Publications

Educators

November – December 2009
Article

Learning by Design: Developing an Engine for Transforming Your Company

By: Michael Beer and Magnus Finnstrom

Traditional leadership development programs often fail to achieve the desired results because they don't focus on learning linked to the company's business strategy and the real day-to-day challenges facing managers. The experience of Sweden-based industrial... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Programs; Learning; Failure; Business Strategy; Organizations; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Design; Sweden

August 31, 2017
Article

CEOs Should Get Personally Involved in Talent Development

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Jay Galeota and Michael Wong

Estimates indicate that, globally, human capital has a value about 2.3 times that of physical capital. This difference is likely to widen in increasingly service-driven economies. Yet, most companies maintain their equipment better than their people. The issue is not... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Employees; Training

Read Now

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

Business leaders can't develop and execute effective strategy without first gathering the right information, says Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions: A... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

Teaching Interest

Exec Ed: Real Estate Executive Seminar: Capital, Partnerships, and Portfolios

By: John D. Macomber

With both a quest for yield and new opportunities emerging across the real estate supply chain, business leaders must have the financial capabilities, analytical tools, and strategic skills to ensure the long-term profitability of their development projects and... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate

17 Jul 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence

and Doris Starr Professor of International Business Administration at Harvard Business School and an expert in technology strategy. So when Yoffie began a three-year effort to update an HBS elective course on strategy development in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer; Education

20 Apr 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Executive Education in the Digital Vortex: The Disruption of the Supply Landscape

Keywords: by Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas; Education

January 2013 (Revised June 2016)
Case

The Basque Country: Strategy for Economic Development

By: Michael E. Porter, Christian H.M. Ketels and Jesus M. Valdaliso

The Basque country, with a population of 2.1 million and covering 7,233 square kilometers, is an autonomous region located in the north of Spain, physically separated from it by the Pyrenees Mountains. Presents the history of the region—highly prosperous at the turn of... View Details

Keywords: History; Crime and Corruption; Industry Clusters; Competitive Strategy; Microeconomics; Developing Countries and Economies; Government and Politics; Basque Provinces; Spain

Educators

February 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Inhale Therapeutics: Executing and Growing the Business Model

Inhale is about to bring a novel technology to market that uses inhalation to administer drugs that formerly required injection. Inhale must now decide which way to evolve its business model. This will determine the future direction of growth for the company. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Technological Innovation; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Winter 2013
Article

Corporate Governance Reform and Executive Incentives: Implications for Investments and Risk-Taking

By: Daniel Cohen, Aiyesha Dey and Thomas Lys

We investigate the mechanism through which the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) was associated with changes in corporate investment strategies. We document that the passage of the governance regulations in SOX was followed by a significant decline in pay‐performance... View Details

January 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments Corp.

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Describes the efforts of a manufacturer of scientific instruments to implement new methods of managing new product development, which its executives had learned in a Harvard Business School seminar. The executives left the seminar excited to implement a new way of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; United States

Educators

2008
Article

Linking Crisis Management and Leadership Competencies: The Role of Human Resources Development

The problem and the solution. Most executives are aware of the negative consequences associated with an organizational crisis and focus on communications and public relations as a reactive strategy. However, many neglect the other leadership responsibilities... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Crisis Management; Human Resources; Experience and Expertise

August 2019 (Revised August 2024)
Module Note

Why Aspiring Executives Should Care About Management Theory

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Rory McDonald and Shaye Roseman

Managers often make significant business decisions based on little more than convincing book jacket blurbs. They should hold themselves—and the experts—to a higher standard. View Details

Keywords: Management Theory; Management Practices and Processes; Leadership Development

24 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Developing Your Next CEO for the Family Business

Staley, and the company has developed effective Non-Family Insiders ever since (CEOs Greg Page and David MacLennan). These executives really understand the company’s internal systems and respect its culture.... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Auto

2016
Working Paper

Notes on Developing a Strategy and Designing a Company

By: Kevin J. Boudreau

The practice and teaching of business strategy today exist largely as a set of alternative views and frameworks not entirely connected to one another. These notes contribute an integrated sequence of steps for creating or evaluating a strategy and associated company... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy

SSRN

11 Jan 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

New Game, New Rules: Developing Managers for a Competitive World

The Program for Global Leadership assembles senior executives from organizations worldwide who participate and interact in a unique, multi-phased educational process. The program's unusual structure helps them to gain fresh insight about... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

February 2004
Supplement

Jack Welch at GE: 1981-2001 - The Evolution of a Chief Executive

By: Joseph L. Bower

A series of video clips of Jack Welch from 1981 to 2001 shows his development as a leader, the evolution of his management approach, and his consistency. View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Electronics Industry

February 1980 (Revised September 1994)
Case

General Electric Co.: The Executive Manpower Operation -- David Orselet

By: Wickham Skinner and David C. Rikert

Keywords: Leadership Development