Publications

October 2011
Supplement

An Interview with Ganesh Natarajan, CEO of Zensar

By: David A. Garvin

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Human Resources; Employees; Leadership Style; Management; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry; India

Program

High Potentials Leadership Program

cons of diverse leadership styles and strategies, you will expand your ability to build productive teams, champion change, lead in a crisis, and create a culture of high performance. This high potentials leadership program is presented... View Details

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

write a case study about how Sanders, known as “Coach Prime,” applies a military commander’s approach to motivating his team. “Deion reminds me of military officers I’ve served under because of the clear way he communicates and the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

September 2003
Case

Nelson Mandela, Turnaround Leader

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Euvin Naidoo

Nelson Mandela was the first democratically elected president of South Africa. He had to shift the culture of a country after the end of the apartheid regime, which enforced separation of the races and stifled freedom of the press. He established more open dialogue,... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Government and Politics; Governance; Policy; Political Elections; Culture; Communication Intention and Meaning; Relationships; Leadership Style; Welfare; South Africa

13 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 13, 2009

from initiating and smoothing communication to establishing long-lasting relationships and mutual trust, and from bargaining and drafting agreements to securing their implementation. Chinese negotiators can be at once warm hosts and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Oct 2010
Research & Ideas

Introverts: The Best Leaders for Proactive Employees

Luther King, Jr., and Jack Welch, great leaders are extraverted: their behavior is bold, talkative, energetic, active, assertive, and adventurous. This enables them to communicate a strong, dominant vision that inspires followers to... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

17 May 2018
Blog Post

HBS/HKS Alum Regan Turner on Empowering Veterans

in urban communities and to do so with a great team of people. I saw that The Mission Continues was hiring, and because they do that type of work with veterans, the job seemed like a perfect fit. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I... View Details

05 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding

another employer and maybe move up in rank,” Zhang says. “The career ladder is still there, but it’s changing how you play the game.” Adapting your management style The evolution of management toward collaboration calls for developing a... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

06 Oct 2023
Book

Yes, You Can Radically Change Your Organization in One Week

communication culprits. Often, people didn't honor the past. A new leader will come in and essentially say, ‘In the past, people were dumb and lazy, but now I'm here with my new ideas, and it's going to be good.’ People who were in the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

16 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Is MySpace.com Your Space?

revival band that is promoted from a MySpace site, is a case in point. The site is credited for their explosive global growth, yet the commercial exploitation of the social network is welcomed by fans. In true punk style the band claims... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Advertising; Information; Publishing

22 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

Manager Visibility No Guarantee of Fixing Problems

Motions: An Empirical Test of Management Involvement in Process Improvement," HBS professor Anita L. Tucker and Harvard School of Public Health professor Sara J. Singer show that communicating with frontline workers can backfire if... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

September 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

QUALCOMM, Inc. 2004

By: David B. Yoffie, Pai-Ling Yin and Elizabeth Kind

QUALCOMM, Inc. had transitioned from a fledgling startup into a Fortune 500 wireless technology leader. Its CDMA technology was considered the preeminent technology and was the world's fastest growing wireless communications technology. CEO Irwin Jacobs had a number of... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Government and Politics; Leadership Style; Resource Allocation; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; China; India

Program

Leading Change and Organizational Renewal

Recognize how leadership styles and senior team characteristics affect change Make better decisions about change initiatives—even with insufficient information Develop internal communication networks... View Details

January 2015 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Nasty Gals Do It Better

By: David Collis, Diane Chang, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers—typically the slightly edgy 18–24 year old.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth; Brand Management; Online Retail; Clothing; Apparel; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Management; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Social Media; E-commerce; Digital Marketing; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

April 2025
Case

Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics (A)

By: Linda A. Hill, James I. Cash and Lydia Begag

Joe Mazzulla's leadership journey with the Boston Celtics began in 2016 when he served as an assistant coach for their NBA G-League affiliate. In 2019, he was promoted to a "behind-the-bench" assistant coaching role with the Celtics, before being asked to become the... View Details

April 2006
Case

Adrian Ivinson at the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair

By: Robert Steven Kaplan and Ayesha Kanji

Adrian Ivinson is the director of Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair (HCNR), a not-for-profit research center at the Harvard Medical School (HMS). The center was started in late 2000 with a gift of $37.5 million from an anonymous donor. Its mandate was to... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Power and Influence; Organizational Culture; Research and Development; Nonprofit Organizations; Motivation and Incentives; Change Management; Alignment; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Health Industry; Massachusetts