10 Questions: Flying Cars, Zombies, and the Great Russian Novel: What Can They Teach Us About Becoming Better Leaders?

Leadership of global organizations involves an understanding of complex phenomena. Sometimes metaphors and cultural references are key to finding parallels, deriving insights, and communicating complicated ideas to a wide audience. Metaphors can be powerful in moving entire organizations to take action with a common vision.

Learn more about how Fletcher faculty tackle complex leadership challenges by making unexpected connections:

• MIB Dean Bhaskar Chakravorti discusses which is a better indicator for innovation: flying cars or … toilets
• Professor Dan Drezner posits why Zombies in pop culture are a metaphor for the political and social challenges of today
• Dean Stavridis talks about what Russian literature tells us about Putin’s world
• Listen to these faculty discuss these big ideas and surprising metaphors: Professor Drezner on zombies, Professor Mankad on Bollywood and social change, and Dean Chakravorti on flying toilets.

As part of our “10 Questions” Series, we delve into hard questions of international business not easily answered by a single book, class, discipline, or school of thought. They herald a future where the world and the world of business are ever more interconnected, where decisions can’t be made in a bubble, where real expertise demands deep ‘contextual intelligence.’ This series reflects that contextual intelligence we cultivate in our students in the MIB program.