HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Projects and Initiatives (with bonus article "The Rise of the Chief Project Officer" by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez)

Michael D. Watkins is a professor of leadership and organizational change at the IMD Business School and a cofounder of Genesis Advisers. In 2023, he was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in recognition of his decades of contributions to management and leadership. Originally from Canada, Michael received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo, did graduate work in law and business at the University of Western Ontario, and completed his Ph.D. in decision sciences at Harvard University. He subsequently was a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School and an affiliate faculty member at the Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.

Michael is the author of sixteen books, including Right From the Start (with Dan Ciampa), The First 90 Days, Shaping the Game, and Master Your Next Move. The First 90 Days has been called “the onboarding bible” by the Economist and is an Amazon “100 Leadership and Success Books to Read in a Lifetime.” An international bestseller, it has also been translated into 20 languages. He is also the author or co-author of dozens of articles on leadership in the Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review. In addition to his research and writing, Michael coaches C-level executives taking new roles, supports leadership team development at senior levels, and consults extensively on organizational transformation.  

Dr. Jeff Sutherland, a former full-spectrum family physician and hospital administrator, is an author and ALS advocate. A husband and the father of three sons, he lives in Terra Cotta, Ontario.

RITA GUNTHER McGRATH is a globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and growth with an emphasis on corporate entrepreneurship. A longtime member of the Columbia Business School faculty, she is recognized consistently as one of the top 10 management thinkers by Thinkers50 and is a highly sought-after speaker at corporate events such as the Yale CEO Summit, the Innosight CEO Summit, and at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. McGrath has also been inducted into the Strategic Management Society Fellows in recognition of her impact on the field.

McGrath is often cited in the press, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, theWashington Post, the Financial Times, and NPR’s Marketplace. She has been rated one of the 25 smartest women to follow on Twitter by Fast Company and consistently appears in the rankings of the top business school professors to follow on Twitter. McGrath writes regularly for Fortune, is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and blogs regularly at HBR.org.

McGrath’s best-selling book The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business was recognized by Strategy + Business as the #1 business book of 2013.  She is also a coauthor of MarketBusters: 40 Strategic Moves That Drive Exceptional Business Growth (2005) and The Entrepreneurial Mindset (2000).

McGrath joined the faculty of Columbia Business School in 1993. She received her PhD from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and has degrees with honors from Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. She is married and is proud to be the mother of two delightful grown-ups.