Publications

Find at Harvard

16 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

The Most Successful Startups Have Hands-On Founders

getting the feedback they need, and they’re happy in the firm so they’re less likely to quit,” says Rembrand Koning, an assistant professor in Harvard Business School’s Strategy Unit who was a coauthor of the study. "Our findings... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

October 2007
Case

The AtekPC Project Management Office

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Mark Keil and John Hupp

Presents one company's efforts to implement a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced in doing so. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose and mission, the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Projects; Goals and Objectives; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Business Strategy; Mathematical Methods; Consulting Industry

July 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Acelerex

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, Randell Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive of Acelerex, was reflecting on the company’s first year of rapid growth and the challenges of scaling the business that lay ahead. Acelerex was riding the waves of change taking place in electrical power grids... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Cash Flow; Energy Industry; Web Services Industry; Consulting Industry

06 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 6, 2007

growth without undermining the progress achieved in reducing inequality and poverty. Can the Brazilian government reverse inequality and grow at the same time? What development strategy should Lula follow in his second term? Does Brazil... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Apr 2023
HBS Case

What Does It Take to Build as Much Buzz as Booze? Inside the Epic Challenge of Cannabis-Infused Drinks

while working as consultants at Bain & Company in 2018. Alcohol alternative with a social mission Considered one of the first cannabis beverage firms, Cann has sold more than 10 million cans of low-calorie flavored seltzer infused... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

April 2006
Article

Competitive Advantage and the Value Network Configuration: Making Decisions at a Swedish Life Insurance Company

By: Øystein D. Fjeldstad and Christian H.M. Ketels

When the Swedish Life Insurers Förenade Liv found themselves in difficulties in a rapidly changing market, their response was to call in the consultants. And one of the consultant's first suggestions was to use the Value Network, not the Value Chain, as a new... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Fluctuation; Networks; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Value; Quality; Decision Making; Market Transactions; Performance Effectiveness; Customers; Insurance Industry; Sweden

Find at Harvard

Read Now

April 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Buro Happold

By: Robert G. Eccles and Kerry Herman

Padraic Kelly became Managing Director (MD) of the engineering services firm Buro Happold in 1996. One of his first initiatives was "Aim for Growth," which was intended to help the firm grow beyond its current size where it was constrained by a structure of having each... View Details

Keywords: Training; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Skills; Organizational Culture; Programs

20 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Seven Things That Surprise New CEOs

signs: You have become the bottleneck. Employees are overly inclined to consult you before they act. People start using your name to endorse things, as in "Frank says " Surprise Three: It Is Hard To Know What Is Really Going On... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch & Nitin Nohria

09 Jun 2022
HBS Case

From Truck Driver to Manager: US Foods’ Novel Approach to Staff Shortages

the company was able to maintain its position as one of the top three food distribution companies in the US among rivals Sysco and Performance Food Group, capturing 10 percent of market share. US Foods’ strategy provides valuable lessons... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

06 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Strategic Intelligence: Adapt or Die

one-shot deal. Most companies use consultants to set a new strategy and then get on with it and start executing—until the next time they need a new strategy. Q: How can a company always be changing without... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Budgeting Kills Your Company

keep a tight rein on costs—but the dynamics of the budgeting process often undermine this effort. "In tough times like these, any significant real cost growth feels imprudent and is hard to justify for most businesses," writes Mike Baxter, a partner in the... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gary

10 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

John Kotter’s Plan to Accelerate Your Business

structure driven by the accelerators." Two Is Better A dual operating system is a nod to what Kotter believes is some of the most interesting management thinking of the past few decades, from Michael Porter's "wakeup call telling us that organizations need to pay... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

April 2002
Case

Pallotta TeamWorks

By: Allen S. Grossman and Elizabeth Kind

Pallotta Team Works is a for-profit, privately owned company that produces multiday fundraising events for nonprofit organizations. Dan Pallotta, the 40-year-old CEO, founded the enterprise in 1992. The company has grown rapidly, having raised over $200 million for... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Business Model; Nonprofit Organizations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Social Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; United States