Operational Excellence - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Dec 2021
Op-Ed

Want to Build Better Leaders? Focus on Mindset, Skills, Knowledge

about the thinking that informs their decision-making. This work will ultimately lay the foundation for both leader and organizational growth. Hise O. Gibson is a senior lecturer in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and Shawnette Rochelle

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

27 Sep 2013
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Conformance and Experiential Quality on Healthcare Cost and Clinical Performance

Keywords: by Claire Senot, Aravind Chandrasekaran, Peter T. Ward & Anita L. Tucker; Health

Teaching Interest

Managing Human Capital: Keeping Hope Alive in Organizations (Not offered 2013-2014)

Managing Human Capital has been specifically designed to teach practical skills for the general manager who seeks to manage both other people and his or her own career with optimal effectiveness. Any and all students who believe they will need to effectively manage... View Details

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

business performance. What does matter, it turns out, is having a strong grasp of the business basics. Without exception, companies that outperformed their industry peers excelled at what we call the four primary management... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

09 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization

excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship in perpetuity” during the next recession. The framework has four steps: Managers throughout the organization should understand their exposure. What might the next economic crisis look... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

08 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Building Effective R&D Capabilities Abroad

language and cultural barriers. One senior R&D manager in the United States notes, "We wanted to learn firsthand what was going on in centers of scientific excellence in Europe. Being present at a center of scientific View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

21 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 21

2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness or raise a new round of venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

their agreements with the current employer and their knowledge of trade secrets. The law is clear that if someone is currently working for a company, particularly if her or she is a key employee, they cannot operate a competing business.... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

17 Feb 2022
Book

When Employees Feel a Sense of Purpose, Companies Succeed

to the specific content of their cultures, shaping them to inculcate specific behaviors relevant to strategic execution. Eager to support goals like innovation, quality, growth, and excellence in customer service, companies like Southwest... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

to get resistance. And that's what leadership is about. Leadership is about moving companies to places where their normal operating leaders would not take them. And as it relates to this issue in terms of the development advancement of... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

16 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

Why Business Travel Still Matters in a Zoom World

languages and possess unique cultural norms around meeting styles would benefit from in-person meetings, whereas people who speak the same language and operate meetings similarly won’t realize the same benefit. Choudhury hopes business... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Air Transportation

23 Aug 2016
First Look

August 23, 2016

science education from around the world as they discuss regional trends and models, with a specific focus on developments in and cooperation with China. Focusing on why this model responds to the twenty-first century requirements for View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Sep 2021
What Do You Think?

Can We Train for Trust?

the speed of trust.” It could hardly be more true than in a business like Airbnb. Its platform, which brings those with rooms and travelers together, relies on a triangle of trust between the company, its landlords, and traveler-renters, all of whom View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

14 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

The Hard Work of Measuring Social Impact

of Nonprofit Organizations in June, a joint executive education program presented by the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative, Harvard's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, and the Harvard Kennedy School. He will co-chair the HBS Executive Education program... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

31 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 31, 2018

infrastructure presents an excellent opportunity to avoid the pitfalls of complex, restrictive, digital health systems that have evolved elsewhere. We propose here a federated, patient-centric, application programming interface... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 Dec 2013
HBS Case

Lessons from the Lance Armstrong Cheating Scandal

to facilitate it," says Professor of Management Practice Clayton S. Rose, who sees in Armstrong's story an ideal vessel for teaching lessons about business ethics and leadership. Along with research associate Noah Fisher, Rose wrote the case study Following Lance... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports

11 May 2009
Research & Ideas

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

and ultimately an excellent journey to learning effective leadership skills in The Adventures of an IT Leader (Harvard Business Press). According to the novel's creators, a fictional approach allowed them to blend real-life incidents they... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

21 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

What Machine Learning Teaches Us about CEO Leadership Style

performance. “Machine learning is able to utilize data that is both large in size, but also in a different form than what would traditionally fit into an Excel spreadsheet,” says Harvard Business School’s Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

How New Managers Become Great Managers

much too modest. She is an excellent role model for how to manage our careers if we hope to move into ever more important managerial positions. From her story, we see that leadership can be an exciting but arduous journey of... View Details

Keywords: by Linda Hill

Publications