Tom Davenport recently published a list of the Top 50 business gurus for the Wall Street Journal. The Top 5, measured in terms of Google hits, media mentions and academic citations were:
- Gary Hamel — leading strategy guru and author of Leading the Revolution
- Thomas L Friedman — New York Times columnist and author of The World is Flat
- Bill Gates — Chairman of Microsoft
- Malcolm Gladwell — author of best selling books, Blink and The Tipping Point
- Howard Gardner — John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
This list is quite a change from Tom Davenport’s previous compilation from 2003. Gone at the top are management stalwarts Michael Porter and Tom Peters, replaced by the web darling Malcolm Gladwell and authors such as Thomas L Friedman who bring a new and fresh angle to business thinking. The Top 10 has also changed markedly with a host of “traditional business” thinkers yielding way to the psychology-oriented free thinkers such as Howard Gardner and Daniel Goleman (the author of Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence).
But echoing my earlier post, Wendy Bounds asks, “Where are the women?” There is not a single woman in the Top 20. It is not like we have to look far to see some outstanding examples of women leaders (here are some of those that I admire most — but I am sure you have your own list too). The highest ranked woman is Rosabeth Moss Kanter who in 2003 rounded out the Top 20, but has dropped down the list this year.
And while it is easy to dismiss this as “just another list”, pause to consider this for a moment. Lists are one of the ways that we as leaders and as managers organize and prioritize our working and personal lives. They are an ingrained part of our thinking processes and intimately linked to action. When businesses are looking for advice, it is likely that they will turn to a list and create their own. There is also a financial aspect — respected leaders can command $25,000-$50,000 per speaking engagement. When you include book royalties, it is clear to see that being a “guru” has a significant upside.
Nina nets it out: Like Santa at Christmas, Tom Davenport has made a list and has checked it twice. From the time he created his last list in 2003, things have changed somewhat. One thing that has remained remarkably constant, however, is the glaring absence of women on this list of Top Business Gurus. Like many others, I would love to see more women represented on these lists as there are clearly some brilliant and articulate women leaders that should certainly be represented here.
This is an interesting issue, Nina. Let me share the results of my bookshelf. After reading your post and Wendy Bounds’, I looked at my bookshelf where I put the books I’ve received for review or the ones that I’ve gone out and bought about business. I counted out the fifty most recent books, including those waiting in the queue for review.
In all of those fifty books, there were only three woman authors. Lisa Haneberg had two books on my shelf. Elizabeth Craig of Accenture was co-author of The Talent-Powered Organization. And Erika Anderson wrote the book I’ll be reviewing next, an excellent one called Growing Great Employees.
With that bit of unscientific research out of the way, let me add another question to the pile. Why aren’t women writing mainstream business books?
Authorship helps you climb in popularity rankings like this one which uses Google name hits and Lexis/Nexis name hits as a huge part of the ranking alrorithm. Having book reviews and columns with your name on them (Tom Friedman) and the interviews that books generate fuels the alrorithm with name hits.
One more question. We don’t know who makes up the initial list of names to try on Google and Lexis/Nexis. I didn’t see it in the Journal article or in Davenport’s 2003 book. Your name won’t even get run against the indices if you’re not on the list to start with. So who picks the initial list of names? Using what criteria?
Wally,
You make some excellent points, about your reading bookshelf/queue and about the criteria used in formulating these original lists. I for one am hopeful that more women will be finding their way onto such lists as there are surely some things we can all learn from their insights, as you will learn when you read/review Erika Anderson’s book!
Hi Nina. I would love to see more companies create a more persuasive and aggressive support model for working women with children.
I am all too frustrated at the undercurrents in different organizations “why don’t you get a job doing some admin or quiet little HR role while the kids are young”
I love my family, but I also love me work. I choose to dream AND leave a legacy of love to my family. I don’t feel I need to compromise, I want to do well in all areas of my life.
The reasons for women returning to work after having kids are many, from financial pressures to career planning decisions.
Having the right support in place (eg flexible hours, less travel demands) for these women is one thing – kicking it up a notch to promote personal and professional development for these women – and create a culture that seeks their highest good – is another.
Hey Jazz,
I understand what you are saying and do believe that some [emphasis on ‘some’] companies are moving in the direction you are describing. That said, more ought to be done in this area and I hope, as you do, that more companies create a working environment conducive to working mothers.