Confidence - Publications - Faculty & Research

13 Mar 2023
Op-Ed

How Leaders Should Leave

express your confidence in their ability to take it to the next level. I recommend leaving the group meeting of your direct reports a few minutes early and suggesting they continue the conversation among themselves. By doing so, you are... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

17 Jan 2020
In Practice

6 Traits That Set Top Business Leaders Apart

Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time. 3. They balance confidence and humility "Great leaders have the ability to act decisively and with confidence... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

point, I'll contrast Merck's $20 billion decision to pull Vioxx from the market with Pfizer's decision to continue marketing Celebrex. 3. What Critical Performance Variables Are You Tracking? Once you're confident that the foundation of... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

30 Nov 2021
In Practice

What's the Role of Business in Confronting Climate Change?

The 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also known as COP26, ended with a hard-fought pact that called on businesses and governments to meet their climate change goals faster. The event followed an August report by the Intergovernmental... View Details

Keywords: by Lynn Schenk and Dina Gerdeman

18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

reveals how confident they are. “If you’re overconfident, you think you’re less likely to be caught. That’s very predictive of toxicity. The more overconfident you are, you’re much more likely to be toxic,” Minor says. The rule-following... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

18 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 18

PublicationsSidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan Authors:Francesca Gino Publication:Harvard Business Review Press, forthcoming Abstract You may not realize it but simple, irrelevant factors can have profound consequences on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Mar 2009
What Do You Think?

How Frank or Deceptive Should Leaders Be?

around a plan to move forward and communicate his confidence in the plan ." Terri Bonar-Stewart suggested to leaders that they, "Lay out the facts, ask for employees' help (they have been waiting for you to ask), use humor (you... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

24 Apr 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: What Mark Zuckerberg Can Learn About Crisis Leadership from Starbucks

wasted his opportunity to address data privacy issues; instead, he is inviting government regulators to do it for him. As a result, Facebook’s employees lack direction for using this crisis to rebuild confidence with 2 billion users. #6:... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Technology; Food & Beverage

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

make raising restaurant employee wages nearly impossible absent increased menu prices, which customers hard hit by the crisis are likely to reject. "The most important thing we are all facing is really the confidence and comfort that... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

04 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

How a Juicy Brand Came Back to Life

expertise, Greenberg and his partners cast about for a new owner that could take the brand to the next level. Enter Quaker Oats. Quaker's executives approached the Snapple deal with a mixture of confidence and urgency. The View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Food & Beverage

16 Jun 2021
HBS Case

Cruising in Crisis: How Carnival Is Riding Out the COVID-19 Storm

including the massive infusion of liquidity and confidence into capital markets that took place under the Federal Reserve’s and US government’s various COVID-relief programs, a belief in the long-term growth prospects of the cruise... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Travel

06 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Cut Salaries or Cut People? The Best Way to Survive a Downturn

can vote with your feet” Another factor: Employees at call centers like the one observed in the study do not require much specialized knowledge; the best sales staff simply seemed to know the details of what they were selling better, Stanton says. They also had the... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922

key was to prevent a prospect from feeling manipulated. "Avoid giving the impression to the merchant that you are trying to force him to buy.... No man likes to feel he is being sold." At the same time, it was important for the salesman to exude View Details

Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman

19 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

What Makes Employees Trust (vs. Second-Guess) AI?

When an algorithm recommends ways to improve business outcomes, do employees trust it? Conventional wisdom suggests that understanding the inner workings of artificial intelligence (AI) can raise confidence in such programs. Yet, new... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

31 Mar 2008
HBS Case

JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day Crisis

to think there's more than just an accident happening here," Huckman remarks. "Now that you suspect this, how do you react as a manager? How do you restore confidence among your customers?" Neeleman apologized publicly to... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Air Transportation

13 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Do Private Equity Buyouts Get a Bad Rap?

show the buyout’s effect. In the end, they were left with 9,800 firms bought out between 1980 and 2013 and were able to follow 6,000 firms with a high-enough confidence to determine outcomes. Stark differences When they finally sorted... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

January 2024
Case

Sprouts Farmers Market

By: Rajiv Lal, Forest L. Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

Sprouts Farmers Markets (Sprouts) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based chain of 400-plus natural foods stores in 23 U.S. states and $6.4 billion in sales as of 2022. In its product assortment, brand image, and store environment, Sprouts emphasizes freshness, health, innovation,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Strategic Planning; Sales; Business Strategy; Expansion; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Competition; Retail Industry; United States; Arizona

Citation

Educators

Purchase

26 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Japanese Businesses Are So Good at Surviving Crises

people in the area regained confidence that life was returning to normal. Niinami’s company also donated lunch to Soma City elementary school students for three days in April before the school could get lunch service going again. When he... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

moving in favorable directions. McCool confirmed his belief in the strategy when he confidently told the employees to stay the course, to keep improving the performance driver measures on the scorecard. And his faith was soon confirmed:... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

04 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

How To Do Business in Islamic Countries

that's no different than in [the U.S.]," said Hayes. Personal staff can be very influential and should not be underestimated, he continued. The man who meets you at the airport or who chats you up in a company's waiting room may turn out to be a relative or View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Publications