Publications

January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
Case

CloudFlare, Inc.: Running Hot?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In July 2012, the cofounders of CloudFlare, a Silicon Valley startup that protects websites and accelerates their traffic, are considering the implications of five employees' resignations over the prior three months. Was this natural attrition for a high-tech venture... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Resignation and Termination; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; California

14 Aug 2017
News

Extremely disappointed Trump didn't agree with Frazier

June 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

The Board of Directors at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Ashley Robertson

Examines the resignation of Philip Purcell as chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley as a result of poor performance and cultural problems, as well as his relationship to the board of directors. View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Corporate Governance; Resignation and Termination; Performance; Rank and Position

February 1991 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Ross Perot and General Motors

By: Jay W. Lorsch

In December, 1986 the General Motors Board of Directors must decide whether to accept the buyout agreement between GM and Ross Perot, a director of GM and its largest stockholder. The agreement called for GM to purchase all of Perot's GM shares in exchange for his... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Stock Shares; Resignation and Termination; Business or Company Management; Agreements and Arrangements

November 2022
Case

Wendy Estrella: Scaling Multiple Businesses

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Sarah Mehta

Entrepreneur Wendy Estrella, a self-made, Latina millionaire based in Lawrence, Massachusetts, is attempting to simultaneously scale her law practice as well as her property management and development company. What path should she take for each and can she do it all,... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Change; Competency and Skills; Decision Making; Demographics; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Legal Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts

News

Huge loss for Priceline

21 Jun 2017
News

Is Big Tech Getting Too Big?

26 Mar 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How Do Great Leaders Overcome Adversity?

Keywords: Re: Anthony Mayo

March 2013 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Bay Partners (A)

By: Josh Lerner and Lauren Barley

In April 2010, Salil Deshpande has recently resigned from Palo Alto, California-based Bay Partners (Bay) where he had been a general partner. Although Deshpande had built a successful track record at the venture firm, he resigned with two other Bay general partners as... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Venture Capital; Conflict Management; Partners and Partnerships; Resignation and Termination; Policy; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry; California

21 Jul 2020
Video

Shirley Zinn

Shirley Zinn explains why she resigned from the Board of Cricket South Africa in 2019 to protest about poor corporate governance and media censorship. The CEO was dismissed shortly... View Details

21 Jul 2022
News

The ‘Great Resignation’ Started Long Ago

03 Nov 2014
News

Can organizations have too much talent?

15 Aug 2017
News

CEOs have to take a stand, says former Medtronic CEO

07 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Exit Interview: HBS Dean Kim Clark

In July, after ten years at the School's helm, Dean Kim B. Clark stepped down to assume the presidency of Brigham Young University-Idaho. During Clark's decade of leadership, the School became a standard-setter in the use of information technology for pedagogy—in... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Alumni Bulletin Staff

July 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Raymond Jefferson: Trial by Fire

By: Anthony Mayo and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the spring of 2021, Raymond (Ray) Jefferson applied for a job in President Joseph Biden’s administration. Ten years earlier, false allegations were used to force him to resign from his prior U.S. government position as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Personal Development and Career; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation

23 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 23

School Case 813-145 CloudFlare, Inc.: Running Hot? In July 2012, the cofounders of CloudFlare, a Silicon Valley startup that protects websites and accelerates their traffic, are considering the implications of five employees' resignations... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 1981 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Mike Miller (A)

Mike Miller, Harvard MBA '78, resigned his first job out of HBS within six months because he believed his personal values and learning objectives could not be accommodated. Students may discuss the problems of anticipating corporate culture, learning the ropes,... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Values and Beliefs; Jobs and Positions; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Personal Characteristics