Letters to the Editor

Where Credit Is Due

The article “Seeking Silent Voices” in the September Bulletin, while featuring the work of four HBS faculty (myself included), omitted mention of the important work Mike Roberto (MBA ’95, DBA ’00) has done in this area — from his best-selling and insightful case on the 1996 Mt. Everest tragedy, to our collaborative work on the multimedia case on NASA’s 2003 Columbia tragedy, and to his recent book, Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes for an Answer. The course I teach today, General Management: Processes & Action, draws heavily on the materials and framework Mike developed while on the faculty here; indeed, our ongoing collaboration has enriched my research and teaching immeasurably.

Amy C. Edmondson (PhDOB ’96)
Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management
Harvard Business School, Boston, MA

Schumpeter versus Galbraith

I enjoyed your June article featuring excerpts from HBS professor emeritus Tom McCraw’s book Prophet of Innovation about the economist Joseph Schumpeter, one of my academic heroes and one of the greatest economists ever.

Many years ago I had numerous discussions with the late Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith (after his return from being ambassador to India) regarding his desire to send economists to India to help develop that country. My argument was that India did not need more economists but rather more Schumpeter-style entrepreneurs to get the country moving, as seems to be happening now!

Robert M. Kaplan (MBA ’61)
Sun Valley, ID