Senior Leaders - Publications - Faculty & Research

10 May 2021
Research & Ideas

Who Has Potential? For Many White Men, It’s Often Other White Men

really saying is, ‘I recognize the qualities I value, which just so happen to be the qualities I have.’” The organization’s norms, processes, and interactions are structured to give those who “have it” opportunities to demonstrate their talents and advance accordingly.... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

26 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Where is Home for the Global Firm?

have distributed these homes worldwide, and in the case of a home for managerial talent, they have splinted that as well. Now there can be several homes for senior managerial talent as well. As one example, consider Genpact. In the early... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Dec 2022
What Do You Think?

How Would Jack Welch’s Leadership Style Fare in Today’s World?

GE-trained leaders after leaving the company, just to cite a few anecdotes. In the interest of full disclosure, several of us on the Harvard Business School faculty knew or had contact with Welch and his organization during his tenure. In... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Industrial Products; Media & Broadcasting; Medical Devices & Supplies; Manufacturing

14 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Reforming New Orleans Schools After Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast region of the United States in August 2005, it destroyed homes and lives. A paradoxical effect, however, is that the storm's aftermath created an opening in New Orleans for school leaders... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

immigration Spar, the Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration and senior associate dean for Business and Global Society at HBS, explores the development of Sweden’s model and its current challenges in the case... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

24 Oct 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Startup or Established Company? Which Is Best for You?

executive teams can be world class or “legacy” leaders who can’t move with the times. There are many tradeoffs when factoring leadership into the decision process of startup versus mature. Startup founded by serial entrepreneurs. This can... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

13 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: Leadership Roles

Editor's note: This is part of a series of occasional columns on managing the family business written by Senior Lecturer John A. Davis. In this article, Davis discusses leadership roles. Part Two: Structuring Leadership Roles My previous... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Davis

14 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

You're Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings

be constantly looking attentive for hours.” How managers can be mindful The pandemic workforce has created a significant challenge for managers, Sadun says. She offers three pieces of advice to leaders of remote workforces: Empathize with... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

27 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Hard Work Isn't Enough: How to Find Your Edge

end of the two months, the woman was involved in so many critical business operations, she received multiple offers from senior leaders to stay—and she went on to work for the company for 40 years. 4. Guide... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

07 Mar 2023
HBS Case

ChatGPT: Did Big Tech Set Up the World for an AI Bias Disaster?

understanding of the underlying technology that powers these systems, she is ringing the alarm: You have to slow down to ensure that the data that these systems are trained on aren’t inaccurate or biased,” says Neeley, who is senior... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis; Technology

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

executives motivated who were asked to take a 50% salary reduction. Because we are now closed and have no revenue, we asked senior staff to take a 50% pay reduction until we reopen. Our CEO took a 100% pay reduction.” On the positive side... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

23 Apr 2024
In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

With each month clocking record-breaking temperatures across the planet, this Earth Day reflected the renewed urgency of regulators and businesses to find climate-change solutions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted new rules that will mandate... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

01 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 1

in the future? By examining hundreds of job profiles developed by executive-search firm Heidrick & Struggles and interviewing numerous senior managers, the authors have identified some clear trends. One strikingly consistent finding... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

15 Podcast Episodes That Grabbed Listeners in 2023

an Impact Great business leaders are problem solvers. That’s what sparked Susan Tynan to found Framebridge, a custom framing company. When Tynan couldn’t find a reasonably priced place to frame her beloved posters, she launched a... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

18 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Will Global Demand for Oil Peak This Decade?

Is the globe’s thirst for oil finally topping out? A major international energy watcher says yes, predicting last month that demand for global oil for transport will peak around 2026, plateau for all uses by 2028, and possibly hit a zenith by the end of the decade.... View Details

Keywords: by Alvin Powell, Harvard Gazette; Energy; Industrial Products; Auto; Green Technology

19 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 19, 2008

meeting such benchmarks; and (ii) senior managers' preoccupation with meeting earnings benchmarks might be based at least partly on career concerns. Download paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-014.pdf A Perceptions Framework for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization

James Lemoine, an assistant professor in the Organization and Human Resources Department of the School of Management at the University at Buffalo, have written extensively on VUCA, and argue, “If VUCA is seen as general, unavoidable, and unsolvable, View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

29 Jan 2018
Book

How 'Teaming' Saved 33 Lives in the Chilean Mining Disaster

reaching, and extracting the trapped miners. Senior leaders in the Chilean government provided resources to support the on-site efforts. How senior leadership triggered extreme... View Details

Keywords: by Amy C. Edmondson; Mining

23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

bureaucratic, and ineffecient into the leader in its industry." Perhaps the most puzzling and problematic aspect of creating Strategy-Focused Organizations is how to sustain the effort. Many companies have managers who have read... View Details

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

08 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

Who Rises to Power in American Business?

generations. What doors are opening? Which remain closed? The book, written by Harvard Business School's Anthony J. Mayo and Nitin Nohria, and Boston College's Laura G. Singleton, is the second in a trilogy on leadership and leaders from... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Publications