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    Picking a President: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World
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    Neither Republicans Nor Democrats Can Slow Trump Down
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    Gautam Mukunda, Leading Change l Timoney Leadership Institute
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    Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg needs to change the company culture, says Yale's Gautam Mukunda
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    Picking Presidents with Gautam Mukunda
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    Medicare is negotiating prescription drug prices. Will they become more affordable?
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    ‘Tremendously skilful’ former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger dies at 100
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    Gautam Mukunda: 2023 Global Leadership Summit
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    What Should Biden Have Done Differently In Afghanistan?
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    Gautam Mukunda on Choosing The RIGHT Leader
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    What Does Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial Say About Accountability In America?
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    Indispensable: When Talks Really Matter | Gautam Mukunda | Talks at Google
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    Gautam Mukunda on Reforming the Financial Sector
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    Trump & Business
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    BTV: After Words: Gautam Mukunda, "Indispensable"
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    Gautam Mukunda: Abraham Lincoln, Avatar of History
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    Dialogue— Chinese-American Politics 11/04/2016 | CCTV

Learn More About Gautam Mukunda

Many factors are simultaneously contributing to today’s global unrest, including geopolitical tensions, climate change, the need for financial sector reform, and the exponential advancement of emerging technologies like synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. According to Gautam Mukunda, Ph.D., it’s more important than ever to rigorously choose the right leaders to usher businesses and governments through these challenging times.

A Yale School of Management lecturer, former Harvard Kennedy School research fellow, and professor in Harvard Business School’s highly regarded Organizational Behavior Unit, Mukunda provides timely insight into some of the most influential topics of the day. From leadership and AI to the increasing financialization of business and how novel technologies have warranted a reexamination of the theory of disruptive innovation, his guidance helps leaders move more confidently into an uncertain future.

With a background in both synthetic biology and neural networks, he is uniquely qualified to apply an expert lens to leading in a time of unprecedented technological evolution. A regular guest on television and highly-regarded podcast host, Mukunda has advised senior executives, policymakers and entrepreneurs alike for decades, adeptly helping managers gain a window into the tactics of bad actors, both historical and modern. His approach to defending against “the dark arts” is especially important in today’s tech-heavy operating environment. 

“If you are an ethical person, as a leader you need to understand AI tools at least as well as people who aren’t ethical,” explains Mukunda. “If non-ethical actors are the only ones who are familiar with these powerful tools, they can easily use them against you and your organization.”

As such systems become even more widely adopted, Mukunda shows leaders how to prioritize humanity, trust, and a deliberate, knowledgeable approach to AI implementation.

Today’s organizational leaders are under the microscope more than ever. With missteps widely amplified at a speed never seen before, it’s incumbent upon decisionmakers – such as boards in the case of businesses, and voters in the case of governments – to choose the most capable, qualified leaders.

Mukunda, author of the bestseller, “Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World” (University of California Press, October 2022), demonstrates how the rigorous approach voters take in choosing a president can be used as a model for identifying executives who will develop successful competitive strategies that enable organizations to innovatively excel while bolstering company resilience.

“The [American] Presidency is the greatest laboratory for understanding leadership that has ever existed because we know more about it than any other leadership position,” explains Mukunda, author of “Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter” (2012). “This lets us apply lessons from the Presidency to many other leadership positions.”

The influence of leaders can’t be understated, emphasizes Mukunda, and his practical framework for ensuring the most effective leaders are chosen helps firms bolster their organizational health. With deep historical context and high-impact contemporary examples – from President Abraham Lincoln to JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon – Mukunda shows how having the right leader at the right time can impact everything from the well-being of employees all the way to the resiliency of national economies. By illuminating the “filtration” processes undergone by all potential leaders, he expertly illustrates which leaders matter, when and why they do, and what we can learn from both their successes and failures.  

A skilled market analyst, Mukunda points to the notable increase in financialization – the long-term consequences of a short-term obsession with profits over product – for the historic decline of iconic companies like Boeing and Nike. He points out that all companies, regardless of size, are at risk when executives aim for win-now Wall Street numbers over excellence in product quality and business reputation.

“These great companies end up in crisis for the same reason: their leaders all became focused on short-term returns instead of what the companies were good at – making great products,” Mukunda explains. “The basic failure here is that we think investors know how to run companies, and that’s not true. Even if someone has skill with picking companies, that doesn’t necessarily make them good at running companies.”

He teaches leaders the value, both financially and reputationally, of obsessively fixating on a company’s strategic focus on quality above all else.  

The paradigm-shifting theory of disruptive innovation has had massive impact on business strategy and investing over the last 30 years. An early collaborator of celebrated disruptive innovation theorist Clayton Christensen, Mukunda expands on Christensen’s work to account for the unexpected market behavior of breakthrough technologies such as smartphones and large language models.

According to Mukunda, technologies that weren’t on the radar in the ‘90s have vastly different effects than disruptive innovation theory originally accounted for. He provides an eye-opening new playbook for reexamining how novel technologies can upend conventional thinking. 

“The unexpected market behaviors of breakthrough technologies like LLMs can in fact be predicted,” he explains. “Qualities like product attributes and cost can give investors a new lens for seeing how and where the next big market disruptor will make an impact.”

Gautam Mukunda’s unique, holistic approach to business – decoding everything from the top of an organization, its leadership, to the end result, product and market performance – helps organizations and investors alike ensure that companies are healthy, responsible and well positioned for long-term success.

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Gautam Mukunda, Ph.D., has been a professor at Harvard Business School (HBS) and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University. He was head of research at Rose Park Advisors, a specialized investment firm founded by Clayton Christensen that invests using the theories of disruptive innovation.

A Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership and MIT’s Security Studies Program and Program on Emerging Technologies, Mukunda was a Paul & Daisy Soros New American Fellow. In addition, he served on The Chief of Naval Operation’s Executive Advisory Panel, was a member of the New England Regional Selection Committee for the White House Fellowship and has been an exclusive leadership consultant to U.S. Soccer.

Mukunda has published articles in Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, Slate, Fast Company and more on topics including leadership, reforming the financial sector, military innovation, the security and economic implications of synthetic biology, and more. His work has been profiled in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and on NPR’s All Things Considered.

Mukunda has gleaned important leadership insight from Marge Simpson, applied the famous HBS case study method to Don Draper, Jon Hamm’s character from the popular TV show “Mad Men,” and in 2015 was a Jeopardy! champion.

Gautam Mukunda received his Ph.D. from MIT in political science, focusing on international relations and security studies. He received his bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard, graduating magna cum laude. Before his academic career he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he focused on the pharmaceutical sector.

Gautam Mukunda is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.

Gautam Mukunda was last modified: February 4th, 2025 by Justin Louis

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Why Do Great Companies Fail? The Financialization of the Modern Business Landscape

Can a company‘s soaring stock price be a sign of coming disaster? According to Yale School of Management lecturer Gautam Mukunda, Ph.D., when CEOs turn their focus from great products to immediate profits, even the most iconic companies are at risk. In this truly eye-opening presentation, he draws on recent real-world examples such as Boeing and Nike to illustrate the long-term consequences of a short-term obsession with profits. Mukunda shows how, if top Fortune 500 companies like these can fall victim to the pitfalls of financialization, all companies are at risk when executives aim for win-now Wall Street numbers over excellence in product quality and business reputation. Attendees will learn why “no great company was ever made great by cost cuts,” and will leave with new strategies for ensuring company health and ongoing positive financial performance by fixating on quality above all else.

From Presidents to CEOs: How to Choose the Best Leaders

Every four years, American voters are faced with one of the most consequential decisions in the world – picking a president. How can we ensure we’re choosing the most capable, qualified leaders, not just for the country but for companies as well? According to leadership expert and Yale School of Management lecturer Gautam Mukunda, Ph.D., the influence of those in charge can’t be understated. Organizationally, having the right leader at the right time can impact everything from the well-being of employees all the way to the resiliency of national economies. In this informative presentation, Mukunda draws on his bestselling book, “Picking Presidents” to provide both historical and contemporary examples that illustrate which leaders matter, when and why they do, and what we can learn from both their successes and failures. Audiences will leave with a practical framework for identifying individuals who will empower organizational thriving and effective competitive strategy, allowing innovation to excel while bolstering company resilience.

The New View of Disruptive Innovation for the Age of Breakthrough Technologies

The paradigm-shifting theory of disruptive innovation has had a massive impact on business strategy and investing over the last 30 years. But how have the exponential technology advancements in that period of time shifted how leaders and financial backers should think about today’s new market disruptions? According to business analyst and Yale School of Management lecturer Gautam Mukunda, Ph.D., technologies that weren’t on the radar in the ‘90s have vastly different effects than disruptive innovation theory originally accounted for. In this highly informative presentation, he explains how the unexpected market behaviors of breakthrough technologies like smartphones and large language models can in fact be predicted. Attendees will leave with an applicable understanding of how the qualities of revolutionary innovations, like product attributes and cost, can give investors a new lens for seeing how and where the next big market disruptor will make an impact.

Humanize AI and Defend Against “The Dark Arts”

Artificial intelligence tools are being widely adopted at a faster pace than ever. How can organizational leaders prioritize humanity while remaining educated about the technology, staying alert to those who intend to do their company harm? According to leadership expert and Yale School of Management lecturer Gautam Mukunda, Ph.D., it’s vital for managers to ensure trust while taking a deliberate, knowledgeable approach to AI implementation. In this revealing presentation, he explains that not being AI literate opens the door for non-ethical actors to easily use the technology against both individuals and organizations. Audiences will learn practical steps for upskilling knowledge while humanizing artificial intelligence. Following this session, attendees will be able to boost empathy and trust while defending against those who seek to leverage AI tools maliciously by enhancing their own understanding of the technology.

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Shut Up and Sit Down

February 29, 2016

Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter

(Harvard Business Review Press, September 2012)

Praise for "Picking Presidents"

"An essential read for every citizen, an important selection for every book club, and a cautionary analysis for our democracy at large. Gautam Mukunda’s 'Picking Presidents' is a thought-provoking review of the evolving way we have selected our chief executives, an honest appraisal of where we’ve gotten it right and painfully wrong, and a proposal for how we might make the most important hire in the world better.”

Stanley McChrystal, retired US Army general

"Bad presidents are very dangerous. In this engaging empirical study, Gautam Mukunda offers sage guidance on reforms to lower the odds of choosing the worst."

David Frum, author of "Trumpocalypse: Restoring American"

"Gautam Mukunda has written a vital book for understanding how we pick presidents and why the process is so at odds with the job. It is carefully argued and leaves the reader with a framework for understanding what's wrong and how the system can be improved. The stakes are high. At the very least our understanding of the process should respect the enormous power of the office. You'll want to get this book and study it not just before the next presidential selection contest, but to understand the presidency itself."

John Dickerson, author of "The Hardest Job in the World" and CBS News Chief Political Analyst

Praise for "Indispensable"

“In his new book, Indispensable, Gautam Mukunda, of Harvard Business School, uses Lincoln to examine one of the liveliest debates in modern management—whether insiders or outsiders make better bosses.”

The Economist

“These insights should now be of considerable help to the future development of aspiring executives and those who coach them, and to those responsible for selecting a CEO most suited to mastering a looming challenge.”

Strategy and Leadership

“Gautam Mukunda, with his book 'Indispensable' and its cornerstone leader filtration theory (LFT), provides a significant new contribution to, first, organization studies in general and, second, leadership theory in particular.”

Organization Studies, SAGE journals

“Associations seeking a CEO will benefit from Mukunda's leadership research and examples, as well as his six guidelines for increasing the chances of a successful hire…Mukunda's conclusions are likely to inspire rich dialogue among board members and CEOs.”

Associations Now Magazine

“In reviewing the life of some of the greatest leaders in history, Gautam Mukunda offers us a vision of leadership that is fascinating and original.”

Business Digest (France)

“'Indispensable' is indispensable—an eye-opening analysis of how we should evaluate leaders in our politics and our organizations, and a set of gripping narratives about some of the most fascinating people who have ever lived.”

Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; author, "The Better Angels of Our Nature" and "How the Mind Works"

“'Indispensable' provides a masterly, absorbing, and exceptionally original approach to the age-old study of leadership.”

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and presidential historian

“I have studied innovation and change from many dimensions. Somehow, however, I had simply assumed that the right leader can be selected to effect the changes required. 'Indispensable' has taught me that I was woefully naive. This is a great book.”

Clayton M. Christensen, bestselling author, 'The Innovator’s Dilemma'

“'Indispensable' provides fascinating insights into how leaders are shaped by their unique personal and professional journeys and by the context of their times. Whether they were focused on saving countries, saving companies, or saving lives, the individuals profiled here are memorably illuminated through Mukunda’s sharp and engaging analysis.”

Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman, President, and CEO, Merck & Co.

“Why do some leaders change the course of human events, while others find themselves not quite up to the task when history knocks? In a study that applies to business as well as to civil society and politics, Mukunda explores the ‘filtration’ systems through which we choose our leaders, providing fresh and fascinating insights.”

David Gergen, Professor of Public Service, Harvard Kennedy School; senior political analyst, CNN