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Executive Interviews: Interview with K Ramesh on Management Guru
October 2010
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By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary
K Ramesh K Ramesh Professor of Accounting,
Jones Graduate School of Business
Rice University
Although Krugman has been on the
List before, his third rank in 2009
could have been partially due to his
receiving the 2008 Prize in Economic
Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Sometimes a high profile recognition
helps bring an individual's
contributions to the forefront. My
colleague, Bob Hoskisson, from the
Jones Graduate School of Business at
Rice University was recently
recognized by Times Higher
Education as one of the top 25
researchers in business and
economics globally. I hope this will
enable him to be placed on the List in
the near future!
Overall, there are many possible
explanations for different individuals
earning a spot on the
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list from year to
year and these variations are bound to
happen in the future as well. Sometimes the fact that names don't
change may be an indication of
multiple new ideas flowing from the
same guru as in, say, Prahalad. By
definition, any ranking of
management or any other types of
gurus is bound to be subjective and
may even be controversial.
Regardless, the List is a useful vehicle
for all of us to track the changing
perceptions regarding what
management philosophies, theories,
and practices are influential.
Who according to you is a
management guru? What specific
qualities and contributions set them
apart from the rest of management
fraternity?
If we want to emphasize the word
"guru," then we are not looking at someone just for his/her ability to
identify problems and opportunities,
develop a strategy, and execute it
effectively in his/her organization.
The word "guru" has the connotation
of someone who removes the
ignorance of others or enlightens
others (I think my mother, who is
well versed in Sanskrit, would
probably cringe if she read this!). The
ability to develop innovative, yet
implementable, ideas is a key element
of the equation. However, the ones
who can parsimoniously package and
effectively communicate their theories
to attract followers seem to show up
more often in various rankings.
At times, even the CEOs get voted
as the world's best management
gurus. For instance, in 'The Thinkers
50' 2007 list, produced by Suntop
Media in association with Skillsoft,
Bill Gates, Alan Greenspan, Thomas J
Peters, Jack Welch, Richard Branson
were in the top ten list. The others
(Michael E Porter, Gary Hamel, and
Jim Collins) were typical
academicians who, with their
research and writings, had profound
effect on the way companies managed
their giant enterprises. Noticeably
amongst the career executives, Jack
Welch and Tom Peters continued to
have influence even after a few years
of their reckoning. Michael E Porter
who was No. 1 in the list in 2004
slipped to No.4 in 2007 list. What,
therefore, explains the enduring
power of a management guru?
My discussions above indicate that a
nontrivial number of management
gurus have shown enduring power
in their rankings. There tend to be
some key attributes in some of these
gurus. For example, Prahalad seemed
to be generating multiple
implementable creative ideas such as
BOP (bottom-of-the-pyramid) and
democratization of commerce. In
addition, gurus like him have a great
ability to communicate the
cornerstones of their ideas and
theories while having the ability to
see problems from a nontraditional
perspective. For instance, D'Aveni
focuses on unpredictability and
encourages business entities to watch
out for dramatic events that could
change the business landscape
instantaneously. Prahalad's BOP
approach turned the strategic
thinking upside down by viewing the
poor of the world as part of the
commercial marketplace rather than
considering them as merely recipients
of dole. Some gurus thrive on
constantly reaching out to the
intended audience with
extraordinary levels of endurance.
Tom Peters' website indicates that
"since 1978, when the work on
Search began, he's given well over
2,500 speeches, flown 5,000,000+
miles, spoken before 2,000,000 to
3,000,000 people and presented in 48
states and 63 countries." Overall,
academics have somewhat cornered
the market on being the List on a
consistent basis. There are also a few
consultants/writers consistently on
the list. I conjecture that these two
groups of individuals may have
greater propensity to develop a
following that leads them to be
included on various rankings and
lists based on their ability to
communicate their ideas to a broader
audience.
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