| It highlights the sources of inspiration and guidance | | | | head of Netease.com, the Chinese portal that |
| that are available from management and leadership | | | | focuses on on-line gaming and pc to phone |
| gurus born in the East, who have individually and | | | | messaging. Lei, still in his 30s, is one of the new wave |
| collectively made as great a contribution as the more | | | | of young Asian entrepreneurs who are leading the |
| well-known, more commercially promoted, American | | | | development of internet based businesses. His ideas |
| gurus. Many of the Western gurus have based their | | | | on how to manage in the internet environment are |
| theories and models on the original ideas of the | | | | fast becoming the template which most organisations |
| leading thinkers from India, China, Eastern Europe, | | | | in this field are adopting. |
| and Central Asia. Also, as we shall see here, some of | | | | Mayo spent his early academic life in his native |
| the so-called Western gurus were in fact from | | | | Australia, where he forged a reputation as a leading |
| Central or Eastern Asia or the Pacific Basin. This | | | | thinker in the areas of logic, ethics, and psychology. |
| article gives an insight into just a few of this | | | | In his forties he moved to America where he |
| influential group of original thinkers. | | | | eventually taught at Harvard as a professor of |
| Mistakenly considered by many to be one of the | | | | industrial research. Mayo is now acclaimed as the |
| American gurus, Ansoff was in fact born in Russia | | | | father of the Human Relations school of |
| but moved to the USA with his family when he was | | | | management, being the first major voice advocating |
| 18. There he studied and later obtained a PhD in | | | | a move away from the scientific management |
| Mathematics, worked for the Rand Corporation and | | | | approach towards a more humanistic one. He is also |
| then the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, before | | | | credited with being the first to recognise that flexible, |
| moving into academia in the USA and Europe. Ansoff | | | | responsive, learning organisations were likely to be |
| is best known for establishing strategy as a | | | | more successful in an increasingly fast-changing |
| management discipline, and for laying the foundations | | | | business world. |
| of modern strategic planning techniques. His approach | | | | Morita left the security of his family's sake business |
| was, in his time, criticised for being too focused on | | | | to start a small electronics company so that he could |
| analytical and planning techniques, but is now highly | | | | continue what had been until then his amateur |
| regarded as appropriate for the fast-changing, | | | | enthusiast interest in electronics. He formed a |
| complex business world of today. | | | | company called Tokyo Tshsushin Kyogu, later to be |
| Hu-Chan is an international management consultant, | | | | changed to Sony. Pursuing a policy of risk, innovation, |
| executive coach, speaker, and leadership | | | | creativity, and intuition, Morita built Sony into one of |
| development educator. Specialising in coaching in | | | | the modern world's industrial giants. It was Morita, |
| cross-cultural leadership, she has become a leader | | | | through the success of Sony, who put Japanese |
| herself in the new discipline of executive coaching. | | | | innovation into the world's consciousness. At the |
| Through her individual and team coaching activities, | | | | same time, Morita has contributed enormously to the |
| Ms Hu-Chan has influenced the strategies of major | | | | world of management and leadership, through the |
| corporations and public sector bodies, in North and | | | | lessons learned from the success of Sony. |
| South America, Australia, and Asia. | | | | One of Japan's most respected management gurus, |
| Born in India, Ghoshal forged a reputation as a brilliant | | | | Nonaka is the Dean of the School of Knowledge |
| thinker whilst studying at MIT and Harvard, and then | | | | Science at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science |
| teaching at MIT, INSEAD, and the London Business | | | | and Technology. Developing earlier thinking by |
| School. In partnership with Christopher Bartlett of | | | | Drucker and others, his ideas on knowledge-creation |
| Harvard he first came to prominence as a leading | | | | and innovation generating processes in organisations |
| thinker on international strategy and then developed | | | | has helped to consolidate the establishment of |
| this further to stress the importance of innovation | | | | Knowledge Management as our newest major |
| and the empowerment of people as the key to | | | | management discipline. Few organisations have |
| creating a moral and value-creating organisation. | | | | embraced every aspect of Nonaka's vision, but those |
| Ghoshal was considered to be one of the leading | | | | that have are reaping huge benefits from building the |
| thinkers in the field of how business must focus on | | | | active management of knowledge into their |
| relationship building and innovation, rather than | | | | strategies and structures. |
| operational efficiencies, to be successful. Revered in | | | | Ohmae has pioneered modern approaches to |
| India, Europe, and the United States, Ghoshal played | | | | strategic management, focusing on the role of the |
| a major role in shaping the behaviour of the first | | | | strategist, the three key players of organisation, |
| tranche of today's global companies. | | | | customer, and competition, and how to gain strategic |
| His own name would not be recognised by hardly any | | | | advantage. His background is diverse, covering gaining |
| member of the general public, his company IKEA is a | | | | a PhD in Nuclear Engineering, leading the Tokyo |
| name recognised by most. Kamprad is also known in | | | | branch of McKinsey Consulting, acting as an advisor |
| the world of academia and business as having | | | | to the Japanese Prime Minister, and being an |
| established a model for successful entrepreneurship. | | | | accomplished clarinet player. Ohmae's ideas have had |
| He took his personal values, developed from the | | | | a major impact on the way in which leading managers |
| harsh upbringing in his native Smaland in Sweden, and | | | | think and behave today. His emphasis on strategists |
| turned these into a set of concepts that laid down | | | | needing to be intuitive, innovative, and creative are |
| how he wanted his company to be managed and | | | | now the norm, and are required reading for |
| how he wanted his workers to behave. Called A | | | | managers and leaders in industry and in politics. |
| Furniture Dealer's Testament, it is a list of simple but | | | | Taguchi's importance is in his development of the |
| powerful statements that can be applied to most | | | | Quality Management approach introduced into Japan |
| entrepreneurial projects. | | | | by Deming and Juran, and pushing the quality control |
| Kartajaya is the founder of Indonesia's leading | | | | activity backwards into the supplier and design |
| consulting firm, and past president of the World | | | | stages, so establishing one of the foundation stones |
| Marketing Association. His thinking on marketing | | | | of what we practice as Quality Assurance. He also |
| management is now incorporated into most masters | | | | proposed a more holistic approach to quality |
| level marketing courses. Kartajaya has worked in | | | | improvement, and in doing so made a major |
| writing partnership with Philip Kottler, one of the | | | | contribution to what eventually became known as |
| most respected marketing gurus, focusing on the | | | | Kaizen, or Continuous Improvement. |
| application of marketing concepts and principles in the | | | | Now recognised as the source of much of today's |
| Asian markets. One of his major lines of thinking is | | | | leadership and strategic management thinking, Sun |
| that to stay as the market leader, the organisation | | | | Tzu was a military general in China at the time of |
| must act as if it is not the leader, and must | | | | Confucius. His writings, known as The Art Of War |
| constantly challenge for the lead, even though they | | | | (Sun Tzu Ping Fa) are a compilation of his reflections |
| have temporarily technically achieved that. | | | | on the strategies and leadership behaviour that |
| Best known for his innovative work in speech | | | | underlie success in war. Translated into to relate to |
| recognition technology for Microsoft and establishing | | | | today's business world, Sun Tzu's thoughts on |
| Google's document management and research centre | | | | strategy, information and intelligence, tactics, |
| in Beijing, Lee has been an influential figure in the | | | | competition and competitiveness, communication, and |
| advancement of China's position in science and | | | | leadership and management, have enormous |
| technology. He has written on the benefits of | | | | relevance and are followed by some of our most |
| combining the ancient wisdoms and culture of the | | | | successful leaders. |
| East with the established management and leadership | | | | There are many worthy management and leadership |
| approaches of the West, and the advantages to | | | | figures. Some are giants of business, some are |
| organisations in building a culture of learning, personal | | | | academics, some come from the world of battle and |
| empowerment and development of their people. He | | | | war. In the West we tend to turn towards the |
| argues that both of these approaches will create | | | | European and North American gurus, perhaps |
| balance in the organisation, in line with the Middle | | | | because many of them also become expert in the |
| Way, one of the principles of the teachings of | | | | art of self-promotion, perhaps because our natural |
| Confucius. Interestingly, he also talks about the | | | | tendency is to look to our own. However, there |
| importance of viewing failure as a positive learning | | | | have been, are now, and will be, equally valuable |
| experience, a concept that is still alien to many | | | | contributions from other parts of the world. Here we |
| elements of Western society including the business | | | | have looked at some from the East. They are great |
| world. | | | | thinkers who we can learn much from. We should not |
| Also known as William Ding, Lei is the founder and | | | | ignore them. |