First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 20, 2011

Building upon his early experience at AT&T Bell Labs, he has created and led a series of fundamental innovations, from early technology to final implementation in the market. [.]. He received a BS degree in Materials Science and Engineering in 1985 from MIT and his PhD in the same discipline from Cornell University in 1989.

Engineering 85

Engineering Technology Innovation Marketing 85

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 9, 2011

In an adjacent office was a colleague who had written something like 12 books and was an internationally recognized scholar in the area of organizational innovation. Robert Merton was 46 when he won the award. Merton had the office on the other side of my office. He had a beautiful summer house near Cape Cod.

Merton 15

Merton Black-Scholes Welch Organizational Behavior 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 23, 2011

Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk and Catholic scribe wrote, "A monk is a man who has given up everything in order to possess everything. Thomas Merton's abbey at Gethsemane sells cheese, and in the 160 years since it was founded it has grown from 44 monks to precisely 65. We have an inadequate supply of saints.

Merton 14

Merton Self-aware Rate of Return Class 14

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 25, 2011

Merton and Elinor Barber.). So how might serendipity help us refine our understanding of innovation? Innovation is as much about looking at the past as it is about anticipating the future. For more on the curious history of the word "serendipity," dip into The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity by Robert K. History matters.

Merton 15

Merton Creativity Skills Innovation 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Walker’s innovation was to bind travelers to pay the prices they bid if the airlines and hoteliers on Priceline accepted the offers. That way, travelers took their offers much more seriously than if they simply could “name their price” without any purchase obligation. Admittedly, better pricing of options has been a mixed blessing.

Strategy 13

Strategy Black-Scholes Airlines Price 13

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

I was thinking about that story by Thomas Merton during a recent board meeting. Minority viewpoints have been proven to aid the quality of decision making in juries, by teams, and for the purpose of innovation. Nilofer Merchant is a corporate advisor and speaker on innovation methods. But it's a skill worth pursuing.

Merton 15

Merton Groupthink CFO Cost 15

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

In slightly more formal terms, Id suggest that they were able to take on, at least in tiny part, five of Robert Merton and Zvi Bodies six standard functions of a financial system: settling payments, providing information, setting incentives, pooling resources, and transferring resources.

Banking 15

Banking Crisis Merton Guidelines 15