turnarounds - Publications - Faculty & Research

13 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

How 'Small C' Change Can Beat Large-Scale Rebuilding

the organization’s core activities, sharpen the performance of its leadership team, and rebalance where necessary. This finding came to light when we studied Big C and Small C change in professional sports—specifically, how coaches who were brought in as View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, and Sebastian Flegr; Sports

04 Jan 2022
What Do You Think?

Firing McDonald’s Easterbrook: What Could the Board Have Done Differently?

disappointing to board members who witnessed the turnaround Easterbrook had led at the company since his promotion to CEO four years earlier. The board’s investigation found that Easterbrook’s “consensual relationship” wasn’t physical but... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

20 Dec 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

How to Design a Better Customer Experience

wonderful experience,” says Thomke. He included GE Healthcare as an example of a company making a customer experience turnaround in a recently released learning exercise Designing Transformational Customer Experiences. The exercise helps... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health; Entertainment & Recreation

23 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

The Vinyl Renaissance: Take Those Old Records Off the Shelf

pre-pandemic and why? Kelleher: We averaged six weeks turnaround time on all projects in 2019, 12.5 weeks in 2020, and 27 weeks in 2021. Orders are bigger. If a machine part breaks and it takes us longer to get it, that means we’re down... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Music

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Does Spirituality Drive Success?

personal example. "The turnaround was remarkable," he said. When asked about the how leaders could resolve the conflict in the Middle East, Rasul said, despite his being an "armchair quarterback," he would recommend... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace, Sean Silverthorne & Wendy Guild

01 Mar 2010
Op-Ed

A Golden Opportunity for Ford and GM

and marketing. He also put himself on the firing line, publicly taking ownership for GM's turnaround and appearing in a series of advertisements challenging consumers to compare GM autos with its competitors. Glimmers of Ford's and GM's... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Auto

24 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Building an IT Governance Committee

important. We recommend that the IT governance group be made up of independent directors, as is the case with audit and compensation committees. Chairmanship is also critical. For firms in support, factory, or turnaround modes, the... View Details

Keywords: by Richard Nolan & Warren McFarlan

05 Nov 2024
Book

Building the Road to 'Small Business Utopia' with AI and Fintech

evidence suggests the opposite. If new intelligence is developed that will help them succeed, small businesses will find a way to adopt it. Small businesses are hungry for new solutions. They responded so positively to the early fintechs’ quick View Details

Keywords: by Karen G. Mills; Financial Services

28 Aug 2014
Op-Ed

Government Can Do More to Unfreeze Small Business Credit

streamline loan paperwork and reduce turnaround times, particularly in small dollar loans. Together, these actions resulted in three record years in SBA lending. In 2012 alone, 3,786 financial institutions made an SBA-guaranteed loan, up... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking

16 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 16

risk-return trade-off. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/product/molycorp-morgan-brother-s-reverse-convertible-notes-c/an/215002-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 314-068 Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal This case analyzes the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 12, 2008

Amazon.com: The Brink of Bankruptcy Harvard Business School Case 809-014 Enables a thorough analysis of the Amazon.com business model and its evolution from 1994 to 2001. The case ends with the company poised on the brink of bankruptcy and enables discussion of how to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times

started the turnaround of the company by first working on values—redefining them and communicating them widely. First, they do not merely focus on cost cutting and layoffs when a crisis arrives. While they may lay off employees (though... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=909025 Malaysia Airlines (A) Harvard Business School Case 209-024 In the first six weeks on the job, the new CEO of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has developed an ambitious View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Psychology, Pathology, and the CEO

In recent years, I have been inside nearly two dozen turnaround situations, in various stages of progress, in which new leaders were bringing distressed organizations back from the brink of failure and setting them on a healthier course.... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

06 Dec 2013
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Remember Nelson Mandela

Professor of Business Administration: Don't just mourn Nelson Mandela. Learn to be Nelson Mandela. He was the consummate turnaround leader. As the first democratically-elected president of post-apartheid South Africa, he took on and... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, Linda Hill, Rosabeth Moss Kanter & Gautam Mukunda

07 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 7

and the concentration of the certification industry. We also analyze the possibility that certifiers opt for a quick turnaround time at the expense of a lower accuracy. Finally, we investigate the opportunity of regulating transparency. ... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

03 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 3, 2007

and continued thought the successful turnaround under her successor, Mark Hurd. As such, special focus is given to the individual board personalities and their conflicts over this time in order to fully explore the environment in which... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

How Leaders Build Winning Streaks

turnaround of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the 2002-2003 season? Was it Paul Pressler as head of Disney Sports, because he got investment funds from Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then hired Bryan Murray? Was it Bryan Murray as the general... View Details