Mr Mintzberg points out that when Harvard Business School boasted of its alumni CEOs, the list included Frank Lorenzo, remembered for presiding over Eastern Airlines' bankruptcy, and Doug Ivester, unceremoniously booted from Coca-Cola.

ECONOMIST: The MBA, changing and static

The old dogfighters like Frank Lorenzo (once of Continental and Eastern) and Lord King (of British Airways) have given way to a younger generation of marketeers, more suited to the world of virtual airlines, alliances and empowerment programmes.

ECONOMIST: American Airlines loses its pilot

And as Frank Lorenzo found out.

FORBES: Dow Jones Interactive