Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes For An AnswerRegion: New York
Date: Monday, January 23rd at 6:00 PM
Attendees: 61 Please sign in to RSVP.
Leaders hear "yes" far too often. They do not hear bad news until it is too late. They get groupthink, not reality. They think they have achieved consensus, then find their decisions undermined by colleagues who never really bought in. They become isolated: even high-risk or illegal actions can go unquestioned. It is an enormous problem: for leaders, for teams, for the entire organization. However, is it inevitable? Absolutely not!
In his new book, Harvard Business School Professor Michael Roberto shows you how to stimulate dissent and debate to improve your decision-making; he also shows how to keep that conflict constructive. Of course, conflict alone does not produce better decisions and improved results. Leaders need to cultivate debate and simultaneously build consensus. Strong buy-in paves the way to successful execution.
In this talk by Professor Roberto, he will take us through some fascinating examples from history including the 1996 Mount Everest tragedy, the Columbia space shuttle accident, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he'll explain how we can all improve the way that we make critical decisions.
Read more about Professor Roberto and Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer at http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeoktno/.
DATE: Monday, January 23, 2006
TIME: 6:00 - 8:30 P.M.
LOCATION:
Hosted at the MetLife Building
30th Floor Conference Room
200 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10166
FOR SECURITY CLEARANCE PURPOSES, PLEASE ENTER THE METLIFE BUILDING ON VANDERBILT STREET (THE WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING AT 44TH STREET).
As you might imagine, security at the MetLife Building is pretty strict. Because of this, PRIOR WEBSITE REGISTRATION (AT LEAST 1-2 DAYS BEFORE EVENT) IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.
THERE WILL ONLY BE A LIMITED NUMBER OF WALK-INS ADMITTED FOR THIS EVENT. On the day of the event (Jan. 23), everyone will have to bring a photo ID to get through security.
PLEASE ARRIVE 10-15 MINUTES EARLY FOR SECURITY CHECK.
COST: $10 per person.
REGISTRATION: Prior registration is strongly recommended, but we will accept a SMALL NUMBER of walk-ins at the door.
To RSVP make sure you're signed in at http://www.networknights.org. You will see the event listed under Upcoming Events.
**The first 20 people to sign up get to give a 30 second "Offer & Ask" (see description below)
AGENDA:
6:00 - 6:30 p.m. - Informal mixing and refreshments
6:30 - 7:00 p.m. - NetNights "Offer & Ask" (20 people)
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. - Guest Speaker and Q&A
8:00 - 8:30 p.m. - Informal mixing
VOLUNTEER? Do you want to volunteer to help with on-site registration or other elements of creating NY NetNights? Contact Maisha Walker at: maisha@alumni.princeton.edu.
THE 30 SECOND OFFER & ASK:
The 30 second "Offer & Ask" is an effective networking tool that allows your fellow attendees to learn a little about you. Each "Offer & Ask" can only last for 30 seconds, so please prepare in advance as we will be timing them!
The Offer and Ask typically includes:
1. Your Name
2. Your Graduating Class
3. Your Company/Organization and Title
4. What You Offer
5. What You're Looking For
About the speaker:
Michael Roberto
Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School
Michael Roberto is a faculty member in the General Management unit at the Harvard Business School. He teaches courses on general management, managerial decision-making, and business strategy.
Professor Roberto's research focuses on strategic decision-making processes and senior management teams. More recently, he has studied why catastrophic group or organizational failures happen, such as the Columbia Space Shuttle accident and the 1996 Mount Everest tragedy. His new book, Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes For An Answer: Managing for Conflict and Consensus, was released in June 2005 by Wharton School Publishing. He has published articles based upon his research in the Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, The Leadership Quarterly, Group and Organization Management, and Ivey Business Journal. His 2004 article, "Strategic decision-making processes: Beyond the efficiency-consensus tradeoff" was selected by Emerald Management Reviews as one of the top 50 management articles of 2004, from among 20,000 articles reviewed by that organization in that year. In addition, an article based upon his research earned him the Robert Litschert Best Doctoral Student Paper Award in the year 2000 in the Academy of Management's Business Policy Division. This paper was published in the Academy of Management's Best Paper Proceedings.
Over the past few years, Professor Roberto has taught in the leadership development programs at a number of firms including Morgan Stanley, The Home Depot, Mars, Novartis, The World Bank, and Thales. He has also consulted with organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Corporate Executive Board, and The Advisory Board.
Professor Roberto received an A.B. with honors from Harvard College in 1991. He earned an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School in 1995, graduating as a George F. Baker Scholar. He also received his D.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 2000. While pursuing graduate studies at Harvard, he taught the introductory undergraduate course in economic theory for two years, and won the Allyn Young Prize for Teaching in Economics on each occasion.
Prior to joining the faculty, Professor Roberto worked as a financial analyst at General Dynamics Corporation, where he evaluated the company's performance on nuclear submarine programs. In addition, he worked as a project manager at Staples Inc., where he played a role in the company's acquisition integration efforts.
In his spare time, he enjoys running, hiking, and cooking. He lives in Holliston, Massachusetts with his wife, Kristin, and his two daughters, Grace and Celia.
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