Publications

31 Jul 2020
News

Braintrust Podcast Episode 1: Joseph Fuller Professor at HBS - The Future of Work

Teaching Interest

Turnarounds and Transformation (formerly Entrepreneurial Management in a Turnaround Environment)

By: Ranjay Gulati

The focus of this course is the leader as a strategist, architect, decision maker, and change agent in a turnaround or transformation environment. This course is intended for students pursuing a range of career options as business operators,... View Details

Keywords: MBA; Transformation

Beyond Their Funds, How Can Your Investors Be Helpful?

An entrepreneur recently said to me “When it gets really hard, I feel like I’m doing it wrong.” She went on to say that sometimes she’s not sure how her investors could be helpful — even if it’s just validating what’s hard vs. advising on how to work through... View Details

November 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

CNOOC: Building a World-Class Energy Company

By: Joseph L. Bower, Nancy Hua Dai and Michael Shih-ta Chen

Fu Chengyu is the fifth CEO to lead China National Offshore Oil Company - an SOE founded in 1982 to exploit Chinese offshore deposits. In 2010 he is trying to decide how to drive further growth in a company that has grown 556 times in less than 30 years, with profits... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Leadership Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Organizational Culture; State Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Energy Industry; China

26 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Where is Home for the Global Firm?

Not so long ago, multinational firms were associated with a specific national identity. Caterpillar was a prototypical U.S. company. Honda was a classic Japanese company. The location of headquarters of these and other firms served as proof, and nations took pride in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2022
Case

General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Alicia Dadlani

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused... View Details

Keywords: Race; Decisions; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Minneapolis; Minnesota; United States

March 11, 2020
Editorial

A Bolder Vision for Business Schools

By: P. Tufano

Business schools teach to a model that dates back to the 1950s. Given the growing demands on business to take a lead in confronting societal challenges, business schools need to update how they train business leaders and how they compete, argues Oxford’s Saïd School... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools; Business And Society; Business Education; Leadership Development; Business and Stakeholder Relations

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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

September 2020
Case

Merck: COVID-19 Vaccines

By: Willy C. Shih

COVID-19 infections were still climbing across the U.S. and many other parts of the world in September 2020, and it seemed that every time Ken Frazier, the CEO of Merck & Co. consented to an interview in recent months he always seemed to hear the same question,... View Details

Keywords: Vaccines; COVID-19 Pandemic; Health Pandemics; Health Testing and Trials; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business Strategy; Product Launch; Pharmaceutical Industry

March 24, 2015
Article

Starbucks' 'Race Together' Campaign and the Upside of CEO Activism

By: Aaron Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

When Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz asked his baristas to engage customers in a discussion about race in America, it was a clear case of the growing trend of "CEO activism." Despite the criticism of that particular initiative, CEO activism—from Shultz to Chick-Fil-A's... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Communication Strategy; Race

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21 Jun 2022
News

Government Doesn’t Take Enough Risks. Let’s Change That.

21 Jul 2020
News

New Models for a New World

31 Dec 2018
News

The year of the last action hero

August 2017 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Enel: The Future of Energy

By: Mark R. Kramer and Bhanuteja Nadella

Enel has transformed from the Italian state-owned energy monopoly into a global leader in renewable energy and shared value creation. Through its open innovation model, the company has catapulted to the cutting edge of electric mobility and distributed power... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Energy Industry