Publications

July 1998 (Revised November 2004)
Exercise

Succession Planning Worksheet

By: John A. Davis

Copyrighted by John Davis. View Details

Keywords: Management Succession

01 Feb 2002
News

Replicating Toyota's Success

The idea of human cloning is controversial, but cloning a successful business concept remains as desirable as ever. For HBS assistant professor Steven J. Spear, this pursuit led him to Toyota, whose perennial leadership in quality... View Details

Keywords: Machinery Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Retail Trade

April 2015
Supplement

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp: Redefining Success in the U.S. (B)

By: Gautam Mukunda, Thomas DeLong and Aldo Sesia

This (B) case describes the actions André Wyss, president of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, took in early 2012 to transform the company's General Medicines group and build its specialty medications, marketing the selling capabilities in the face of falling... View Details

Keywords: LEAD; Leadership And Change Management; Talent Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Change Management; Talent and Talent Management; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

September 2012
Case

Sir Alex Ferguson: Managing Manchester United

By: Anita Elberse and Thomas Dye

Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in British football history, is preparing for the 2012–2013 season—his record-setting 26th as manager of one of the world's most decorated professional football clubs and one of sport's biggest franchises. Over the years... View Details

Keywords: Managing Teams; Leading Teams; European Football; Sports; Leadership; Sports Industry; England; United Kingdom; Europe

July 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

Hiring Successful Professionals: One Process--Multiple Goals

By: Heidi K. Gardner

The best hiring practices help professional firms attract successful employees, equip newcomers with critical support networks, increase the firm's diversity, and enhance its reputation. This Note delineates how leading firms manage these multiple objectives throughout... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Goals and Objectives; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Management Practices and Processes; Forecasting and Prediction; Employees; Diversity Characteristics; Service Industry

17 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Resisting the Seductions of Success

prominent figures who ruin splendidly successful lives and careers. Others have high potential for leadership, but fall far short of their early promise. And then there are others who do succeed but lead lives of quiet desperation. These... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

business wisdom as old school, we found ourselves wondering if they were right. For years we had watched new management ideas come and go, passionately embraced one year, abruptly abandoned the next. "What really works?" we... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

24 Oct 2011
News

News Corp. Annual Meeting, Succession Plan

06 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

able to subordinate a personal agenda to ensure the success of the business. Management of Operations. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to successfully View Details

Keywords: by HBS Working Knowledge

Article

Avoiding a Succession Crisis

By: Joseph L. Bower

Keywords: Management Succession; Crisis Management

Find at Harvard

August 1993
Background Note

Six Principles of Successful Persuasion

By: Nitin Nohria

Describes some of the key principles that managers must follow in order to successfully persuade their organization of their vision for change. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation

January 2011
Case

Founder-CEO Succession at Acer

By: Noam T. Wasserman, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Stan Shih, founder-CEO of Acer, Inc., had proactively chosen and transitioned the "perfect" successor as CEO, but was now faced with major problems. Over the last two years, his heir apparent, Leonard Liu, had made the changes he had been hired to make, including... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Management Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Conflict Management

01 Oct 2002
News

SVMP a High-Energy Success

SVMP chair Ben Esty, flanked by two participants. Classroom discussions, with an overall theme of international business, were exercises in engagement and learning for Jabulani Barber and Victoria Beatty. photos by Catherine Walsh The Summer Venture in View Details

May–June 2024
Article

What Makes a Successful Celebrity Brand?

By: Ayelet Israeli, Jill Avery, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins

Celebrities have shifted from endorsing established brands to being influencers for established brands to drawing on their influence to create brands themselves. The authors examine what it takes to make celebrity brands work. View Details

Keywords: Celebrities; Celebrity Endorsement; Celebrity Management; Celebrity; Direct To Consumer Marketing; DTC; Influencer Marketing; Influencers; Influencer Advertising; Influencer; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Power and Influence; Advertising; Social Media; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

Read Now

01 Mar 2008
News

Avoiding a Succession Crisis

many firms have not instituted a process for managing the development of potential leaders. Many have not even thought about the process of selecting a leader when the time comes for change. And as a result, they are as confused about who... View Details

Keywords: Joseph L. Bower; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

09 Oct 2012
News

How to measure career success

December 2012
Course Overview Note

Making a Success of your EC Independent Project: Good Practices for Students

By: Ian W. Mackenzie

Independent project (IP) work in the EC poses challenges over and above those encountered in the project components of RC FIELD. Based on the belief that the success of IPs can be greatly influenced by how well students select and scope their projects and then go about... View Details

Keywords: Independent Projects; BEST Practices; Learning By Doing; Practical Project Work; Teamwork; Project Management; Stakeholder Management; Stakeholder Engagement; Projects; Groups and Teams

March 2022 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Pittsburgh: A Successful City?

By: Karen Mills, Caroline Elkins, Vikram Gandhi, Gabriella Elanbeck and Zeke Gillman

Pittsburgh, PA, was once the crown jewel of American heavy industry. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the city was an undisputed leader in steel production, boasting some of the largest companies and wealthiest individuals in the world. Its abundance of... View Details

Keywords: Economic And Social Disparities; Economic Development; Local Economic Development; Contextual Intelligence; Contextual Knowledge; Context; City Growth; City Innovation; City Leadership; Pittsburgh; Local Government; Local Stakeholders; Business And Community; Business And Community Relations; Community Engagement; Community Relations; Cross-sector Collaboration; Innovation; Innovation Economy; Innovation Clusters; Innovation Ecosystems; Shared Prosperity; Equality Of Opportunity; Equity; Inclusion; Business And Government; Business ＆ Government Relations; Business And Government Relations; Business And Society; Neighborhoods; Race And Ethnicity; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Diversity; Ethnicity; Race; Household; Income; Economic Growth; Economic Sectors; Economics; Local Range; Urban Development; Urban Scope; City; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Government and Politics; Government Administration; Growth and Development; History; Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Human Needs; Public Opinion; Public Sector; Social Issues; Poverty; Equality and Inequality; Manufacturing Industry; Steel Industry; Education Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Pittsburgh; Pennsylvania

April 2011
Article

Why Leaders Don't Learn from Success

By: Francesca Gino and Gary P. Pisano

We argue that for a variety of psychological reasons, it is often much harder for leaders and organizations to learn from success than to learn from failure. Success creates three kinds of traps that often impede deep learning. The first is attribution error or the... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Innovation and Management; Leadership; Failure; Success; Performance Evaluation; Prejudice and Bias