Problem Solving - Publications - Faculty & Research

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

centricity cannot be achieved by simply listening to customers about their experiences with Best Buy; the company has to commit to owning the customers' problems and working creatively to solve them. Faced... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

16 Feb 2023
HBS Case

ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?

The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Financial Services

04 May 2021
Book

Best Buy: How Human Connection Saved a Failing Retailer

customers—helping them solve their problems and improving their lives through technology. “Then, when a customer walks into the store, they’re not a walking wallet. They are a human being, and you can help... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

18 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by Asking the Right Questions

Most companies rely on artificial intelligence-based algorithms to make a wide variety of business decisions—from pinpointing the products customers prefer to determining which resumes should go to hiring managers. The problem for... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

23 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

entrepreneurs. Wanting to self-fund the venture initially, and later finding it hard to raise outside money, he put a substantial percentage of his net worth on the line to build 38 Studios. Now he is facing a critical acquisition decision that could either double his... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

06 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Cheese Moving: Effecting Change Rather Than Accepting It

corporate organizations may be even more obvious. I have taught and worked with over 10,000 business owners, executives, and managers in the last decade, and in my experience, even smart, hard-working, and well-intentioned people struggle with View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

07 Mar 2023
HBS Case

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

who could have been instrumental in helping the company reach its long-term AI goals. You Might Also Like: Why Technology Alone Can't Solve AI's Bias Problem When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis; Technology

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Make Restructuring Work for Your Company

address any one of these challenges can cause the restructuring to fail. Having A Business Purpose Restructuring is more likely to be successful when managers first understand the fundamental business/strategic problem or opportunity that... View Details

Keywords: by Stuart C. Gilson

02 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

Blissful Thinking: When It Comes to Finding Happiness, 'Your Dreams Are Liars'

Leadership and Happiness, you note that the course “aims to give students a competitive advantage.” How can understanding happiness, both that of our colleagues and our own, make one a more effective leader? Brooks: One of the big View Details

Keywords: by Dan Morrell

16 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Nonprofit Networking: The New Way to Grow

issues these organizations are trying to solve are large, complex problems that can't be addressed by any single entity. Furthermore, nonprofits seek to create social value, not just organizational value;... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

13 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Kind of Blue: Pushing Boundaries with Miles Davis

challenge them and their preconceptions. What would happen if you put great people on a business problem and refused to let them solve it in a habitual way? Carl Størmer: Miles Davis forced the musicians to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Music

30 Nov 2021
In Practice

What's the Role of Business in Confronting Climate Change?

The 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also known as COP26, ended with a hard-fought pact that called on businesses and governments to meet their climate change goals faster. The event followed an August report by the Intergovernmental... View Details

Keywords: by Lynn Schenk and Dina Gerdeman

13 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Don't Turn Your Marketing Function Over to AI Just Yet

practice. “We propose to step back and ask how we can best integrate machine learning to solve previously untenable marketing problems facing real companies?” Combining man and machine A product of the 11th... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

19 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

What Chandrayaan-3 Says About India's Entrepreneurial Approach to Space

Intractable Problems as well as a first-time HBS course, Managing and Investing in a Fast-Growing Emerging Market: India. Will you be incorporating this breakthrough in them? Khanna: Both the courses are about creativity and... View Details

Keywords: by Clea Simon, Harvard Gazette; Aerospace

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

reshaping competition? Marco Iansiti: For the first time in many years, there’s a fundamentally different way of solving the problem of meeting a customer’s needs. Airbnb is a classic example. If I want a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

securities laws: "No one with half a brain can offer 'an opportunity to invest in our company' without knowing that there is a regulatory jungle out there." #1: Thinking any legal problems can be View Details

Keywords: by Staff

08 Sep 2022
Book

Gen Xers and Millennials, It’s Time To Lead. Are You Ready?

George says, she became an “enabler” for the whole firm. Navigate today’s challenges. Be prepared to successfully lead your company through crises and help solve difficult global problems. In 2014, new General Motors CEO Mary Barra faced... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

11 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

S&P 500? There are trillions and trillions of pension assets in S&P funds. Some things are just sticky because they are the benchmark. You Might Also Like: 8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation Why Technology Alone Can't View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consumer Products; Real Estate; Financial Services; Retail

19 Oct 2022
Op-Ed

Cofounder Courtship: How to Find the Right Mate—for Your Startup

Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. She's also a startup adviser and angel investor. This article originally appeared on her blog, Being FA and Other Ponderings. You Might Also Like: Who Will Give You the Best Professional Guidance? How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

31 May 2004
Research & Ideas

How Team Leaders Show Support–or Not

not appropriate for the team member); not providing enough clarity about an assignment; changing assignments or objectives too frequently; giving assignments that conflict with other management instructions); and (3) dealing with problems... View Details