Critical to the success of every organization, strategy is not a long planning exercise or document. Strategy can be simple, fun and effective and is founded on a set of five interrelated and powerful choices that positions an organization to win.
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Integrative thinking is a form of reasoning which allows you to constructively face the tensions of opposing models. Instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, you generate a creative solution. Your solution contains elements of the individual models, but is superior to each.
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Organizations need to incorporate the best of design thinking into their ways of working to unleash innovation and creativity. An organization will be able to counter-balance analytical thinking with intuitive thinking – to enable it to both exploit existing knowledge and create new knowledge.
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While prevailing theory holds that stock-based compensation perfectly aligns corporate executives’ incentives with those of shareholders, it does the opposite. As a consequence, executives have done brilliantly while shareholders have become increasingly frustrated. Incentives and governance practice needs to be transformed to enable corporations to prosper in a way that better serves society.
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The combination of the stagnation of medium incomes and the rapid rise of high incomes is threatening the future of democratic capitalism. Its predictive future requires building a more robust knowledge, transactional and physical infrastructure for broadly shared prosperity.
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For both social entrepreneurs and corporations, the key tenet of social innovation is finding ways to make the world a better place. My work focuses on building tools for social entrepreneurs to create more powerful models for creating value for society and developing models to guide corporations on a path of productive corporate citizenship.
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Thinker Author Advisor Speaker
Meet Roger
Meet the Team
Let's Read
A New Way to Think
When More is Not Better
Creating Great Choices
The Rise (and Likely Fall) of the Talent Economy
Getting Beyond Better
Playing To win
Canada: What it is, what it can be
Fixing the Game
The Design Of Business
The Opposable Mind
The Responsibility Virus
Dia-Minds
The Future of the MBA
Rotman on Design
Let's Engage
Thought Pillars
Thinker Author Advisor Speaker
In 2017, Roger was named the world’s #1 management thinker by Thinkers50, a biannual ranking of the most influential global business thinkers.
Roger is a trusted strategy advisor to the CEOs of companies worldwide including Procter & Gamble, Lego, Ford, BHP & Verizon
Roger Martin is a Professor Emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto where he served as Dean from 1998-2013, Academic Director of the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship from 2004-2019 and Institute Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute from 2013-2019. In 2013, he was named global Dean of the Year by the leading business school website, Poets & Quants.
His newest book is A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Managerial Effectiveness (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022). His previous twelve books include When More is Not Better (HBRP, 2020), Creating Great Choiceswritten with Jennifer Riel (HBRP, 2017) Getting Beyond Betterwritten with Sally Osberg (HBRP, 2015) and Playing to Win written with A.G. Lafley (HBRP, 2013), which won the award for Best Book of 2012-13 by the Thinkers50. He has written 30 Harvard Business Review articles.
Roger received his BA from Harvard College, with a concentration in Economics, in 1979 and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1981. He lives in South Florida with his wife, Marie-Louise Skafte.
Contact Roger through Twitter or email. Call us to book a speaking engagement or other services.
Roger is available for keynote and other speaking engagements. Advisory services and team workshops can also be booked with Roger.
Articles
Peter Drucker in the 21st Century
November 25, 2024
Harvard Business Review
What Managers Get Wrong About Capital
May-June 2020
Washington Post
The virus shows that making our companies efficient also made our country weak
March 27, 2020
Harvard Business Review
The One Thing You Need to Know About Managing Functions
July-August 2019
Harvard Business Review
January-February 2019
Rotman Magazine
Creating Great Choices: Integrative Thinking for Leaders
Winter 2018
Harvard Business Review
Management Is Much More Than a Science
September-October 2017
Harvard Business Review
September 2015
Harvard Business Review
Two Keys to Sustainable Social Enterprise
May 2015
Harvard Business Review
The Rise (and Likely Fall) of the Talent Economy
October 2014
HBR.org
Why Smart People Struggle with Strategy
June 12, 2014
Harvard Business Review
The Big Lie of Strategic Planning
January–February 2014
The New York Times
September 28, 2012
Harvard Business Review
Bringing Science to the Art of Strategy
September 2012
Harvard Business Review
Saving the Planet: A Tale of Two Strategies
April 2012
Harvard Business Review
June 2011
Harvard Business Review
The Age of Customer Capitalism
January/February 2010
Harvard Business Review
June 2007
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition
Spring 2007
Harvard Business Review
Capital vs. Talent: The Battle That's Reshaping Business
July 2003
Medium
February 17, 2025
Medium
December 16, 2024
Medium
Addendum to Educating Extremists
December 16, 2024
Strategy + Business
A plan for saving democratic capitalism from itself
February 10, 2021
Strategy & Leadership
The problematic economic efficiency mindset that threatens corporations and democratic society
November/December 2020: Volume 48, Number 6
Thrive Global
Ensuring the Future of Democratic Capitalism
October 11, 2020
Barron’s
The Pursuit of Endless Maximization Is Ruining Business
October 9, 2020
Fast Company
What this 100-year-old restaurant can teach CEOs about balancing resilience and profit
October 7, 2020
MarketWatch
October 7, 2020
Strategy & Leadership
Models & Misadventures: The Perfectible Machine Fallacy
Vol. 48, No.5, 2020, pp. 3-8. (October 6, 2020)
Toronto Star
October 5, 2020
Thrive Global
Concern for the Future of Democratic Capitalism
October 4, 2020
Globe and Mail
What you can do to help safeguard the future of democratic capitalism
October 1, 2020
Thrive Global
September 29, 2020
Medium
Should We ‘Follow the Science/Scientists?’
September 8, 2020
Rotman Magazine
An Agenda for Business Leaders
September 2020
Medium
Covid, Hedge Funds & Lamprey Eels
August 31, 2020
The Aspen Institute Business & Society Program
The Next Move: 10 Ways to Bring Stakeholder Capitalism into Practice
August 24, 2020
Medium
For Want of a Tool the Business Roundtable may Lose the Kingdom
August 24, 2020
Medium
COVID-19 Across American: It’s the Geography, Stupid!
August 10, 2020
Medium
Lying to Pollsters: The Weapon du Jour
August 3, 2020
Barron's
Stock Buybacks Are a Problem But the Sanders-Schumer Solution Is Not the Answer
February 7, 2019
HBR.org
Should Mark Zuckerberg Resign?
January 8, 2019
Proceedings of the 26th CEEMAN Annual Conference
Management Education and the Dark Side of Efficiency
January 3, 2019
HBR.org
Activist Hedge Funds Aren't Good for Companies or Investors, So Why Do They Exist?
August 20, 2018
HBR.org
Why the U.S. Trade Deficit Can Be a Sign of a Healthy Economy
July 27, 2018
HBR.org
It's Time to Make More Jobs Good Jobs
December 4, 2017
HBR.org
In the Workplace of the NFL, the Players Hold the Upper Hand
October 31, 2017
HBR.org
June 13, 2017
HBR.org
What If Investors Who Held Their Shares Longer Got More Voting Power?
April 27, 2017
HBR.org
How the Attacks on Trump Reinforce His Strategy
January 12, 2017
HBR.org
Are Americans Enamored with the Wrong Kinds of Entrepreneurs?
November 11, 2016
HBR.org
The False Premise of the Shareholder Value Debate
September 26, 2016
Rotman Magazine
Creativity, Clusters-and Why Your Barista Has Mixed Feelings About You
Fall, 2016
Competitiveness Review
Creativity, clusters and the competitive advantage of cities
2015, Vol. 25 Iss: 5, pp.482 - 496
HBR.org
October 13, 2015
HBR.org
Yes, Short-Termism Really Is a Problem
October 9, 2015
HBR.org
What Economists Get Wrong About Measuring Productivity
September 14, 2015
HRB.org
How Talent Pulls One Over on the Capitalists
August 4, 2015
Inclusive Capitalism, Thoughts from the 2015 Conference on Inclusive Capitalism
Action to Achieve Inclusive Capitalism
June 26, 2015
Catalyst Review
A Creativity Imperative for the Future of Capitalism
Spring 2015
Rotman Magazine
In the Know: A Call for the Redesign of Our Knowledge Infrastructure
Spring 2015
HBR.org
Capitalism Needs Design Thinking
December 8, 2014
Annual Report 13
Finding Its Own Way: Ontario Needs to Take a New Tack
November 2014
The Hindu Business Line
Creating a better mix of rewards for capital, labour and talent
October 22, 2014
HBR.org
The Dark Side of Efficient Markets
October 15, 2014
Huff Post Business
The Dark Side of Efficient Markets - re-posted in Huff Post Business
October 15, 2014
Business Day
The Rise (and likely fall) of the Talent Economy - repost in Business Day
October 8, 2014
Huff Post Business
Why Monopolistic Pension Funds Undermine Capitalism - repost Huff Post Business
October 7, 2014
HBR.org
Why Monopolistic Pension Funds Undermine Capitalism
October 6, 2014
Huff Post Business
When Talent Started Driving Economic Growth - repost in Huff Post Business
October 5, 2014
Huff Post Business
We Can't Talk About Inequality Without Talking About Talent - report in Huff Post Business
October 4, 2014
Huff Post Business
A Brief History of America's Attitude Toward Taxes - repost in Huff Post Business
October 3, 2014
HBR.org
When Talent Started Driving Economic Growth
September 30, 2014
HBR.org
We Can’t Talk About Inequality Without Talking About Talent
September 23, 2014
HBR.org
A Brief History of America’s Attitude Toward Taxes
September 16, 2014
Huff Post Business
When Star Talent Grew More Powerful Than Capital - reposted in Huff Post Business
September 10, 2014
HBR.org
When Star Talent Grew More Powerful than Capital
September 9, 2014
HBR.org
The Fall of the Talent Economy?
September 4, 2014
HBR.org
In America, Labor Is Friendless
August 28, 2014
HBR.org
How to Win the Argument with Milton Friedman
June 2, 2014
Conference on Inclusive Capitalism
Self-Fulfilling Prophesies and Inclusive Capitalism
May 27, 2014
Working Paper 20
Building Better Health Care: Policy Opportunities For Ontario
April 2014
Working Paper 19
The Realities Of Ontario’s Public Sector Compensation
February 2014
The Toronto Star
For Ontario’s economy, good is not good enough
November 27, 2013
Annual Report 12
Course Correction: Charting a New Road Map for Ontario
November 2013
Working Paper18
Taxing For Growth: A Close Look At Tax Policy In Ontario
October 2013
Working Paper 17
Untapped Potential: Creating A Better Future For Service Workers
October 2013
Working Paper 16
Making Sense Of Public Dollars: Ontario Government Revenue, Spending And Debt
May 2013
Annual Report 11
A Push for Growth: The Time is Now
November 2012
Rotman Magazine
User-Driven Innovation: Putting an End to Inventing in the Dark
Fall 2012
The Globe & Mail
Nexen Deal: The Only Standard is Reciprocity
July 26, 2012
The Globe & Mail
Wanted: Stronger Canadian management talent
July 11, 2012
HBR.org
The U.S. Needs to Make More Jobs More Creative
February 27, 2012
Working Paper 15
Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation
February 2012
The Globe & Mail
Canada, like Steve Jobs, Should Zero in on Innovation
November 20, 2011
Annual Report 10
Prospects For Ontario’s Prosperity: A Look Back and a Look Ahead
November 2011
The Toronto Star
September 2, 2011
The Globe & Mail
The Realities of the HST, with Jim Milway
August 26, 2011
Reuters.com
July 27, 2011
Report on Canada 8
Canada’s Innovation Imperative
June 2011
The Toronto Star
Key to Productivity is Innovation, Not Invention
May 31, 2011
The Toronto Star
Think Your Home is a Safe Investment? Think Again
April 7, 2011
The Globe & Mail
Say Goodbye to the National Franchise Company
February 23, 2011
The Toronto Star
Reciprocity should be guiding principle in foreign takeovers
November 16, 2010
The Globe & Mail
How Canada can avoid France’s Retirement Woes
November 3, 2010
Annual Report 9
Today’s Innovation, Tomorrow’s Prosperity
November 2010
The Toronto Star
Maple Leaf Foods Fighting to Become a Global Player
October 7, 2010
Working Paper 14
Trade, Innovation, and Prosperity
September 2010
The Globe & Mail
June 11, 2010
Report on Canada 7
June 2010
Working Paper 13
April 2010
The Globe & Mail
November 26, 2009
Walrus Magazine
Who Killed Canada's Education Advantage
November 2009
Annual Report 8
Navigating Through The Recovery
November 2009
HBR.org
Economic Forecasting: What's the Value of Outliers?
October 26, 2009
The Toronto Star
What Happened to Canada's Education Advantage
October 20, 2009
HBR.org
The 2009 Nobel Prize for Economics: Reading the Tea Leaves
October 13, 2009
The Globe & Mail
Time for Ottawa to Learn Business Hardball
August 3, 2009
Report on Canada 6
April 2009
Interviews
The Decision Lab
Creating Great Choices with Roger Martin
July 19, 2021
Life Science Leader
Do You (As A Leader) Create Great Choices?
July 31, 2019
Stitcher
Demystifying Organizations: Balancing Stakeholder Interests
June 21, 2019
ANR Newsletter
With Roger Martin – World’s #1 Management Thinker
December 21, 2018
HBR Ideacast
July 31, 2018
The Reading Lists
Roger Martin: Reading to Unlock Mysteries
May 31, 2018
Talks at Google
Roger L. Martin: "Creating Great Choices: A Leader's Guide to Integrative Thinking"
December 18, 2017
Actionable Books
The 21st Century Workplace Podcast
December 20, 2017
The Learning Leader
Episode 190: Roger Martin - Playing to Win: Strategy Is A Choice
February 12, 2017
HBR
January-February 2017 Issue
BizEd
February 23, 2016
Monocle.com
December 30, 2015
Tonyloyd.com
Changing the World One Model at a Time
November 30, 2015
Inside HR
Design Thinking 101 for HR: How to help your CEO drive strategy
November 24, 2015
Changeboard.com
Roger Martin: Strategy is choice
November 9, 2015
U of T News
Social Entrepreneurship Explained
November 2, 2015
Invetech
Taking Innovation Outcomes to the Next Level — An Interview With Roger Martin
October 29, 2015
CBC Metro Morning
October 12, 2015
Outlook Business
September 2, 2015
BFM 89.9 The Business Station
Raise your Game: Playing to Win
August 27, 2015
Innovation Hub
What Threatens the Talent Economy
December 12, 2014
Val 202
December 9, 2014
CBC - Metro Morning
November 25, 2014
Huff Post Business
Want To Make A Difference? Don't Be A Hedge Fund Manager
November 24, 2014
The Economist
April 9, 2013
Mind Tools
National Magazine
Rotman Magazine
Thought Leader Interview: Roger Martin
Fall 2013
DMI: Review
Summer 2013
delawareonline
What I am Reading this Summer and Why You Should, Too
June 20, 2013
Odgers Berndtson
May 30, 2013
Rotman Magazine
Coaching High Performance: Lessons from Veterans in Two Arenas
Spring 2013
Forbes India
Strategy Needs a Mix of Data and Logic: Roger Martin
April, 16, 2013
Business World
Analytical Thinking Is Stifling Innovation
March 25, 2013
Inc.com
4 Key Things Great Strategic Thinkers Do
March 11, 2013
Business Insider
PROFESSOR: 'JC Penney Serves No Compelling Customer Purpose'
March 11, 2013
Business Standard
Every new idea cannot be proven in advance: Roger L Martin
February 24, 2013
Live Mint
Roger Martin | The Master Strategist
February 17, 2013
The Sunday Times
Win the strategy game in five steps
February 10, 2013
Business Insider
P&G's Legendary Ex-CEO Explains Why Everyone Gets Strategy Wrong
February 5, 2013
Forbes
Playing To Win: How Strategy Really Works
February 4, 2013
Inc.com
Rule for Success: Choose Your Playing Field
February 2013
Forbes
Is Everyone Nuts? P&G Now A Dog? And Unilever A Star?
January 11, 2013
Havard Business Review
What the NHL Lockout Reveals About Capital and Labor
January 11, 2013
DNA India
'Capitalism is not as Smartly Managed as Cricket'
October 8, 2012
Innovation Excellence
Balancing Intuition with Analysis
June 15, 2012
Forbes
Fighting The Kool-Aid Of Stock-Based Compensation: Q&A With Roger Martin
January 3, 2012
The Business Times
July 26, 2011
The Straights Times
Design Thinking Gives Firms an Edge
July 20, 2011
Forbes.com
Redesigned Thinking for Diverse Brains!
February 10, 2011
Ideaconnection.com
February 6, 2011
Be You Blog
January 15, 2011
Bobmorris.biz
September 16, 2010
Steelcase Threesixty Magazine
On Innovation and Why Companies Struggle with It
June 2010
DNA Money (Mumbai, India)
Why Companies Get Trapped Into Doing What They Are Good At,
February 8, 2010
Open Forum Blog
The Design of Business, an Interview with Roger Martin
November 4, 2009
Gelatobaby Interview
2009 AIGA Make/Think Conference
October 9, 2009
AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship
March 3, 2009
DNA (Bangalore Edition)
Great Leaders are Integrative Thinkers
January 29, 2009
Financial Times
March 25, 2008
Jul 21, 2025
Strategy, Artificial Intelligence & Entry Level Hires
Jul 14, 2025
Going on the Offensive with Creative Strategy
Jul 7, 2025
