公司领导

The chief brain
Chief brain among many, Michael Porter earned an undergraduate degree
from Princeton University in 1968, after which he seriously considered
becoming a professional golfer. Settling for a more reliable financial path, he
decided to attend Harvard Business School in 1971 and obtained his PhD in
economics two years later. That year, 1973, Porter joined the Harvard faculty;
he became a full professor in 1982. Despite the prestige of professorship,
Porter refused to remain isolated in Cambridge’s most renowned ivory tower.
He toiled for seven years in the Harvard libraries accumulating the
information he needed to craft his groundbreaking tome, “Competitive
Strategy.” Published in 1980, Porter’s book explains the interaction between
industry structure and competitive strategy, a sort of logical guide to the
variables affecting a company’s competitive situation. The practical and
business-minded immediately fell in love with the book. They particularly
appreciated the vocabulary Porter developed to illustrate his theories, because
it cut across company and industry divisions. Almost immediately after the
book was released, Porter was besieged by offers for consulting work.
In 1982, Porter’s colleague, Mark Fuller, left Harvard to found a consulting
firm called Monitor with his brother Joe. Porter agreed to become a principal
of the new organization, and the contacts he brought with him helped to boost
the firm’s fortune. Within four years the company employed 175
professionals in five offices worldwide. Perhaps the most advantageous of
Porter’s connections were those to Harvard Business School, which provided
the firm an “in” with Harvard MBAs on the verge of graduation, as well as
academics interested in putting some of their work on campus into practice.
But the question remains: Will Porter ever turn his full attention to Monitor?
Probably not; the wealthy academic is reportedly happy to spend most of his
time teaching.