Robert Simons is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School. For over 35 years, Simons has taught accounting, management control, and strategy execution courses in both the Harvard MBA and Executive Education Programs. For 2023/24, he is teaching a second-year MBA course titled “Changing the World” which analyzes the life choices of influential leaders. He also co-chairs (with Professor Robert Kaplan) "Driving Corporate Performance," an executive education program for general managers and financial executives.
For anyone interested in learning more about his work on strategy execution, Simons has developed a multimedia course on Strategy Execution for Harvard Business School Online. This course—open to the general public—consists of 40 hours of material delivered over an eight-week period. Participants can complete the coursework on their own time.
Simons has also published a 15-module series for classroom teaching on Strategy Execution available through Harvard Business School Publishing. In addition, an online app, Job Design Optimization Tool, is available free-of-charge from Harvard Business School Publishing. This tool can be used to design, or test the design of, any job in any organization.
In 2021, The Case Centre (U.K.) named Simons the number two best-selling business case author in the world.
Simons’ books include Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution (2010) and Levers of Organization Design: How Managers Use Accountability Systems for Greater Performance and Commitment (2005). In addition, he has written Levers of Control (1995) that describes how effective top managers balance innovation and control. This book won the Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature award.
In addition to his books, Simons' ongoing research into the relationship between business strategy, organization design, and management control systems has been published in journals such as Harvard Business Review, Capitalism and Society, Sloan Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Contemporary Accounting Research, and Journal of Accounting Literature.
His most recent academic paper co-authored with Professor Antonio Dávila, “How Top Managers Use the Entrepreneurial Gap to Drive Strategic Change,” was published in the European Accounting Review in 2021.
A Canadian CPA, Simons earned his Ph.D. from McGill University. Simons has served as a consultant to many companies on topics related to strategy execution, organization design, performance measurement, and strategic control. He has testified as an expert witness in U.S. Federal Court and before State Public Utility Commissions.
The free, online Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT) can be used to design, or test the design of, any job in any organization. Use the tool with the following guide: Strategy Execution Module 10: Using the Job Design Optimization Tool to Build Effective Organizations.
All companies claim that their strategies are customer driven. But when “customer” means any number of entities in a company’s value chain—consumers, suppliers, retailers, even internal units like R&D—managers tend to lose focus, and their firms become vulnerable to competitors who have clearly defined who they serve and how.
In this article, Robert Simons of the Harvard Business School presents a framework that can help companies develop strategies that are truly customer-centric.
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?"
As business leaders worry about the decline of American competitiveness, business schools are responding by changing their curriculums. But are the topics and approaches taught in today's business schools part of the solution or part of the problem? In this paper, I explore the possibility that four trends in current MBA curriculums—theory creep, mission creep, doing well by doing good, and the quest for enlightenment—are teaching students to be uncompetitive in today's global markets. If this hypothesis is true, I argue that business school curriculums should be re-centered around the tough choices needed to compete—and to win.
This HBS working paper focuses on the relationship between business strategy, organization structure, and diagnostic control systems. The project analyzes data from 75 field studies to illustrate how managers adjust span of accountability and span of control to motivate different levels of innovation and entrepreneurial behavior. Six propositions are derived inductively about when, why, and how managers make these choices.
Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the role of management and management education in society. Professor Simons’ publications in each of these areas are listed below.
I. Strategy Execution - Imperatives
Simons has summarized key strategy execution issues in the following book and related article:
Simons, R. Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution, Harvard Business Review Press, 2010.
Simons, R. “Stress-Test Your Strategy,” Harvard Business Review (November 2010): 92-100.
Simons, R. “Choosing the Right Customer,” Harvard Business Review (March 2014): 48-55.
II. Strategy Execution Series
A complete and detailed review of the topics that managers must master to execute strategy successfully is contained in Simons’ 15-part Strategy Execution Series published by Harvard Business Publishing. The 15 modules titles are:
III. Organization Design for Executing Strategy
Simons’ work focuses on understanding the role of organization design as a key determinant in the successful execution of strategy.
Simons studies four key variables—customer definition, critical performance variables, creative tension, and commitment to others—that serve as the basic inputs to effective organization design. Using an integrated framework, his work shows how managers can design unit structures, diagnostic control systems, influence networks, and shared responsibilities to build a foundation for profitable growth. This work is reported in the following materials.
Software Application:
A free software tool – Job Design Optimization Tool – is available for public use at hbsp.harvard.edu/jdot.
The user guide for this tool is “Strategy Execution Module 10: Using the Job Design Optimization Tool to Build Effective Organizations.”
Books and Articles:
Simons, R. Levers of Organization Design: How Managers Use Accountability Systems for Greater Performance and Commitment, Harvard Business School Press, 2005.
Simons, R. “Creating High-Performance Jobs,” Harvard Business Review 83, no. 7 (July-August 2005): 54-62.
Case Studies:
“Agero: Enhancing Capabilities for Customers.” Harvard Business School Case 113-001
“Asea Brown Boveri.” Harvard Business School Case 192-139.
“ABB: Accountability Times Two (A).” Harvard Business School Supplement 192-141.
“ABB: Accountability Times Two (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 192-142.
“DIENA.” Harvard Business School Case 102-001.
“J Boats, Inc.” Harvard Business School Case 197-015.
“Siebel Systems: Organizing for the Customer.” Harvard Business School Case 103-014.
“Organizing for Performance: Four Vignettes.” Harvard Business School Case 117-062.
IV. Performance Measurement and Control for Executing Strategy
Simons’ research in a variety of industries illustrates how innovative firms apply the levers of control to ensure profitable, sustained growth. By analyzing core values, risks to be avoided, critical performance variables, and strategic uncertainties, Simons’ work shows managers how to use beliefs systems, boundary systems, diagnostic control systems, and interactive systems to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, yet protect the firm from unanticipated franchise risks. This work is represented in the following publications:
Books and Articles:
Simons, R. Performance Measurement and Control Systems for Implementing Strategy. Prentice Hall, 2000.
Simons, R. and A. Davila. “How High Is Your Return on Management?” Harvard Business Review (January-February 1998): 71-80.
Simons, R. “Corporate Performance.” In The Handbook of Technology Management, edited by Richard Dorf. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1998.
Simons, R. “Control in an Age of Empowerment.” Harvard Business Review 73, no. 2 (March 1995): 8-88.
Simons, R. Levers of Control: How Managers Use Innovative Control Systems to Drive Strategic Renewal. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1995.
Simons, R. “How New Top Managers Use Control Systems as Levers of Strategic Renewal.” Strategic Management Journal 15 (1994): 169-189.
Simons, R. “The Strategy of Control: How Accounting Information Helps to Formulate and Implement Business Strategy.” CA Magazine (March 1992): 44-50.
Simons, R. “Strategic Orientation and Top Management Attention to Control Systems.” Strategic Management Journal 12, no. 1 (1991): 49-62.
Simons, R. “The Role of Management Control Systems in Creating Competitive Advantage: New Perspectives.” Accounting, Organizations and Society 15, nos. 1-2 (1990): 127-143.
Simons, R. “Analysis of the Organizational Characteristics Related to Tight Budget Goals.” Contemporary Accounting Research 5, no. 1 (1988): 267-283.
Simons, R. “Accounting Control Systems and Business Strategy: An Empirical Analysis.” Accounting, Organizations and Society 12, no. 4 (1987): 357-374.
Simons, R. “Planning, Control, and Uncertainty: A Process View.” In Accounting and Management: Field Study Perspectives, edited by W. J. Bruns Jr. and R. S. Kaplan. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1987.
Simons, R. and K. Merchant. “Research and Control in Complex Organizations: An Overview.” Journal of Accounting Literature 5 (1986): 183-203. (with K. Merchant)
Case Studies
“American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region.” Harvard Business School Case 190-078.
“ATH Technologies, Inc.: Making the Numbers.” Harvard Business School Case 117-012.
“Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision.” Harvard Business School Case 190-059.
“Automation Consulting Services.” Harvard Business School Case 190-053.
“Becton Dickinson--Designing the New Strategic, Operational, and Financial Planning Process.” Harvard Business School Case 197-014.
“C3: Driven to Succeed.” Harvard Business School Case 119-004.
“Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan.” Harvard Business School Case 198-088.
“Central Maine Power Co.: Goals and Objectives Program (A).” Harvard Business School Case 190-065.
“Central Maine Power Co.: Goals and Objectives Program (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 190-105.
“Citibank: Performance Evaluation.” Harvard Business School Case 198-048.
“Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.: Planning and Control System.” Harvard Business School Case 187-081.
“Compagnie du Froid, S.A.” Harvard Business School Case 197-085. Simons, Robert L., and Antonio Davila.
“Cross Country Group, The: A Piece of the Rock (B).” Harvard Business School Case 100-044.
“Google to Alphabet: 10 Things We Know to Be True.” Harvard Business School Case 116-029.
“Guidant Corporation: Shaping Culture Through Systems.” Harvard Business School Case 198-076.
“Henkel: Building a Winning Culture (A).” Harvard Business School Case 112-060.
“Henkel: Building a Winning Culture (B).” Harvard Business School Case 115-040.
“IBM Corp.: “Make It Your Business” (A).” Harvard Business School Case 190-137. “IBM Corp.: “Make It Your Business” (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 190-138.
“Marriott Corp.: The Internal Audit Function.” Harvard Business School Case 191-007.
“Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A).” Harvard Business School Case 190-103.
“Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 190-122.
“MCI Communications: Planning for the 1990s.” Harvard Business School Case 190-136.
“Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A).” Harvard Business School Case 191-002.
“Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 192-027.
“Polysar Limited.” Harvard Business School Case 187-098.
“Purity Steel Corporation, 1995.” Harvard Business School Case 197-082.
“Tennessee Controls: The Strategic Ranking Problem.” Harvard Business School Case 191-083.
“Turner Construction Co.: Project Management Control Systems TN.” Harvard Business School Teaching Note 191-124.
“USA Today.” Harvard Business School Case 191-004.
“Vyaderm Pharmaceuticals.” Harvard Business School Case 101-019.
“Walker and Company: Profit Plan Decisions.” Harvard Business School Case 197-084.
V. Risk Management
In the area of risk identification and control, Simons has studied how various types of risk—including operational risk, asset impairment risk, and competitive risk—can destroy business reputations and franchises. This work is represented in the following publications:
Books and Articles:
Kaplan, Robert S., Anette Mikes, Robert Simons, Peter Tufano, and Michael Hofmann Jr. “Managing Risk in the New World.” Harvard Business Review 87, no. 10 (October 2009): 68–75.
Simons, R. Performance Measurement and Control Systems for Implementing Strategy. Prentice Hall, 2000, Chapters 12 and 13.
Simons, R. “How Risky Is Your Company?” Harvard Business Review 77, no. 1 (January-February 1999): 85-94.
Harvard Case Studies:
“American Cancer Society: Access to Care.” Harvard Business School Case 109-015.
“ATH Technologies, Inc.: Making the Numbers.” Harvard Business School Case 117-013.
“Atlanta Schools: Measures to Improve Performance.” Harvard Business School Case 114-001.
“Bausch & Lomb, Inc.: Pressure to Perform (A).” Harvard Business School Case 109-074.
“General Electric: Compliance Systems.” Harvard Business School Case 189-081.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (A).” Harvard Business School Case 189-009.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 189-010.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (C).” Harvard Business School Supplement 189-011.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (D).” Harvard Business School Supplement 189-012.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (E).” Harvard Business School Supplement 189-013.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (F).” Harvard Business School Supplement 189-014.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (G).” Harvard Business School Supplement 189-015.
“General Electric: Valley Forge (H).” Harvard Business School Supplement 189-016.
“Hamilton Financial Investments: A Franchise Built on Trust.” Harvard Business School Case 198-089.
“Kidder, Peabody & Co.: Creating Elusive Profits.” Harvard Business School Case 197-038.
“Merck: Managing Vioxx (A).” Harvard Business School Case 109-080.
“Merck: Managing Vioxx (B).” Harvard Business School Case 109-081.
“Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A).” Harvard Business School Case 191-002.
“Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 192-027.
“Pfizer: Letter From the Chairman (A).” Harvard Business School Case 110-003.
“Pfizer: Letter From the Chairman (B).” Harvard Business School Case 110-004.
“Sydney IVF: Stem Cell Research.” Harvard Business School Case 109-017.
“Tennessee Controls: The Strategic Ranking Problem.” Harvard Business School Case 191-083.
“Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A).” Harvard Business School Case 191-118.
“Westchester Distributing, Inc. (B).” Harvard Business School Supplement 191-119.
VI. Role of Management in Society
Simons also studies and writes about the role of management and management education in society. This work is represented in the following publications:
Simon, R. “The Business of Business Schools,” Mimeo, October 2011.
Simons, R., H. Mintzberg, and K. Basu. “Memo to CEOs: The Five Half- Truths of Business.” Fast Company 59 (June 2002): 117-121.
Mintzberg, H, R. Simons, and K. Basu. “Beyond Selfishness.” Sloan Management Review 44, no. 1 (fall 2002): 67-74.
This project studies the life choices made by a variety of people who have left a lasting legacy. Using biographical data, we are examining the choices that high-impact individuals faced in their lives and the paths they chose to follow. The leaders we study come from business, science, the arts, government, humanitarian organizations, education, sports, and entertainment. Their personal lives and values are wide-ranging—and, at times, controversial. However, they all have one thing in common: they are famous because they changed the world in significant ways.
The goal of the project is to uncover commonalities among these high-impact individuals: What skills did they choose to invest in early in their careers? How did they allocate their time? What did they choose not to do? How did they balance the pressures of career and family? What critical goals did they set for themselves? How did they leverage their energy and creativity? How did they discover new opportunities and new ways of seeing the world?
The search for patterns in choices among these prominent historical figures will challenge students or anyone interested in making a difference to think through the choices that they may want to make (or not make) in their own lives and careers.
This course teaches future general managers, entrepreneurs, and consultants how to execute strategy and deliver results. Using readings, exercises, and case studies in industries as diverse as healthcare space exploration, and software development, you will learn to master the tools needed to formulate business goals and monitor their successful achievement.