by John Macomber - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Mar 2024
News

In Harmony

unconnected, just as you do in writing,” he says. “It’s making metaphors in business. The creativity of that is appealing.” “In Harmony” is the story I wrote to better understand what that looks like for Kim—on and off the page. It’s published in the March issue of the... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photograph by Jun Michael Park

16 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

The Irrational Quest for Charismatic CEOs

in the United States, in the 1980s. They started exerting direct pressure on the boards to remove the management of under-performing companies. By the early 1990s, we saw a further rise in institutional investor power and their... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

04 Mar 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Lessons from Running GM’s OnStar

Among the most popular elective courses at Harvard Business School is Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (BSSE). Developed by Professor Clayton M. Christensen, the course teaches future leaders how to use well-researched... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Auto

31 Oct 2004
What Do You Think?

Should the Wisdom of Crowds Influence Our Thinking About Leadership?

attention paid to this kind of research by corporate leaders? And what does it say about the true nature of effective leadership? If the essence of leadership is, as my colleague John Kotter maintains, the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Have Marketers Ignored America’s Man-of-Action Hero?

presented by the rise of the man-of-action hero. Salls: What is the man-of-action hero, and why is this manhood ideal so important in American culture? You say the man-of-action hero is a synthesis of two other popular models of American... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

25 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

FIELD Trip: Conquering the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

flop. "I get a lot of compliments on it—but the price point is way too high," says Mayo. By contrast, he pulls out a folded paper map with the title "Harvard Star Map." With landmarks where famous and infamous... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

20 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

How an Order Views Your Company

Over a dozen years ago, HBS professors Ben Shapiro and Kash Rangan conducted research with colleague John J. Sviokla, focusing on the impact that a company's order management cycle (OMC) has on customers. Think of OMC as the process that... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston

30 Jun 2020
Book

Capitalism Is More at Risk Than Ever

The book Capitalism at Risk first appeared in 2011. The problems it identified with social inequality, global trade strife, and environmental degradation have only accelerated by 2020. The new edition of Capitalism at Risk, subtitled How Business Can Lead, is expanded... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

21 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Excessive Executive Pay: What’s the Solution?

that led to the financial crisis. And while the intricate details of pay plans don't evoke the outrage of multimillion-dollar paydays, curbing the risk-taking incentives embedded in those plans is key to resolving the current crisis and preventing another. That task... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

22 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

“Too Big To Fail”: Reining In Large Financial Firms

on specific proposals begin the week of June 22.] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's proposals for fixing the broken financial system closely resemble those found in Moss's own playbook. In this instance, the book is a Special Report on Regulatory Reform,... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

27 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Horrible Boss Workarounds

On film, few characters are more obviously villainous than the extremely bad boss. There's Star Wars' Darth Vader (who manages a disrespectful underling by strangling him with his mind), Katharine Parker in Working Girl (who shamelessly... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

09 Sep 2024
HBS Case

McDonald’s and the Post #MeToo Rules of Sex in the Workplace

It was a brief dalliance, just a few weeks in length, over text and video only. The end of the affair was nonetheless just the beginning for Stephen Easterbrook, the McDonald’s CEO who went from being hailed as the company’s “savior” by... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Food & Beverage

19 Dec 2016
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Stories of 2016

Union will be far-reaching. John A. Quelch shares his thoughts on the ramifications of Brexit. Skills and Behaviors That Make Entrepreneurs Successful Research by Lynda Applegate, Janet Kraus, and Timothy... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

02 Jul 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Profit as a “Direct Goal” Overrated?

new book, Obliquity, by British economist John Kay. You might guess that Kay thinks profit as a "direct goal" is overrated, otherwise he wouldn't have much substance for a book on the subject. Kay... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

The Creativity Maze

just impelled by curiosity. They've got to know what the answer is." Albert Einstein talked about intrinsic motivation as "the enjoyment of seeing and searching." The novelist John Irving, in... View Details

Keywords: by Teresa Amabile

19 Dec 2014
News

Super-fast delivery is the new game in town

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

invest in platform quality in open-source and proprietary two-sided platforms. Open platforms have open access, and developers invest to improve the platform. Proprietary platforms have closed access, and investment is done by the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Jul 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

The Evolution of Apple

constant," says Yoffie, noting that the case is used as part of the MBA required curriculum in the Strategy course and in numerous Executive Education programs. It can also be taught with a video presentation by View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer; Technology

16 Jul 2024
Op-Ed

Corporate Boards Are Failing in Their No. 1 Duty

incident, but then, under the aggressive leadership of John Stumpf and consumer banking head Carrie Tolstedt, the company created 3.3 million fictious consumer accounts. This led to Stumpf’s forced retirement and his replacement View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

23 Apr 2014
News

Publications