courage - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

The Quiet Leader—and How to Be One

everybody to do it. You have the famous example of Rosa Parks, saying, "I'm not sitting in the back of the bus." Well, while that was a remarkable act of courage on her part, and in some degree was kind of a spontaneous event,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

successful for liberal and moderate governments—not in spite of one of the highest tax levels in western Europe and Scandinavia, but because of it, Spar says. (As a former prime minister said, “Entrepreneurs have the courage to jump”... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

02 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

What Makes a Good Leader?

forward to lead his country to victory in World War II." The lesson, says Nohria, is that Churchill and other great leaders are pragmatists who can deal with difficult realities but still have the optimism and courage to act.... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg & Susan Young

2011
Book

Detour: My Unexpected, Amazing, Life Changing Journey With OnStar

By: Chet Huber

Detour is the story behind the launch of OnStar’s now well known blue button, as told through the eyes of its founder and CEO of over fourteen years, Chet Huber. It’s a personal narrative that describes the events that led up to General Motors’ unexpected choice... View Details

Keywords: General Motors; OnStar; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Transportation; Safety; Personal Development and Career; Creativity; Success; Business History; Auto Industry

Citation

Find at Harvard

Purchase

18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

their numbers, but they weren’t a good corporate citizen essentially,” Minor says. “So what he basically says is you have to close your eyes to their great productivity and have the courage just to terminate them.” Minor echoes Welch’s... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

15 Podcast Episodes That Grabbed Listeners in 2023

Bühler Group, Stefan Scheiber is mapping a courageous plan to combat food waste and climate change. Ranjay Gulati hears from Scheiber about how he challenges his own company, its customers, and himself to face sustainability problems... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

Moreover, moral and ethical considerations may decisively influence how the law is applied. As a result, purely technical legal advice is often inadequate. CEOs should be looking for lawyers with wisdom and the courage to push back if... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

14 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

A Strategy For Steady Leadership in an Unsteady World

are attuned to changes in their markets. Spending time in the marketplace, retail stores, factories, innovation centers, and research labs, or just wandering around offices talking to people is essential. Courage – Now more than ever,... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

17 Jun 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Excellence Comes From Saying No

counter-intuitive such as a focus on individual achievement." The Courage To Be Bad At the core of Frei's philosophy is an appeal that Harvard MBAs are not used to hearing: in order to achieve excellence, you need the View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

11 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

A World of Difference: What Keeps Companies from Becoming More Inclusive

clear desire; the leaders are courageous enough to take action; they recognize there is messiness in doing it right; and they are okay with errors they and others will be making along the way. The number of places that don’t belong to any... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Does Spirituality Drive Success?

Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, who moderated the discussion. He invited the panelists to discuss how they have the courage to maintain their openness or naiveté when so many people around them look to them to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace, Sean Silverthorne & Wendy Guild

10 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Key to Doing Your Best at Work? Be Yourself

we don’t give a lot of space to, though it’s almost as important or maybe even more important, is what if you’re the person who doesn’t feel welcome or cherished for the views and differences that you bring forward? And that’s where having this View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

27 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Recovering from the Need to Achieve

own fallibility and limitations and that an opportunity to learn existed. From an interpersonal standpoint, it conveyed that he had the courage to show vulnerability, that he had gone through some internal process in which he had begun to... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

23 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Five Ways to Make Your Company More Innovative

your prospects for developing innovative products and services. Rosabeth Moss Kanter How Do You Create a Culture of Innovation? Have you noticed the courage buried in the word encourage? To create a culture in which innovation flourishes... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons, Julia Hanna & Roger Thompson

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

to advance African Americans in that part of the company. And that's what we're doing, and we're going to have to tie it to people's compensation in a clearer way. Neeley: That's amazing. Those are clear examples that I'm sure people will appreciate hearing about and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

06 Nov 2008
Op-Ed

Selling Out The American Dream

that enable them to do so. Hardly any politician has had the courage to call for restraint. Average household debt in the United States is currently 130 percent of average household income, up 20 percent since 2005 and double what it was... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

10 Nov 2015
Op-Ed

Authentic Leadership Rediscovered

organizations who have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their core values who have the courage to build their companies to meet the needs of all their stakeholders, and who recognize the importance of their service to... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

12 May 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time To Relaunch Your Remote Team

on the other side stronger.” The courage to acknowledge vulnerability can strengthen the position of leaders. Employees don’t expect leaders to have all the answers, but they do expect them to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Leaders... View Details

Keywords: by Tsedal Neeley

30 Apr 2020
Book

Fighting Climate Change Requires a New Capitalism

Rebecca Henderson spent her young adult years living two lives. At work, she preached the risks of resisting change to MBA students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, drawing on lessons she learned while watching factories close as a management consultant.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Energy

25 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why IT Does Matter

had the courage to invest in its performance, and they used it to gain a significant competitive edge. It is naive to assume that other sharply discontinuous technologies will not offer similar transformation opportunities in the future.... View Details

Keywords: by F. Warren McFarlan & Richard L. Nolan

Publications