Publications

April 2021
Case

Etsy: Crafting a Turnaround to Save the Business and Its Soul

By: Ranjay Gulati, Luciana Silvestri and Monte Burke

Etsy, the online seller of handmade goods, was founded in 2005 on an almost utopian ideal—a responsible, caring company that offered individual crafters a place to sell their wares, a wholesome alternative to companies that sold mass-manufactured products. The company... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Organizational Culture; Financial Condition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Transformation; Leadership

Educators

2013
Book

The Art of Negotiation: How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World

By: Michael Wheeler

A member of the world-renowned Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School introduces the powerful next-generation approach to negotiation. For many years, two approaches to negotiation have prevailed: the "win-win" method exemplified in Getting to Yes by Roger... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation

02 Apr 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Making the Move to General Manager

back and think about how you perceive the world, to consider what assumptions you are making about management and leadership, and to consider alternatives and then practice... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

enough about the general practice of management that they can communicate effectively with the management team. A lawyer who can't read an income statement or understand the rudiments of strategy is far less able to help the non-lawyers... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

18 Aug 2016
Blog Post

Relocating to Boston with Your Partner

our wedding, or alternatively try out a "bi-coastal" relationship. After deliberating, Megan decided to drop everything and join me on the journey to HBS. Looking back on our... View Details

01 Sep 2003
News

Hail to the Chief

transportation would have the greatest immediate impact on energy use. This possibility inspired her to launch AltWheels, a two-day alternative transportation festival that took place in July. The event, a... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

May–June 2018
Article

Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company: Better Approaches to Workforce Transition

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Today layoffs have become companies’ default response to the challenges created by advances in technology and global competition. Yet research shows that job cuts rarely help senior leaders achieve their goals. Too often, they’re done for short-term gain, but the cost... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employees; Transition; Strategic Planning

Register to Read

20 Dec 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

How to Design a Better Customer Experience

everything (rebooking flights, notifying the airline, checking on our luggage). Forty-five minutes later, we were boarding the next flight.” Trust your customers, take immediate action, and do not blame them. “After a long trip to India,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health; Entertainment & Recreation

09 Oct 2015
Blog Post

Students, Alumni, and Colleagues Gather to Discuss Leadership in the Energy Industry

global market share and geopolitical relevance. This volatility in oil prices comes at the same time that the world is shifting from a dependence on fossil fuels to cleaner, more sustainable alternatives... View Details

2018
Working Paper

Zig-Zagging Your Way to Transformative Impact

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg

Achieving transformative impact has been much discussed by social entrepreneurs, funders, and consultants. These discussions have focused on issues of increasing impact and scale, but often with no clear distinction between the two terms. In order to provide clarity,... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Performance Efficiency; Growth and Development; Outcome or Result; Strategy

November 2010
Article

Stress-Test Your Strategy: The 7 Questions to Ask

By: Robert Simons

An economic downturn can quickly expose the shortcomings of your business strategy. But can you identify its weak points in good times as well? And can you focus on those weak points that really matter? I identify seven questions all executives should ask in order to... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Creativity; Success; Customers; Employees; Business and Shareholder Relations; Performance; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions

Web

From C-Suite to CEO - Alumni

that clarity and offer alternative paths forward better suited for your skills and interests. Examples include adding new dimensions to your current role or making a lateral move View Details

2017
Book

HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Find, acquire, and run your own business. Are you looking for an alternative to a career path at a big firm? Does founding your own start-up seem too risky? There is a radical third path open to you: you can buy a small business and run it as CEO. Purchasing a small... View Details

01 Dec 2011
News

Letters to the Editor

First, there appear to be no “green” native energy projects that are economical without government subsidy. Second, US natural gas reserves can be produced for far less than any alternative source, and US... View Details

Keywords: HBS Show; Personal and Laundry Services; Personal Services; Natural Gas Distribution; Utilities

01 Dec 1999
News

Negotiating in 3-D: An Overarching Way to Get to Yes?

two-dimensional approach cannot render an outcome acceptable to participants. Its most familiar element involves what each party will do if no deal can be reached - in other words, the "best alternative... View Details

Keywords: Anita M. Harris

01 Mar 2012
News

Putting Ghosts to Rest

While perhaps stating the obvious, when you work in socially troubled areas, there is a high risk of failure. Alternatives to achieve the implicit outcome (in this case, reconciliation), as opposed View Details

Keywords: Chris Maloney; Animal Production and Aquaculture; Agriculture; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance

05 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Six Ways to Build Trust in Negotiations

benefits you can provide and by emphasizing the damage that might result from an impasse. This technique can be particularly useful when a stalemate looms large and alternatives to agreement appear painful... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra

2019
Working Paper

Understanding and Overcoming Roadblocks to Environmental Sustainability. Past Roads and Future Prospects

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist, Shawn A. Cole, John Ehrenfeld, Andrew A. King and Auden Schendler

This working paper examines key barriers to business sustainability discussed at a multidisciplinary conference held at the Harvard Business School in 2018. Drawing on perspectives from both the historical and business literatures, speakers debated the historical... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Problems and Challenges; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Opportunities