Joanna Seraphim is a professor of practice at IÉSEG School of Management in Paris, France. She holds a PhD degree in Anthropology from École des Hautes Études de Sciences Sociales, Paris. After training at Stanford University in AI, Design Thinking, and Innovation.
Joanna Seraphim is a professor of practice at IÉSEG School of Management in Paris, France. She holds a PhD degree in Anthropology from École des Hautes Études de Sciences Sociales, Paris. After training at Stanford University in AI, Design Thinking, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Joanna started teaching these disciplines to students, entrepreneurs, and professionals.
She authored one article with Dr. Sayyadi on Nissan and Intel. In this article they show that Under Ghosn’s management, Nissan became one of the world’s largest manufacturers in the automotive industry. Under Moore’s strategic leader- ship, Intel also became one of the largest manufacturers of computer chips in the world. Now, Nissan and Intel are also the most admired companies in North America and the most profitable companies on the “Fortune 500” list. The first purpose of this study is to decode Carlos Ghosn’s mysterious method for implementing organizational knowledge. Second, we aim to show why and how Gordon Moore coined the phrase strategic turning point. Moore argued that all rules would change at the strategic turning point. This study presents key insights for management scholars and practitioners to understand why Ghosn and Moore owed most of their victories at Nissan and Intel to their magic management practices and strategies. In this way, we have identified the DNA of Ghosn’s knowledge management method and Moore’s strategic turning point which contain an important story for CEOs and management scholars worldwide. These findings come from our case study on Intel and also our consulting-based reflections in Nissan in Australia and the US.
In the first section of this article, we deeply analyze Carlos Ghosn’s knowledge management method. Carlos Ghosn, born on March 9, 1954, is a businessman and former automotive executive, widely known for having dramatically fled house arrest in 2019 in Japan while awaiting trial on financial impropriety charges related to his tenure at Nissan when he was released from prison. However, with this financial scandal that followed Carlos’s tenure at Nissan Motor Company,
each company he has worked for, such as Michelin South America, Michelin North America, Renault, and Nissan, has been a great lesson in management and leadership. For example, Nissan Motor Corporation, under the knowledge management method of Carlos Ghosn, became one of the most successful automotive manufacturers in the world. This company is now one of the most admired Japanese companies in America and one of the most profitable companies on the “Fortune 500” list. In this study, we identify the key components of Carlos Ghosn’s method for implementing knowledge management which can contain key points for knowledge management consultants and practitioners across the globe. Decoding this unique method, which is also easy to understand and implement for knowledge management consultants and practitioners, comes from our direct observations and knowledge management consulting work with Nissan headquarters in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Los Angeles.
In the second section of the article, we recount the experience of Gordon Moore’s victories and failures to show how this industry leader managed threats and even turned them into great opportunities at Intel. Gordon Moore considered the strategic turning point and added tremendous value to the concept of strategic leadership. He believed that the first responsibility of a manager is to protect his economic enterprise against the threat of competitors. Moore presents his view of the strategic turning point for any company that is considering transformation of some kind. The transformation can be a success or failure depending on the strategic turning points in the process. In his opinion, the strategic turning point may be caused by competition, or it could be created by leaders of the organization to instill motivation, teamwork, and even better strategic management. Toshiba, as one of the Japanese giants of computer memory makers, placed Intel Corporation at a strategic turning point. Intel was forced to stop making memory chips and move to make microprocessors. This technology narrowed the field for traditional mainframe manufacturers. Moore argued that Intel is wallowing in an industry transformation in technology. The rapidly increased impact of laws and regulations placed Intel Corporation in a star position as opposed to the cash cow framework before the strategic inflection point.
