Fresh Start - Publications - Faculty & Research

18 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

How New Managers Become Great Managers

Linda Hill's book for the star performer-turned-new-manager, Becoming a Manager: Mastery of a New Identity appeared a decade ago to much acclaim. Much of the original book is still fresh today. But a new edition, Becoming a Manager: How... View Details

Keywords: by Linda Hill

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

Unilever's market positions in detergents. The attempts to find more profitable growth opportunities through innovation, in products as diverse as fresh dairy and feminine hygiene, largely came to naught, as did attempts to buy into the... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

06 May 2021
HBS Case

How Four Women Made Miami More Equitable for Startups

was the harsh reality facing four women determined to make their mark in the city: Maxeme Tuchman, a Miami-born daughter of Cuban immigrants, 2012 graduate of HBS, and former teacher, was fresh off a White House fellowship in 2016 when... View Details

Keywords: by Carolyn DiPaolo

04 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 4

Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51635 forthcoming Journal of Financial Economics Cost of Experimentation and the Evolution of Venture Capital By: Ewens, Michael, Ramana Nanda, and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf Abstract—We study how technological... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

How 'Small C' Change Can Beat Large-Scale Rebuilding

Even as COVID vaccines begin early deployment, pressure on leaders continues to mount to engage in “Big C” change: rapid course corrections through job cuts, recruiting a fresh management team, and redesigning roles and responsibilities... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, and Sebastian Flegr; Sports

14 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Understaffed and Overworked: What Now?

delicate subject? "When in doubt, share the dilemma," DeLong says. For example, you might start a conversation with your boss like this: "I'm excited about the opportunities I have. But I have ten great opportunities and... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Michelman

28 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Could Create a 'Bankruptcy Pandemic'

question, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is by no means a death sentence. If anything, it can provide troubled businesses with a fresh start and a path to future profitability. But Chapter 11 is also not a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

05 Sep 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Making the Right Technical Hire

than someone who can code a fresh UI. If performance issues are causing churn, then hire a performance engineer, someone who knows how to diagnose and fix performance issues. Just like you are building a product to solve for the job to be... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin; Technology

05 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

Is JC Penney’s Makeover the Future of Retailing?

challenge, Lal says. Pricing It Right Retail pricing is a high art, and Johnson is starting from scratch at Penney, replacing frequent sales—the company had 590 of them in 2011—with "Fair and Square everyday pricing." When outlining the... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Retail

16 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Luxury Isn’t What It Used to Be

ongoing enticement for Birnbaum and the other alumni interviewed for this article. "Luxury goods are in essence a highly creative field," notes Thuy T. Tranthi (HBS MBA '93), president of Thomas Pink USA, the London-based shirtmaker. "Many of the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products

19 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Fed Up Workers and Supply Woes: What's Next for Dollar Stores?

They all started out with this mentality, which I would argue is like the modern Five & Dime, with treasure hunt. Treasure hunt from a retail standpoint means when you go in, every time the merchandise is different. People go in... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Retail

10 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

The COVID Two-Step for Leaders: Protect and Pivot

conversations about how you would organize the operations of the company if you were just starting out and there was no such thing as “but that’s always the way it’s been done.” As explained by Team Strength Inc.: ”Start [the clean sheet... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

17 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’

The details differ slightly, but the story, in its telling, is always the same. Ninety or so MBA students sit nervously awaiting the start of their first Marketing class. At the appointed time—not a minute more or less—a slight man with... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education; Retail

13 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

7 Lessons for Navigating the Storm

No one can be an effective leader in a crisis by attempting to go it alone. Leaders must be the first to recognize this reality and plan accordingly." The seven leadership lessons include: Face reality, starting with yourself. Don't... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

02 Jan 2018
Op-Ed

'Dear Working Knowledge'--Our Favorite Reader Comments of the Year

of life in the home--should be viewed as a miserable chore. I look forward to coming home from work and spending time mindfully cooking fresh foods and ... yes, even mindfully housecleaning (it takes less than an hour. Seriously.). It's... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

08 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How to Hire a Millennial

Partners is one company that has embraced such an approach. Because it takes mentorship seriously, the firm reaps the rewards of a constant pipeline of fresh talent. Each year, DaVita visits college and business school campuses recruiting... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Retail Reaches a Tipping Point—Which Stores Will Survive?

In this three-part series, we start with an overview of why retail experts Rajiv Lal, José B. Alvarez, and Dan Greenberg believe retail is at an inflection point. In Part Two, coming next week, they identify effective strategies for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

11 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

The Paradoxical Quest to Make Food Look 'Natural' With Artificial Dyes

using cochineal extract and start using lycopene to dye its drinks pink instead. Lycopene is a red pigment found in several fruits, but strawberries are not among them. The lycopene that now colors strawberry Frappuccinos is tomato-based.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

22 Mar 2017
Research & Ideas

What's the Ideal Frequency for a Sales Quota?

to falling behind in a monthly quota scheme, becoming less motivated or less capable of meeting their quota the further they fall back. “So they just give up,” he says. A daily quota, on the other hand, provides “a fresh View Details