Robert S. Kaplan is the Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for External Relations. He is also co-chairman of Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a global venture philanthropy firm, as well as chairman and a founding partner of Indaba Capital Management LLC. He is the author of several case studies, articles and two recently published books: What You're Really Meant To Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential, (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013) and What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011)
Prior to joining Harvard Business School in September 2005, Rob served as vice chairman of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. with oversight responsibility for the Investment Banking and Investment Management Divisions. He was also a member of the firm’s Management Committee and served as co-chairman of the firm’s Partnership Committee and chairman of the Goldman Sachs Pine Street Leadership Program. During his career at the firm, he also served in various other capacities including Global Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division (1999 to 2002), Head of the Corporate Finance Department (1994 to 1999) and Head of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking (1990 to 1994). Rob became a partner in 1990.
He is co-chairman of the Board of Project A.L.S., co-chairman of the Board of the TEAK Fellowship, co-chair of the Executive Committee for Harvard University Office of Sustainability, and is a member of the Boards of the Harvard Medical School, Harvard Management Company (previously serving as Acting President and Chief Executive Officer) and the Ford Foundation. Previously, Rob was appointed by the Governor of Kansas as a member of the Kansas Healthcare Policy Authority Board (2006-2010) and also served as a member of the Investors Advisory Committee on Financial Markets of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Rob is a member of the Board of the State Street Corporation. He is chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee of Google, Inc. Previously he was a member of the Board of Bed, Bath & Beyond, Inc. (1994-2009). He also serves in an advisory capacity for a number of companies.
Rob received an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1983 and a B.S. from the University of Kansas in 1979.
Prior to attending business school, Rob was a certified public accountant at Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co in Kansas City.
Featured Work
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What You're Really Meant To Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential
Professor Kaplan's book is published by the Harvard Business Review Press, May 2013.
Drawing on his years of experience, Rob Kaplan proposes an integrated plan for identifying and achieving your goals. He outlines specific steps and exercises to help you understand yourself more deeply, take control of your career, and build your capabilities in a way that fits your passions and aspirations. The book discusses the critical issues you need to address in order to reimagine your future and achieve your dreams.
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What To Ask The Person In The Mirror: Critical Questions For Becoming A More Effective Leader And Reaching Your Potential
Rob Kaplans new book, What To Ask The Person In The Mirror was published in August 2011.
 Great leadership is not about having all the answers – it is, more often, about having the courage to ask the critical questions.
What to Ask the Person in the Mirror is packed with first-hand stories and critical advice that will help you improve your management skills, stay on top of your game, and become a more confident and effective leader.
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A Wall Street Insider Shares His 5 Secrets of Success
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Rob Kaplan on JP Morgan Trading Loss
Bloomberg Television, May 16, 2012
Robert Kaplan talks about JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s $2 billion trading loss and the ability of Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon to manage the firm. Kaplan speaks with Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack."
Publications
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Book
| 2013
What You're Really Meant To Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential
Robert Steven Kaplan
How do you create your own definition of success—and reach your unique potential? Building a fulfilling life and career can be a daunting challenge. It takes courage and hard work. Too often, we charge down a path leading to "success" as defined by those around us—and ultimately, are left feeling dissatisfied. Each of us is unique and brings distinctive skills and qualities to any situation. So why is it that most of us fail to spend sufficient time learning to understand ourselves and creating our own definition of success? The truth is, it can seem so natural and so much easier to just do what everyone else is doing—for now—leaving it for later to develop our best selves and figure out our own unique path. Is there a road map that will enable you to defy conventional wisdom, resist peer pressure, and carve out a path that fits your unique skills and passions? Harvard Business School's Robert Steven Kaplan, leadership expert and author of the highly successful book What to Ask the Person in the Mirror, regularly advises executives and students on how to tackle these questions. In this indispensable new book, Kaplan shares a specific and actionable approach to defining your own success and reaching your potential. Drawing on his years of experience, Kaplan proposes an integrated plan for identifying and achieving your goals. He outlines specific steps and exercises to help you understand yourself more deeply, take control of your career, and build your capabilities in a way that fits your passions and aspirations. Are you doing what you're really meant to do? If you're ready to face this question, this book can help you change your life.
Keywords: career planning;
vocational guidance;
Job satisfaction;
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Book
| 2011
What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential
Robert Steven Kaplan
Successful leaders know that leadership is less often about having all the answers-and more often about asking the right questions. The challenge lies in being able to step back, reflect, and ask the key questions that are critical to your performance and your organization's effectiveness. In 'What to Ask the Person in the Mirror,' HBS professor and business leader Robert Kaplan presents a process for asking the big questions that will enable you to diagnose problems, change course if necessary, and advance your career. He lays out areas of inquiry, including questions such as (1) Do I clearly articulate my vision and top priorities?; (2) Does the way I spend my time enable me to achieve my top priorities?; (3) Do I give subordinates timely and direct feedback they can act on? Have I developed a succession roadmap?; and (4) Is my leadership style still effective, and does it reflect who I truly am? This highly readable and practical guide helps you learn to ask the right questions-and work through the answers in ways that are right for you. By asking these questions, you can craft new strategies for staying on top of your game.
Keywords: leadership;
leadership development;
organizational development;
reaching your potential;
career planning;
management styles;
Interpersonal Communication;
Leadership;
Performance Effectiveness;
Personal Development and Career;
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Article
| McKinsey Quarterly
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Top Executives Need Feedback: Here's How They Can Get It
Robert Steven Kaplan
As executives become more senior, they are less likely to receive constructive feedback on their performance or their strategy. To get it, they should call on their junior colleagues. The problem: subordinates don't want to offend the boss. Therefore, as executives become more senior, they tend to get less feedback. Why it matters: over time, senior leaders can become confused about their development needs and isolated from criticism they should hear about themselves and their strategies. What to do about it: cultivate a network of junior coaches who are willing to tell you the things you don't want to hear. And seek input on key strategic decisions by empowering junior colleagues to look at your business with a "clean sheet of paper."
Keywords: Performance;
Strategy;
Networks;
Decisions;
Management Teams;
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Article
| Harvard Business Review
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Reaching Your Potential
Robert Steven Kaplan
Citation: Kaplan, Robert Steven. " Reaching Your Potential." HBS Centennial Issue. Harvard Business Review 86, nos. 7/8 (July–August 2008): 45–49.
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Journal Article
| Harvard Business Review
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What to Ask the Person in the Mirror
Robert Steven Kaplan
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2012
Terry Lundgren at Macy's
Jose Alvarez, Robert Steven Kaplan and Natalie Kindred
Keywords: Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Citation: Alvarez, Jose, Robert Steven Kaplan, and Natalie Kindred. " Terry Lundgren at Macy's." Harvard Business School Case 412-033, February 2012.
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2011
Freddie Mac: Managing in Conservatorship (TN)
Robert Steven Kaplan
Teaching Note for 411048.
Keywords: Business and Government Relations;
Leadership;
Operations;
Housing;
Price;
Ownership Stake;
Framework;
Mortgages;
Organizational Culture;
Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;
Financial Services Industry;
United States;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Bob Beall at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (TN)
Robert Steven Kaplan
Teaching Note for 409107.
Keywords: Health Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2011
Paul Bremer at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq (TN)
Robert Steven Kaplan
Teaching Note for 411010.
Keywords: Government and Politics;
Power and Influence;
Civil Society or Community;
War;
Decisions;
Iraq;
District of Columbia;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Bob Beall at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Robert Steven Kaplan and Sophie Hood
Bob Beall is the Chief Executive Officer of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). CFF is an extremely successful organization, but Beall has to determine how to manage the organization through the financial crisis of 2008-2009. In this situation, donations are likely to decline, investment surplus has declined and biotech partners are challenged to finance joint projects as well as their own operations. Beall is striving to find a cure for cystic fibrosis while also determining what priorities he must emphasize and what trade-off decisions he must make in managing through the current period. He is preparing for a meeting with his board of trustees where he plans to discuss the current situation and the key decisions the organization needs to make.
Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions;
Financial Crisis;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Governing and Advisory Boards;
Leadership;
Crisis Management;
Nonprofit Organizations;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2010
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Paul Bremer at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq
Robert Steven Kaplan and Nicholas Henri Taranto
Since becoming the President's envoy responsible for post-war Iraq, Paul Bremer endured many sleepless nights, struggling with the decision of how to hand over sovereignty to the Iraqi people. Despite daily assassination attempts, tribal warfare, growing violence, and political pressure—at home in Washington, D.C. and abroad—the CPA undertook the difficult task of handing over power to an Iraqi civil society that was simultaneously being rebuilt from the ground up.
Keywords: Government Administration;
International Relations;
National Security;
Leadership;
Crisis Management;
Iraq;
District of Columbia;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2010
Freddie Mac: Managing in Conservatorship
Robert Steven Kaplan, Nitin Nohria and Ben Creo
Ed Haldeman has recently become CEO of Freddie Mac, one of three major government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) charged with supporting U.S. residential mortgage finance. The company was placed into conservatorship by the U.S. treasury on September 7, 2008. Conservatorship places various restrictions on Haldeman and the organization in terms of management. Haldeman's challenge is to lead Freddie Mac, build its culture, upgrade its operations, and generally prepare the organization for re-emerging from conservatorship. In the background, housing prices continue to deteriorate, and the company continues to lose money. In addition, political views continue to shift regarding the future regulatory and equity ownership frameworks for Freddie Mac as it emerges from this difficult period.
Keywords: Change Management;
Financial Crisis;
Mortgages;
Leadership;
Organizational Culture;
Business and Government Relations;
Financial Services Industry;
United States;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2009
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis (TN)
Robert Steven Kaplan, Christopher Marquis and Ben Creo
Teaching Note for [408003].
Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations;
Research;
Health Care and Treatment;
Medical Specialties;
Financing and Loans;
Leadership;
Strategy;
Problems and Challenges;
Health Testing and Trials;
Miami;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2009
(Revised from original 2008 version)
Leslie Brinkman at Versutia Capital (TN)
Julie Battilana and Robert Steven Kaplan
Teaching Note for [407089].
Keywords: Management;
Investment;
Financial Services Industry;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2008
(Revised from original 2008 version)
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis
Robert Steven Kaplan, Christopher Marquis and Brent Kazan
Marc Buoniconti is the co-founder of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a nonprofit medical research organization. The project was founded in 1985 by Marc and his father Nick, a former Hall of Fame football player, when Marc suffered a spinal cord injury. In 2007, Marc was still confined to a wheelchair, but the Miami project had developed into the world's largest spinal cord injury research and treatment center. It had 250 employees, operated from a $37 million state of the art facility located on the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine campus, and had raised in excess of $275 million since its inception. However, there was still no cure for spinal cord injury, and many of the project's supporters were becoming anxious for a substantial clinical breakthrough. Fundraising was always a concern, particularly as government spending on research was declining. Marc and his father were keenly aware of the challenge of maintaining the enthusiasm and financial backing of the Miami Project's supporters. Yet they needed to avoid over-promising regarding the likelihood of potential breakthroughs, which required painstaking research and stringent clinical trials. The leadership also questioned whether the mission should remain focused on spinal cord injury, or whether it should broaden to include brain trauma and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Case provides an opportunity to discuss the challenges of non-profit management, medical research and to debate appropriate strategy for the Miami Project in 2007.
Keywords: Investment;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Health Testing and Trials;
Leadership;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Mission and Purpose;
Research and Development;
Nonprofit Organizations;
Health Industry;
Miami;
Citation: Kaplan, Robert Steven, Christopher Marquis, and Brent Kazan. " The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis." Harvard Business School Case 408-003, July 2008. (Revised from original June 2008 version.)
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2007
(Revised from original 2007 version)
Leslie Brinkman at Versutia Capital
Julie Battilana and Robert Steven Kaplan
Leslie Brinkman is the founder and CEO of a hedge fund, Genuity Capital. Leslie spent late 2002 and early 2003 assembling her team and launched the fund in early 2003. While the firm performed well during 2003 and 2004 (both in terms of returns and new assets), in 2005 the results began to suffer. Describes the process of designing the firm, the resulting team dynamics, the strains on the staff and the impact of Leslie's management style on the performance of her team. In the spring of 2005, Leslie must decide whether to re-design the firm and/or change her management style in order to address the performance issues that Genuity is facing.
Keywords: Management Style;
Organizational Design;
Performance Improvement;
Groups and Teams;
Citation: Battilana, Julie, and Robert Steven Kaplan. " Leslie Brinkman at Versutia Capital." Harvard Business School Case 407-089, July 2007. (Revised from original June 2007 version.)
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2007
Robert E. Rubin (TN) (A) and (B)
Robert Steven Kaplan and Nitin Nohria
Keywords: Government and Politics;
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Supplement
| HBS Case Collection
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2007
Robert E. Rubin (B)
Nitin Nohria, Robert Steven Kaplan and Nicole Davison
Citation: Nohria, Nitin, Robert Steven Kaplan, and Nicole Davison. " Robert E. Rubin (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 407-068, March 2007.
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2007
Robert E. Rubin (A)
Nitin Nohria, Robert Steven Kaplan and Nicole Davison
Bob Rubin was a businessman given the task of setting up and running the National Economic Council for the Clinton Administration. Unfamiliar with management in a political climate, Rubin worked hard to design, staff, and position the Council to make better economic and policy decisions. Traces the career of Robert E. Rubin from his practice in law to his work at Goldman Sachs and studies how his work experiences prepared him to establish the National Economic Council.
Keywords: Personal Development and Career;
Government and Politics;
Managerial Roles;
Macroeconomics;
Organizational Design;
Economy;
Citation: Nohria, Nitin, Robert Steven Kaplan, and Nicole Davison. " Robert E. Rubin (A)." Harvard Business School Case 407-064, January 2007.
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2006
Adrian Ivinson at the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair (TN)
Robert Steven Kaplan
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2006
Adrian Ivinson at the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair
Robert Steven Kaplan and Ayesha Kanji
Adrian Ivinson is the director of Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair (HCNR), a not-for-profit research center at the Harvard Medical School (HMS). The center was started in late 2000 with a gift of $37.5 million from an anonymous donor. Its mandate was to conduct research that could lead to actual treatments for neurodegenerative disease (i.e., ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, MS, and Huntington's) and do so by encouraging collaboration among researchers in the HMS community. When Ivinson takes the helm in 2001, he finds a dysfunctional center with little organization or structure. In addition, he has little formal authority to make changes and he must navigate the complex culture of the HMS neurological research community as well as the HMS academic culture. Demonstrates Ivinson's efforts to develop HCNR as a catalyst for aligning scientific researchers in the HMS community by creating incentives for innovation and collaboration. Also, profiles the issues he faces as general manager at various stages of the organization's development--and how his style, priorities, and approach must change as the needs of the organization change. Provides an opportunity for action planning to address the major issues facing the HCNR at the end of 2005. Focuses on organizational culture, alignment, leadership style/fit, and change management.
Keywords: Leadership Style;
Power and Influence;
Organizational Culture;
Research and Development;
Nonprofit Organizations;
Motivation and Incentives;
Change Management;
Alignment;
Collaborative Innovation and Invention;
Health Industry;
Massachusetts;
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