On Principle

How does a young leader, fresh off earning her MBA, approach the need for institutional change in an organization she didn’t start—while the founder is offstage, in the wings, in retirement?

You're invited to our first live event featuring On Principle. The event is September 1, 2022, and the title is "Now what? A panel discussion on unexpected business challenges."

A lot of people think of strategy as a chess game, but it really isn't. It's a moving, alive environment that doesn't stay stable. More insights on how to think about strategy from Trish Gorman, Olin professor of practice in strategy.

What happens when inspiration strikes in the most unsettling of ways? WashU Olin’s Tim Solberg tells how a medical emergency led to a global student project. What could happen next?

“Sometimes it's a matter of never giving up.” But is it? What is the gray area? How long should you try to survive there? This is a story about perseverance. But what does the research say about how long an entrepreneur should persevere? What drives them to “stick with it”—and do they, occasionally, stick with it too long?

What does it take to overcome extraordinary cultural dysfunction within an organization? How do you manage that process when the results spill into the wider community? In what ways are these issues magnified for a community institution with a 120-year history?

How do you balance the pull of tradition, the weight of history and the need to look forward and innovate? How do you dream big in the midst of a crisis?

As Ivan Garcia said, “The market doesn't reward the lack of risk-taking.” But when is risk acceptable? How do you gauge that? Is the line between being bold and being stupid only a question of whether the risk pays off?

How does inspiration take root? And what do you do with it?

In a volatile discipline such as corporate diversity, equity and inclusion—laden with history, emotion and tangible consequences—what’s the contrast between developing a strategy and responding to a crisis? How are they related? How are they different? And how do you prepare to navigate those challenges?