Robert Waterman jr biography and articles

Article by: Vincent van Vliet

Last update: February 28, 2025

Robert Waterman jr (Robert Waterman jr (Bob), 1936 -2022) was an author and expert in best management practices. He also is known of his co-development of the 7S Framework at the time that he worked at McKinsey and the book In Search of Excellence which he wrote with Tom Peters (1982).

Biography Robert Waterman jr

Robert Waterman jr obtained his MBA from Stanford University and his Bachelor degree in 1958 in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines.

The management book In Search of Excellence which he wrote together with Tom Peters was published in 1982 and this was an immediate best-seller. It gained national exposure on a series of television specials based on the book which were hosted by himself and Tom Peters appeared on PBS.

The primary idea was that solving business problems should incur as little business process overhead as possible, and that this should empower decision-makers at multiple levels of a company. Together with Tom Peters and Richard Pascale, he co-developed the href=”https://www.toolshero.com/strategy/mckinsey-7s-framework/”>7S Framework.

After his time at McKinsey & Company, he founded his own company (Waterman Group Inc.). Robert Waterman Jr served as chairman of the Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Foundation from 1999 to 2006 and later chairman emeritus (2010-2019). The RLS Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that sponsors Restless Leg Syndrome research. His insights and passion for excellence was his talent that he brought to the RLS community. He was a strong advocate for strategic planning and led strategic planning initiatives for many years. He believed in setting BHAGs .

He also serves on the board of the ASE Corporation and the World Wildlife Fund. He currently directs his own company, the Waterman Group Inc. after having worked for McKinsey & Company for 21 years.

Books and articles

1994. What America does right: Learning from companies that put people first. WW Norton & Company.
1994. Toward a Career-Resilient Workforce. Harvard Business Review, 72(4), 87-95.
1990. Adhocracy: The power to change. WW Norton & Company.
1988. The Renewal Factor: How the Best Get and Keep the Competitive Edge. Bantam Books.
1982. The seven elements of strategic fit. Journal of Business Strategy, 2(3), 69-73.
1982. In search of excellence: Lessons from American best-run companies. Harper & Row.
1980. Structure is not organization. Business Horizons, 23(3), 14-26.
1980. The 7-S framework. Chapter, 6, 309-314.
1963. The Commercial Application of Missile. Space Technology.

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Original publication date: 03/05/2012 | Last update: 02/28/2025

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Article by:

Vincent van Vliet

Vincent van Vliet is co-founder and responsible for the content and release management. Together with the team Vincent sets the strategy and manages the content planning, go-to-market, customer experience and corporate development aspects of the company.