Interviews by Matt Golosinski, Amy Trang & Deborah Cohen
Photography by Jeff Sciortino & Tom Maday
Illustrations by Michael Morgenstern

These are among the challenges facing managers today. And those challenges are only going to accelerate in the years ahead, Kellogg faculty say.

But they also say that preparing graduates to thrive in this context is what Kellogg does best. Developing leaders who build strong organizations, convene critical conversations and drive change is at the heart of the school’s mission — and fundamental to the needs of the 21st century.

“The world is becoming even more complex, and the economic and social challenges we’re called upon to address are more pressing and multi-faceted than ever before,” Dean Sally Blount ’92 says. “Challenges to innovate, create jobs, and deal with growing social inequity will not only have deep implications for the organizations of tomorrow, but also for the managers called upon to build and steer these organizations in an age of uncertainty. This context — this expectation for the unexpected in an ever-changing global marketplace — frames the way we think about educating tomorrow’s leaders.” Blount and her colleagues on the Kellogg faculty are looking ahead to prepare for changes in the business landscape. Equally important, the school is dedicated to determining how management education can make a broader difference in society.

At the heart of this approach is an understanding of how to balance markets and management, melding the best analytical frameworks with the collaborative skills that Kellogg pioneered. In fact, harnessing the power of teams in a fast-paced, global environment is one strategic goal that organizations have to get right if they want to remain competitive, Kellogg experts say.

On the following pages, Kellogg professors from across disciplines share some of their ideas for management education in the coming decades.