- 1969 – B.S.E. with high honors in aerospace and mechanical engineering from Princeton University
- 1971 – M.B.A. with high distinction from the Harvard Business School
- 1973 – Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard University
- 1978 – Teaches first “Industry and Competitive Analysis” course at Harvard Business School
- 1979 – Publishes "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy" article outlining Five Forces Framework in Harvard Business Review
- 1980 – Publishes Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors
- 1982 – Tenured at Harvard Business School
- 1983 – Co-founds Monitor Company
- 1985 – Publishes Competitive Advantage
- 1986 – “Competition and Strategy” course becomes part of core MBA curriculum at Harvard Business School
- 1990 – Publishes The Competitive Advantage of Nations
- 1994 – Founds The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)
- 1998 – Publishes first edition of On Competition
- 2000 – Appointed Harvard University Professor, the highest recognition awarded to a Harvard faculty member
- 2000 – Co-founds Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP)
- 2000 – Co-founds FSG
- 2002 – Launches the Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) Affiliate Network
- 2006 – Publishes Redefining Health Care with Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg
- 2007 – Redefining Health Care named Book of the Year by American College of Health Care Executives
- 2008 – Receives Lifetime Achievement Award in Economic Development from the U.S. Department of Commerce
- 2011 – Understanding Michael Porter, by Joan Magretta, provides first concise summary of research and frameworks
- 2012 – Publishes The German Healthcare System: A Value-Based Competition Perspective, with Dr. Clemens Guth
- 2012 – Co-founds International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM)
- 2013 – Launch for the Social Progress Index
- 2014 – Publishes the first of three, How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition, with James Heppelmann
- 2017 – Publishes Why Competition in the Politics Industry is failing America, with Katherine Gehl
