The Old Solutions Have Become the New Problems - BusinessWeek

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The Old Solutions Have Become the New Problems

A former Harvard Business School professor says companies must commit to 'I-space' and collaboration, not financialization and administration

The idea of devising new rules for managers isn't just a casual thought or theoretical exercise for me. It's personal. That's because I spent a quarter-century as a professor at the Harvard Business School, including 15 years teaching in the MBA program. I have come to believe that much of what my colleagues and I taught has caused real suffering, suppressed wealth creation, destabilized the world economy, and accelerated the demise of the 20th century capitalism in which the U.S. played the leading role.

We weren't stupid and we weren't evil. Nevertheless we managed to produce a generation of managers and business professionals that is deeply mistrusted and despised by a majority of people in our society and around the world. This is a terrible failure.

The Erosion of Trust

If you've read my columns, you know that I regard this loss of trust as a big deal. Trust toward business has reached new lows, with only 10% of Americans now saying they trust large corporations, according to the Apr. 8 edition of the Financial Trust Index. Some 77% of ...

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http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jul2009/ca2009072_489734.htm