Publications

09 Mar 2021
News

Empowering School Leaders to Meet Today's Challenges

in education. BRIDGING THE GAP Access to Professional Development CSML has had more than 10,000 enrollments of K–12 principals and assistant principals since its 2018 launch, with a remarkable 97 percent participant completion rate. View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

April 1996 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Cleveland Turnaround (B), The: Building on Progress (1989-1996)

By: James E. Austin and Andrea L Strimling

Traces the Cleveland community's efforts to move the city from economic, social, and political crisis in the late 1970s into revitalization and progress in the 1980s and 1990s. Special attention is given to the role of business leaders and the public-private... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Economic Growth; Business and Community Relations; Financial Crisis; Cleveland

02 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

The Most Popular Stories and Research Papers of 2017

insights into how we can lead more balanced lives. Tell us in the comment section below what you thought were the most interesting business trends of the year. Minorities Who 'Whiten' Job Resumes Get More Interviews African American and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

10 Mar 2021
News

Next Normal

reality, offering tested methods for bridging cultural differences, leading virtually, and preparing for the next global crisis, whatever shape it may take. Neeley also highlights the crucial importance of launch (and relaunch) sessions... View Details

May 2017
Teaching Note

Building a Developmental Culture: The Birth of Deloitte University

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

This Teaching Note is a companion piece to the case, “Building a Developmental Culture: The Birth of Deloitte University,” HBS No. 411-059. View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Teams; Competency and Skills; Training; Employees; Values and Beliefs; Education Industry; Consulting Industry; United States

October 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Engineering a Renaissance: The Launch of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Dean Venky of the newly launched School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is faced with a range of opportunities and challenges as he presides over the launching of a new school of engineering at Harvard University. His opportunities include an ample endowment, a... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Engineering; Leading Change; Product Launch; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Alliances; Competitive Strategy

December 2021
Case

Grapery

By: Forest Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

November 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Kwame Spearman at Tattered Cover: Reinventing Brick-and-Mortar Retail

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Kerry Herman

The case spotlights Kwame Spearman’s career-shifting decision to leave a NYC-based consulting job to return to his hometown of Denver, Colorado, and take over an iconic independent bookstore, The Tattered Cover. The case lays out ways Spearman envisions a new approach... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Leadership; Leading Change; Competitive Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Publishing Industry; Retail Industry; United States

April 1996 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Cleveland Turnaround (D), The: Challenges for the Future

By: James E. Austin and Jaan Elias

Traces the Cleveland community's efforts to move the city from economic, social, and political crisis in the late 1970s into revitalization and progress in the 1980s and 1990s. Special attention is given to the role of business leaders and the public-private... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Economic Growth; Business and Community Relations; Planning; Cleveland

21 Jun 2020
News

Rooting out Racism

John Rice (MBA 1992) John Rice (MBA 1992) Will the weeks of protest and statements of support for racial equity lead to lasting change for the country—or will we once again lose steam and move on to the next... View Details

September 2016
Background Note

A Brief History of African American Leaders in Unions and the Labor Movement

By: Steven Rogers and Mercer Cook

This historically focused background note highlights the role of African American Labor Leaders in both the Labor Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. In doing so, it attempts to both highlight these noteworthy individuals and demonstrate the innate connection... View Details

Keywords: Wages; Working Conditions; Political History; Social History; Economic History; Business History; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Labor And Management Relations; Social Issues; Culture; Equality And Inequality; Rights; Leading Change; Race; Civil Society or Community; Labor Unions

January 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Case

From Neverkusen to Meisterkusen:* Building a Winning Organization at Bayer Leverkusen

By: Boris Groysberg, Brian L. Walker, Sascha L. Schmidt and Gamze Yucaoglu

This case follows Bayer Leverkusen football team through 2018-2024, as Fernando Carro takes the helm and makes organizational changes. Led by CEO Fernanda Carro, sporting director Simon Rolfes, and head coach Xabi Alonso, the Club becomes league champion for the first... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sports Industry; Europe; Germany

November 1996 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Harvard Business School Publishing

By: David A. Garvin and Artemis March

Linda Doyle, president and CEO of Harvard Business School Publishing Corp., has succeeded in turning around the organization after several difficult years. She has launched several strategic and organizational initiatives, and has instilled a new philosophy and vision.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges

23 Oct 2019
News

After the Storm

optimism and tremendous focus. I went through the whole spectrum of feelings and emotions, but that was very necessary for me to get to a placewhere I could then lead with tremendous clarity. And that clarity was important, because when... View Details

Keywords: Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

December 1996
Supplement

Cleveland Turnaround: Leadership in Action

By: James E. Austin, Jaan Elias and Andrea L Strimling

Consists of three separate parts. Part 1, The Cleveland Turnaround, describes Cleveland's decline until its bankruptcy in 1978. This is followed by the remedial actions taken by community leaders, starting with the election of a new mayor, the formation of new... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Business Cycles; Development Economics; Urban Development; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Cleveland

17 Feb 2015
News

The First Five Years: Diogo Castro Freire (MBA 2012)

When did you realize that you wanted to make a career change? (Diogo left a career in management consulting in October 2014 to become founder/executive producer of Adaptation Now, a documentary film project that will tell the stories of the communities dealing with the... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment; Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries; Information

August 2005
Case

Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns

By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock

Genius? That is not what they were calling Bill Belichick in Cleveland. Why? Four losing seasons in five years. Fans hurled trash and insults. The media resented him. Ownership abandoned him. Players quit on him. Very different from the three Super Bowls in five years... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Sports; Sports Industry; United States

November 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

ConAgra Foods: The Next Chapter

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

In 2005, CEO Bruce Rohde has almost completed the integration of ConAgra Foods' collection of 90 independent operating companies into a focused, value-added firm and was beginning to think about his successor. ConAgra had become the second largest food company and No.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Leading Change; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Food; Agribusiness; Product Marketing; Management Teams; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

June 2009 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

By: Anita L. Tucker and Amy C. Edmondson

The case describes an organization's use of the science of improvement to transform their process quality from below average to the top 10% in their industry. The case outlines the protagonist's strategy of developing internal experts who are trained in a common... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Experience and Expertise; Leading Change; Measurement and Metrics; Service Delivery; Performance Improvement; Health Industry; Ohio