Executive Interviews: Interview with Allan R Cohen on Staying on Top, Always
October 2009 - By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary

Allan R Cohen
Edward A Madden Distinguished Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College.

• What is the role of business schools in preparing either great managers/great leaders to create great companies? Any interesting developments that you have observed either in European or American business schools?
  In my view, business schools have the opportunity and obligation to try to create great leaders. Business schools are one mechanism which society has invented to help accelerate learning about management and leadership. Too often they have settled for developing technicians, which does not serve society that well. One central area where schools have to pay a lot more attention is in inculcating the idea that graduating from a business school is joining a profession that has obligations and responsibilities as well as privilege. Organizational members judge leaders in part by who they are and not just what they say, so for longterm effectiveness business school graduates will have to be honest and committed to the greater good as well as to their careers. Of course great integrity without competence is also empty.

  Many business schools are working on these issues. They are integrating ethical considerations into teaching about decision-making, finding ways to have students experience leadership roles and learn from them, coaching students on their interpersonal skills as well as their analytical skills, and trying to inspire students to aim for extraordinary contributions. The world needs them to succeed.

• Many celebrated management techniques and tools have been propounded and a few of them continue to be used. For companies to stay always on top, which of the management tools and techniques – strategic planning, scenario planning, scanning the periphery, competitor and industry analysis, vision & mission statements, BPR, diversification, Blue Ocean Strategy, etc. – you think are desirable and must be practiced at any cost?
  As I have tried to convey, it is not about tools and techniques, but about finding ways to continuously learn and grow. Any tool can be misapplied or used poorly; it isn’t the existence of the tool or technique but sound judgment and good leadership that is required.

• Why do good companies go bad?
  Good companies go bad in part because they are comprised of human beings who are inherently fallible leaders, have poor judgment, miss important market turns, forget that they are there to serve others and not just to feather their own nests, and so on. Also, one of my favorite sayings is that nothing fails like success nor succeeds like failure. When companies are successful they often begin to think that they are infallible and miss the signals that things are changing. Conversely, when things go bad they are often stimulated to do more search and become more innovative. In short, there are no guarantees about perpetual success.