Publications

Article

Relational Reconciliation: Socializing Others Across Demographic Differences

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan and Erin M. Reid

In demographically diverse organizations, employees charged with socializing others— socialization agents—must navigate a deep tension between the organization’s needs to integrate individuals into a collective and individuals’ needs for recognition of their unique... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Organizational Culture; Identity; Employees

07 Jun 2021
News

Nine Tips from an Expert Fundraiser: Help Donors 'Invest in Their Passion'

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

mask on first, before attempting to assist others” is a potent metaphor. In the blink of an eye, self-care for leaders of organizations has transformed from a feel-good nostrum to a strategic first priority. Companies cannot afford to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2021
Article

Turbulence, Firm Decentralization and Growth in Bad Times

By: Philippe Aghion, Nicholas Bloom, Brian Lucking, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

What is the optimal form of firm organization during “bad times”? We present a model of delegation within the firm to show that the effect is ambiguous. The greater turbulence following macro shocks may benefit decentralized firms because the value of local information... View Details

Keywords: Decentralization; Growth; Turbulence; Great Recession; Organizational Design; System Shocks; Economic Growth; Performance

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Article

Geographic Mobility, Immobility, and Geographic Flexibility—A Review and Agenda for Research on the Changing Geography of Work

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury

I review and integrate a wide range of literature that has examined how geographic mobility of high-skilled workers creates value for organizations and individuals. Drawing on this interdisciplinary literature, I document that geographic mobility creates value by... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Mobility; Frictions; Work-from-anywhere; Employees; Geographic Location; Organizational Change and Adaptation

2021
Book

The Heart of Business—Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism

By: Hubert Joly and Caroline Lambert

A remarkable turnaround by a leader with a remarkable philosophy: Find your noble purpose. Put people at the center. Unleash human magic.
"It was fall in Minnesota. It was getting cold and we were supposed to die." This is how Hubert Joly describes the early,... View Details

Keywords: Capitalism; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Leading Change

10 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Top Scholars Say About Leadership

disciplines most often found in business schools. We have proposed that innovation in organizations be conceived of as a process of co-design: creative abrasion, creative agility, and integrated problem solving. We know much about the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

Ton says the key is making the right operating decisions. "You can invest in your people and offer low prices," she says. "And guess what? You'll have a service advantage too." For QuikTrip, that advantage is evident to customers in easy-to-navigate... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

01 Dec 2019
News

Bridging the Gap

have been calling for a prepared workforce,” says Sarah Morgan, president of the Benwood Foundation, a nonprofit partnering with area organizations to create shared prosperity in the region. “But that’s new for Chattanooga. As far as... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; illustration by Josh Cochran; photographed by Melissa Golden; cross sector collaboration; local government; nonprofits; education; leadership; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

April 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

IBM: Design Thinking

By: Srikant M. Datar, Amram Migdal and Paul Hamilton

This case describes the 2012-2020 effort at IBM to implement design thinking throughout the company and hire thousands of designers to serve on every product team alongside technical engineers and developers and product managers. IBM’s design transformation is told... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Divisions; Business Units; Business Organization; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Competency and Skills; Talent and Talent Management; Design; Human Resources; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Jobs and Positions; Job Design and Levels; Leading Change; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Product; Product Design; Product Development; Organizations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Adaptation; Adoption; Technological Innovation; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

Educators

01 Nov 2022
News

A Penny for Your Thoughts? For Big-Picture Ideas, the Right Pay Structure Matters

January–February 2023
Article

Rethink Your Employee Value Proposition: Offer Your People More Than Just Flexibility

By: Mark Mortensen and Amy C. Edmondson

A lot of leaders believe that the formula for attracting and keeping talent is simple: Just ask people what they want and give it to them. The problem is, that approach tends to address only the material aspects of jobs that are top of employees’ minds at the moment,... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Recruitment; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Satisfaction

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March 2025
Supplement

No One Left Behind (C)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard, Max Hancock and David Lane

Supplement to HBS Case No. 325-007. In September 2021, the board of directors for the nonprofit No One Left Behind (NOLB) faced a crucial decision. Since its 2013 founding, NOLB had helped resettle in the United States thousands of Afghans and Iraqis who had assisted... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution; Service Industry; Afghanistan; United States

March 2025
Supplement

No One Left Behind (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard, Max Hancock and David Lane

Supplement to HBS Case No. 325-007. In September 2021, the board of directors for the nonprofit No One Left Behind (NOLB) faced a crucial decision. Since its 2013 founding, NOLB had helped resettle in the United States thousands of Afghans and Iraqis who had assisted... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution; Service Industry; Afghanistan; United States

31 Jul 2023
News

Striving for Imperfection

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Since he left HBS in 1990, Charles Conn (MBA 1990) has built a full and varied portfolio career. Early on, he was a partner at McKinsey and then a tech executive, founding Ticketmaster-Citysearch. Today,... View Details

Keywords: Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

November–December 2023
Article

Storytelling That Drives Bold Change

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

When tackling urgent organizational problems, leaders usually work hard to identify underlying causes, tap a wide range of knowledge, and experiment with solutions. But once they’ve mapped out a plan, there’s one more crucial step they must take: crafting a story so... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Emotions; Communication Strategy

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26 Nov 2019
News

The Ritual Effect

Source: Norton Source: Norton Professor Michael Norton studies the ways in which rituals can influence human behavior. In his research, he has found that people establish rituals to enhance their enjoyment of something or to improve their success and don’t like to... View Details

Keywords: rituals

June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A1)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

First of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. Split from the original (A) case to give students an opportunity to suggest objectives and measures for the division's initial BSC, without... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Measurement and Metrics; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Mining Industry; Energy Industry; United States

Educators

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Hunkering Down and Venturing Out: Network Activation in Response to the Uncertainty of Organizational Restructuring

Uncertain times in organizational life are often accompanied by shifts in resources and power and can trigger a desire for people to affiliate with others. Yet little is understood about which network ties people activate when they feel uncertain about their standing... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Restructuring; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Structure