Dorothy A. Leonard
William J. Abernathy Professor of Business Administration Emerita, Harvard Business School
Analysis Group Contact
Brian Gorin
Education:
M.A., Honorary, Harvard University; Ph.D., Stanford University; M.A., University of Virginia
Summary of Experience:
Dorothy Leonard joined the Harvard faculty in 1983 after teaching for three years at the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At Harvard, M.I.T., and for corporations such as Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, and 3M, Professor Leonard has conducted executive courses on a wide range of innovation-related topics such as cross-functional coordination during new product development, technology transfer, and knowledge management. Her major research interests and consulting expertise relate to managing knowledge for innovation and stimulating creativity in group settings. She has consulted with and taught about these topics for governments (e.g., Sweden, Jamaica) and major corporations (e.g., IBM, Kodak). Her numerous writings appear in academic journals (e.g., "Core Capabilities and Core Rigidities in New Product Development" in Strategic Management Journal), practitioner journals (e.g., "Deep Smarts" in Harvard Business Review) and books on technology management (e.g., "Guiding Visions" in The Perpetual Enterprise Machine). Professor Leonard’s book, When Sparks Fly: Igniting Group Creativity (co-authored with Walter Swap) was published in 1999 by Harvard Business School Press, reissued in paperback in 2005, and has been translated into many languages. Her latest book (with Walter Swap) is: Deep Smarts: How to Cultivate and Transfer Enduring Business Wisdom, published in January 2005.