Problem Solving - Publications - Faculty & Research

18 Oct 2023
News

Spreading the Words

Shafiq Khan (MBA 1982) loves to solve problems. It’s what attracted him to the case study method at HBS and, after graduation, to consulting at Booz, Allen & Hamilton. Then, at United Airlines, Khan encountered another challenge: The... View Details

Keywords: April White

06 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Cheese Moving: Effecting Change Rather Than Accepting It

corporate organizations may be even more obvious. I have taught and worked with over 10,000 business owners, executives, and managers in the last decade, and in my experience, even smart, hard-working, and well-intentioned people struggle with View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

09 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 9, 2008

and the key resources and key processes needed to deliver that proposition. Game-changing opportunities deliver radically new customer value propositions: They fulfill a job to be done in a dramatically better way (as P&G did with its Swiffer mops), View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

Blissful Thinking: When It Comes to Finding Happiness, 'Your Dreams Are Liars'

Leadership and Happiness, you note that the course “aims to give students a competitive advantage.” How can understanding happiness, both that of our colleagues and our own, make one a more effective leader? Brooks: One of the big View Details

Keywords: by Dan Morrell

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

for natural gas, and to create derivative supply contracts that could help customers manage the risks of demand volatility and price swings more effectively than before. In this way, Skilling and his colleagues solved a major contracting... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

Web

Alumni Engagement | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

(MBA 2001) discuss the fundamentals of nonprofit board service and answer questions from attendees. Harnessing Entrepreneurship to Revamp Democracy Featuring Professor Mitch Weiss with Yordanos Eyoel of the New Profit Civic Lab Can we View Details

Web

Leadership - Faculty & Research

false. The most successful change leaders solve problems at an accelerated pace while also taking responsibility for the success and wellbeing of their customers, shareholders, and employees: They move fast... View Details

29 Jan 2018
Book

How 'Teaming' Saved 33 Lives in the Chilean Mining Disaster

hundreds of individuals spanning physical, organizational, cultural, geographic, and professional boundaries. Engineers, geologists, drilling specialists, and more came together from different organizations, sectors, and nations to work on the immensely challenging... View Details

Keywords: by Amy C. Edmondson; Mining

30 Nov 2021
In Practice

What's the Role of Business in Confronting Climate Change?

The 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also known as COP26, ended with a hard-fought pact that called on businesses and governments to meet their climate change goals faster. The event followed an August report by the Intergovernmental... View Details

Keywords: by Lynn Schenk and Dina Gerdeman

16 Feb 2023
HBS Case

ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?

The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Financial Services

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Online Business Courses & Certifications | HBS Online

Managers, and Financial Accounting with a final exam. 10-17 weeks, 8-15 hrs/week Apply by May 12 $2,650 Credential Business Analytics Professor Janice Hammond Unlock actionable insights by mastering data analysis techniques to solve... View Details

23 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

entrepreneurs. Wanting to self-fund the venture initially, and later finding it hard to raise outside money, he put a substantial percentage of his net worth on the line to build 38 Studios. Now he is facing a critical acquisition decision that could either double his... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 May 2021
Book

Best Buy: How Human Connection Saved a Failing Retailer

customers—helping them solve their problems and improving their lives through technology. “Then, when a customer walks into the store, they’re not a walking wallet. They are a human being, and you can help... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

07 Mar 2023
HBS Case

ChatGPT: Did Big Tech Set Up the World for an AI Bias Disaster?

who could have been instrumental in helping the company reach its long-term AI goals. You Might Also Like: Why Technology Alone Can't Solve AI's Bias Problem When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis; Technology

19 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

What Chandrayaan-3 Says About India's Entrepreneurial Approach to Space

Intractable Problems as well as a first-time HBS course, Managing and Investing in a Fast-Growing Emerging Market: India. Will you be incorporating this breakthrough in them? Khanna: Both the courses are about creativity and... View Details

Keywords: by Clea Simon, Harvard Gazette; Aerospace

13 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

Are Companies Actually Greener—or Are They All Talk?

Most companies now account for social good in their financial reports in some way, but with regulation scattershot and evolving, it’s complicated for investors to assess so-called ESG reports. The disclosures, known as Environmental, Social, and Governance reports,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

Academics - Health Care

the Harvard community. Elective Courses Elective health care-focused courses will vary from year to year. Upcoming HBS course offerings include: Innovating in Health Care: Field Course Problems with health care quality, access, and costs... View Details

02 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Four VCs on Evaluating Opportunities

usually an engineering challenge that is tough enough to give the company an edge, resulting in several years lead or longer, if we're lucky. We look for a tough problem that hasn't been solved before. The... View Details

Keywords: by Lauren Barley

04 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 4

Authors:Auden Schendler and Michael Toffel Publication:MIT Sloan Management Review 53, no. 1 (fall 2011) Abstract There's a problem with most major environmental rankings of businesses: too often, the ratings fail to incorporate advocacy... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Publications