Issue 1 ~
Essential Leadership in Difficult Times

Welcome to the first electronic issue of executive@berkeley, our newsletter providing practical academic content from across UC Berkeley to the business community.

I hope you will enjoy this inaugural issue on leadership and corporate governance, two areas that are increasingly important as well as scrutinized in these economic times.

--Whitney Hischier, Assistant Dean, Haas School of Business

Leading by Leveraging Culture

In trying economic periods, leaders need explore all possible conduits for creating value. Professor Jennifer Chatman finds that managing the culture of an organization can greatly contribute to business success.

In an article in California Management Review, Chatman discusses the business advantages gained by leveraging organizational culture and provides tools for doing so.

Professor Chatman will be teaching in the upcoming Berkeley Executive Leadership Program: Leading in Volatile Times (October 12-16, 2009).

Read "Leading by Leveraging Culture" (pdf format).

Leading Through Negotiation:
Harnessing the Power of Gender Stereotypes

When times are tough, any factors affecting business or performance become amplified and potentially hazardous. Power, negotiating, and notions of gender are all commonly ignored areas which can reap profit when properly leveraged.

In her article "Leading Through Negotiation: Harnessing the Power of Gender Stereotypes", Professor Laura Kray discusses gender and power differences in negotiating and how the differences can be managed and even levelled.

Professor Kray will be teaching in the upcoming Women's Executive Leadership Retreat (March 2-4, 2009).

Read "Leading Through Negotiation" (pdf format).

Bolstering Profits with Corporate Responsibility

"Corporate social responsibility (CSR) should be a part of every business's corporate strategy...it can ultimately impact upon a company's bottom line," writes Professor Kellie McElhaney in her new book, Just Good Business.

Integrating CSR with brand and strategy can help a company "stand out above the noise" in this crucial time, McElhaney explains.

McElhaney teaches in the upcoming Corporate Responsibility Leadership Workshop (May 14-15).

Special Invitation: Online Workshop

A web preview of the newly-launched online version of our CSR program will be held Wednesday March 4, 10:30-11:00am PST. Contact Bart Decker at 510-642-9167 or bsd@haas.berkeley.edu for more information.

CEO Profile: Henrik Madsen, DNV

Dr. Henrik Madsen is President and CEO of Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a Norwegian risk management firm focusing on large-scale technical projects around the world.

Madsen joined DNV in 1982 as a scientist after leaving academia. He now brings DNV back to academia with the UC Berkeley Center for Executive Education's Top Tech custom program.

The program was developed and customized as a global-scale training program for DNV executives, focusing on both leadership and technical skills.