tepper - Carnegie Mellon University

TEPPER School of Business
from the dean’s office
2
There’s no arguing that competition in the business
world is global. Even the smallest of companies faces
competition that encompasses worldwide markets.
Although competing on an international scale is daunting,
those companies that truly understand what comprises
risk (and, more important, what does not) are often those
best positioned to capitalize on opportunities for innovation.
Preparing future business leaders for innovation is inherent in
the Tepper School’s mission. It is our approach to innovation that has
drawn attention for several decades. Our students, faculty and alumni
consistently demonstrate the power and potential of analytical
decision making. A discipline that was once perhaps misunderstood,
management science is now in the spotlight, tailor-made for the
complex business environments in which we all operate. As Lee Bach,
the school’s founding dean, put it: we’re not compelled to simply keep
pace with business practice, but rather, our interests lie squarely in
advancing it.
In this issue of Tepper Magazine, we bridge what is observed and
unobservable about innovation by examining why some companies
find innovation to be an elusive endeavor. Like a sixth sense, one’s
radar for opportunity consists of a special awareness of multiple
dynamics. Yet this rare awareness is valuable only to the extent
that organizations fully understand how to capitalize upon their
competitive advantage.
How often we read of missed opportunity and big breaks that never
materialized. At the Tepper School, we know that luck and timing
have little to do with the process of innovation. Although the stakes
will continue to change, the decision-making skills that drive
innovation will remain incontrovertible, fundamental elements of how
organizations ultimately discover a transformation in the making.
Ilker Baybars
Deputy Dean
Professor of Operations Management and Manufacturing