Publications

When leaders seek out advice, they’re often told to fix themselves. But should they? Leaders are constantly being told to develop their strengths, mine their failures for insight into what to change, and work to correct real or perceived... View Details

Article

As the World Shifts, So Should Leaders

By: Nitin Nohria

Two decades ago, extensive research led Nohria, the former dean of Harvard Business School, to conclude that the hallmark of great leadership is the ability to adapt to the times. Today, he says, we're in a period of significant change, thanks to global events,... View Details

Keywords: Adaptability; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Adaptation

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April 2021
Case

Glass-Shattering Leaders: Barbara Hackman Franklin

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Barbara Hackman Franklin was one of the first women to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School. She went on to break barriers in the private and public sectors, rising to leadership positions in business and government. In the 1970s, she led a successful White House... View Details

Keywords: Glass Ceiling; Leadership; Gender; Power and Influence

January 2025
Supplement

Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Young Minister Confronts the Challenges of Montgomery (B)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Derek C. M. van Bever

Recounts a pivotal moment in Martin Luther King Jr.'s life during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where a profound prayer amidst threats to his life renewed his faith and resolve to lead the movement. This transformative experience marked the beginning of his lifelong... View Details

Keywords: Spirituality; Civil Rights; Manging Uncertainty; Leadership; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Power and Influence; Alabama

December 1986 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Scandinavian Airlines System

Discusses the fostering of entrepreneurship and innovation in the large corporation. It traces the development and history of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) from 1946 to the present with particular emphasis on the leadership of Jan Carlzon, CEO from 1981 to the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Innovation and Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Air Transportation Industry; Scandinavia

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

subordinates accountable, but they have no clue how to do that,” says Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Hise Gibson in explaining what drew him to study Sanders’ sometimes-controversial leadership style. Gibson, who played football... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

08 Feb 2022
News

Deep Purpose with Ranjay Gulati

2010
Book

Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads

By: Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin and Patrick Cullen

"Business Schools Face Test of Faith." "Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?" As these headlines make clear, business education is at a major crossroads. For decades, MBA graduates from top-tier schools set the standard for cutting-edge business knowledge and skills. Now... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges

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2019
Chapter

Conclusion—Intersections of Race, Work, and Leadership: Lessons in Advancing Black Leaders

By: Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo

In chapter 23, the concluding chapter of Race, Work, and Leadership, “Intersections of Race, Work, and Leadership,” Roberts and Mayo provide insights for understanding and enhancing the black experience. In addition, the editors summarize a series of... View Details

Keywords: Race And Ethnicity; Inclusion; Race; Diversity; Leadership

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December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A): An Enterprise of Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

In 1999, Sun Microsystems, Inc., was claiming a leadership position in the burgeoning world of e-commerce and networking computers. Its goal: "to dot-com the world." What was it about Sun's culture that made it so conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship? And how... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Leading Change; Innovation Leadership; Information Infrastructure; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

April 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

AI Wars

By: Andy Wu, Matt Higgins, Miaomiao Zhang and Hang Jiang

In February 2024, the world was looking to Google to see what the search giant and long-time putative technical leader in artificial intelligence (AI) would do to compete in the massively hyped technology of generative AI. Over a year ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a... View Details

Keywords: AI; Artificial Intelligence; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Competitive Strategy; Technological Innovation

Great business leaders possess more than celebrated traits like charisma and an appetite for risk. They have "contextual intelligence"—a profound ability to understand the Zeitgeist of their times and harness it to create successful organizations. Based on a... View Details

July 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Board Diversity at Amazon (A)

By: Aiyesha Dey and Anu Atluru

The case revolves around the decisions that the board of directors of ecommerce giant Amazon would need to make in response to the controversial letter that activist shareholder CtW investment group sent to Amazon’s shareholders, urging them to vote in favor of a... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Boards; Governing and Advisory Boards; Diversity; Gender; Race; United States

January 2015 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Mauboussin

By: Anat Keinan, Sandrine Crener and Audrey Azoulay

Mauboussin is a French jewelry brand founded in 1827 in Paris. In the 1920s, the company earned a huge notoriety for capturing the aesthetic and emotional dimension of the Art Deco movement in its design and gained a worldwide reputation for innovation and expertise in... View Details

October 2002
Case

New Leaders for New Schools

Describes the founding, early growth, and expansion plans of New Leaders for New Schools, a nonprofit public education venture that recruits, trains, places, and supports principals in U.S. urban school districts. This case presents the strategic, financial, and... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Education; Education Industry

09 Jul 2013
News

Top 10 Quotes From Harvard’s First Forum On Healthcare Innovation

CSML: Leading People

Today’s principals are charged with a wide array of responsibilities – from generating better student outcomes, to recruiting, managing, and retaining high-quality faculty and staff, to cultivating collaboration and collective learning. Leading People provides... View Details

Teaching Interest

Leading Professional Service Firms

By: Andy Wu

As entry barriers rapidly disappear, competition is accelerating and reshaping the business landscape for professional service firms. Navigating this continual change successfully requires extraordinary leadership abilities. This professional service firm... View Details

January 2025
Case

Ontra: Embracing GenAI in the Legal Technology Industry

By: Christopher Stanton and George Gonzalez

Ontra built a network of legal professionals to enable financial institutions to outsource contract negotiations. The rise of generative AI inspired the company to build software solutions to streamline its processes through automation. Now company leadership must... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Business Strategy; Technology Industry; Legal Services Industry; United States