IVEY Business Journal, Articles by this Author:
A Step Back. A Step Forward: Finding a New Perspective in a Season of Change
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2012
Change is like looking at one of those paintings made up of
individual images; if you look at it close up, all you can see is a
jumble of faces, but when you step back and look at the...
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How Leadership Has Changed
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | July / August 2011
With globalization, technological innovation and the growing number
of linkages among people, activities and events, today’s pace of change
is relentless. The people of the world mix and mingle as never before,
forging new partnerships and creating more culturally diverse...
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My path to leadership
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | May / June 2011
After decades as a CEO and years as the Dean of the Richard Ivey
School of Business, business students and other aspiring leaders often
ask me what inspired me to become a leader. Was there a moment in my
career...
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The true meaning of Innovation
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | March / April 2011
Bring up the topic of innovation and often the conversation will
soon revolve around a cool, new gadget or an exciting start-up company
with a revolutionary idea. If the talk is about the challenge of
innovation, it usually focuses on...
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LEADERS OF GOOD CHARACTER
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2011
“Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership
is leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50
percent of your time leading yourself—your own purpose, ethics,
principles, motivation, conduct.” — Dee Hock Founder and...
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The Role of Leadership in Managing Risk
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | November / December 2010
“… You can’t control people through policies, procedures and
policing. You can only do it through a strong risk management culture
and absolute integrity in all leaders.”
Leadership on Trial, A Manifesto for Leadership Development* (P. 39 –
Comment...
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LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | September / October 2010
“If you want the present to be different from the past, study the
past.” ~Chinese Proverb
Much has been said and written about the recent global financial and
economic crisis. We heard about the governments, companies and
executives who made...
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PRINCIPLES TO ADVANCE A NEW LEADERSHIP ETHOS
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | July / August 2010
Carol Stephenson is Dean, Richard Ivey School of Business,
University of Western Ontario.
In the aftermath of the dot com bust and the bursting of the telecom
bubble in the late 1990s, I gave dozens of speeches about my
experience...
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COMPLEXITY AND CROSS-ENTERPRISE LEADERSHIP
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | May / June 2010
Our goal was simple: Make Canadians proud. And in the end, the
Vancouver Olympics accomplished just that – with our athletes “owning
the podium” more times than in any other previous Winter Games, a
spectacular array of facilities and special...
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MITIGATING THE RISK: PRACTICAL STEPS FOR EXPANDING YOUR BUSINESS ABROAD
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | March / April 2010
Over the past decade, rapid competitive growth has dramatically
transformed the global business environment. This transformation
continues today. The barriers to international trade and investment are
tumbling. Commercial activity is booming, with major advancements in
transportation and communications technologies. Global...
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THE PASSAGE TO INDIA: IVEY PAVES THE WAY WITH NEW PARTNERSHIPS
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2010
Thomas Friedman recalls visiting Bangalore – India’s Silicon Valley”
– when he suddenly realized that the world was flat. And with that
eureka moment, his bestselling book The World is Flat: A Brief History
of the 21st Century was born....
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Volatility and its implications for Leadership
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | November / December 2009
As a veteran of the telecommunications industry, I can say with
conviction that volatility is not a new concept to me. From the rise of
the Internet, to the bursting of the telecom bubble and the dot.com bust
to today,...
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The Olympics and leadership: From the CEO
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | September / October 2009
To the tens of millions of viewers who tune in to watch, the Olympic
Games are a spectacular global celebration of the world’s best in
sports. But there’s nothing like being there in person. At the 2008
Summer Olympic Games...
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Shaping Tomorrow’s Health-Care Sector Through Cross-Enterprise Leadership
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | July / August 2009
Canada’s health sector, indeed the health sector worldwide, is rich
in opportunity. By the same token, it faces daunting challenges. The
pace of scientific discovery in new medicines and advanced diagnostics
is quickening. With genomics and proteomics, exciting breakthroughs
in...
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THRIVING IN TURBULENT TIMES
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | May / June 2009
Cartoonists Michael Fry and T. Lewis astutely observed that, “The
more things change, the more they remain … insane.” For many business
leaders, today’s economic climate is awash in change – volatile, often
unpredictable, and always daunting change. How do...
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Canadian women entrepreneurs: Pioneers of new frontiers
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | March / April 2009
“Going into business for yourself, becoming an entrepreneur, is the
modern-day equivalent of pioneering on the old frontier,” according to
entrepreneur and author Paula Nelson. I agree. It takes courage,
know-how and perseverance to launch a business and make it...
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Business drives positive change in society
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2009
In the wake of the current economic crisis, an impassioned debate
emerged in the United States about the role that business schools played
in creating, or at least not preventing, the debacle. At the Global
Business Summit hosted by Harvard...
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Creating shared value: The inseparability of business and society
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | July / August 2008
“For us in business, I can see only one sure course to follow. Call
it common sense, call it policy, call it anything you like. To my mind,
industry must aim for, exist for and everlastingly operate for the
good...
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Today’s leader must engender trust, encourage initiative and secure loyalty
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | May / June 2008
This article was originally published in the Financial Times,
January 25, 2008.
In the decades since it was first published in 1900, historians,
economists and literary scholars have sought to interpret the symbolism
of L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard...
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These times demand Cross-Enterprise Leadership
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | March / April 2008
Business leaders are worried about numerous issues including the
possibility of recession, high oil prices, the growing war for talent,
the increasing speed of change and the complexity of managing in
countries that each have their own political, cultural and...
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BOOSTING THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2008
Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility has long been a
tradition at Ivey. In this article, the school’s dean describes some of
the research and policy initiatives that continue to develop strong
leaders and help companies make important contributions on social...
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Advancing the revolution: Cross-Enterprise Leadership at Ivey
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | May / June 2006
In May, the Ivey School of Business will welcome the first group of
students into its new and revolutionary Cross-Enterprise Leadership TM
MBA program. The narrowly defined, discipline-specific classes of
yesterday are gone. Instead, our MBA students will dissect, resolve...
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THE UNBEATABLE COMBINATION
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | March / April 2006
Last November, Towers Perrin surveyed more than 85,000 people
working in 16 countries on four continents, to assess their willingness
and ability to “go the extra mile for their companies.” The study found
that the vast majority of people are...
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The Three “D’s” in Creating a Culture of Innovation
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2006
As the late Peter F. Drucker once said, innovation “is capable of
being practiced, capable of being learned.” However, as I have found
throughout my career, innovation thrives in a culture driven by
diversity, dialogue and discipline.
Fundamentally, I believe...
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The Natural Next Step: Cross-Enterprise Leadership™
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | September / October 2005
As Peter F. Drucker believes, “decision-making is the specific
executive task.” And in today’s complex, ever-evolving business
environment, any single decision invariably reverberates throughout the
entire organization. What if a company moves its manufacturing
operations offshore to cut costs, or...
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COMMUNICATING THE IMPORTANCE OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | July / August 2005
Some employees believe that all work and no play is the only certain
path to the corner office on the executive floor. While this isn’t
true, it is true that commitment, dedication, and hard work are
essential to leadership success....
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TAKING THE TIME TO GET IT RIGHT IN CHINA
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | May / June 2005
There’s no doubt, as the articles in this edition of the Ivey
Business Journal will attest, that the opportunities for Canadian
companies doing business in China are enormous – and equally daunting.
Despite the huge size of the Chinese market...
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The Inevitability of Doing Business With China
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | March / April 2005
There’s a huge difference “between taking active risks and sitting
passively at risk,” as Paul A. Laducina of A. T. Kearney’s Global
Business Policy Council writes in this edition. Approaching new and
unfamiliar markets is always a gamble, but it’s...
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THE ESSENCE OF GREAT LEADERSHIP
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2005
During my 30 years in business, I have witnessed a wide variety of
leaders in action – both good and bad. The command and control types who
closeted themselves in their ivory towers – ruling by fear and
intimidation –...
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ARE LEADERS BORN OR MADE?
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | November / December 2004
It’s a debate as timeless as the age-old controversy about the
chicken and the egg. Do effective leaders learn to become superior
communicators and relationship builders? Or do people with exemplary
communication and teamwork abilities naturally have an aptitude for...
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A board’s role in fostering vision, values and integrity
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | September / October 2004
Just about every month for the past fifteen years, I have
participated in a board meeting, an executive committee discussion or an
advisory group consultation for a company, government or a
not-for-profit interest. At the best of these meetings, the...
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LEVERAGING DIVERSITY TO MAXIMUM ADVANTAGE: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR APPOINTING MORE WOMEN TO BOARDS
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | September / October 2004
The poet Ezra Pound once said that: “When two men in business always
agree, one of them is unnecessary.” Many companies appear to recognize
this truism and the fact that diversity fosters ideas and learning. Some
have established comprehensive strategies...
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DEAN CAROL STEPHENSON ON NEGOTIATION
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | July / August 2004
The French author, Andre Marois, once wrote that: “Business is a
combination of war and sport.” And to be sure, business is often
compared with competitive sports and warfare, a black and white world of
winners and losers, where the...
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FROM THE DEAN: CAROL STEPHENSON ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | May / June 2004
According to the latest Globe and Mail Report on Business survey on
executive compensation, Canadian CEOs “took home an average of about 8.3
percent more in 2003 than in 2002,” which includes “all forms of
compensation, such as gains from...
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REBUILDING TRUST: THE INTEGRAL ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN FOSTERING VALUES, HONESTY AND VISION
by Carol Stephenson, O.C. | January / February 2004
That the corporation has an enormous influence on our lives is
unquestioned. So too, then, is the influence of business leaders. Which
is why, as this author states, it is imperative that leaders today adopt
enduring values, and honest, open...
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