Topping Rights - Publications - Faculty & Research

18 Dec 2019
Book

6 Skills That Wise Companies Harness for World-Changing Innovation

always to improve mobility, and he did so through his company’s engine innovations. After coming up with the company’s trademarked CVCC engine, Honda declared that his company had pulled ahead of the top three car companies, “but his... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

03 Nov 2015
First Look

November 3, 2015

Workers By: Housman, Michael, and Dylan Minor Abstract—While there has been a lot of research on finding and developing top performers in the workplace, less attention has been paid to the question of how to manage those workers who are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

What’s on HBS faculty members’ reading list for summer 2021? Which books are most meaningful to them and why? Below, faculty share their top picks, ranging from biographies and memoirs to their colleagues’ latest works. Julia Austin:... View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

27 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Cost of a Product Recall

quantify the innovation risks and opportunities that recalls pose in one of the most R&D-intensive industries, medical technology. Product failures in medtech, where the cost to bring a device to the market can top $90 million, can... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Auto; Medical Devices & Supplies

01 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 1

are also more likely to find their corporate failings broadcast in the news. Companies hoping to minimize the risk of media attention to accidents need to be careful not to place their organizations at the very top or the very bottom of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

19 Jan 2015
Research & Ideas

Is Wikipedia More Biased Than Encyclopædia Britannica?

theory, Zhu and Greenstein took a database of terms developed by University of Chicago economists Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse Shapiro to examine newspaper bias. Gentzkow and Shapiro studied speeches in the 2005 Congressional Record to scientifically identify the View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Publishing

13 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 13

Stanford Social Innovation Review Selecting the Right Growth Metrics: Fewer but Better By: Schlesinger, Leonard A. Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52742 Minimizing Justified... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

What's a Boss Worth?

concluded that replacing a boss who was in the bottom 10 percent of the distribution with a boss who was in the top 10 percent had the same effect as adding another whole worker to a nine-person team—a huge effect for such a small... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service

25 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Could a Business Model Help Big Pharma Save Lives and Profit?

low-income countries, instead of zealously guarding it, cutting it off from patients and profits. The licensees then work with local governments and markets while paying the pharmaceutical company for the right to sell generic versions of... View Details

Keywords: by Esther Schrader; Pharmaceutical; Health

04 Apr 2011
HBS Case

Reinventing the National Geographic Society

recalls the remark about magazine piles. "That has come back to haunt us," Fahey says. "People today don't want clutter." It turns out that many things that made National Geographic one of the world's top brands during... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Publishing

18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

replacing one toxic worker, which is almost double the figure a company gains from hiring a “superstar.” A superstar in the top 1 percent of performers adds $5,303 in increased performance to a company’s profit, Minor’s paper Toxic... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

31 Aug 2021
Book

Feeling Powerless at Work? Time to Agitate, Innovate, and Orchestrate

authors say. The book explains how power can be shared more evenly among citizens, employees, top executives, and shareholders for the betterment of individuals, organizations, and institutions around the world. "The motive for the book... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

15 Dec 2015
First Look

December 15, 2015

moving upmarket to challenge the industry leaders. They point out that Uber, commonly hailed as a disrupter, doesn’t actually fit the mold, and they explain that if managers don’t understand the nuances of disruption theory or apply its tenets correctly, they may not... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

16 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

Why Technology Alone Can't Solve AI's Bias Problem

diversifying their workforces, more firms are scrutinizing the results of conventional algorithms on recruiting websites. But do fair rankings actually weed out gender bias and allow more women to rise to the top of talent searches?... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

26 Apr 2022
Book

What Does Your Business Stand For? Why Building Trust Starts with Purpose

make the decision, do the right thing, even if it’s hard, it’s true to those values, it builds trust. It builds belief. And it reinforces the mission that we stand for, our purpose, and it reinforces the values, our culture.” Book Excerpt... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

14 Aug 2006
HBS Case

On Managing with Bobby Knight and “Coach K”

about the heart, it's about family, it's about seeing the good in people and bringing the most out of them," says Snook. Different styles, yes, but the results are similar: After long careers, both have similar win-loss records for their teams and are acknowledged... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

01 Feb 2022
Book

Innovation Isn’t Just for Startups: How Big Companies Can Succeed

Meanwhile, starting in 2013, Analog Devices CEO Vince Roche encouraged innovators from the top down and transformed the semiconductor giant into a designer of integrated, strategic systems—including a platform that accelerated the global... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

Ton says the key is making the right operating decisions. "You can invest in your people and offer low prices," she says. "And guess what? You'll have a service advantage too." For QuikTrip, that advantage is evident... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

04 Jun 2020
Book

It’s Not About You: Why Leaders Need to Look Outward

diagnose whether or not you're optimizing on it. And then, more important, how you can fix it immediately. It’s not, “Oh, my gosh. We have to rebuild trust. Let's come up with a five-year plan.” You will have wasted four years and 11 months. Senz: What are some... View Details