Publications

2022
Book

From Strength to Strength: Finding Meaning, Success, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life

By: Arthur C. Brooks

Many of us assume that the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our... View Details

Keywords: Aging; Meaning In Life; Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Success; Happiness; Satisfaction

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January 1994 (Revised May 1996)
Background Note

Leading for Integrity: Corporate Purpose and Responsibility

By: Lynn S. Paine

Outlines several differing conceptions of corporate purpose and responsibility that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. View Details

Keywords: Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Strategy

February 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Creating and Measuring Purpose at Viega

By: Ethan Rouen, Suraj Srinivasan and James Barnett

At its headquarters in Attendorn, Germany, Viega’s chairwoman Anna Viegener gathered the company’s leadership team to discuss their progress on formalizing purpose-driven leadership as a strategic driver within the organization. Viega manufactured and distributed... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Employee Relationship Management; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Expansion; Measurement and Metrics; Germany

2022
Book

Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies

By: Ranjay Gulati

This book offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Culture

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October 2016
Case

Elon Musk: Balancing Purpose and Risk

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Sarah Mehta

The case is used to illustrate the place of ‘Purpose’ versus financial risk and returns in a founder’s objectives. It also addresses personal risk profile of different founders, and when paired with the Risk Tolerance Exercise, it enables evaluating one’s own appetite... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicle; Solar Power; Vision; Trade-offs; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Risk and Uncertainty; Entrepreneurship; Failure; United States; North America

13 Nov 2014
News

Turning Missions into Movements

07 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Harvard Innovation Labs: Where Passion and Purpose Meet

unmet need and grow it into a purposeful entity. The i-lab, the original component of the now three-lab ecosystem, opened in 2011 in Batten Hall with the vision of offering a “One Harvard” learning View Details

31 Aug 2022
News

Reshaping the Relationship Between Purpose and Profit

Web

Advance Your Career with Greater Purpose and Focus

Ascending the Peak: Finding the Leader Within—Virtual is a live online program, conducted in the HBS Live Online Classroom, for mid-career professionals ready to lead with courage, conviction, and resilience. Participants will focus on... View Details

Editorial

The Type of Purpose That Makes Companies More Profitable

By: George Serafeim and Claudine Gartenberg

Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Middle Management; Vision; Culture; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Profit

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October 2019
Case

David Yin's Vegetarian Mission

By: Boris Groysberg and Evan M.S. Hecht

After the establishment of his critically-acclaimed upscale vegetarian restaurant, King’s Joy, in Beijing, chef and entrepreneur David Yin must decide whether or not to expand to other locations or continue to invest in his existing location in order to fulfill his... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant; Restaurant Industry; Creative Ability; Creative Industries; Values; Entrepreneurship; Creativity; Food; Values and Beliefs; China

01 Jun 2007
News

Mission Possible

delivers a message of hope for a better world where no social mission is impossible. Cindy Ko (MBA ’05) Endeavor www.endeavor.org POSITIVE IMPACT: With help from Endeavor, Drillco Tools has become a leading designer View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Margie Kelley; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance

01 Dec 2015
News

Serving with Purpose and Pride

Ashley Garrett and Alan K. Jones (both MBA 1987) As the School’s chief fundraising volunteers for the HBS Fund for Leadership and Innovation, Ashley Garrett and Alan Jones... View Details

28 Jan 2021
News

Leading with Innovation and Purpose

28 Jan 2021
Video

Leading with Innovation and Purpose

September 2007
Teaching Note

Opportunity International: Measurement and Mission (TN)

By: Herman B. Leonard, Srikant M. Datar, Marc J. Epstein and Melissa Tritter

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Mission and Purpose; Opportunities