Navigating Constant Change in a Digital World

What brought you to Harvard Business School?

In the late 1980s, HBS knew it needed people who could relate to the crazy things starting to happen in tech companies. I spent some time at IBM and arrived at HBS as the first fairly technical faculty member. However, others before me had done some interesting work in technology. For example, Warren McFarlan and Jim Cash used to hang out with Bill Gates when he was at Harvard. Now, two-thirds of us are involved in technology in some way, and HBS runs research projects in all the major tech companies.

How have your own research interests evolved?

To study digital transformation, I spend time with companies in the tech sector that are trying to transform the way business is done. I also spend time with more traditional firms to figure out how they're being transformed or should be transforming themselves. When I first came to HBS, I was looking at new strategies and emerging business models in the tech sector. I followed the early internet companies—Yahoo and Netscape, for example. After the crash, I focused on how the technology sector and internet economy were being rebuilt to be more sustainable.

Over the past few years, interest in this space has exploded. Now I'm working with more traditional companies to help them chart new pathways in a world where digital technology is becoming even more crucial to operations and business models—no matter the industry.

With digital technology now deployed virtually everywhere, networks have radically altered the way companies do business. We've tended to think of our economy as many distinct industries. Now, digital technology has connected industries to each other, with companies like Google Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba, and others emerging as hubs in a much broader economic landscape. We have a foundation for a whole new economy.

How is this shift in the economy transforming HBS?

While HBS may look conservative from the outside, it's an incredibly innovative institution. We have more courses now on technological change, digital transformation, software, data, and machine learning than you can imagine, and the students—in the MBA program as well as Executive Education—are excited to study these topics.

Advances in technology are also making us rethink the way education happens. We continue to rely on the case method—a very traditional way of teaching—because it works so well. But we can use technology to extend its reach and impact.

What do you teach in AMP?

I teach digital transformation, which blends age-old lessons concerning strategy and operations management with elements that are changing every day. Some cases and sessions are new—focusing on current events. Typically, we faculty like to tell participants what actually happened at the end of a case discussion—how the story ended. But for the session on driverless cars, for example, the outcome is not known because it hasn't happened yet. It's exciting to look forward and to think in a structured way about the different directions the automotive industry can take. That thought process resonates with participants from a variety of industries who are watching digital technology come at them, engulf them in different ways, and change how they do business.

What is the most important takeaway from your sessions?

Digital transformation is not a fad. It isn't going away. It's creating a new foundation for our economy. It doesn't matter whether you are in the software business, the media business, consumer electronics, or the banking sector—technology enables new ways of doing business that you’re required to master if you want to be around to compete.

It's not just about the incremental changes that can make a business more efficient. Companies are competing in a fundamentally new way. I want our participants to think about the interaction between technology and economics, technology and management, and technology and strategy. In the process, I challenge them to acquire a new toolset that will help them understand the technology issues that are flying at them so quickly, analyze the implications, and make a plan for what to do next.

How would you describe your style in the classroom?

People say I have a lot of energy—sometimes too much energy. I'm running around all over the place, and it throws people. They are turning around to find me, wondering what I'm doing. Why am I up here or over there? But I love it. When I engage with the students, I tend to get very excited and expend a lot of energy in the classroom.

How do you prepare for a class?

I've taught many classes at HBS over the years, but every time it's a new experience because a case discussion can go a million different ways. I prepare a lot, even if it's a case I've taught many times before—even if it's a case I've written. I spend a substantial amount of time thinking about different angles, different ways of approaching the questions. When I teach a case, I need to have a command of the meta issues that I want to be part of the case discussion as well as a command of the case detail. That takes time.

During the class, as the discussion develops, I facilitate the discussion in order to ensure that participants understand the big issues—what's really happening in that case. If they understand the driving forces, if they understand how to think about the issues, then it's fine if they end up reaching somewhat different conclusions. It's not about finding the right answer—it's about understanding how to get to an answer.

Is it a challenge to teach highly experienced executives?

That's the wonderful thing about AMP. We get a diverse set of participants from completely different backgrounds, with different skill sets, from all parts of the world, with different expectations—and somehow, they coalesce into a phenomenal learning community in the classroom. I see it happen over and over again, every single time.

We try to expose our accomplished AMP participants to situations and decisions that will resonate with their experience. They might encounter a case and think, "I've been there." They might gain new insight into why a particular situation in their company turned out the way it did. Maybe they think, "Oh my goodness, I could easily have made that decision and the company would have gone sideways for five years." The "a-ha" moments are phenomenal.

What is your favorite part of AMP?

I love getting to know the participants and building relationships. The executives bring many points of view—fascinating ways of thinking about the world, business, and beyond. I particularly enjoy those moments when I make a connection—engage in a conversation that sparks new learning. Those special moments can happen in the classroom, over dinner or wine—anytime. Those sparks just keep flying!

The case method is also a beautiful thing. The case teaching at HBS is unsurpassed. Our instructors engage the class in ways that can't be replicated anywhere else.

Who will get the most out of AMP?

AMP is great for executives whose thirst for knowledge is infinite. The program provides many different opportunities for learning—through cases and class discussions, small group preparation, workshops, interactions with guest speakers, or informal conversations. The ideal participant truly appreciates and is excited by those opportunities. That's what AMP is all about—developing a culture of learning, discovering, and solving problems. Our goal is to reinvigorate that thirst for learning, so executives go back to work armed with new tools, an expanded network, and ideas for driving real innovation in their organizations.

To maximize their learning, AMP participants should be completely open to different perspectives and should be willing view the richness of discussion as the key goal. Thinking evolves through engagement in the discussions. That's the whole point of our learning method.

What is the value of AMP for executives?

AMP is one of the most intense and exciting learning experiences I've ever seen. AMP is a transformational experience. Executives have the opportunity to reenergize. They are exposed to many interesting issues, have fascinating discussions, and spend time thinking about the next stage of their careers and their lives. It's about self-discovery with the help of many other talented and accomplished people!

With new insights, new ways of thinking, and new connections, participants are poised to have phenomenal impact when they go back to work. As a faculty member, I get a great deal of satisfaction from being part of that—helping the real doers in our society expand their knowledge and insight, drive toward new goals, and accomplish great things.