDT

1947–

Stanford University professor
Kathleen Eisenhardt is a leading
expert in strategy within high-
velocity markets and industries,
such as Silicon Valley. Originally
trained in mechanical engineering
(studying at Brown University, RI),
Eisenhardt then earned an MSc in
computer science and a PhD in
business at Stanford. Her 1998 book
Competing on the Edge (co-written
with Shona Brown) is a classic text.
See also: Avoiding complacency
194–201 ■ Coping with chaos
220–21

HENRI FAYOL

1841–1925

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1841,
Henri Fayol studied engineering
at the Ecole des Mines de Saint
Etienne in France before becoming
a mining engineer. His innovative
approach to technical problems and
management led him to develop
organizational theories that altered
contemporary thinking. He was
the first person to conceptualize
the organization of an industrial
company, and conducted
groundbreaking work on
operational excellence.
See also: Simplify processes 296–
99 ■ Critical path analysis 328–29

BILL GATES

1955–

William Henry Gates was born in
Seattle, WA, in 1955. His father was
a lawyer and his mother was active
in the civic and corporate world.
Gates began programming

computers at 13 with his friend

Paul Allen, with whom he later co-

founded Microsoft. Gates studied

law at Harvard University for two

years before pulling out to set up

Microsoft with Allen in 1975. As

CEO, Gates built Microsoft into one

of the world’s largest companies. In

1994 he set up the William H. Gates

charitable foundation, with an

initial contribution of $28 billion.

See also: Leading the market 166–

69 ■ The right technology 314–15

PANKAJ GHEMAWAT

1959–

Born in Jodhpur, India, Pankaj

Ghemawat lived in the US for 30

years before moving to Spain. He

demonstrated academic excellence

at any early age; he was accepted

for a PhD at Harvard Business

School at 19, finishing it in just three

years. After working for a short time

at consulting company McKinsey &

Company, he returned to Harvard to

become its youngest-ever professor.

An expert on global strategy, he

controversially questioned the idea

of globalization, claiming that

companies need to find a balance

between “local” and “global.”

See also: Understanding the

market 234–41

SUMANTRA GHOSHAL

1948–2004

Organizational expert Sumantra

Ghoshal was born in Kolkata,

India. He studied physics at Delhi

University and worked as a manager

at Indian Oil before completing

PhDs at MIT and Harvard Business

School in the US. In 1994 he joined

London Business School, where he

became professor of strategic

management. He wrote 12 books,

two of which revolutionized

corporate management: Managing

Across Borders and The

Individualised Corporation.

See also: Organizational Culture

104–09

GARY HAMEL

1954–

Strategist Gary Hamel got his PhD

at the University of Michigan, MI,

before joining the faculty of the

London Business School in 1983.

Ten years later he founded a

consulting business in Silicon

Valley, CA, to gain experience

at the cutting edge of high-tech

companies. Today he also works

as a visiting professor at Harvard

and Oxford universities. In 1995

he co-authored a best-selling

book with C. K. Prahalad called

Competing for the Future, which

introduced the concepts of “core

competence” to the business world.

See also: Protect the core business

170 –71 ■ C. K. Prahalad 338

JOHN H. JOHNSON

1918–2005

Media magnate John Harold

Johnson was born in Arkansas City,

AR. The grandson of slaves, he was

unable to further his education

because local high schools would

not accept black students, but

shone academically after his family

moved to Chicago. After winning

a scholarship to the University of

Chicago, he became the editor of a

corporate magazine. In 1942, using

a loan secured against his mother’s

furniture, he began a black-oriented

magazine that later became known

as Ebony. In 1951 he started Jet

335