Professor Colin Eden focuses on Nobel Laureate research at Swiss event

Professor Colin Eden attended an event organised by the Strathclyde MBA Alumni Association Switzerland, on January 9 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Zurich Airport.

As guest speaker, Professor Eden reflected on his exploration of the success of Nobel Laureates, as part of research conducted by Dr Viktor Dorfler (Management Science) and himself over the past couple of years.

The research is based on extended interviews with 19 Nobel Laureates alongside their biographies and other published material. The original purpose of the research was to explore the cognitive complexity of Nobel Laureates within the context of Karl Weick's plea to managers to 'complexify' themselves. However, three particularly interesting themes have emerged from this work that seem to parallel other research they have conducted that sought to explore the nature of 'good' strategic managers. This talk discussed these parallels and suggested that we might learn how to be better strategic managers from Nobel Laureates.

Following the presentation an open forum sparked some lively debate. So much so, an extra 30 minutes was granted for discussion, followed by a fruitful networking session enjoyed by over 30 MBA graduates and students.

David Alexander, President of the Strathclyde MBA Alumni Association Switzerland said, "Colin never fails to disappoint at the Swiss MBA and his keen mind and appetite for engaging discussion was well received. It was a delightful event."