Publications

February 1996
Case

Eastman Chemical Company: Building a Board from Scratch

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

Eastman Chemical Co. spun off from Kodak in 1993. The CEO of Eastman, Earnest Deavenport did not want the new company's board any members of the Kodak board to include, so he initiated a deliberate and thorough process to build an entirely new board that he hoped would... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Management Teams; Selection and Staffing; Chemical Industry

November 1976 (Revised July 1983)
Case

Nuclear Tube Assembly Room (A) (Condensed)

By: John J. Gabarro

Supervisory practices and social structure in an electronics company assembly room. To be used with the (B) case. Based on American Radiatronics Corp. (A) by M.J. Steckler and P.R. Lawrence. View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Social Psychology; Electronics Industry

March 2000 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Thomas Weisel Partners (B): Year One

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Scott D Landry

After its launch in February 1999, Thomas Weisel Partners experiences rapid growth in its first year. This case details the inaugural year's development and probes what steps the firm should take to continue the momentum. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Financial Institutions; Management Teams; Growth Management; Financial Services Industry

April 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Randy Komisar: Virtual CEO

Randy Komisar serves as "virtual CEO" to numerous hi-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley. Explores Randy's role, his perspective on general management, and a choice between two opportunities in which he is considering investing his time. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Business or Company Management; Leadership; Business Startups; Management Teams; Technology Industry; California

Find at Harvard

01 Feb 2001
News

Design Moguls

The HBS Design Fair 2000, held December 4 in Kresge Hall, showcased final projects for the MBA elective course, Managing Product Development, taught by Associate Professor Stefan Thomke. Second-year students on the Capstone Snowboard... View Details

Keywords: Educational Services

March 1991 (Revised October 1991)
Case

CEO Evaluation at Dayton Hudson

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Describes the Dayton Hudson CEO evaluation process, one of the most intensive in corporate America today. The board of directors' role in the evaluation is examined, as is the question of whether the Dayton Hudson CEO evaluation process should serve as a model for... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Management Teams

01 Dec 2015
News

Complements to the Case Method

productive,” says former student Nami Singhal (MBA 2013), now an associate at asset management firm AQR Capital Management. Singhal’s team made a bet that Argentina would default during its debt crisis; they... View Details

01 Jun 2005
News

Do You Speak Business?

China. “I have no regrets,” he adds, “because I learned so much from that experience.” Now working in strategic planning for Philip Morris International’s China operations, Klump is part of a small management View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

25 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Lean Strategy Not Just for Start-Ups

grew. That meant that as more features were added or tweaked, there were more farmers to provide useful feedback from the field. "The more farmers you have, the better data you have," Cook said. Experimentation can be hard for product View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

03 Nov 2022
Op-Ed

Feeling Separation Anxiety at Your Startup? 5 Tips to Soothe These Growing Pains

For these employees, you (or they) may feel that a scaling business is not a fit. Early stage is their sweet spot and a transition may be necessary. However, before concluding that it’s time for some of these early team members to... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

19 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Why Innovations Sit on the Shelf

Innovation initiatives tend to fall apart right from the start when top management advocates for a specific project and then begins to implement it without discussing it with key team members and partners in... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer, Russell Eisenstat & Derek Schrader

May 2002
Case

Mellon Investor Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong

James Aramanda, head of Mellon Investor Services, must decide how to change the focus of his business. He works with consultants to create a change strategy to enhance a business that is already doing well. Will he be able to interest his professionals in changing the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

Keywords: Garry Emmons;Julia Hanna;Roger Thompson; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment; National Security and International Affairs; Government; Health, Social Assistance; Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services; Information; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

09 Jun 2021
News

Employees Are Lonelier Than Ever. Here’s How Employers Can Help.

01 Dec 2011
News

Making the Case for Leadership

programming vision, to recruiting and motivating a growing team of employees (some of whom, like Swan, were commuting from other cities at the time). Also in play: managing a tight, closely watched budget... View Details

Career Coach

Ildi Nielsen

and consumer products companies. Ildi also spent 12 years as an Executive Search Consultant in New York and Chicago for financial services firms. She worked with senior executives to build their teams and with a multitude of... View Details

Keywords: Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

ideas." With a level in the middle, R&D teams will both forced to look at current ideas and able to take them in new directions. Finally, says Ahuja, it's essential to put a knowledge management... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

May 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Ron Johnson: Retail at Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney

By: Das Narayandas, Kerry Herman and Lisa Mazzanti

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States