Publications

2019
Case

Smith Brothers Insurance: Managing Successions at a Growing Insurance Agency

By: Jason Pananos and A.J. Wasserstein

March 2015
Case

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp: Redefining Success in the U.S. (A)

By: Gautam Mukunda, Thomas DeLong and Aldo Sesia

Over the course of a tumultuous weekend in April 2010, André Wyss was put in charge of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NPC), the U.S. sales and marketing subsidiary of Novartis Pharma AG. He was brought in at a critical point in the organization's evolution with... View Details

Keywords: LEAD; Talent Management; Leadership And Change Management; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

01 Oct 1999
News

Banking on Success

consider carefully how I use that freedom to make a difference." How have your priorities changed since 1974? When I went to business school, achieving professional success was tremendously important, even more important than financial... View Details

Keywords: Deborah E. Blagg

1984
Other Unpublished Work

Informal Networks: Keys to Successful Management - HBS Discussion Paper

By: J. Ronald Fox and Paul Edwin Morrison

Keywords: Networks; Management Practices and Processes; Success

February 2015
Case

BlackRock: Diversity as a Driver for Success

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

In July 2014, the Global Executive Committee (GEC) for BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, held a two-day offsite to discuss the state of talent within the firm. A year prior, in 2013, Chairman and CEO Laurence (Larry) Fink had asked Global Head of HR Jeff... View Details

Keywords: Women And Leadership; Diversity; General Management; Leadership; Change Management; Human Capital; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Financial Services Industry; United States

01 Jun 2006
News

Surviving Success

In the frenzied, early months of a new venture’s launch, few entrepreneurs anticipate a future beyond their role as company leader. In “Founder–CEO Succession at Wily Technology,” HBS assistant professor Noam Wasserman and former HBS... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

Blog

Leading Successful Digital Transformation

may be disrupted in the future is not the best recipe for long-term success. Experimentation: Companies often run hackathons and innovation days that inspire employees to start many new digital projects. Senior management encourages these... View Details

02 Dec 2010
News

Panda Success

Keywords: Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

20 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

Lessons of Successful Entrepreneurs

Successful businessmen told a roomful of students that ultimately, the world outside the classroom will be their best teacher in entrepreneurship. "If you are taking an entrepreneurship class, you want to be a venture... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2023 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Nick Saban: Embracing 'The Process' of Sustaining Success

By: Ranjay Gulati and Eppa Rixey

Nick Saban, head coach of the University of Alabama football team from 2007-2022, fielded teams that won 183 of 208 games (88%), including a record-tying six national championships. Saban’s approach to coaching, known to many as “The Process,” and the consistent... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Leadership And Managing People; Football; Recruiting; Talent Acquisition; Talent And Talent Management; Talent Development And Retention; Organization Change And Adaptation; Organizational Behavior; Sports; Leadership; Leadership Development; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sports Industry; United States

April 2013 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter?

By: David A. Garvin, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Liz Kind

Google's Project Oxygen started with a fundamental question raised by executives in the early 2000s: do managers matter? The topic generated a multi-year research project that ultimately led to a comprehensive program, built around eight key management attributes,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Business Policy; General Management; Human Resource Management; Management; Leadership; Human Resources

March – April 2003
Article

Founder-CEO Succession and the Paradox of Entrepreneurial Success

By: Noam Wasserman

Keywords: Management; Entrepreneurship; Management Succession; Success

Read Now

June 1982
Supplement

General Electric Co.: Management Succession and a New Staff Role, Video

Article

A Head Start on Succession

By: Joseph L. Bower

Our studies of CEO succession over the past several years have shown some improvements in the trends in CEO turnover, often resulting from outside pressures for improved oversight and better corporate governance. The next step in improving CEO succession—and ultimately... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership Development; Management Practices and Processes; Management Succession; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations

August 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 2: Building a Successful Strategy

By: Robert Simons

This module reading describes the basics of building a successful strategy. Topics in this module include a discussion of the distinction between corporate and business strategy; how to conduct a SWOT analysis of market dynamics and internal capabilities; the use of... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Business Strategy; Five Forces; Distinctive Capabilities; Emergent Strategy; Mission Statements; Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Competitive Advantage

01 Jun 2006
News

Banking on Success

As president and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s third-largest financial corporation, Jamie Dimon (MBA ’82) has a shot to prove whether the model of one-stop-shop for financial services really works. It’s a model he helped build at Citigroup before being pushed out... View Details

Keywords: Management

July 2013
Teaching Note

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter?

By: David A. Garvin

Google's Project Oxygen started with a fundamental question raised by executives in the early 2000s: do managers matter? The topic generated a multi-year research project that ultimately led to a comprehensive program, built around eight key management attributes,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Business Policy; General Management; Human Resource Management; Management; Leadership; Human Resources

April 2015
Supplement

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp: Redefining Success in the U.S. (B)

By: Gautam Mukunda, Thomas DeLong and Aldo Sesia

This (B) case describes the actions André Wyss, president of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, took in early 2012 to transform the company's General Medicines group and build its specialty medications, marketing the selling capabilities in the face of falling... View Details

Keywords: LEAD; Leadership And Change Management; Talent Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Change Management; Talent and Talent Management; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States