Publications

February 2020
Case

Drift: The First Sales Hire

By: Mark Roberge

David Cancel and Elias Torres, the co-founders of Drift, scaled their business to thousands of users and hundreds of thousands in revenue. However, they were falling short of the annual revenue target they communicated to the board of directors. Having scaled the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Salesforce Management; Selection and Staffing

28 Apr 2010
News

Harvard Business School Holds First Alumni New Venture Contest

23 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Brand Power from Wedgwood to Dell: Part Two

How does an entrepreneur make the switch from inspiring a tiny group of followers in a metaphorical garage to leading what eventually becomes a multibillion-dollar business? The ability to translate individual creativity into sustained organizational capabilities is a... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2018
Case

IBM: Watson and the Internet of Things

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

IBM has recently launched a business unit devoted to the Internet of Things. The group's leadership team needs to figure out the best way to quickly scale its business in a fragmented and nascent market. View Details

Keywords: IBM; Internet Of Things; Watson; Artificial Intelligence; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry

February 2004 (Revised August 2004)
Case

National Semiconductor's India Design Center

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Elizabeth Kind

The senior managers of the India Design Center used 360-degree feedback to develop their team competencies. Now, three new managers are about to join their management team, and Ashok Kumar, director of the center, must decide how to integrate the new managers in a way... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Information Technology Industry; India

January 2013
Supplement

Microsoft Server & Tools (B)

By: Marco Iansiti and Alain Serels

Supplement for case 613031. Update on progress of Microsoft's Server & Tools Business through July 2011. Satya Nadella and his team explore whether or not to support Linux on Windows Azure. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Disruptive Innovation; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

13 May 2019
News

Why this professor says you should root for Uber's IPO to fail

08 Jan 2019
Blog Post

New Year, New Career Goals: Coaches Offer Advice for 2019

For many people, the New Year can mean new beginnings. Now is a common time to make resolutions, so we asked our coaching team their advice on what to keep in mind with your own professional development. Welcoming the New Year often... View Details

August 2017
Article

The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures

By: Thomas F. Hellmann and Noam Wasserman

We examine the trade-off between efficiency and equality within the context of entrepreneurial founding teams. Using a formal theory where founders may have preferences over relative outcomes, we derive predictions about the antecedents and consequences of dividing... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Entrepreneurship; Equity

Find at Harvard

April 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Supplement

Felipe Calderón: Leading with Light and Power (C)

By: J. Bruce Harreld and David Lane

This sequence of cases explores how leaders get their team focused on framing, analyzing, and ultimately acting upon complex decisions. The A case provides an inside look as President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, works with his cabinet ministers to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cases; Leadership Style; Crime and Corruption; State Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Economics; Finance; Performance; Management Teams; Energy Industry; Mexico City

Find at Harvard

What are the biggest problems companies face in executing their strategies? Robert Simons explains why management teams must ask themselves tough questions, like "What could cause our business to fail?"

View Details

19 Apr 2018
Video

Dignify Final Pitch New Venture Competition 2018 Social Enterprise Track

March 2022 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Aldrich Capital Partners

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

By July 2016, the Aldrich Capital Partners team had spent over two years trying to raise their inaugural growth-equity fund. They had pitched to over 140 investors, but none had committed. Managing Partners Mirza Baig and Raz Zia each had extensive experience in the... View Details

Keywords: Growth Equity; Investment Evaluation; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Investment; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

October 2001 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

By: Rajiv Lal and Patricia Carrolo

Describes a situation facing Philip Satre, chairman and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. Satre was reading a May 2000 Wall Street Journal story that discussed the company's marketing success in targeting low rollers, the 100% growth in stock price and profits in the... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Marketing; Marketing Reference Programs; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy