Last Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal brought the news that Russell Ackoff had passed away at the age of 90, after a long life of influencing management thinking and practice. At the time he was having the most profound impact on my life — when I entered The Wharton School’s PhD. program, and the Center named for him — Russ didn’t even know me. When we met years later, I think he appreciated that he had left a legacy of many students, myself included.