A survey of the leading graduate schools of business
was recently reported in brief to HRD-L. The objective of the survey was to identify the most important ideas in management. One conclusion:

Management Makes the Difference

Faced with similar external environments and armed with comparable tools and resources, different managers will take different paths with largely contrasting results. The real value of a company is not the balance of its assets and liabilities, but the sum of the thinking, learning, and problem solving vested in its employees.

If you'd like to know more, you can check out the rest of the survey here.