Publications

05 Jul 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is “Executive Intelligence” for Leaders?

and Street expectations I'll take the manager with his nose deep in a book any day." Akram Boutros, along with many others, argued for balance in our assessment of the importance of EI, pointing out that "both executive... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making

Edmondson, who chairs the Doctoral Programs and teaches in the Technology and Operations Management unit. "To cite one example, former HBS doctoral student Jim Detert and I interviewed some 200 people of all ranks and functions in a... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Companies, Cultures and the Transformation to the Transnational

have reinforced strong Japanese cultural norms that emphasized group behavior and valued interpersonal harmony. Such values carried over into the country's commercial organizations and helped shape distinctive management View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

January 2024
Supplement

Buurtzorg

By: Ethan Bernstein and Tatiana Sandino

As co-founders of home nursing company Buurtzorg, Jos de Blok and Gonnie Kronenberg prized both self-management and organizational learning. Buurtzorg’s 10,000 nurses across 950 neighborhood nursing teams in the Netherlands were empowered to manage themselves, both in... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Style; Business Model; Knowledge Dissemination; Learning; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; Netherlands

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

disinclined to conform to assumed gender stereotypes by working on beauty. The fashion industry, which is also huge, suffers from the same lack of attention from management researchers. Q: You write, "Beauty emerges as an industry which... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

15 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 15

competence—expertise in technology—and its skilled people to accomplish what government and relief agencies could not: an information system and supply chain that tracked and managed the flow of relief supplies. Its efforts were crucial... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Jun 2011
HBS Case

KFC’s Explosive Growth in China

restaurant company in mainland China. The case describes how Yum! China succeeded and expanded by staying local on many levels. It keeps close ties to the Chinese government, hires local management, sources food from within the country, and changes the menu to suit... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Food & Beverage

January–February 2014
Article

IDEO's Culture of Helping

By: Teresa Amabile, Colin M. Fisher and Julianna Pillemer

Leaders can do few things more important than encouraging helping behavior within their organizations. In the highest-performing companies, it is a norm that colleagues support one another's efforts to do the best work they can. That has always been true for efficiency... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Behavior; Attitudes; Organizational Culture; Relationships; Social and Collaborative Networks

February 1999
Case

Tektronix, Inc.: Global ERP Implementation

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan, George Francis Westerman III and Mark J. Cotteleer

Reviews Tektronix's implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution in all three of its global business divisions. This case tells the story of three implementations, each with its own character and requirements. Tektronix managers needed to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Transformation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Management; Management Skills; Management Style; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Electronics Industry

October 2003
Case

Henry Tam and the MGI Team

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Ingrid Vargas and Hillary Anger Elfenbein

Within a short time frame, seven diverse team members assemble to write a business plan for a new company and struggle to define their roles, make decisions together, and resolve conflict. Henry Tam, a second-year Harvard MBA student, who joins an aspiring start-up... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Business Plan; Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Jobs and Positions; Leadership Style; Human Resources; Management Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Diversity

June 2006 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Howard Schultz: Building Starbucks Community

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2006, Howard Schultz reflects on his leadership at Starbucks in light of its continued growth plans. Provides information on the leadership development of the protagonist, tracing his youth and education, his early business career, his acquisition of Starbucks, and... View Details

Keywords: Education; Biography; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Personal Development and Career

19 Oct 2022
Op-Ed

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

is highly dependent on the chemistry, the experience each brings into the relationship, leadership styles and many other internal and external factors. While having cofounders can reduce business risk and/or bring complementary skills,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

January–February 2024
Article

Leaders Must React: A Framework for Responding to Unforeseen Events

By: Nitin Nohria

To be successful, CEOs must articulate a compelling vision, align people around it, and motivate them to execute it. But there’s one thing that can make or break them: how they respond in real time to unforeseen events.

On average, addressing unexpected... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Skills; Leadership Style

Register to Read

07 Nov 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Sir Alex Ferguson--Managing Manchester United

is a British soccer club manager who turns out to be as incredible a performer as any of the lot. For 26 years, Sir Alex Ferguson has kept his Manchester United soccer club either at or near the top of competition, both in England and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation

December 2007
Background Note

Tools and Tactics for Transformation: Three "Whats" and Three "Hows"

By: James K. Sebenius and Stephen Friedman

Important transformation at Goldman Sachs, where one of the authors was Chairman, required analysis, political leadership, and management in order to fundamentally shift the strategy, people, and culture on a sustainable basis. After describing the actions needed to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture; Transition; Strategic Planning; Core Relationships; Multinational Firms and Management; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity

May 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Hakluyt: From Corporate Intelligence to Trusted Advisors

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Lena Duchene

Established in 1995 by a group of ex-British intelligence officers, Hakluyt & Company (Hakluyt) was a corporate advisory firm that generated insights by leveraging a unique blend of internal expertise and a global network of well-connected individuals. Since 2019, the... View Details