Category: Leadership

John Mumford: An innovative venture capitalist turns to philanthropy

The venture capital industry has honored John Mumford, a founding partner in the Silicon Valley firm of Crosspoint Venture Partners, with its lifetime achievement award. But it was not just his skill in leading the early-stage venture firm to success that earned Mumford this respect; it was also his reputation for maintaining the highest standards of ethics in his dealings. Recently, the W. P. Carey School of Business inducted Mumford (Accountancy, ’67) into its Alumni Hall of Fame. That evening Mumford shared a podium with William Huizingh, the now-retired professor who turned Mumford’s life around while he was at ASU. Grateful former students, including Mumford, have endowed a teaching award in Huizingh’s name. Now Mumford hopes to emulate his mentor by helping young people who are off to a bad start.  

When the cure is worse than the disease: the HP debacle

In early 2005, Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors was embroiled in controversy. Board discord anonymously spilled into the media, and an effort commenced to find and plug the leaks of board deliberations. The probe has erupted into scandal, indictments and congressional hearings. Experts at the W. P. Carey School of Business say the HP saga is rich with lessons about corporate governance and ethics.

Passing the baton: Who succeeds the icon?

The withdrawal of Bill Gates from his full-time role in the Microsoft empire he created raises the specific question of how — and even whether — an icon can be replaced. Gates’ move also highlights the general question of how best to handle management succession. Opinions among experts at the W. P. Carey School of Business vary widely, and not everyone is sure that a company should even try to replace an icon. They agree, however, that a smart corporate culture ensures that progress survives management transitions.

Ebay’s Meg Whitman: An ‘absolutely fearless’ innovator

Peers laud her cross-cultural savvy, noting that while other dot-com era startups crashed and burned, hers went global. Meg Whitman, who was presented with the Dean’s Council of 100 Executive of the Year Award from the W. P. Carey School of Business, has led eBay to leadership as the world’s biggest cyber-auctioneer. Soon, eBay will offer another service to the online community. The eBay Express specialty site will feature bestsellers at fixed prices.

Performance management leadership: ‘Blocking and tackling’ of the CEO playing field

The study of "transformational leadership" has dominated leadership literature since the first wave of celebrity CEOs emerged into the limelight in the early 1990s. But Angelo Kinicki, a professor of management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, says it’s time for researchers to look beyond charisma and transformational leadership as a focal point of study. Kinicki and two colleagues have set forth their analysis of a skill set called Performance Management Leadership. PML "encompasses broad and proactive leader behaviors that serve to motivate, direct, support, modify, assist, monitor and reinforce employees in pursuit of goal accomplishment." In football terms, Kinicki says, PML is the "blocking and tackling" of business leadership — the hard work of getting the most out of your workers, every day.

Who’s on first? Decision-making in the midst of disaster

Experts say the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort arguably represents one of the great natural disaster recovery and redevelopment challenges in U.S. history — perhaps exceeding even the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. But before the work can begin in earnest, the stakeholders in New Orleans must decide what to do –- and this first step may turn out to be as difficult as the renaissance itself. Two professors from the W. P. Carey School of Business have made a study of the science of individual and group decision-making, and they offer their thoughts on the overwhelming task that lies ahead.