hair - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Nov 2019
What Do You Think?

Should Non-Compete Clauses Be Abolished?

have learned as well as their skills. If they are senior enough, they may also take trade secrets (although those are covered by NDAs, non-disclosure agreements, close relatives to NCCs). In certain industries in which startups are relatively easy, such as View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

13 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

Should Men’s Products Fear a Woman’s Touch?

women's shaving brand at Gillette. The company made a point of building products from the ground up for the distinct hair removal needs of both men and women. But it also made a point of creating a different brand name for Gillette's... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage; Auto

Portrait Project

Jennifer Wu

struck me that his once-dark head of hair is now predominantly white. As their only child, how have I not noticed these creeping signs of aging before? That was when it hit me – in the relentless pursuit of my goals, I have neglected... View Details

20 Apr 2021
Book

A Simple Question That Can Guide Companies to Epic Success

significant experience—gray hair and wrinkles—to think strategically. So one of the key messages in the book is that strategy is not complicated. There are only three levers: value for customers, value for employees, and value for... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

10 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

The Little Understood Problem Confronting Diverse Workplaces

white female tutor asked a black student about her hair weave. Often, these attempts led to higher engagement and a feeling of closeness that benefited the relationship. Other times, the result was a sense of estrangement. In discussing... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

01 Mar 2014
News

Generation Next

and teaches a course on strategy to mid- and senior-level managers at Godrej. Nisa has helped relaunch a number of consumer products at Godrej, including "aspirational" goods like hair dyes. Photo courtesy of Nisa Godrej Shortly after the... View Details

Keywords: Mark Bergen; Godrej Group; Management

Portrait Project

Valentina Zarya

When I was twelve years old, I dyed my hair blue. I hated my natural hair color—a light, unobtrusive brown—because it seemed way too boring. The deep, mysterious cyan that I chose instead was more aligned... View Details

12 Jul 2021
News

Your Fullest Self

Britney Winters (MBA 2016) Britney Winters (MBA 2016) As a student at HBS, Britney Winters (MBA 2016) would travel from Boston to New York City to have her hair done. “Mind you, I was also the sole caregiver of my 16-year-old sister,” she... View Details

Keywords: venture capital; entrepreneurship; female founders

15 Feb 2022
News

The Alumnae Entrepreneur Behind Mary J. Blige’s Super Bowl Locks

Britney Winters (MBA 2016); Mary J. Blige during the Super Bowl halftime show (Courtesy subject; Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images) Britney Winters’ (MBA 2016) online wig and hair product company, Upgrade, got the opportunity to show off its... View Details

Madam C. J. Walker

The intensity of Walker’s early jobs began to cause hair loss, and it was out of this unfortunate circumstance that grew her “secret” formula for a scalp ointment that promoted healthy hair growth. Madame... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

Charles A. Heimbold, Jr.

Heimbold focused on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s growth and created a scientific-based, world-leading pharmaceutical company with very strong consumer franchises. Sixty-two percent of its sales come from pharmaceuticals (where it holds leadership positions in anticancer... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare

Portrait Project

Bianca Tabourn

how many times my heart is broken. Say "I do" to a man who thinks I am most beautiful when sporting sweats and a pony tail. Dance at a night club, sober, and not have a care as to what others think of me. Walk into a meeting without fidgeting with my suit or... View Details

17 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Who is Boss in the Sharing Economy?

hair salons to real estate agencies have long organized themselves as associations of individuals, with the company itself exerting more or less control over the interaction between service provider and customer. Some View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service; Technology

Portrait Project

Sara Alsadi

the following day. People look at my grey hairs as a disaster that needs to be covered; I see them as a manifestation of the pain that is making me stronger every day. View Details

Portrait Project

Ebony Cambridge

I want to cook callaloo and crab every Sunday just like women in Trinidad did when it was all they had, and not a local delicacy. I want to wake up to the warm, wet sensation of my husband kissing the tip of my nose and feel the tenderness of total acceptance. I want... View Details

Portrait Project

Nick Soman

My business card is perfect. Crisp white edges, soft laminate, sweeping font And a tuft of golden retriever hair stuck to the back with wine, Which pushes out between pages of my wife's novel. Perfect. My suit has collected dust since my... View Details

Portrait Project

Leslie Feinzaig

generously. At the end of each day, instead of counting all my money, I count white hairs and wrinkles. Today I have none, but one day they will be testaments of a life well-lived. One chilly night not long ago, I found a boy begging in... View Details

Portrait Project

Tara Hagan

Married by 20 Long hair Nice job, maybe a receptionist In high school, I wrote myself a letter not to be opened for five years. It ended with the above list of dreams for future Tara. When I rediscovered the letter, the person who wrote... View Details

Edward G. Gardner

Gardner began mixing hair and beauty products for blacks out of his basement during the 1940s. Around 1960, he began working for another beauty supply business and when it went bankrupt, Gardner took its customers and began producing his... View Details