Publications

October 2006
Teaching Note

Precista Tools AG (TN) (A), (B), and (C)

By: John A. Davis and Courtney Sampson

Teaching Note to (488-046), (488-047), and (488-048). View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Race; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Resignation and Termination; Conflict and Resolution; Switzerland

January 2022
Case

Walmart Goes Global (A)

By: Juan Alcácer

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Success; Globalized Markets and Industries; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Failure; Retail Industry; Germany; China; Argentina; South Korea; Canada; Japan; Brazil; Africa; United Kingdom; United States; Mexico

February 2005
Case

Bayside Motion Group (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Bradley R. Staats

After purchasing a business and successfully growing it for 18 years, the sole owner is presented with an attractive acquisition offer from a Fortune 500 company. The company's future is bright, but is now the right time to sell? Can he create more value by waiting?... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Cash Flow; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Growth Management; Success; Private Ownership

Find at Harvard

June 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Spir-It, Inc. (A): Building the Business

Early in February 1934, two and a half months after the end of prohibition, Jack Sindler sat with a friend in Boston's Ritz Hotel bar enjoying a drink. Sindler worked for the Converse Rubber Co., and he was always inventing something. He held several patents for rubber... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Production; Market Entry and Exit; Management Succession; Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Acquisition; Growth and Development; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Boston

Find at Harvard

Gordy’s Motown Records became the most successful African-American enterprise of its time with sales in the early 1970s of $50 million. Gordy’s first gold record came just one year after the founding of Motown - Smokey Robinson and the... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

April 2009
Teaching Note

Amylin Pharmaceuticals: Diabetes and Beyond (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Rachel Gordon

Teaching Note for [809011]. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Product Development; Success; Commercialization; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Resource Allocation; Pharmaceutical Industry

02 Dec 2010
News

Ten Rules for Entrepreneurs

entrepreneurs from the late 1990s and winnowed the lot down to three: Marla Malcolm Beck, Chris Michel, and Marc Cenedella. From their stories, he derived key lessons learned, often the hard way, as they built successful businesses,... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Harland Sanders

After running a successful café in Corbier, Kentucky, for 27 years, at the age of 66, Sanders started what would become the franchise business, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Capitalizing on the popularity of the simple fried chicken that had... View Details

Keywords: Restaurants & Lodging

Oprah G. Winfrey

Through her company, Harpo Productions, Winfrey has created a multimedia empire. Beginning as an early morning talk show host in Chicago, Winfrey parlayed this success into one of the most enduring and View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

May 1995
Teaching Note

Adam Opel AG (A) and (B) TN

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Teaching Note for (9-392-100) and (9-392-101). View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Diversification; Success; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Germany

February 2021 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Walt Disney: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Walt Disney, founder of the worldwide entertainment company. The case describes how Disney, as a young artist, created memorable figures such as Mickey Mouse and went on to produce Academy-award-winning films and build the world’s most... View Details

Keywords: Creativity Teams; Entertainment Industry; Family; Entertainment; Creativity; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Success; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

09 Jun 2015
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Social Media

different insights into developing and executing a successful social media strategy. Brand Manager's Guide to Losing Control Social media platforms have taken some of the marketing power away from companies and given it to consumers. Jill... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Advertising

01 Mar 2017
News

HBS Celebrates Launch of New Legacy Society

Beth (MBA 1984) and Mike (MBA 1982) Fascitelli, paid tribute to the life of Mr. Whitehead and illustrated the lasting impact of legacy gifts on HBS. As Dean Nitin Nohria said in his remarks, “Very few institutions in the world outlive us. HBS’s future — its View Details

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Improving Corporate Governance with the Balanced Scorecard

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & Michael E. Nagel

October 2005 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Kevin Sharer at Amgen: Sustaining the High-Growth Company (A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

Keywords: Leadership Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Style; Management Succession; Personal Development and Career

May 1992 (Revised August 1996)
Supplement

NIKE in Transition (C): A Second COO

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

After two years of stunning financial results, Knight again appoints a new COO, Dick Donahue. Are Knight and Nike ready for a new COO? How does Donahue differ from Woodell? Will his personality, style, and agenda fit with the new Nike Knight has created? Also describes... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Management Succession; Managerial Roles; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry

2011
Book

Detour: My Unexpected, Amazing, Life Changing Journey With OnStar

By: Chet Huber

Detour is the story behind the launch of OnStar’s now well known blue button, as told through the eyes of its founder and CEO of over fourteen years, Chet Huber. It’s a personal narrative that describes the events that led up to General Motors’ unexpected choice... View Details

Keywords: General Motors; OnStar; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Transportation; Safety; Personal Development and Career; Creativity; Success; Business History; Auto Industry

Find at Harvard

February 2003 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, The

By: Allen S. Grossman and Christina Darwall

Patrick J. McGrath, the bishop of the healthy and growing San Jose diocese, is pioneering the use of long-term, business-like strategic planning to better deliver on his churches' core mission. The adopted plan addresses issues at the heart of how the diocese is... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Growth Management; Success; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges