Publications

January 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Curriculum Associates: Turning the Page from Tradition to Innovation

By: John J-H Kim and Christine S. An

Set in Fall 2014, the traditional textbook publishing industry is being transformed by technological innovations and new student achievement standards. This case chronicles how Rob Waldron, CEO, and his team bring Curriculum Associates (CA), a traditional supplemental... View Details

Keywords: Education Technology; SaaS; Turnaround; Textbook Publishing; Innovation; Sales Cycle; HR Strategy; Privately-funded Businesses; Sustainable Growth; Product Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Publishing Industry

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

Web

Fostering Innovation in Life Sciences - Health Care

SCIENCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP is led by Professor Peter Barrett , and provides a select group of alumni with the opportunity to work with Harvard inventors to promote the commercialization View Details

Web

Our Curriculum - Business History

wide-ranging framework for understanding the role of entrepreneurs in shaping global capitalism. Through the eyes of entrepreneurs of the past two centuries, the course... View Details

Web

Courses - Private Capital Project

and real estate. The curriculum includes modules on alternative investments, various types of alternative investments and their characteristics, and methods for evaluating investment opportunities to enhance... View Details

2022
Working Paper

Rethinking Explainability as a Dialogue: A Practitioner's Perspective

By: Himabindu Lakkaraju, Dylan Slack, Yuxin Chen, Chenhao Tan and Sameer Singh

As practitioners increasingly deploy machine learning models in critical domains such as healthcare, finance, and policy, it becomes vital to ensure that domain experts function effectively alongside these models. Explainability is one way to bridge the gap between... View Details

Keywords: Natural Language Conversations; AI and Machine Learning; Experience and Expertise; Interactive Communication; Business and Stakeholder Relations

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Web

Your Alumni Community - Alumni

are small groups of HBS alumnae who get together monthly to discuss a myriad of issues. Circles are designed to foster genuine relationships between alumnae, and give women the View Details

15 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: November 15

political consensus to make investments in the infrastructure that will lead to more effective use of these resources. There is a largely unrecognized opportunity for the private sector to engage in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Feb 2022
Blog Post

How I Spent My HBS 2+2 Deferral: Nikki Philip

is to consider how a 2+2 admission fits into an overall plan for your career and passion. One of the biggest benefits of the deferred admission process is the freedom it gives you to learn and pursue your... View Details

18 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How Eliminating Non-Competes Could Reshape Tech

opportunities that their previous employers may have failed in or overlooked. Imagine how the last year might have been for all of us if Eric Yuan—formerly an executive at Cisco WebEx—was unable to go on to... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

September 2017
Case

Christine Lagarde

By: Julie Battilana, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Vanessa Ampelas and Noemie Assenat

The case covers the youth and career trajectory of Christine Lagarde across her time at Baker & McKenzie, as a minister in the government of France and as the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The case highlights the challenges and opportunities she faced... View Details

Keywords: Change; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence; Leadership; Gender; Leading Change

18 Dec 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Grooming Next-Generation Leaders

thoroughly enjoy it." Even a marketing class becomes an opportunity to explore the complexities of leadership, he reflects. "I walked into class last week in my first session View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

Hiring at HBS: How Summer Interns Make an Impact at Emerson Collective - Recruiting

development of sectors like education, the environment, immigration, and health care through impact investing, philanthropy, advocacy, and more. The organization brings together entrepreneurs, academics, artists, and community leaders, to... View Details

21 May 2024
News

A New Chapter

Joe Wolf (MBA 1999), cofounder and co-CEO of Imagine Worldwide, wants to provide educational opportunity where it is needed most. “In the next 30 years, half of the world’s youth will be sub-Saharan African,” says Wolf. “Right now, the World Bank reports that only one... View Details

Keywords: Catherine O’Neill Grace; photo by Cayce Clifford

January 2017
Case

Danaher Corporation, 2007–2017

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On July 2, 2016, Danaher Corporation completed the spinoff of Fortive Corporation. The previous day, Danaher’s stock price had reached an all-time high. In 2015, Danaher had decided to split off its test and measurement, fuel and fleet management, and automation... View Details

Keywords: Danaher; Fortive; Larry Culp; Beckman Coulter; Pall; Life Sciences; Diagnostics; Environmental Operations; Water Management; Dental; Testing; Measurement; Fuel; Fleet Management; Automation; Toolmaking; Tools; Disease Management; Continuous Improvement; Toyota Production System; Divestiture; Spinoffs; Spin-off; Networks; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Engineering; Chemicals; Construction; Machinery and Machining; Profit; Revenue; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Medical Specialties; Business History; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Management Succession; Management Systems; Resource Allocation; Market Entry and Exit; Measurement and Metrics; Logistics; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Science; Genetics; Natural Environment; Wastes and Waste Processing; Science-Based Business; Opportunities; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Technology; Software; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Value; Valuation; Aerospace Industry; Auto Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Computer Industry; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Retail Industry; Rubber Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Utilities Industry; United States; District of Columbia