Publications

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12 Apr 2016
News

How Disney’s Alan Horn Manages the Movies

think that’s genuinely who Alan is.” The piece also offers insight into Horn’s day-to-day management style, with fellow employees recalling the usefulness of his notes on casting (Robert Redford as a villain in “Captain America: The... View Details

February 2011
Case

Jamie Turner at MLI, Inc.

By: John J. Gabarro and Colleen Kaftan

The case describes the evolution of an interpersonal mismatch between a previously successful manager, Jamie Turner, and his new boss, Pat Cardullo. Turner, a 32-year-old MBA graduate, has been recruited by Cardullo to be vice president of marketing and sales at Modern... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Interpersonal Relations; Superior ＆ Subordinate; Micro Organizational Behavior; Performance Management; Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Management Style; Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Employee Relationship Management; Rank and Position; Performance; Communication Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Acquisition; Distribution Industry; Consumer Products Industry; San Diego; Chicago

July 2012
Case

Johannes Linden: Managing the Global Executive Committee

By: Linda A. Hill and Mark Rennella

Johannes Linden is the Director of the Washer and Dryer division of Fluss, a large Swiss appliance manufacturer. Soon after the company completes its revenue projections and bonus targets for the upcoming year, Linden shares some good news with his leadership team, the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Multinational Firms and Management; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Switzerland

27 Nov 2020
News

Managing Someone Whose Life Has Been Upended

July 1995
Teaching Note

Managing Conflict in a Diverse Workplace TN

By: Mary C. Gentile and James I. Cash Jr.

Teaching Note for (9-395-090). View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Conflict Management; Spoken Communication; Employees; Culture; Diversity

07 Sep 2022
News

The Costs of Being a Perfectionist Manager

April 2008
Teaching Note

A Day in the Life of Alex Sander: Driving in the Fast Lane at Landon Care Products (Brief Case)

Teaching Note for 2177 View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Leadership, Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Human Resource Management; Career Advancement; Product Management; 360-degree Feedback; Relationship Management; Managing Difficult Interactions; Top Performers; Conflict Management; Leadership; Organizations; Personal Development and Career; Human Resources; Product Marketing

November 2016 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in Motion

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Evan Siddall, newly appointed CEO of Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, a governmental organization focused on the residential housing market, is charged with leading change at the organization. The case follows this process of change step by step and looks at the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership, Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Government Organizations; Performance Management; Organizational Change And Transformation; Culture; Leading Change; Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Government Administration; Risk Management; Restructuring; Leadership; Performance; Change Management; Financial Services Industry; Canada

16 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

What Football Firings Teach Managers About Staying Relevant

unique to sports, of course. Based on our surveys with executives from a wide range of fields, the rate at which managers lose relevance has increased dramatically, even over just the last decade. The world is changing faster than ever... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

12 Apr 2021
News

What Does It Mean to Be a Manager Today?

03 Jun 2002
What Do You Think?

Are We Entering an Era of European Management Leadership?

with issues of business leadership. They prompt the question of whether the highly-touted American style of management of the 90s is giving way to a new and different European style, just as Americans... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January – February 2012
Article

How Managers Use Multiple Media: Discrepant Events, Power, and Timing in Redundant Communication

By: Paul Leonardi, Tsedal Neeley and Elizabeth M. Gerber

Several recent studies have found that managers engage in redundant communication; that is, they send the same message to the same recipient through two or more unique media sequentially. Given how busy most managers are, and how much information their subordinates... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Media; Information; Groups and Teams; Projects; Management Style; Power and Influence; Motivation and Incentives; Technology

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January–February 2018
Article

The Leader's Guide to Corporate Culture: How to Manage the Eight Critical Elements of Organizational Life

By: Boris Groysberg, Jeremiah Lee, Jesse Price and J. Yo-Jud Cheng

Executives are often confounded by culture, because much of it is anchored in unspoken behaviors, mindsets, and social patterns. But when properly managed, culture can help them achieve change and build organizations that will thrive in even the most trying times. In... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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Web

Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business | HBS Online

leadership style and managing the conditions that drive team performance. 6 weeks, 7-9 hrs/week Enroll by May 15 $1,850 Certificate Strategy Execution Professor Robert Simons Gain the tools, skills, and... View Details

January 2002
Case

Intrinsix: Managing Growth at an Electronic Design Service Company

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

Intrinsix is a 15-year-old semiconductor design services company that wants to continue its growth and market reach and appears to be ready for an initial public offering (IPO). This case leads up to this strategic decision point by tracing the growth of Intrinsix from... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Initial Public Offering; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Style; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry

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July 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Trouble at Basecamp: Managing Politics, Polarization, and Conflict in the Workplace (A)

By: Nour Kteily, Deepak Malhotra and David Lane

As founders of the software company Basecamp, Jason Fried and David H. Hansson were used to being the subjects of social media attention. Both maintained active and dedicated Twitter followings for their unique perspectives on management and life. But on April 26,... View Details

27 Jun 2019
Blog Post

My Week at Harvard Business School's Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP)

I am incredibly grateful to have spent this past week at Harvard Business School's Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP) aimed at introducing rising seniors to Harvard's MBA and, in all, exposing us to the impact of strong... View Details

May 1992 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Richardson Sheffield

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

The case traces Bryan Upton’s 20-plus years as managing director of a Sheffield-based cutlery company and describes the strategic and organizational actions he took to raise sales and earnings at more than 25% annually, even as the local industry was in steep... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Human Resource Practices; General Management; Human Resources; Management; Leadership; Strategy; United Kingdom

June 1995 (Revised September 2019)
Teaching Note

Richardson Sheffield

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

This note was prepared to aid instructors in the use of "Richardson Sheffield," HBS No. 392-089. The case traces Bryan Upton’s 20-plus years as managing director of a Sheffield-based cutlery company and describes the strategic and organizational actions he took to... View Details

Keywords: Development; General Management; Human Resources; Management; Leadership; Strategy; United Kingdom