Zia Yusuf: Paths to Power

By Jeffrey Pfeffer
2009 | Case No. OB73V
Zia Yusuf, a Pakistani graduate of Harvard Business School, joined SAP, a high technology software company, in 2000. Although Yusuf had no technical background nor had ever worked in sales, marketing, or software development, he moved up rapidly at SAP, bringing a great deal of business value to the organization. In this video, Yusuf talks about how he added value by trying to find impactful opportunities before others did. He discusses juxtaposing areas where peers were strong with skills that he could offer and the difference between being political and being organizationally smart.

icon-Video Preview

This video is intended to be used with the written case OB73 Zia Yusuf at SAP: Having Impact.
This material is available for download by current Stanford GSB students, faculty, and staff, as well as Stanford GSB alumni. For inquires, contact the Case Writing Office. Download