Publications

06 Jul 2023
News

Lessons from Major League Baseball's Game-Changing Innovations

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. Back in 2014, When Chris Marinak (MBA 2008) was in the process of rolling out the instant replay system as a Senior Vice President at Major League Baseball, he... View Details

24 May 2017
News

Adebayo O. Ogunlesi, JD/MBA 1979

Head of Global Energy Group, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) 2002 Named Global Head, CSFB Investment Banking Division 2004 Named CSFB Chief Client Officer 2006 Launches Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) 2009 GIP acquires Gatwick... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

April 2021
Case

Transforming BlackBerry: From Smartphones to Software

By: Ranjay Gulati and Nicole Tempest Keller

On the verge of failure, BlackBerry brought in John Chen as CEO in 2013 to orchestrate a bold turnaround of the company. Once an iconic leader in the smartphone market, BlackBerry was best known for its tactile QWERTY keyboard, strong security, and a focus on business... View Details

Keywords: Pivot; Managing Change; Turnaround; Smartphone; Change Management; Leading Change; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Change; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Competitive Strategy; Cybersecurity; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; Canada

14 Jun 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Evolution Analysis of Large-Scale Software Systems Using Design Structure Matrices and Design Rule Theory

Keywords: by Matthew J. LaMantia, Yuanfang Cai, Alan D. MacCormack & John Rusnak; Video Game; Web Services

May 2012 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2012

By: David B. Yoffie and Penelope Rossano

On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs tragically died of cancer. The recently retired CEO of Apple Inc. was a legend: he had changed Apple from a company near bankruptcy to one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. Moreover, he had revolutionized several... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Market Positioning; Strategic Planning; Technology; Computer Industry; Strategy Implementation; Consumer Electronics; Telecommunications; Information Infrastructure; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Leadership; Product Positioning; Telecommunications Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

defensive drives. The implicit, almost unconscious ways we get information and reassure each other are lost when people go remote. Colleagues are not going to overhear useful conversations while getting coffee. Because of this, functions... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

01 Jun 2023
News

Curb Appeal

Jessica Tisch (JD/MBA 2008) has a problem. And she couldn’t be happier about it. It’s a chilly February morning in Lower Manhattan, and Tisch, who was appointed commissioner of the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) last April, has only hours to pivot the world’s largest... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photography by Vance Jacobs; Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities; Government

01 Jun 2024
News

Quantum Leap

digital computer, a room-sized behemoth that sported 18,000 vacuum tubes and resembled the unholy offspring of a fuse box and a telephone exchange when it was unveiled in 1943. “This is the complexity you need to run five qubits,” Levy says, referring to the... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photographed by Chris Sorensen; quantum computing; innovation; leadership; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

05 Jun 2023
What Do You Think?

Is the Anxious Achiever a Post-Pandemic Relic?

infrastructure (support systems).” They have accounted for a substantial portion of the output and productivity of the world’s most developed economies. Now the anxious achievers occupying many leadership positions are confronted with a... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

the closer one gets to the customer in responses from sales and service personnel. This article outlines the issues and explains why withholding information about strategy for competitive reasons often results in greater risk for the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2011
Case

The Morrison Company

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Paul Meyers

The Morrison Company develops and manufactures radio frequency identification tags (RFID) known as smart labels for the retail and pharmaceutical industries. RFID technology is a fast-growing and increasingly competitive industry. Sales have risen dramatically over the... View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Information Technology; Strategy; Production; Organizational Structure; Infrastructure; Product Development; Information Infrastructure; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Electronics Industry

April 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

IBM: Design Thinking

By: Srikant M. Datar, Amram Migdal and Paul Hamilton

This case describes the 2012-2020 effort at IBM to implement design thinking throughout the company and hire thousands of designers to serve on every product team alongside technical engineers and developers and product managers. IBM’s design transformation is told... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Divisions; Business Units; Business Organization; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Competency and Skills; Talent and Talent Management; Design; Human Resources; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Jobs and Positions; Job Design and Levels; Leading Change; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Product; Product Design; Product Development; Organizations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Adaptation; Adoption; Technological Innovation; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

February 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Apple Inc., 2008

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

In January 2007, three decades after its incorporation, Apple Computer shed the second word in its name and became Apple Inc. With that move, the company signaled a fundamental shift away from its historic status as a vendor of the Macintosh personal computer (PC)... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Leadership; Industry Growth; Corporate Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Technology Industry