| Roger Martin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wallenstein, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canada |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (MBA 1981) Harvard University (AB 1979) |
| Occupation | Professor, non-fiction wrtier |
Roger Martin (born in Wallenstein, Ontario) is Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and an author of several business books. Martin has originated several important business concepts in use today, including integrative thinking. He has been recognized by several business publications as one of the field's most important thinkers.[1][2]
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Martin began his career at Monitor Group, the global management consulting firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He spent 13 years at Monitor, becoming a director, founding their Canadian office and their educational arm, Monitor University. He served as the co-head of the firm for two years.
Martin was appointed dean of the Rotman School of Management in September 1998 and has served the school in that capacity ever since. He started his third term as dean in May 2011 and will continue in the role until June 2014.[3]
Martin currently serves on several boards, including Thomson Reuters Corporation, Research In Motion, the Skoll Foundation and Tennis Canada.
Martin is a regular columnist for Businessweek's Innovation and Design Channel,[4] the Washington Post’s On Leadership blog[5] and the Financial Times’ Judgement Call column.[5]
He has focused much of his recent work and research on integrative thinking, business design and most recently corporate responsibility and more broadly the role of the corporation in our society. He has written four books, The Resonsibility Virus, The Opposable Mind, The Design of Business, and Fixing the Game and has co-authored two other books with Mihnea Moldoveanu, The Future of the MBA and Diaminds.
Martin’s two largest intellectual contributions to the business community have come from his work in integrative thinking and design thinking, both theories that he has helped to originate and develop.
Integrative Thinking is the ability to balance two opposing models, and instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generating a creative solution that contains elements of the individual models, but is superior to each. Martin aruges that business leaders that master this mode of thinking have a unique ability to innovate and solve problems facing their company.
Design Thinking balances analytical thinking and intuitive thinking, enabling an organization to both exploit existing knowledge and create new knowledge. A design-thinking organization is capable of effectively advancing knowledge from mystery to heuristic to algorithm. The design-thinking organization is capable of achieving lasting and regenerating competitive advantage.
Both modes of thinking have become more prevalent in the business community in recent years with companies including Procter & Gamble, Four Seasons, and Research in Motion incorporating both design and integrative thinking into their business strategies.
Martin's most recent work has centered around corporate responsibility and the company's role within our economic structure. He has argued for an overhaul in how we evaluate the success of companies, adovacting a shift in focus from the stock market. He proposes several suggestions including an alteration in the current executive compensation models, and a renewed strategic focus aimed at benefiting customers and the community.[6]