Logo
Thomas A. Stewart Headshot
Report a problem with this profile
[email protected]

Thomas A. Stewart  

Executive Director, The National Center of the Middle Market, and Former Editor, Harvard Business Review

Thomas A. Stewart is the executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market, the leading source for knowledge, leadership and research on midsized companies, based at the Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University. Stewart is an influential thought leader on global management issues and ideas: an internationally recognized editor and publisher, authority on intellectual capital and knowledge management and a best-selling author.

Before joining the National Center for the Middle Market, Stewart served as chief marketing and knowledge officer for international consulting firm Booz& Company (now called Strategy&), overseeing the firm’s intellectual agenda, major research projects and strategy + business magazine. Prior to that, he was for six years the editor and managing director of Harvard Business Review, leading it to multiple finalist nominations for a National Magazine Award. He earlier services as the editorial director of magazine and as a member of FORTUNE’S Board of Editors.

He is the author of two books, Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations and The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the Twenty-first Century Organization, published by Doubleday Currency in 1998 and 2003, respectively. He has contributed chapters to four other books and published articles in Harvard Business Review, FORTUNE, Business 2.0. The Financial Times, BNET, and elsewhere. A twelve-time participant in the World Economic Forum, he has delivered lectures and seminars across the U.S. and in more than two dozen countries worldwide and is a member of the Corporate Advisory Council of the Information and Knowledge Sharing master’s degree program at Columbia University.

Stewart is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College and holds an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Cass Business School, City University London.

Speech Topics

The Wealth of Knowledge: Your Competitive Edge in the 21st Century

We are in the middle of the third great revolution in humanity’s economic affairs, the emergence of a global knowledge economy. Like the revolutions before it (the invention of agriculture—the Neolithic Revolution; and the harnessing of energy--the Industrial Revolution) this change will utterly transform how societies organize to produce what they need. Along the way, it will fundamentally alter the priorities of companies and the career paths of workers of this and the next generation. How do you make sense of this rapidly unfolding, disruptive future? Let Tom Stewart, legendary architect of the intellectual capital field, executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market and former editor of the Harvard Business Review be your guide and help you:

·-Understand value in the knowledge economy ·-Discover why capabilities are the key to competitive advantage ·-See how companies become incoherent—and how to reshape your company so that you’re playing a game you can win ·-Analyze the disruptive power of digitization—to learn, for example, whether big data is a boon or a boondoggle, and to plan your path through the extraordinary times in which we live

The Growth Machine: Leadership and Defining Strategies for Success

Most companies face a “growth gap”—that is, a difference between the growth they can confidently see and the growth their shareholders expect. Closing that gap is up to you; these days, companies can’t rely on the overall economic environment to give them a boost. Few companies, however, truly understand how to build an unstoppable growth machine—indeed, only about half of senior executives believe their strategy will succeed, and nearly two out of three say their company has too many conflicting priorities. Thomas A. Stewart shows what it takes to develop an ambitious growth strategy that’s grounded in reality—a company’s own distinctive capabilities—based on his deep experience as executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market and former Editor of Harvard Business Review. In his keynote address, Stewart shares:

·-Why a growth machine needs intelligent direction and four-wheel drive ·-How organic and inorganic growth can work together to create growth platforms ·-How to nurture a growth-oriented culture ·-How to fund your own growth by moving costs from unproductive to productive uses

Invent the Future that Fits You: How Innovation Goes Right—and Why It Goes Wrong

What’s the secret to successful innovation? Year after year, studies show that there’s no correlation between what you spend on innovation and what you get: some companies are highly innovative; others might as well be flushing money down the drain. The advice companies get is as contradictory as the results they obtain. Some say, “Let a thousand flowers bloom—encourage radical, out-of-the-box thinking.” Others say, “Manage innovation more rigorously, with strict stage-gate processes.” The fact is, successful innovation is an offshoot of strategy, which means each company has to find its own path to innovation, based on its capabilities, culture, and its value proposition. Thomas A. Stewart, executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market and former editor of Harvard Business Review shows how to connect innovation to a company’s broader agenda—and help you find the future that fits you. Key takeaways include:

·-The difference between innovation and creativity ·-How to develop the innovation strategy that’s right for your company ·-Why encouraging “tolerance for failure” is a bad way to improve innovation ·-What the great innovators always get right

Headwinds and Tailwinds: Five Challenges for the Next Five Years

Caught up in day-to-day demands, leaders all too readily lose sight of the big trends—such as digitization, demographic change, and industry evolution—that fundamentally affect who wins and who loses. If a company gets these big things right, everything else becomes easier. But how do you separate signal from noise? And once you know what really matters, how can you reorient your strategy, resources, and attention so that you are sailing with the wind at your back? Executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market, former editor of the Harvard Business Review, and legendary architect of the intellectual capital field, Tom Stewart shows audiences how to understand their place in the big picture, and turn change from an enemy to an ally. He shares:

·-The megatrends that every company should understand ·-How these challenges will unfold in the next five years ·-How leaders should engage with their organizations to come out ahead

Related Speakers View all

More like Thomas