How Will You Measure Your Life?

by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth (MBA 2010), and Karen Dillon
(HarperBusiness)

At a time of intense personal reflection, Christensen, the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration, began asking, How do you measure your life? How can I be sure to find satisfaction in my career? How can I avoid compromising my integrity? Using lessons from some of the world’s greatest businesses, Christensen and his coauthors provide insight into these challenging questions.

The Architecture of Innovation: The Economics of Creative Organizations

by Josh Lerner
(Harvard Business Review Press)

Drawing on his years of experience studying and advising VC firms, companies, and governments, Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking, weighs the strengths and weaknesses of the traditional open and VC-backed innovation systems and explains how to use their best elements in a hybrid “third way.” He demonstrates how the tools and principles of organizational economics can be used to build an innovation infrastructure with the right incentives and time horizons for investments.

The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs

by Cynthia A. Montgomery
(HarperBusiness)

Montgomery, the Timken Professor of Business Administration, offers a new perspective on a business leader’s most vital role. She illuminates what strategy is, its importance, and what it takes to lead the effort. She equips readers to confront the most essential question facing every business leader: Does this company truly matter? Montgomery shows that strategy is not just a tool for outwitting the competition; it is the most powerful means leaders have for shaping companies.

Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter

by Gautam Mukunda
(Harvard Business Review Press)

Assistant Professor Mukunda examines the forces involved when leaders really make a difference. He explains which leaders matter and what lessons can be learned from them. The book’s profiles of leaders, from Abraham Lincoln to Judah Folkman, show how, when, and why some leaders have a high impact and can change the course of history. By analyzing the hidden patterns of their careers, Mukunda sheds important new light on how the best leaders can be identified.

Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

by Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih
(Harvard Business Review Press)

How did the United States lose its leading edge in producing innovative goods and services? Pisano, the Harry E. Figgie Jr. Professor of Business Administration, and Shih, professor of management practice, demonstrate the disastrous consequences of years of bad outsourcing decisions and underinvestment in manufacturing. They argue that companies must reinvest in the collective operational capabilities underpinning the development of new products and processes. Only by reviving this “industrial commons” can expertise and manufacturing muscle be built to produce tomorrow’s products and enable America to regain its competitive advantage.

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