Publications

October 2017
Case

Still Leading (B1): Hon. Bob McDonald – Profiting from Purpose

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Marcus Millen

Robert (Bob) A. McDonald just completed his service as the 8th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), successfully leading the beginnings of a transformation for one of the nation’s most scrutinized departments. Reflecting back, McDonald looked to the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Transition

04 May 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Leading a Team to the Top of Mount Everest

Keywords: Re: Amy C. Edmondson

20 Apr 2022
Blog Post

How HBS Prepared Me to Lead a Company on Day One

A few months after graduating from HBS, I drove my Buick halfway across the country and moved to a state I’d never visited. When I arrived in Oklahoma, I became CEO of a union heating and air business. I soon discovered that HBS prepared me to View Details

23 Mar 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Cost-cutting Leads to Turbulence in the Airline Industry

Keywords: Re: Susanna Gallani; Air Transportation; Travel

March 2025
Case

Christophe Beck: Leading Ecolab into Its Next Century

By: Nitin Nohria, Kayti Stanley, Regina Gomez and Veshal Arul Prakash

January 24, 2025
Article

Behaviorally Designed Training Leads to More Diverse Hiring

By: Cansin Arslan, Edward H. Chang, Siri Chilazi, Iris Bohnet and Oliver P. Hauser

Many organizations have shown interest in increasing the diversity of their workforces for various reasons. Collectively, they have spent millions of dollars and countless employee hours on diversity training. Yet, there is little empirical evidence that such training... View Details

Keywords: Training; Diversity; Selection and Staffing; Behavior; Outcome or Result; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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February 20, 2014
Article

How to Thrive While Leading a Family Business

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

This article explores the differences between family business executives who thrive and those who struggle. It discusses how family business environments are inherently complex due to the intertwinement of work and life. Thriving leaders exhibit four key behaviors:... View Details

Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Work-Life Balance; Family Ownership; Outcome or Result; Leadership Style

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January 2021
Case

Rio Tinto Aluminum: Can Purpose Lead to Profit?

By: David Fubini and Agastya Muthanna

This case describes the tradeoffs Rio Tinto faces as it considers investments to ensure environmentally friendly, sustainability produced aluminum with the potential risks of competitive pricing and profit loses. View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Price; Competition; Profit; Cost vs Benefits; Mining Industry

June 2021
Teaching Note

Bozoma Saint John: Leading with Authenticity and Urgency

By: Frances X. Frei, Francesca Gino and Youngme Moon

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 921-708. View Details

3 Jun 2005
Other Presentation

How Business Can Lead a Health Care Revolution

By: Michael E. Porter

This presentation draws on a forthcoming book with Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg (Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results, Harvard Business School Press). Earlier publications about the work include the Harvard Business Review article... View Details

Keywords: Health; United States

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April 2011
Case

Felipe Calderón: Leading with Light and Power (A)

By: J. Bruce Harreld and David Lane

This sequence of cases explores how leaders get their team focused on framing, analyzing, and ultimately acting upon complex decisions. The A case provides an inside look as President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, works with his cabinet ministers to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decisions; Public Sector; Leadership; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Urban Development; Welfare or Wellbeing

February 2009
Article

The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love

By: Michael I. Norton

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September 2007
Case

Still Leading (B7): Dr. Evelyn Murphy—The Next Campaign

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Lance P. Pierce

Describes how a former public official became an advocate who started a nonprofit organization after losing her campaign for governor. View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Personal Development and Career; Nonprofit Organizations; Transition

September 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Fernwood Art Investments: Leading in an Imperfect Marketplace

By: Boris Groysberg, Joel Podolny and Timothy Keller

As Bruce Taub, founder of Fernwood, strolled past some of New York City's finest galleries, he pondered the unique challenges that Fernwood faced. Where others had seen the inefficiency of imperfect markets, Taub saw an opportunity to revolutionize the very nature of... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Investment; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; New York (city, NY)