Martin named world's most influential management thinker

Roger Martin, the former dean of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and director of the Martin Prosperity Institute, has been named the world’s most influential management thinker by Thinkers50, a consulting firm based in London, England that publishes a ranking every two years.

Thinkers50 calls Martin’s influence “immense,” citing his championing of integrative thinking, an idea that is outlined in Martin’s latest book, Creating Great Choices: A Leader's Guide to Integrative Thinking.

Read the Thinkers50 list

Forbes magazine, in an article about the ranking, said Martin argues that “when we face a difficult decision and unacceptable options, we don’t have to simply choose among the obviously available options and trade-offs.” Instead, the book says, “we can use the models in front of us to create a new and superior answer.”

Read the Forbes article

Martin wrote Creating Great Choices with Jennifer Riel, an adjunct professor at Rotman.

Thinkers50 also cites Martin’s “re-evaluation of the functioning of capitalism, observing that widening economic inequality is unsustainable in the long-term” and his “enlightened views on the role of the ‘socially effective executive.'"

Rotman and U of T figure prominently on the Thinkers50 list.  No. 2 on the list is Don Tapscott, an adjunct professor at Rotman who Thinkers50 calls a "technology guru”. His latest book, Blockchain Revolution, which he wrote with his son Alex, looks at the impact of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Richard Florida, cities director of the Martin Prosperity Institute and Rotman professor, placed 19th on the top 50. Two fellows of the Martin Prosperity Institute also made the list – Adam Grant, a professor at Wharton School, who placed No. 8, and author Nilofer Merchant at No. 22.

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