Publications

September 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Siba Mtongana: A Pioneering Chef in South Africa

By: Boris Groysberg, Susan Seligson, Katherine Connolly Baden and Robin Abrahams

For Siba Mtongana, South African celebrity chef, the year 2020 was fraught with challenges and unknowns. Her brand was strong and she was certain it would survive. But as she fine-tuned her growth and innovation strategy in a shaky, unpredictable economy in the midst... View Details

Keywords: Food; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; South Africa

October 2010
Case

Cherie Blair: Inventing Herself

By: Boris Groysberg, Robin Abrahams and Lindsay Tanne

Cherie Blair was famous, or infamous, in the United Kingdom as first lady from 1997 to 2007. Her marriage to Tony Blair, however, was the result of her own groundbreaking career in law--a career she fought to keep during the 10 years of her husband's tenure as Prime... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Success; Lawsuits and Litigation; Government Administration; United Kingdom

November 2008 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Teena Lerner: Dividing the Pie at Rx Capital (Abridged)

By: Boris Groysberg, Victoria Winston and Robin Abrahams

Teena Lerner, the CEO of Rx Capital, had a problem. Her three-year-old hedge fund was highly profitable, but in 2004, one of her four equities analysts lost a lot of money for the firm. If Lerner followed her existing compensation system, designed to reward teamwork,... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Performance Evaluation; Groups and Teams; Financial Services Industry

January 2025
Technical Note

Skills-First Talent Management: Hiring

By: Boris Groysberg, Tom Quinn, Robin Abrahams and Katherine Connolly Baden

The first in a series of notes on how organizations manage skills-first talent-management chains, covering recruiting: the process of creating a job description, publicizing the job and attracting applicants, and assessing candidates. Other notes in this series include... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Jobs and Positions

05 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 5, 2008

virtuous cycles of exploitation and exploration by deliberately perturbing their own processes. We provide illustrations from Toyota and formulate testable hypotheses about the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

General Dennis L. Via: People First, Mission Always

By: Boris Groysberg, Susan Seligson, Katherine Connolly Baden and Robin Abrahams

Dennis L. Via, was a retired four-star U.S. Army general and one of the world’s foremost experts on logistics, crisis management, supply chains, and maintaining a state of readiness at all times. As he reflected back on his career and leadership experience during the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Crisis Management; Planning; Health Pandemics; United States

June 2006 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Teena Lerner: Dividing the Pie at Rx Capital (A)

By: Boris Groysberg, Victoria Winston and Robin Abrahams

Teena Lerner started her own hedge fund firm in 2001 after nearly 20 years as a star biotechnology analyst and hedge fund manager. After the start-up phase, her firm became highly profitable. In 2004, however, one of her four analysts lost a lot of money for the firm.... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Investment Funds; Performance; Business Startups; Compensation and Benefits; Corporate Finance; Financial Services Industry

June 2021
Case

Chris Ernst: Purpose, People, Progress

By: Boris Groysberg, Robert Cross, Robin Abrahams and Katherine Connolly Baden

Executive Chris Ernst uses a unique personal strategy to define his six life roles (spiritual explorer, natural being, development pioneer, global/local citizen, thriving family, true friend) and achieve harmony among them. View Details

Keywords: Self-awareness; Self-discovery; Self-affirmation; Life Satisfaction; Work-Life Balance; Identity; Personal Development and Career; Family and Family Relationships; Happiness; Technology Industry; United States

01 Mar 2013
News

Celebrating Women at HBS

leaders, faculty presentations, and panel discussions and workshops on a wide range of topics. Harvard President Drew Faust and HBS Dean Nitin Nohria will deliver opening... View Details

03 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 3

portfolio vary greatly in their character, clientele, positioning, and locations. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/511108-PDF-ENG Cherie Blair: Inventing Herself Boris Groysberg,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2014
Teaching Note

A.P. Møller–Maersk Group: Evaluating Strategic Talent Management Initiatives

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Robin Abrahams

This teaching note is an accompaniment to the case, A.P. Møller–Maersk Group: Evaluating Strategic Talent Management Initiatives. The case reviews the talent management issues being discussed at Maersk Group, a global conglomerate with large shipping and oil & gas... View Details

Keywords: Retention; Human Capital; Human Resources; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Management Practices and Processes; Shipping Industry; Energy Industry; Denmark