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GARY PISANOForemost Authority on Growth & Innovation Strategy for Large Firms & Startups; Expert on Commercializing Science, Manufacturing Innovation &Competitiveness; Harry E. Figgie Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School.
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Meet Gary Pisano
Growth. It’s the most important issue on the minds of CEOs and senior executives at organizations in every industry around the world. And yet, we know very little about how to drive, manage, and sustain profitable growth. How fast can a company really grow profitably? How does rapid growth impact a company’s culture? How can organizations find new avenues for growth? And when is it best to grow through acquisition versus organically? Gary Pisano, a leading scholar and authority on innovation, strategy, and operations, has spent the last five years undertaking research on corporate growth and he’s helping leaders put his insights to work.
The Harry E. Figgie Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development at Harvard Business School, Pisano advises senior executives at many of the world’s largest corporations and works with with a number of startups. Perhaps best known for his work on commercializing science, manufacturing competitiveness, and strategy, Pisano is currently working on the challenges of innovation in large-scale anticipation. The subject of his highly anticipated book, “Creative Construction” (Public Affairs, 2018), Pisano challenges the myth that large enterprises cannot be transformative innovators, doomed to be disrupted by more nimble startups. On the contrary, Pisano says: Big businesses and fast-growing companies can master what he calls “creative construction” – and he provides the real-world, pragmatic advice and principles for how to leverage the benefits of scale for innovation.
This is why Pisano is such a sought after and relied-upon advisor: He combines practical experience with deep research to provide genuine, actionable insights and guidance to make change happen. A gifted speaker, researcher, author, advisor, board member, entrepreneur and teacher, Pisano is an authoritative voice and agenda-setting commentator on the trends impacting business and leadership – spanning knowledge creation, organizational learning, business model design, decision making, operating growth strategies, and the future of jobs and talent in the age of algorithms and machines.
Unique in his breadth of knowledge, Pisano examines each theme through multiple lenses and levels of analysis, from the individual to companies and countries. He has authored nearly 100 articles and case studies on leading corporations, such as Amazon, BMW, IBM, Merck, Pfizer, and Virgin Group, and numerous books – including “Science Business: The Promise, the Reality, and the Future of Biotech” (HBR Press, 2006) and “Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance” (HBR Press, 2012).
Pisano earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University, and his doctorate in business administration from University of California, Berkley.
The Harry E. Figgie Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development at Harvard Business School, Pisano advises senior executives at many of the world’s largest corporations and works with with a number of startups. Perhaps best known for his work on commercializing science, manufacturing competitiveness, and strategy, Pisano is currently working on the challenges of innovation in large-scale anticipation. The subject of his highly anticipated book, “Creative Construction” (Public Affairs, 2018), Pisano challenges the myth that large enterprises cannot be transformative innovators, doomed to be disrupted by more nimble startups. On the contrary, Pisano says: Big businesses and fast-growing companies can master what he calls “creative construction” – and he provides the real-world, pragmatic advice and principles for how to leverage the benefits of scale for innovation.
This is why Pisano is such a sought after and relied-upon advisor: He combines practical experience with deep research to provide genuine, actionable insights and guidance to make change happen. A gifted speaker, researcher, author, advisor, board member, entrepreneur and teacher, Pisano is an authoritative voice and agenda-setting commentator on the trends impacting business and leadership – spanning knowledge creation, organizational learning, business model design, decision making, operating growth strategies, and the future of jobs and talent in the age of algorithms and machines.
Unique in his breadth of knowledge, Pisano examines each theme through multiple lenses and levels of analysis, from the individual to companies and countries. He has authored nearly 100 articles and case studies on leading corporations, such as Amazon, BMW, IBM, Merck, Pfizer, and Virgin Group, and numerous books – including “Science Business: The Promise, the Reality, and the Future of Biotech” (HBR Press, 2006) and “Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance” (HBR Press, 2012).
Pisano earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University, and his doctorate in business administration from University of California, Berkley.
Managing the Machines: A New Organizational Model for Our Technological Age
It is indeed the age of algorithms. The question is no longer will machine learning and artificial intelligence change business as we know it. Now, it’s how do corporations change their organizational models to make the most of technology.
It wasn’t long ago that machines automated tasks. Today, they’re automating learning. And that is profoundly reshaping companies’ approach to talent and organizational learning. Average is no longer good enough, says Gary Pisano. Instead, there’s an increasing demand for the exceptional. Companies need superstars to pick up where machines leave off – to manage what algorithms cannot. He discusses how business leaders must transition from the organizational learning model of the past – centered on managing people – toward one focused on managing machines.
The Myths and Makings of Growth
Shareholders demand it; business media and “the street” closely watch the companies driving it; and executives seek out gurus to help engineer it. Growth is the #1 mandate for all businesses, big and small. And yet, there’s little written and known about growth – how to predict it, manage it or maintain it.
Pisano busts the myth of small company dynamism vs. big company lethargy, proving that growth rates have no correlation with size. He also introduces his growth framework – the first in the academic field of business management – and helps business leaders put it to work. And he asks – and helps answer – the questions on the minds of senior leaders: When is growth harmful or helpful? When has a company grown too large for its own good? Pisano unpacks decades of experience analyzing the decisions and paths of companies ranging from Amazon to Virgin, revealing the decisions that fostered, and are now sustaining, their growth.
Innovating at Scale: How Large Enterprises Can Master Creative Construction
More than ever before, economic progress is guided by creative destruction. Companies innovate or die. Conventional wisdom says only small, nimble startups are true innovators. Gary Pisano challenges the widely held belief that large enterprises are doomed to be disrupted, and offers leaders of large and fast-growing companies practical advice and principles for how to leverage the benefits of scale in innovation, a process he terms “creative construction.”
Drawing from his highly anticipated book, “Creative Construction,” Pisano addresses the challenges and opportunities big companies face in the innovation game. He also discusses how large firms can create a strategy that focuses on the future while minding the present, and how to foster a culture that allows innovation to thrive. And if they don’t succeed, Pisano contends that it likely has little to do with scale and much to do with management and leadership.
You Need an Innovation Strategy: 3 Pivotal Questions You Must Ask – Answer
Why is successful innovation so hard? It’s not because of failure to execute; the problem is lack of innovation strategy, believes Gary Pisano. Drawing from his popular Harvard Business Review article, “You Need an Innovation Strategy,” Pisano outlines the process, starting with a clear understanding and articulation of specific objectives. He characterizes the four categories of innovation and delves deep into the three pivotal questions a robust innovation strategy must answer:
It is indeed the age of algorithms. The question is no longer will machine learning and artificial intelligence change business as we know it. Now, it’s how do corporations change their organizational models to make the most of technology.
It wasn’t long ago that machines automated tasks. Today, they’re automating learning. And that is profoundly reshaping companies’ approach to talent and organizational learning. Average is no longer good enough, says Gary Pisano. Instead, there’s an increasing demand for the exceptional. Companies need superstars to pick up where machines leave off – to manage what algorithms cannot. He discusses how business leaders must transition from the organizational learning model of the past – centered on managing people – toward one focused on managing machines.
The Myths and Makings of Growth
Shareholders demand it; business media and “the street” closely watch the companies driving it; and executives seek out gurus to help engineer it. Growth is the #1 mandate for all businesses, big and small. And yet, there’s little written and known about growth – how to predict it, manage it or maintain it.
Pisano busts the myth of small company dynamism vs. big company lethargy, proving that growth rates have no correlation with size. He also introduces his growth framework – the first in the academic field of business management – and helps business leaders put it to work. And he asks – and helps answer – the questions on the minds of senior leaders: When is growth harmful or helpful? When has a company grown too large for its own good? Pisano unpacks decades of experience analyzing the decisions and paths of companies ranging from Amazon to Virgin, revealing the decisions that fostered, and are now sustaining, their growth.
Innovating at Scale: How Large Enterprises Can Master Creative Construction
More than ever before, economic progress is guided by creative destruction. Companies innovate or die. Conventional wisdom says only small, nimble startups are true innovators. Gary Pisano challenges the widely held belief that large enterprises are doomed to be disrupted, and offers leaders of large and fast-growing companies practical advice and principles for how to leverage the benefits of scale in innovation, a process he terms “creative construction.”
Drawing from his highly anticipated book, “Creative Construction,” Pisano addresses the challenges and opportunities big companies face in the innovation game. He also discusses how large firms can create a strategy that focuses on the future while minding the present, and how to foster a culture that allows innovation to thrive. And if they don’t succeed, Pisano contends that it likely has little to do with scale and much to do with management and leadership.
You Need an Innovation Strategy: 3 Pivotal Questions You Must Ask – Answer
Why is successful innovation so hard? It’s not because of failure to execute; the problem is lack of innovation strategy, believes Gary Pisano. Drawing from his popular Harvard Business Review article, “You Need an Innovation Strategy,” Pisano outlines the process, starting with a clear understanding and articulation of specific objectives. He characterizes the four categories of innovation and delves deep into the three pivotal questions a robust innovation strategy must answer:
- How will innovation create value for potential customers?
- How will the company capture a share of the value its innovations generate?
- What types of innovations will create and capture value, and what resources are needed?
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