Jeanne M. Liedtka
United Technologies Corporation Professor Emerita of Business Administration
Academic Area
Areas of Expertise
Education: B.S., Boston University; MBA, Harvard Business School; D.B.A., Boston University
Jeanne M. Liedtka is the United Technologies Corporation Professor Emerita of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business. She is also the former chief learning officer at United Technologies Corporation, where she was responsible for overseeing all activities associated with corporate learning and development for the Fortune 50 corporation, including executive education, career development processes, employer-sponsored education and learning portal and web-based activities.
At Darden, where she formerly served as associate dean of the MBA program and as executive director of the Batten Institute, Jeanne worked with both MBAs and executives in the areas of design thinking, innovation and leading growth. Her passion is exploring how organizations can engage employees at every level in thinking creatively about the design of powerful futures.
Jeanne's most recent book is Experiencing Design: The Innovator's Journey, with Karen Hold and Jessica Eldridge. Her recent research focuses on how the experience of using Design Thinking transforms innovators. Her previous books include Designing for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector; The Catalyst: How You Can Lead Extraordinary Growth (winner of the BusinessWeek best innovation books of 2009); Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers (winner of the 1800 CEO READ best management book of 2011) and its accompanying field guide, The Designing for Growth Field Book: A Step by Step Guide; The Physics of Business Growth: Mindsets, System and Process; and Solving Business Problems With Design Thinking: 10 Stories of What Works.
Jeanne M. Liedtka's Ideas to Action Posts
Design Thinking vs. Cognitive Biases: 10 Biases for Innovation to Overcome
Entrepreneurship & InnovationBig-Picture Thinking and Self-Sustaining Essential Services in Eastern Congo
Entrepreneurship & InnovationSelected Publications
“Humanising complex projects through design thinking and its effects,” with G. Locatelli, Project Management Journal, forthcoming.
Assessing and developing an organization’s innovation competency profile,” with A. Billing, J. Eldridge, K. Hold, B. Kuhne and E. Tong, Strategy and Leadership, 5 (4), Nov/Dec 2022.
“Design thinking for innovation: Practices and intermediate outcomes,” Nonprofit Management and Leadership, with K. Jaskyte, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 32(4): 555-575, 2022.
“Putting Technology in its Place: Design Thinking as a Social Technology,” California Management Review, 62(2): 53-83, 2020.
“The Use of Design Thinking in the US Federal Government,” with A. Sheikh, C. Gilmer, M. Kupetz, and L. Wilcox, Public Performance & Management Review, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2019.1657916
“Why Strategy Needs Design Thinking,” European Business Review, 2019.
“How design thinking opens new frontiers for strategy development, with S. Kaplan, Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 47 Issue: 2, pp.3-10, 2019.
“Why Design Works,” Harvard Business Review, Sept/Oct, 2018.
“The Use of Design Thinking in the US Government,” with A. Sheikh, C. Gilmer, M. Kupetz, and L. Wilcox, Academy of Management Proceedings. Vol. 2018. No. 1. Academy of Management.
“Embracing systematic futures thinking at the intersection of Strategic Planning, Foresight and Design,” with J. Buehring, Journal of Innovation Management, 6(2): 133-151, 2018.
“Design Thinking for the Greater Good,” with R. Salzman and D. Azer, Rotman Management Magazine, May, 2018.
“How Children’s Health System of Texas is improving care with design thinking,” with E. MacLaren, HBR.org, 11/7/18.
“Got an idea for your business? Test your assumptions” IESE Catalyst, Vol. 37: 32-37. 2018.
Liedtka, J.M. "Evaluating the Impact of Design Thinking in Action." Academy of Management Proceedings. Vol. 2017. No. 1. Academy of Management, 2017.
Liedtka, J.M. "Democratizing Innovation in Organizations: Teaching Design Thinking to Non‐Designers." Design Management Review 28.3 (2017): 49-55.
Liedtka, J.M. "Design as a Social technology, " Conference proceedings of the 2017 Design Management Academy: Research perspectives on creative intersections." (2017): 1-456.
Liedtka, J.M. "Linking Design Thinking with Innovation Outcomes through Cognitive Bias Reduction," Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32, 6: 925-938, 2015.
Liedtka, J.M."Perspective: Linking Design Thinking with Innovation Outcomes through Cognitive Bias Reduction," Journal of Product Innovation Management, (2014).
Bohemia, E., Rieple, A., Liedtka, J.M., Cooper, R. "Proceedings of the 19th DMI: Academic Design Management Conference: Design Management in an Era of Disruption."
Liedtka, J.M."Innovative Ways Companies are Using Design Thinking," Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 42, no. 2, 40-45.
Liedtka, J.M., A. King and K. Bennett. Solving Problems with Design Thinking: Ten Stories of What Works. New York: Columbia Business Press, (August 2013).
Liedtka, J.M. and B. Parmar. "Moving Design from Metaphor or Management Practice," Journal of Organizational Design, Vol. 1, no. 3 (Dec 2012), p. 51-57.
Liedtka, J.M. and T. Ogilvie. "Helping Managers to Discover Their Appetite for Design Thinking," Design Management Review,(2012), p. 7-13.
Liedtka, J.M."Learning to Use Design Thinking Tools for Successful Innovation," Strategy and Leadership, Vol. 39, no. 5, (2011), p. 13-19.
Liedtka, J.M., S. Carr, A. Halliday, A.C. King and T. Lockwood. "The Influence of Design Thinking in Business: Some Preliminary Observations," Design Management Review, Vol. 21, no. 3, (Summer 2010), p. 58-63.
Liedtka, J.M."Business Strategy and Design: Can This Marriage Be Saved?" Design Management Review, Vol. 21, no. 2, (June 2010), p. 6-11.
Liedtka, J.M."Beyond Strategic Thinking: Strategy as Experienced and Embodied," Chapter 7 in Disruptive Business, Alexander Manu, Gower Publishing, (August 2010), p. 153-167.
Liedtka, J.M." Strategy as Design," DOM Research Lab Publication, M. Mr. Shamiyeh (Editor) Volume 4, (2010).
Liedtka, J.M., R. Rosen and R. Wiltbank. "Getting to Growth: The Organization as its Own Worst Enemy," Ivey Business Journal, Vol. 73, no. 2, (March/April 2009).
Carr S., J.M. Liedtka, R. Rosen and R. Wiltbank. "In Search of Growth Leaders," Wall Street Journal Business Insight series, (July 7, 2008), R4.
Liedtka, J.M."Strategy Making and the Search for Authenticity," Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 80, no. 2, (June 2008), p. 237-248.
Selected Books
Liedtka, J.M. with E. Chen, N. Foley, and D. Kester. The Experimentation Field Book. Columbia Business Press, 2024.
Liedtka, J.M. “Chapter 1: Design Thinking.” Designing Modern Organizations, edited by Snow & Fjeldstad, Oxford University Press, 2023.
Liedtka, J.M. with K. Hold and J. Eldridge. Experiencing Design: The Innovator’s Journey. New York: Columbia Business Press, 2021.
Liedtka, J.M. with T. Ogilvie and R. Brozenske. The Designing for Growth Field Book: A Step-by-Step Project Guide New York: Columbia Business Press, 2nd edition, 2019.
Liedtka, J.M. with R. Salzman and D. Azer. Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector. New York: Columbia Business Press, (2017).
Liedtka, J.M., A. King and K. Bennett. Solving Problems with Design Thinking: Ten Stories of What Works. New York: Columbia Business Press, (August 2013).
Liedtka, J.M. and E.D. Hess. The Physics of Business Growth: Mindsets, System and Processes. Stanford University Press, (2012).
Liedtka, J.M. and T. Ogilvie. Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers. New York: Columbia University Press. (2011).
Liedtka, J.M., R.H. Rosen and R. Wiltbank. The Catalyst: How You Can Become an Extraordinary Growth Leader. Crown Business, (2009).
Case Studies
Advancing knowledge through research that shapes business, Darden professors are recognized thought leaders in their fields. They are not only master case method teachers, they also author many of the cases used in Darden classrooms and around the world.
Jeanna M. Liedtka's cases are available in the Darden Business Publishing website.