Publications

March 2021 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Helen Keller: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Helen Keller who at 19 months became deaf and blind. Refusing to be sidelined from life, Keller showed great determination in learning how to communicate with others, employing tutors and travelling to Boston to enroll in the Perkins... View Details

Keywords: Mission And Purpose; Values And Beliefs; Success; Diversity; Leading Change; Personal Development and Career; Personal Characteristics; Power and Influence

01 Dec 2013
News

Climate Change as Must-See TV

concern and to take action. For HBS alumni, we intend to address any doubts or questions about climate change through an online platform and events at HBS clubs. We also plan to organize a meeting of interested HBS alumni with... View Details

Keywords: videos; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services; Broadcasting (except Internet); Information; Arts, Entertainment

January 2025
Case

GE Appliances 2025: Energizing Change

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small

At the turn of 2025, Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances following its acquisition by Chinese appliance giant Haier in 2016, is reviewing progress toward his net zero carbon vision for homes, which would otherwise exacerbate the global warming climate crisis. An... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Product Development; Organizational Culture

Jan 06 2015
Testimonial

Managing Change as a Team

24 Sep 2014
News

The Business of Climate Change

July 2010
Case

Mekong Capital: Building a Culture of Leadership in Vietnam

By: Christopher Marquis, Vinay Ganti, Kevin Smith and Doug Guthrie

Mekong Capital, a private equity firm specializing in investing in Vietnam, had grown dramatically since its inception in 2002 and faced numerous organizational issues in 2007. There was a shortage of qualified middle managers, an overall lack of leadership, and a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Groups and Teams; Alignment; Financial Services Industry

28 Jan 2020
Book

Advanced Leadership Requires More Than Outside-The-Box Thinking

Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time is to be published today. Kanter is the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. In addition to her many years of teaching and research at HBS,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

04 May 2020
Blog Post

Crisis Leadership with Nikhil Patel: The Critical Importance of Trust

Two weeks into his Leadership Fellows position with the Detroit’s Office of the Mayor, Nikhil Patel (MBA 2019) was summoned by the Mayor for a car ride. Among Patel’s mandates – which included economic development, housing, and... View Details

31 Mar 2011
News

Engineering Change at Fox Television

Keywords: Broadcasting (except Internet); Information

October 2000
Case

Sumisho Metalex: Implementing Strategic Change

By: Srikant M. Datar and Ratna G. Sarkar

Keywords: Leading Change; Business Strategy; Change Management

Find at Harvard

July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Gera Developments: Leadership at a Crossroads

By: Christina R. Wing and John Masko

For decades, Gera Developments (Gera) was a boutique family-owned real estate development firm in Pune, India. But since 2000, managing director Rohit Gera had turned the company into a dynamic innovator in housing solutions for urban Indian families. Over the 2010s,... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Construction; Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Housing; Leadership Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships; Urban Development; Customization and Personalization; Real Estate Industry; Maharashtra; India; United States

04 May 2023
News

How Generative AI Changes Productivity

April 2015
Supplement

Cynthia Carroll at Anglo American Video Supplement

By: Gautam Mukunda

This is a video supplement for the Cynthia Carroll at Anglo American case series. The video features Cynthia Carroll reflecting on her implementation of organizational transformation at Anglo American in regards to the mining company's safety culture. View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Change Management; Leadership, Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Change Management; Change; Safety; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Leadership Style; Mining Industry; South Africa

13 Jun 2014
News

The Art of Effecting Change

alma maters (Miami University of Ohio and Vanderbilt University). They've also taken a leadership role at the school, serving on the Board of Dean's Advisors and as cochairs of their 25th Reunion, and as early founding donors of the... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; Arts, Entertainment

March 2024
Case

Katharine Graham: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the life of Katharine Graham from housewife to publisher of the Washington Post. Born into a family of wealth, Graham described herself as a “doormat wife” after she married Phil Graham and stayed at home to raise their children. His unexpected death... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Power and Influence; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Success; Work-Life Balance; News; Newspapers; Media; Gender; Publishing Industry

December 2023
Case

Robert McNamara: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the life of Robert McNamara from Harvard Business School to Ford Motor Company to the U.S. Department of Defense. McNamara excelled in every job along the way: becoming the youngest-ever professor at Harvard Business School, the first non-family... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Military; Leadership Development; Values and Beliefs; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Success; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence; Business Education; War

October 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Microsoft in Transition: Bill Gates's Leadership

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Takia Mahmood

Keywords: Leadership; Change Management; Computer Industry