Publications

2010
Working Paper

Course Materials For: 'Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership - An Ontological Model'

By: Werner H. Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, Steve Zaffron and Kari L. Granger

This course is designed to leave students being leaders and exercising leadership effectively as their natural self-expression - rather than attempting to learn the characteristics, styles, and skills of noteworthy leaders, and then trying to remember and apply them... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Leadership Development; Research; Science; Attitudes

SSRN

01 Mar 2007
News

The Life of Bailey

For most executives, looking good and being fit are personal and professional goals. But as Richard Bailey (MBA ’81) notes, the business lifestyle, especially travel, often gets in the way. “Combine jet lag with hectic meeting schedules and gyms with weird hours and... View Details

Keywords: fitness; physical exercise; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

06 May 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Introductory Reading For Being a Leader and The Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model

Keywords: by Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, Steve Zaffron & Kari L. Granger; Education

2008
Working Paper

The Ontological Foundations of Leadership and Performance: Being a Leader, and the Effective Exercise of Leadership, A New Model

By: Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, Steve Zaffron and Kari L. Granger

This paper is the (pre-course) introduction document to an experimental course developed by the authors and taught at the U. of Rochester Simon School of Business. The intention of the course is to leave the participants actually being leaders and being able to... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Business Education; Knowledge; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Performance Effectiveness; Attitudes; Behavior; Perspective

December 1970 (Revised May 1991)
Supplement

Methods of Calculating Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return, Programmed Exercises

By: Howard Raiffa

Keywords: Finance; Investment

Find at Harvard

March 2017
Exercise

Designing Transformational Customer Experiences

By: Stefan Thomke

Anyone who has recently travelled, gone shopping, or tried to have a problem solved may have little recollection of the experience. Worse yet, some are frustrated by the lack of responsiveness or empathy that they encountered. The reality is that most customer... View Details

Keywords: Customer Experience; Exercise; Learning By Doing; LEGO; Storytelling; Customer Satisfaction; Design; Innovation and Management; Transformation; Service Delivery

May 1995
Teaching Note

Note on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and Corporate Criminal Fines Exercise TN

By: Lynn S. Paine and Michael Santoro

Teaching Note for (9-393-060) and (9-394-101). View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Government and Politics; Corporate Governance

2009
Case

Course Materials for: Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership--An Ontological Model

By: Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, Steve Zaffron and Kari L. Granger

Keywords: Leadership Development; Personal Development and Career

SSRN

November 2008
Article

Getting off the Hedonic Treadmill, One Step at a Time: The Impact of Regular Religious Practice and Exercise on Well-Being

By: Daniel Mochon, Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely

Many studies have shown that few events in life have a lasting impact on subjective well-being because of people's tendency to adapt quickly; worse, those events that do have a lasting impact tend to be negative. We suggest that while major events may not provide... View Details

Keywords: Health; Religion; Behavior; Happiness; Welfare

Find at Harvard

Read Now

November 1989 (Revised January 1990)
Case

Paul Revere Insurance Co. (C): Competing For the Baldrige Award--The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Exercise

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award requires firms to submit applications that conform to a rigorous quality-assessment system. This case consists of several parts of a service company's 1988 Baldrige application together with material from the Malcolm Baldrige... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Performance Improvement; Performance Evaluation

December 2022 (Revised June 2023)
Teaching Note

Teaching Note for Endesa Chile: Raising the Ralco Dam & Río Curicó: A Six-party Negotiation Exercise

By: Julian Zlatev, Kathleen McGinn, Katherine Chen and Rachel Drapper

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 906-014, 906-015, 920-056, and 920-061. View Details

01 Apr 2002
Conference Presentation

To Beta or Not to Beta?: The Pedagogy and Execution of a Web-based New Product Development Exercise

By: Andrew McAfee and Alan MacCormack

Keywords: Product Development; Online Technology; Web

August 2022
Supplement

Zalora: Data-Driven Pricing Recommendations

By: Ayelet Israeli

This exercise can be used in conjunction with the main case "Zalora: Data-Driven Pricing" to facilitate class discussion without requiring data analysis from the students. Instead, the exercise presents reports that were created by the data science team to answer the... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Pricing Algorithms; Dynamic Pricing; Ecommerce; Pricing Strategy; Pricing And Revenue Management; Apparel; Singapore; Startup; Demand Estimation; Data Analysis; Data Analytics; Exercise; Price; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Singapore

December 1984 (Revised May 1998)
Teaching Note

Kennedy and the Balance of Payments; Balance of Payments: Accounting and Presentation; Kennedy and the Balance of Payments, Exercise Worksheet; & Answers, Teaching Note

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching Note for (9-383-073), (9-384-005), (9-384-006), and (9-385-243). View Details

Keywords: United States

July 2017
Teaching Note

Designing Transformational Customer Experiences

By: Stefan Thomke

Keywords: Customer Experience; Design; Exercise; Learning By Doing; LEGO; Storytelling; Transformation

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

October 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry, 2005–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2015, the U.S. health-club industry generated revenues of $25.8 billion, up from $14.8 billion in 2004. Members of health clubs accounted for 17% of the population, up from 14%. The number of clubs had grown from 26,830 in 2004 to 36,180. In the process, the list of... View Details

February 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

SoulCycle: The Road Ahead

By: Ashish Nanda, Eric Van den Steen and Jeffrey Boyar

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler founded SoulCycle, an indoor cycling studio chain, in 2006 as more than a health club; they wanted it to become a lifestyle brand that would “empower riders in an immersive fitness experience.” By early 2015, SoulCycle had grown to 38... View Details

Keywords: Fitness; Fitness Industry; Exercise; Cycling; Boutique Fitness; Exit Strategy; Growth; Bicycles; Retail; Pricing; Community; SoulCycle; Vision; Health; Leadership; Strategy; Marketing; Decision Making; Health Industry; United States