Adaptability - Publications - Faculty & Research

January 2017 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Classtivity: Payal's Pirouette

A few months after launching a new fitness technology product, the small staff of New York startup Classtivity gathers on a Saturday in April 2013 to take stock. With one successful pivot under its belt, Classtivity is finally generating revenue and enthusiasm among... View Details

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18 Feb 2019
Book

What’s Really Disrupting Business? It’s Not Technology

competing with the big companies without having the resources. But in most cases, consumers are disrupting markets, not startups and not technology. Your way out as a business executive requires adapting and evolving your business model.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Beauty & Cosmetics; Insurance; Service; Retail

August 2023
Case

Reimagining Hindustan Unilever (A)

By: Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

In the fall of 2019, the CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm, is wondering what to do about their experiments to digitize distribution. Despite three years of intense efforts, their apps to empower retailers... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Leading Change; Distribution; Decisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Consumer Behavior; E-commerce; Competition; Performance; Business Strategy; Marketing; Transformation; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; India

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11 Apr 2024
Blog Post

Climate Stories: Water Series - Episode #17: Leni Peterson Redondo (HBS MS/MBA 2023), Founder & CEO of Celeste

people across the supply chain to coordinate large scale climate adaptation strategies.” Leni continued, “Moreover, water is a critical resource that companies share with neighboring communities and ecosystems. If companies wish to... View Details

30 Jan 2019
Blog Post

The Life and Role of a CEO

therefore requires an awareness around the potential signals his or her actions/ inactions are sending. To navigate these tricky situations, CEOs need to have situational and self-awareness, adapt when and how they need to, and make sound... View Details

October 2005 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Virginia Mason Medical Center

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Erika Ferlins

In 2000, Dr. Gary Kaplan became CEO of the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. The hospital was facing significant challenges: It was losing money for the first time in its history, staff morale had plummeted, and area hospitals presented ardent... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Production; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Competition; Seattle

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02 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

The Secret of How Microsoft Stays on Top

challenges. The first is in recognizing the threats (and opportunities) presented by newly emerging technologies. The second is in mounting an effective response to these threats. Microsoft appears to have solved these problems, giving it the ability to quickly View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The Unlikely Upside of Mergers: More Diverse Management Teams

Employees often feel stressed when their firms are bought by other companies, fearing they could face layoffs, demotions, or lousy working conditions. While it’s true that organizations tend to restructure their workforce following mergers and acquisitions, these... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

Web

The 20th Century Zeitgeist - Leadership

each coming into play to a varying degree at different times. The best leaders can sense the winds of change and adapt with the times. Great American Business Leaders: 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s the 20 th... View Details

18 Jul 2023
Interview

Jeffrey Rayport on Product Market Fit, Profit Market Fit and Whiplash, and More

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Doug Levin

This episode of "Lessons from Startup Life" podcast features Jeffrey Rayport, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. Jeffrey specializes in teaching and researching growth-stage technology ventures and their scalability. Prior to... View Details

Keywords: Scaling And Growth; Start-up; Diversity; Equity; Inclusion; Technology; Business Startups; Product Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation

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28 Apr 2015
Blog Post

3 Reasons Engineers Thrive at Business School

communicate in technical language. As an MBA, I am able to communicate in business language. This communication adaptation is invaluable to future leadership. I will be able to utilize these unique skills to achieve my goals and... View Details

Web

Negotiation Course Online | HBS Online

global network. 1 year, 5-9 hrs/week Apply by September 10th, Enroll by September 13 $15,000 (four installments of $3,750) Credential Leadership Principles Professors Joshua Margolis & Anthony Mayo Learn to bring out the best in others by applying and View Details

October 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Data Science at Target

By: Srikant M. Datar and Caitlin N. Bowler

Paritosh Desai joined Target.com in 2013 as VP of Business Intelligence, Analytics & Testing to explore how the retailer could use its relatively small but thriving e-commerce arm to drive sales and win customers. The case explores the technological and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Analytics and Data Science; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Innovation Leadership

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10 Oct 2023
Blog Post

Policy Drivers for Environmental Justice: What Businesses Need to Know

$235 million,[41] the specific allocation method of which has yet to be announced. This will promote climate resilience and protect natural and cultural resources, as well as adaptation planning.[42] Similarly, the $25 million for Native... View Details

08 Feb 2023
Op-Ed

Building an Inclusive Workplace? Prepare to Shield It from Economic Fears

engage employees. Workplace changes prompted by the pandemic have made employees more adaptable and flexible than before; however, persistent change without time to absorb and process causes fatigue. Leaders who are numb to fatigue make... View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and Nicole Gilmore

22 Mar 2017
HBS Seminar

Gerald C. Kane, Boston College

2000
Chapter

When a Thousand Flowers Bloom: Structural, Collective, and Social Conditions for Innovation in Organizations

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design

Citation

March 2019 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Philips Lighting: Light-as-a-Service

By: Mark R. Kramer, Thijs Geradts and Bhanuteja Nadella

As LEDs with a 25-year lifespan replace incandescent lightbulbs, Philips Lighting faced major disruption and began to explore a new shared value business model of selling light as a service. Although it offers better profit margins and a reduced environmental... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy

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Web

Working Groups Update | About

of sessions, adapted to meet the needs of different audiences at the School. And, the group will explore ways to develop our own educational content about antisemitism and how best to incorporate it into our pedagogy. Our aim is to... View Details

May 2014
Case

Gunfire at Sea (multi-media case)

By: Michael Tushman and Tom Ryder

This short video illustrates the challenges of leading innovation and change. This classic case (one of the oldest in the HBS system) retains its timeliness. The case describes how Lt. Sims develops a new form of gunfire at sea—continuous aim gunfire. While 3,000% more... View Details

Keywords: Organization Behavior; Change; Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Innovation Leadership; United States

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