Publications

27 Aug 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Learning From Japan’s Remarkable Disaster Recovery

chrysanthemum producer to a provider of closures for families who have lost their loved ones. It was memorable to hear him talk about how his mission in life was developed and how he had redefined his... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Energy; Utilities; Retail

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Waking Up a Sleeping Company

soon as the pressure is off. In Medtronic's case the challenge was especially acute because the company had such a positive culture and strong set of values. As the newcomer leading these changes, I recognized that many people in the... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

27 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Family CEOs Spend Less Time at Work

Primarily interested in incentives for growth in developing countries, the researchers began their study in India, where a large portion of businesses are family-owned. But they ended up finding similar results with follow-up studies in... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

August 2002
Case

MassEnvelopePlus

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Brooke Bartletta and Michelle Heskett

Describes the challenges Steve Grossman, a fourth-generation owner of a small commercial printing company, must face amid industry consolidation, technological changes, and his own run for public office. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Leadership; Change Management; Information Technology; Personal Development and Career; Service Delivery; Service Industry; Massachusetts

07 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Exit Interview: HBS Dean Kim Clark

management; in global research and scholarship; and in its commitment to values and leadership as core elements of its curriculum View Details

Keywords: by HBS Alumni Bulletin Staff

April 2022
Teaching Note

Gender Equality in Business: 100 Years of Progress?

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 422-066, "Gender Equality in Business: 100 Years of Progress?" The case traces the history of women in management from the early 20th to early 21st century through analysis of Harvard Business Review's coverage of women and gender. The... View Details

Keywords: History; Business History; Gender; Management; Employees; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Work-Life Balance; Prejudice and Bias; Social Issues; Diversity; Equity; United States

October 1998
Case

CRA Managed Care, Inc. (C)

By: Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

Chronicles an entrepreneur's transition from chairman/CEO of a large privately held company, to chairman of a public company, to board member, to president of several major nonprofit boards, to founder of a new nonprofit for women business owners and founder of a new... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Leadership; Nonprofit Organizations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Management Skills; United States

21 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

It Matters That Your CEO Doesn't Know Much About Sales

as a sales issue.” Planning and hiring To reap any of these benefits companies must develop links between the C-suite and the customer-facing... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

09 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

The Manager in Red Sneakers

Want to gain more respect at the office? Consider wearing red sneakers to work. OK, so maybe it's not quite that cut-and-dried. But recent research does find that people who wear offbeat clothes in a professional setting are often perceived as having a higher status... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

The Challenge of the Multi-site Nonprofit

management techniques developed for for-profit companies. "We say this is not a good approach," said Grossman. Instead, nonprofits need their own management practices that recognize the unique characteristics of the nonprofit... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 Nov 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching The Moral Leader

the course: One is a textbook, The Moral Leader: Challenges, Tools, and Insights, that provides historical and social context for the works read in the course, as well as instructional materials. The other... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

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

June 2009
Case

The Rise of President Barack Hussein Obama

By: David A. Thomas, Laura Morgan Roberts and Stephanie Creary

This case profiles President Barack Hussein Obama's rise to the presidency as an "improbable candidate." The case illustrates the ways in which he overcame criticism from those who questioned his credibility and his values, and skepticism from those who were unsure... View Details

Keywords: Ethnicity; Race; Political Elections; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Creativity; Trust

13 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

as their mental well-being—a forthcoming article in American Psychologist examines current organizational psychology research to help business leaders manage COVID-related fallout in the workplace and View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

The Honor Foundation: Accessing Special Operations Talent

By: Boris Groysberg and John Masko

In 2020, The Honor Foundation (THF), a nonprofit dedicated to helping U.S. military special operators to transition into civilian careers, was facing a series of strategic challenges. THF had been founded in 2013 by former Navy SEAL trainee Joe Musselman, who observed... View Details

January 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

School of Rock: Tuning into Structured Empowerment (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino, Jeffrey Rayport, Samuel Grad and Stacy Straaberg

In summer 2021, School of Rock was a youth-oriented music education company with 291 franchise- and company-owned schools globally. Before CEO Rob Price’s hire in 2017, School of Rock’s nonconformist rock ‘n’ roll culture led to variability in teaching styles,... View Details

October 2005 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Kevin Sharer at Amgen: Sustaining the High-Growth Company (A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

Keywords: Leadership Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Style; Management Succession; Personal Development and Career