HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...

Edward J. Conlon, Ph.D.
Edward Frederick Sorin Society Chair and Professor, Management
Biography
Edward Conlon has served on the faculty of the Mendoza College of Business since 1992 when
he came to the University of Notre Dame to serve as a professor and chair of the management
department. Currently he is the associate dean for graduate programs in the Mendoza College
of Business, and the Edward Frederick Sorin Society Professor of Management. Conlon
holds a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon
University. He also has served on the business faculties of Georgia Tech and the University of
Iowa. Conlon teaches in the areas of leading change and innovation, and business consulting.
His research spans topics related to organizational change and management-decision making
and problem solving.
Lecture
Getting it Right: Notre Dame on Leadership and Judgment in Business
22 The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2013 Program
Categories
Business, Ethics
Building on the title and major themes in his recent book, Getting it Right, with Professor Viva Bartkus, Conlon argues that great
leadership in business rests on clarity of thought, tenacity in action, and uncompromising values. Yet problem solving has been
an underrated leadership skill, while the critical role of values in problem solving has been underemphasized. To be a successful
leader, one needs to make values-based problem solving a habit of both thought and action. The central message of this book
is that leaders can take on the most daunting challenges in a calm and confident way if they approach problems systematically.
Conlon proposes a three-part problem solving process: diagnosis and value assessment, moving from analysis to action, and then
driving the solution through the organization.