Publications

September 1989 (Revised August 1990)
Case

Don Burr

By: Shoshana Zuboff

Traces the career development of People Express founder Don Burr. Shows how an individual's evolving set of needs and values influences career choices and how each successive working environment meets these needs or spurs the individual to move on. Concludes as Burr is... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Working Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Human Needs

May 1993
Case

Alan Stein

By: Carl S. Sloane, Shoshana Zuboff and R.Keith Giarman

Deals with issues of adult and career development at mid-life. Describes the career and personal history of an adult male, choice points in his life, and how he made critical career and personal choices. Focuses in on his decision to "retire" from Goldman, Sachs at an... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Satisfaction

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July 1997
Case

Graffs, The (A)

By: Carl S. Sloane and Gregory C. Rogers

Examines dual-career issues and conflicts between spouses' career objectives, personal values, and life structures. It does so by a in-depth examination of the lives and careers of a professional couple (a successful entrepreneur and a lawyer), choice points in their... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships; Conflict Management

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June 2019
Case

Rachael Ray: Cooking Up a Brand

By: Boris Groysberg, Robin Abrahams and Kerry Herman

Rachael Ray built a remarkable career and brand, first as a cooking personality, and then as a lifestyle maven. This case explores her early career, decisions taken along the way, and the successes she achieved in publishing, television and as a spokesperson. As her... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Decision Choices and Conditions; Brands and Branding; Entrepreneurship

December 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Camilla Denison (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Bryce LaPierre and Virginia Fuller

Follows a successful manager as she takes on challenging assignments to lead manufacturing and development organizations. Details many experiences that influenced her character and attitudes from her youth to her graduate education and first jobs. Students discover the... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Success; Management Skills; Experience and Expertise

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February 2003
Case

Irene Rodakis

Traces the career decision-making process of Irene Rodakis, an MBA student, from her second year of graduate school through five (plus) years post-graduation. Rodakis faces numerous career-decision choices that involve careful consideration of myriad work, family, and... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Decision Choices and Conditions

September–October 2024
Article

Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?

By: John D. Macomber

A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an... View Details

Keywords: Succession Planning; Power Grid; Family Business; Management Succession; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Côte d'Ivoire

September 1994
Case

Bob Fifer

By: David A. Thomas and Doug Cohen

Explores the life and concerns of Bob Fifer, HBS class of 1979 and CEO of Kaiser Associates. Explores the many influences on Bob's development and his subsequent career choices. It is written as a biography with extensive quotes from interviews with Bob. He describes... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Identity; Leadership Style; Ethnicity; Management Teams

July 2024
Article

A (Dynamic) Investigation of Stereotypes, Belief-Updating, and Behavior

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Paola Ugalde Araya and Basit Zafar

Many decisions—such as what educational or career path to pursue—are dynamic in nature, with individuals receiving feedback at one point in time and making decisions later. Using a controlled experiment, with two sessions one week apart, we analyze the dynamic effects... View Details

Keywords: Feedback; Beliefs; Stereotypes; Self-assessment; Gender Gap; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Perception; Decision Choices and Conditions

05 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

5 Companies Where Employees Move Up the Ladder Fast

Worker Advancement,” a worker’s choice of company has considerable bearing on how fast they climb the ranks, how likely they are to land a better job elsewhere, and whether they’ll be hired and promoted. The study specifically looks at... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

2022
Book

Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World

By: George Serafeim

The roadmap and best practices to reap the enormous value that can emerge when your business prioritizes social and environmental goals—such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability—right alongside the pursuit of profit.

We not only... View Details

Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Profitability; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Organizational Change and Adaptation

07 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

How “Career Imprinting” Shapes Leaders

career imprints, different career paths. Finally, if we look at the kinds of decisions these newly minted leaders made post their time at Baxter and at Abbott, we can see how some of their early design View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

March 2000
Case

Magdalena Yesil

By: Myra M. Hart and Mary Rotelli

Magdalena Yesil, investor and former entrepreneur, must decide whether to become a venture partner at US Venture Partners. This case discusses career progression, entrepreneurship, and deciding among career alternatives. Yesil's entrepreneurial experiences include... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Partners and Partnerships

January 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Steve Jobs: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the life of Steve Jobs who throughout his career flaunted convention and chose an unusual path to success. The case describes how Jobs, as young man, acquired an appreciation for aesthetics and the liberal arts, but was also quick to recognize and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technology; Business Startups; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Innovation; Work-life Balance; Innovation Leadership; Power and Influence; Success; Information Technology Industry; United States

July 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Carol Brewer's Investments

By: Richard S. Ruback and Julia Stevens

Following her husband's death in 1994, Carol Brewer took over the management of her family's investments. This case describes the decisions Brewer made during this process, including her choice to seek active account management, her selection of an investment firm, and... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Retirement; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Management; Personal Finance; Investment Banking; Investment Return