Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan

Charan worked in his family's shoe shop in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India while growing up. He earned a degree in engineering from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University and later studied at Harvard Business School, where he was awarded an MBA (1965) and a doctorate(1967).Before becoming a full-time consultant in 1978, he taught at the Harvard Business School, the Kellogg School of Management, and Boston University.

Larry Bossidy is chairman and former CEO of Honeywell International, a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader. Earlier in his career he was chairman and CEO of AlliedSignal, chief operating officer of General Electric Credit (now GE Capital Corporation), executive vice president and president of GE's Services and Materials Sector, and vice chairman of GE. Ram Charan is a highly sought advisor to CEOs and senior executives in companies ranging from start-ups to the Fortune 500, including GE, DuPont, EDS, and Colgate-Palmolive. He is the author of What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards That Work and the coauthor of Every Business Is a Growth Business. Dr. Charan has taught at both the Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Northwestern University. Charles Burck is a writer and editor who collaborated with Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. Earlier in his.....