Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School where she specializes in strategy innovation and leadership for change. She wrote the bestseller Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End; co-founded a consulting firm; and, more recently, founded and leads a Harvard innovation, the Advanced Leadership Initiative, which is an educational transition pathway for experienced leaders contemplating new lives of public service.

I met Professor Kanter in the early ’80s when she facilitated the blending of two publishing giants: Simon and Schuster’s trade publishing division and Prentice Hall’s text-publishing division. Not only were these two thriving companies living on opposite sides of the Hudson River, they had diverse corporate cultures. S&S was loose and fancy-free, shooting from the hip; Prentice Hall, staid and corporate, slow to move and quieter in style. Ms. Kanter eased the transition through impressive initiatives such as senior management meet-ups and retreats with introductions to the families of key employees. Where do you ever see that kind of courtesy and care in management? If only Chrysler and Daimler could have had Professor Kanter’s counsel!

Who better to advise us on how to survive the recession? When I asked her if there was a message for our wOw audience, she wrote:

Having the courage to think big ideas is even more important for women because then we can never be overlooked, even in tough times, and we’re more likely to be included at the table …  Being identified with a big idea is an asset; there’s a reason to invite us to the best gatherings and for others to listen to us. That builds networks and momentum.

She recently wrote an essay for Harvard Business Publishing called "Four Actions to Survive the Recession and Emerge Triumpahnt."

Her four main points:  

1. Move while others are distracted.
2. Announce and own a grand concept.
3. Get rid of things that have outlived their usefulness.
4. Concentrate on helping your users, clients or customers succeed.

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