Publications

21 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Are You Sabotaging Your Own Company?

During World War II, the predecessor to the US Central Intelligence Agency produced a secret field manual detailing how “citizen-saboteurs” could disrupt the operations of enemy organizations. In addition to inflicting physical damage, the manual notes that workers on... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 Sep 2023
News

Returning to the Roots

It’s not a role he sought or expected. But when his brother died of a brain tumor late last year, Florent Latour (MBA 1999) became CEO of Maison Louis Latour, a winemaker established in 1797 in the Burgundy region of France. The 11th generation of his family to lead... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; wine; entrepreneurship; family business; innovation; climate change; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

April 2021
Case

Transforming BlackBerry: From Smartphones to Software

By: Ranjay Gulati and Nicole Tempest Keller

On the verge of failure, BlackBerry brought in John Chen as CEO in 2013 to orchestrate a bold turnaround of the company. Once an iconic leader in the smartphone market, BlackBerry was best known for its tactile QWERTY keyboard, strong security, and a focus on business... View Details

Keywords: Pivot; Managing Change; Turnaround; Smartphone; Change Management; Leading Change; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Change; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Competitive Strategy; Cybersecurity; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; Canada

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Cisco Business Councils (2007): Unifying a Functional Enterprise with an Internal Governance System

By: Ranjay Gulati

In response to the 2001 market downturn, Cisco Systems implemented a major restructuring that transformed the company from a decentralized to centralized organization. While recognizing that a centralized, functional structure was necessary to avoid product and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Customer Focus and Relationships; Governing and Advisory Boards; Resource Allocation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Technology Industry

20 Aug 2020
Book

From the Plow to the Pill: How Technology Shapes Our Lives

For centuries, the creation of innovative technology—from steam engines and automobiles to computers and smartphones—has dramatically changed the nature of our work. Less deeply understood has been the impact of technology on the inner currents of our personal lives,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

04 Oct 2021
News

How Do We Make Sure the Right People End Up with Power in Organizations?

01 May 2020
Blog Post

5 Reasons to Join a Club at HBS

post-graduation. In addition to putting leadership in practice, leading a club is also a shared experience that lends itself to developing deep relationships with other students during EC year. Aaron Hancock (MBA 2021): This Spring, I... View Details

05 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

5 Companies Where Employees Move Up the Ladder Fast

Companies vying to fill entry-level roles should take a page from AT&T and American Express and offer aggressive advancement opportunities to workers without college degrees to help expand the talent pool, says a new report. According to “The American Opportunity... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

09 Nov 2023
Blog Post

The No. 1 Character Trait You Will Need to Succeed in Business

purpose is just an act of futility,” as Joe Almeida, CEO of Baxter International, explained when I asked him what advice he would give to young people who wanted to cultivate a... View Details

23 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

Sooner or later, every company runs into challenges that force them to make tough trade-offs during the innovation process. Harvard Business School associate professor Rory McDonald calls these moments “tensions.” The streaming service Netflix, for instance, has faced... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

March 2024
Case

From “BIG” Ideas to Sustainable Impact at ICL Group (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

In the summer of 2023, Eduard (“Eddie”) Croitoru, Vice President (VP) of ICL Group (“ICL”) Corporate Initiatives, was reflecting on ICL’s internal ideation program, the Business Innovation for Growth (BIG) Accelerator. When Raviv Zoller became the CEO of ICL in 2018,... View Details

20 Aug 2014
Research & Ideas

Why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a Social Media Blockbuster

early Facebook fad, planking is the act of lying face-down in an incongruous place. It is the epitome of digital narcissism and any hint of... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton

June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis

By: Robert Steven Kaplan, Christopher Marquis and Brent Kazan

Marc Buoniconti is the co-founder of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a nonprofit medical research organization. The project was founded in 1985 by Marc and his father Nick, a former Hall of Fame football player, when Marc suffered a spinal cord injury. In 2007,... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health Testing and Trials; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Research and Development; Nonprofit Organizations; Health Industry; Miami

30 May 2024
News

How to Have Effective Conversations

communicator is good for our health. READ MORE April White: Conversation is all around us, it’s one of those things that's just ubiquitous in our lives. So I'm curious how you came to recognize its importance. Charles Duhigg: For me, it... View Details

01 Aug 2012
News

Face Fears with Courage

08 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Multinational Strategies and Developing Countries in Historical Perspective

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Relevent and LaLiga: Bringing Spanish Soccer to America

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

“Barcelona backs out of proposed LaLiga match in Miami.” It is December 2018, and Daniel Sillman, chief executive officer of sports and entertainment company Relevent, is tasked with finding a way forward after a significant setback. Relevent had found success by... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; General Management; Marketing; Entertainment; Sports; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Globalization; Strategy; Sports Industry

2020
Working Paper

Nonprofit Boards: It Is time to Lift Your Gaze and See the System

By: Shamal Dass, Kristy Muir and V. Kasturi Rangan

Nonprofits the world over have faced significant crises in 2020, leaving them and their constituents in precarious positions. Responses to these crises have demonstrated incredible agility. However, they have also demonstrated that the first two levels of governance... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Health Pandemics; Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; System; Framework