Publications

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November 2003 (Revised August 2005)
Case

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation

By: Robert S. Kaplan

First Commonwealth Financial Corp., a financial institution in central and southwestern Pennsylvania, implemented the Balanced Scorecard for describing and implementing its new customer-focused strategy. Its founder and chairman decided that the Balanced Scorecard also... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Corporate Strategy; Customers; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Customer Relationship Management; Executive Compensation; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Pennsylvania

Archie Jones is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School, where he currently teaches Venture Capital and Private Equity, Field... View Details

June 2021
Case

One Family Textiles: Stepping Back to Move Forward?

By: V.G. Narayanan, Alpana Thapar and Fares Khrais

This case explores how a family business builds a board that includes independent directors that helps to professionalize and strengthen governance in the company. The case relates to One Family Textiles, an Abu Dhabi-headquartered manufacturer of garments. The company... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business History; Decision Making; Accounting

December 1961 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Plowman Poultry Farm

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

A poultry farmer wanted to expand production greatly and sought a large extension of his line of credit from his bank in addition to his existing loan on which he had not made payment. The Board of Directors must review a detailed account of events leading to this... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Commercial Banking; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

24 Mar 2017
News

Can Arianna Huffington Save Uber?

Test Your Board’s Readiness for the Post-Covid Era

Research suggests that well-run boards take the process of self-evaluation quite seriously, often using a combination of director surveys and personal interviews to assess the functioning and effectiveness of the board, its committees, and its individual members.... View Details

Srikant M. Datar

Srikant M. Datar became the eleventh dean of Harvard Business School on 1 January 2021. During his tenure as a faculty member, he served as Senior Associate Dean for University Affairs (including Faculty Chair of the Harvard Innovation Lab), for Research, for... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; airline; automobiles; banking; biotechnology; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; health care; high technology; investment banking industry; management consulting; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals; venture capital industry

October 2008
Article

Evaluating the CEO

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. After Kaufman became a CEO, he was struck by how perfunctory the board was in its... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives

24 Sep 2018
Blog Post

Working to Keep Pirates At-Bay: My Summer in Cyber Security

After spending three years working in consulting before coming to HBS, I knew I wanted to use my summer to expand beyond the world of Board of View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

William A. Sahlman

William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business... View Details

September 8, 2009
Article

The New Governance Paradigm

By: Nathaniel Foote and Michael Beer

Boards members of failed banks in 2008 or of the many companies like Enron who were caught up in scandals are by and large honorable, well intentioned, and competent people. So what went wrong and what can be done about it. This article argues that the problem lies in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Competency and Skills; Banks and Banking; Failure; Goals and Objectives; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Ethics; Performance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crime and Corruption

01 Oct 2001
News

Looking for a Leader: The Role of Executive Search Firms

At a recent gathering of chief executives in New York City, the heads of two companies shared pleasant dinner conversation. The first led a large, successful corporation; the second also happened to serve as... View Details

Keywords: Peter K. Jacobs; Telecommunications; Information

April 2021
Case

Glass-Shattering Leaders: Michele Hooper

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Michele Hooper joined the board of the Dayton-Hudson Corporation when she was in her late thirties, becoming the company’s youngest director as well as the only woman and the only person of color in the boardroom. Such “firsts” were not unusual for Hooper, who had been... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Diversity; Corporate Governance; Personal Development and Career

September 1995
Case

Benjamin Rosen and Compaq

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Addresses the challenges faced by Ben Rosen and the company board of directors as continuing problems force it to make a decision about the ongoing governance of the firm. The issues are complicated by the current CEO and founder, Rod Canion, who has had, until... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Corporate Governance; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Information Technology Industry

November–December 2024
Article

How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely.
To better... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing and Advisory Boards

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07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

facilitated by Enron's bankers and advisors and largely missed by its board of directors and other watchdogs. Here are some "high level" details: Jeffrey Skilling had... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better... View Details

June 2001 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Boston Lyric Opera

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Dennis Campbell

The Boston Lyric Opera was the fastest growing opera company in North America during the 1990s. Having successfully completed a move to a larger facility in 1999, the board and general director recognize the need to develop a formal strategic planning and governance... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Strategic Planning; Arts; Growth and Development Strategy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Fine Arts Industry; Massachusetts