Publications

April 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Unleashing Human Magic at Best Buy

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Sunil Gupta and Amram Migdal

The case examines the transformation of Best Buy under CEO Hubert Joly's leadership from 2012. Facing significant business challenges, including competition from online and physical retailers, Joly implemented the "Renew Blue" turnaround strategy, which focused on... View Details

16 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Is MySpace.com Your Space?

MySpace puts the power of individual identity in play. You're not anonymous on a social networking site—you're exactly the opposite. You're presenting a managed self to the world. Q: These sites often have wonderful demographics from an... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Advertising; Information; Publishing

July 2011
Teaching Note

MindTree: A Community of Communities (TN)

By: David A. Garvin

Teaching Note for 311049. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Management Practices and Processes; Civil Society or Community; Goals and Objectives; Leadership Style; Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry

July 2000
Case

Dawn Riley at America True (C1)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

This version of the (C) case can be taught independently of the (A) and (B) cases. Dawn Riley, CEO/Captain of America True, the first coed syndicate to race for the America's Cup, is based in Auckland, New Zealand, where racing will begin in six weeks. Riley has built... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Leadership; Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender; Management Teams; Sports; Business Startups; New Zealand; North and Central America

Find at Harvard

January 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Into the Raging Sea: Final Voyage of the SS El Faro

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Mel Martin

Captain Michael Davidson of the container ship SS El Faro was determined to make his planned shipping trip on time—but a hurricane was approaching his intended path. To succeed, Davidson and his fellow officers must plot a course to avoid the storm in the face of... View Details

Keywords: Power Dynamics; Management; Leadership Style; Crisis Management; Failure; Groups and Teams; Rank and Position; Decision Choices and Conditions; Shipping Industry; United States

06 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 6

today's managers need to harness technological advances, manage and lead a dispersed and diverse workforce, anticipate and react to constant competitive and geopolitical change and uncertainty, compete on a... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

November 2010
Article

Which of These People Is Your Future CEO?

By: Boris Groysberg, Andrew Hill and Toby Johnson

Americans have long believed that U.S. military officers-trained for high-stakes positions, resilience, and mental agility-make excellent CEOs. That belief is sound, but the authors' analysis of the performance of 45 companies led by CEOs with military experience... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Training; Leadership Style; Managerial Roles; Situation or Environment; United States

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11 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

How Do You Grade Out as a Negotiator?

then at least in the fog” "We negotiate, if not in the dark, then at least in the fog," says Michael Wheeler, a senior fellow at Harvard Business School and retired MBA Class of 1952 Professor of Management Practice, who taught... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2019
Case

GRIT Fitness

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Olivia Hull

In December 2018, GRIT Fitness was a growing chain of boutique fitness studios offering a variety of workout classes, including weightlifting, high intensity interval training, and cardio dance. With 400 members and three Dallas studios, CEO Brittani Rettig believed... View Details

01 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

How Much Time Should CEOs Devote to Customers?

product managers spent on average only three percent of their time in contact with end consumers. Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco, the UK supermarket chain, spends two days a week in stores interacting with employees and customers. But how far... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

22 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Control Your Inventory in a World of Lean Retailing

perspective of actual consumer buying patterns, a blazer in an atypical size actually has more in common with a fashion-driven product than with the same style jacket in a popular size. For example, sales for 46-regular, one of the most... View Details

Keywords: by Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond & David Weil; Consumer Products

20 Dec 2016
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular 'Cold Call' Podcasts

listeners behind the scenes of a case he or she has written, probing what inspired the case, exploring how it relates to management practice, and delving into interesting anecdotes that come from researching the case and teaching it in... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

November 2017 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Irene Rosenfeld at Mondelēz International: Crafting a Corporate Strategy

By: Raffaella Sadun, David J. Collis, Amram Migdal and Kerry Herman

The case focuses on Irene Rosenfeld’s tenure as CEO of the global snack food company Mondelēz International. Beginning in 2006, she had led the company through many acquisitions, including France’s LU Biscuit and British confectionery company Cadbury, before, in 2012,... View Details

August 2008
Case

Sloan & Harrison: The Associate Challenge

By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman

The law firm, Sloan & Harrison, was confronting issues pertaining to morale and turnover among its associate ranks. Annual surveys of associates revealed increasing dissatisfaction, particularly with respect to partner communication, work-life balance, and mentorship.... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Employees; Human Resources; Leadership Development; Management Style; Performance; Work-Life Balance; Conflict Management; Legal Services Industry

11 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Evolving for Success [Part Two]

a project to a small group of people who are amateurs, who do the project part-time and act as a committee. It doesn't demand management time and resources, and you haven't brought in new skills. This holds for hospitals, government... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

August 1999 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Millennium Media, Inc. and John Voorenberg

By: David A. Thomas

Millenium Media's CEO reviews the company diversity report and considers the challenges of maintaining a diverse workforce in light of the news that three individuals, two of whom are people of color, are leaving for opportunities with a competitor. View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Leadership Style; Problems and Challenges; Competition