Harold L. Sirkin

Harold "Hal" L. Sirkin (born 1959) is an American business consultant and author, who often writes about trends in innovation and global business competition. He graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 with a B.S. in Economics, and from the University of Chicago in 1981 with an M.B.A. He is also a Professor at Kellogg School of Management and a CPA.

Career

Harold Sirkin is a senior partner in the Chicago office of the Boston Consulting Group, where he serves as global leader of the firm's Operations practice. He has co-authored several Boston Consulting Group reports including Capturing Global Advantage (2004), Globalizing R&D: Knocking Down the Barriers (2005), Globalizing R&D: Building a Pathway to Profits (2005), The New Global Challengers (2006), and The 2008 Top 100 New Global Challengers (2007).

Sirkin writes a regular column entitled "Globality" for BusinessWeek.com and at one time seems to have contributed to The New York Times Syndicate's "Global Business Perspectives column" but hasn't done so since at least 2007. He is the co-author of two books: Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation, which advises companies to adopt a systematic approach to innovation, and Globality: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything, which explores strategies for economic competition under globality, the end state of globalization. Payback was named one of the "Best Innovation and Design Books for 2006" by BusinessWeek magazine. Globality was picked by The Economist as one of the best business books of 2008. Sirkin has also contributed to Time and the Harvard Business Review.

Bibliography

Books

• Sirkin, Harold L.; Hemerling, James W.; Bhattacharya, Arindam K; with John Butman (2008). Globality: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything. New York: Business Plus: ISBN 0-446-17829-2
• Sirkin, Harold L.; Andrew, James P.; Butman, John (2007). Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press: ISBN 1-4221-0313-7 ISBN 978-1-4221-0313-5

Articles

• Sirkin, Harold (July 1990), "Fix the Process, Not the Problem", Harvard Business Review {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold (September 2003), "Innovating for Cash", Harvard Business Review {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 2005), "The Hard Side of Change Management", Harvard Business Review {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold (July 21, 2006), "New Global Marketplace Meets U.S. Needs", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (December 27, 2006), "India: More Than Just Call Centers", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (January 30, 2007), "India and China Wise Up to Innovation", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold (June 1, 2007), "India Moves Beyond the Back Office", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold (February 14, 2008), "Tata's Nano: An Ingenious Coup", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 4, 2008), "Avoinding the Premium Trap", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 10, 2008), "How 'Globality' Will change Your Life", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (August 5, 2008), "Get Your Head in the Globality Game", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 16, 2008), "Need Global Talent? Grow Your Own", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 28, 2008), "Challenge for the Next President: Energy", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 2008), "Globality: challenger companies are radically redefining the competitive landscape", Strategy & Leadership, 36 (6): 36, doi:10.1108/10878570810918340 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 16, 2008), "In the New World Disorder, Loads of Rivals for America", Time
• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 21, 2008), "Challenge for the Next President: Infrastructure", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 30, 2008), "Challenge for the Next President: Education", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 31, 2008), "Challenge for the Next President: Productivity", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (December 12, 2008), "Beyond Survival: Winning in a Global Recession", BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (January 13, 2009), "Airport Reflections", BusinessWeek
• Sirkin, Harold L. (January 15, 2009), "Economy Needs More Than Stimulus", Cleveland Plain Dealer {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (February 13, 2009), "Manufacturers: Rethink Your Bond with China", BusinessWeek
• Sirkin, Harold L. (March 13, 2009), "Mexico: A Better Choice than China?", BusinessWeek
• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 2009), "Who Will Win the World's Newest Consumers", Industry Today {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 10, 2009), "Made in the USA Still Means Something", BusinessWeek
• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 21, 2009), "The Downturn: Is the Worst Over?", BusinessWeek
• Sirkin, Harold L. (May 13, 2009), "Process vs. Progress: Is Your Job at Risk?", BusinessWeek
• Sirkin, Harold L. (May 18, 2009), "Commodities' Coming Rebound", Barron's {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 12, 2009), "For Companies, Survival Is Not Enough", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 14, 2009), "Economic Recovery: The World Looks to Us, the U.S.", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 31, 2009), "Serving Customers in the Downturn", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 8, 2009), "Slow Economy, Advancing at Warp Speed", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 13, 2009), "Warnings from Iceland", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (December 4, 2009), "Harold L. Sirkin: Recession Lessons: Read, React, Win", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (December 22, 2009), "Confronting China's Quality Gap", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (January 12, 2010), "Recovery and Globality: The Commodities Chase", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (February 12, 2010), "Getting America Moving Again", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (February 26, 2010), "The 9 Biggest Changes That Rocked Business", The Wall Street Journal

• Sirkin, Harold L. (March 19, 2010), "Jack Be Nimble, Management Be Quick", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 13, 2010), "Managing Perception, Ignoring Reality", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 21, 2010), "Five Rules for Managing a Two-Speed Economy", The Wall Street Journal

• Sirkin, Harold L. (May 7, 2010), "Why Every Business Needs a 'Plan V'", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 1, 2010), "Darwin at Work: Survival of the Fittest Companies", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 16, 2010), "What if Government Ran Like Business?", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (August 13, 2010), "Hal Sirkin: Lessons from the Big Spill", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 14, 2010), "Growing With Your 'Best Customers'", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 15, 2010), "Why Things Are Looking Up Down Under", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 20, 2010), "The 'Many City' Growth Strategy", Bloomberg BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Sirkin, Harold L. (November 12, 2010), "Management Dilemma: The Rule of 98/2", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (December 28, 2010), "Enter the 'Multilatinas'", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (February 18, 2011), "Africa's Hidden Wealth of Business Opportunities", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 1, 2011), "Why Were We Unprepared for Japan?", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (August 5, 2011), "Made in the USA—and China", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 15, 2011), "Dear Government, U.S. Business Doesn't Need You", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 23, 2011), "Escaping the Commodities Choke Chain", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 30, 2011), "Is U.S. Manufacturing Making a Comeback?", Harvard Business Review

• Sirkin, Harold L. (December 6, 2011), "Don't Do TSA-Style Public Relations", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (March 19, 2012), "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (March 20, 2012), "Quality Is Job One, Again", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 9, 2012), "Keep Rising Gas Prices in Perspective", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 13, 2012), "Unleashing America's Entrepreneurial Power", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (May 4, 2012), "In the Global Fight for Jobs, Don't Lay Down Your Weapons", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (May 11, 2012), "Too Much Tax Talk", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 14, 2012), "Focus on the Economic Trends, Not the Blips", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 25, 2012), "Improving America's Competitiveness", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 6, 2012), "U.S. Airport Capacity: Failure to Launch", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (August 1, 2012), "NAFTA: After 20 Years, We're Not There Yet", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (August 6, 2012), "Australia's Latest Import: U.S. Electricians", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (August 14, 2012), "Wanted: A New Approach to Regulations", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (August 23, 2012), "Saving Our Cities", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 17, 2012), "Natural Gas: Putting the Pedal to the Metal", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 1, 2012), "Winning the Factory Wars", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 5, 2012), "America's Export Surge Is Just Beginning", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 22, 2012), "The Power of Industry Clusters", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 31, 2012), "Brazil: Blame it on the Bossa Nova", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (November 28, 2012), "Hurricane Sandy Exposed Our Political Failure", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (January 3, 2013), "A Good Executive Never Faces a Fiscal Cliff", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (January 14, 2013), "The Coming Shortage of Skilled Manufacturing Workers", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (January 16, 2013), "Kentucky Is About More Than Bourbon, Mint Juleps, and the Derby: It's Car Country, Too", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (February 5, 2013), "Innovation Is Not Just About R&D", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (February 19, 2013), "To Learn About China, See It", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (February 25, 2013), "'Made in the USA' Still Matters", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (March 20, 2013), "To Ease the Skills Shortage, Bring Back the Vocational High School", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 9, 2013), "The Case for Making Small U.S. Manufacturers a Priority", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (April 29, 2013), "What Germany Can Teach the U.S. About Vocational Education", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (May 7, 2013), "Time to End the Era of Ponzi Finance", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (May 30, 2013), "China's Worker Shortage is a Global Problem", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 11, 2013), "China's Economic Trouble Isn't Slowing Innovation", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 24, 2013), "The U.S. Policy on Immigration Should Be 'Help Wanted'", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (June 29, 2013), "A Lesson in How to Solve America's Problems", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 17, 2013), "Keep on Truckin'", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 20, 2013), "Power to the People", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 24, 2013), "Health Care Was Innovating Before Obamacare", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (July 29, 2013), "Emerging-Market Risk: Learning From Brazil and Egypt", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 4, 2013), "The Past and Future of Vocational Education", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 9, 2013), "The New Mexico", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 23, 2013), "The Key to Corporate Fitness: Agility and Flexibility", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (September 27, 2013), "Debugging the Cable Guy", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 2, 2013), "Africa: Go Early, Stay Long", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 15, 2013), "Next for Chinese Companies: Building Consumer Brands", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (October 26, 2013), "More Companies See Advantage to Manufacturing in the U.S.", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (November 11, 2013), "Too Many Businesses Don't Know What Women Want", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (November 20, 2013), "To Fix Immigration, Improve U.S. Education and Link Visas to Employer Needs", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (November 26, 2013), "A Sustainable Business Model Pays Off", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (9 December 2013), "China's Economic Policy: Is Milton Friedman Replacing Chairman Mao?", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (7 December 2013), "For GM, an End and a New Beginning", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (13 January 2014), "Are Corporate Executives Delusional?", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (21 January 2014), "Has the U.S. Lost Its Innovation Edge?", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (19 February 2014), "The Forecast for Air Travel: Thanksgiving Volume Once a Week at Major Airports", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (26 February 2014), "Yes, Virginia, There Is a U.S. Manufacturing Boom", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (9 March 2014), "Chicago has the potential to become synonymous with digital manufacturing", Chicago Tribune

• Sirkin, Harold L. (11 March 2014), "Trying to Influence Washington Is Like Playing Pinball", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (19 March 2014), "Gate B22 in the Frankfurt Airport Offers a Lesson in Cultural Differences", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (11 April 2014), "Think the Long-Term Unemployed Have Lost Their Edge? Wrong", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (22 April 2014), "We'll all be Better Off if We Can Just Agree That College Isn't For Everyone", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (25 April 2014), "China vs. the U.S.: It's Just as Cheap to Make Goods in the U.S.A.", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (7 May 2014), "No Longer the Stepchild of U.S. Education, Community Colleges Fill a Vital Need for Skilled Workers", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (19 May 2014), "Why High School Students Should 'Dissect' Power Tools—Not Frogs", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (9 June 2014), "Money for Nothing: How to Stop 'Patent Trolls' From Stifling Innovation", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (25 June 2014), "Who'll Keep Your 50-Year-Old Software Running?", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (16 July 2014), "Averting a Global Workforce Crisis", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (28 July 2014), "Immigration Reform as Compassionate Self-Interest", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (5 Aug 2014), "Obsolete Laws Stifle Job Growth", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (4 Sep 2014), "Economic Purity or Economic Sense?", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (17 Sep 2014), "Fixing 'Nearly 20%' Gets You Kudos in Government. In Business, It Gets You Fired", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (23 October 2014), "Rapid Growth and Obsolete Laws Threaten the Internet and the Global Economy", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (18 November 2014), "Thank Germany for Falling Prices of Solar", Bloomberg BusinessWeek

• Sirkin, Harold L. (8 December 2014.), "Football, the Huddle, and Innovation", Bloomberg BusinessWeek {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Videos

Sirkin, Harold L.; Williams, Brian; Cochrane, Bruce; Smith, Harry (January 31, 2012). Reverse outsourcing could create up to 3 million new jobs in U.S. Rock Center with Brian Williams.

Sirkin, Harold L.; Sawyer, Diane; Muir, David; Brouwer, Christine; Patrick, Maggy (October 31, 2011). Made in America: Visa Process Slows Down Tourism. ABC New, World News with Diane Sawyer.

Sirkin, Harold L.; Pandya, Mukul (February 15, 2012). The Rebirth of U.S. Manufacturing. Knowledge at Wharton.

Sirkin, Harold L.; Pandya, Mukul (May 21, 2014). The Reshoring Wave:It's Taking America by Storm. Knowledge at Wharton.

Sirkin, Harold L.; Pandya, Mukul (Oct 23, 2014). Bloomberg TV “Market Makers”. Bloomberg TV.

See also

• Boston Consulting Group
• Globality

External links

• Globality (Boston Consulting Group website dedicated to the book by Sirkin et al.)
• BusinessWeek. "Why Multinationals Need Chinese MBAs". January 9, 2006.
• BusinessWeek. "Being Global". July 14, 2008.
• Knowledge@Wharton. "Whether You Agree with Globality of Disagree, Don't Ignore It". August 20, 2008.
• BusinessWeek. "Global Talent Growth". September 15, 2008.
• Knowledge@Wharton. "BCG's Hal Sirkin on 'Globality' and the New Two-way Street of Global Business". September 22, 2008
• The Washington Post. "Competing With Everybody From Everywhere For Everything". November 3, 2008.
• Knowledge@Wharton. "'Globality': Why Companies Are Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything". November 20, 2008.
• The Economist. "Books of the Year". December 4, 2008.
• Hal Sirkin’s commentaries on bcg.perspectives