advice - Publications - Faculty & Research

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

appropriabilty, Ahuja offers advice as well. "Push for stretch goals in innovation," he says. Under pressure to produce in a short period of time, research teams are necessarily forced to go back and find new value in what has... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

26 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

A Clear Eye for Innovation

innovations while also making steady improvements to an existing business is so commonplace—and so fascinating—that it has become a battleground of management thought. For decades, scholars have spun theories to explain the puzzle and offered View Details

Keywords: by Charles A. O'Reilly III & Michael L. Tushman

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

Race Does Matter in Mentoring

gain confidence and establish their credibility. Third, the mentors provided crucial career advice and counsel that prevented their protégés from getting sidetracked from the path leading to the executive level. Fourth, the mentors often... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Thomas

05 Apr 2017
Research & Ideas

For Women Especially, It Pays to Know What Car Repairs Should Cost

low cost, and it makes a difference.” Wendy Guild Swearingen is a writer and editor based in Western New York. Related Reading: Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car? Lessons from Running GM’s OnStar Deconstructing the Price Tag Has information and... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild Swearingen; Auto; Service

06 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Should Entrepreneurs Pitch Products or Ideas for Products?

her belt, the likelihood of the sale being a spec drops to about 40 percent. Advice for the novice seller Apart from investing in the idea to further resolve uncertainty, other ways for unknown writers to gain access to prospective buyers... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Motion Pictures & Video; Entertainment & Recreation; Banking

24 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 24

decision analysis. Drawing from each of these fields but methodologically distinct from them, negotiation analysis has mainly adopted an "asymmetrically prescriptive/descriptive" orientation. It develops the best possible advice... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

The Ten Deadly Mistakes of Wanna-Dots

Then hand over the technical work to them (that way nobody inside has to learn anything new) but refuse to take their advice about how the site should look (after all, you're the industry experts). Use more than one vendor—so you can have... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

25 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

An Organization Your Customers Understand

payers. For example, an office assistant may order office products to be used by fifty people in a department and paid for by a central accounts payable facility. All these entities are customers. The advice to managers: "Look at all... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

21 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Don’t Get Buried in Customer Data—Use It

on," says Harvard Business School marketing professor Gerald Zaltman. A more strategic approach to data mining can provide the foundation for that decision-making architecture. Below, advice on how to use information about the... View Details

Keywords: by Jean Ayers

04 Sep 2001
Lessons from the Classroom

Getting Back on Course

and provided tools to help participants reflect on their own goals. Later, career expert Pam Lassiter offered practical advice on career planning. The women then broke into small groups to begin using the tools and getting feedback from... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

28 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

prospective operators—and perhaps entrepreneurs in other industries as well—take an educated shot at developing a winning service. He outlined his advice in a July working paper, Mobile Money Services—Design and Development for Financial... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Telecommunications

22 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

How to Build a Better Board

frameworks to decide exactly what they're going to do, what decisions they're going to make, what things they want to monitor and oversee, and also the areas in which they want to offer advice and counsel to their CEO. So given that fact,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

19 Jan 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing the Economic Crisis

sustainable, leaders must practice a clear set of principles. It is OK, even necessary, for leaders to be open with others, admit mistakes, and look to trusted friends and associates for advice and support. Use a crisis as an opportunity... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

27 May 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Thinking About Global

to invest in? Although circumstances in some countries have changed since this 2007 interview, Professor Richard Vietor's basic advice for analyzing the business environment of countries remains strong. Key concepts include: Governments... View Details

29 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 29

issue facing firms, that the business press has outlined a recurring set of prescriptive advice about the topic to practitioners, and why (despite its recurring nature) that advice seems to have limited... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Aug 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers

(CRM) planning by helping to segment the customer base by their profitability to the firm, so that managers can increase or decrease marketing expenditures to a particular segment. It provides specific advice on how much to spend to... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

21 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The New Math of Customer Relationships

during times of economic stress. During such times, the most important advice that one can give is first remember that the service profit chain starts with employees—therefore, preserve that resource; second, consider dividing jobs at... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

23 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

The Gulf: It’s a Family Affair

succeeding generations have an easier time adapting to their environment. My advice to families in business is to run a very professional business. Take pride in your traditions; at the same time encourage entrepreneurship. Encourage... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild & Andrea Schulman

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

of one-off contributions, constant mentoring and co-authorship with younger colleagues, distillation of advice into accessible and memorable forms, and investment in an institutional legacy. Beyond these aspects, which I elaborated in a... View Details