Publications

01 Sep 2012
News

Alumni Books

best innovations: Find and fill an important unmet customer need. Plan for profitability. Strive for sustainability. Establish credibility. Gather necessary resources. Lead and manage effectively. Maintain balance and learn to enjoy the... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

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

10 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

The Negotiator’s Secret: More Than Merely Effective

untrustworthiness, miscommunication, bad timing, revealing too much or too little, a poorly designed agenda, sequencing mistakes, negotiating with the wrong person on the other side, personalizing issues, and so on. Even if you manage to... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

26 Mar 2020
News

Oprah Winfrey and the Power of Empathy

10 Mar 2017
News

The Business of Lego Batman

weekends in a row. He spoke with associate editor Julia Hanna about everything from his approach to a film’s business plan, to the challenges of managing internal growth on his teams—and how the Lego Movie is like The Avengers. READ MORE... View Details

Keywords: LEGO; Lego

01 Mar 2007
News

The Winning Season

THAT'S A WINNER: The DeWitts enjoy the home field advantage at the new Busch Stadium, which offers views of downtown St. Louis and the city's trademark Gateway Arch. From his office in the new Busch Stadium, St. Louis Cardinals Managing... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

July 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Case

Echoing Green

By: Julie Battilana, Thomas J. DeLong and James Weber

This case presents the leadership challenges that Cheryl Dorsey, the president of Echoing Green, faces in early 2009. Echoing Green is a fellowship program that seeks to improve society by identifying and supporting social entrepreneurs who launch organizations to... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Crisis; Social Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Organizational Structure; Personal Development and Career; Social Enterprise

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Waking Up a Sleeping Company

shielded them from responsibility. The lack of performance standards related directly to the organization's inability to deal with conflict. Many managers could not abide open conflict in meetings. Disagreements over issues were... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

November 2005
Case

Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies Renaissance

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2005, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, CEO and chairman of the Carlson Companies, must decide whether to outsource jobs at the risk of destroying the culture centered on the values of integrity, trustworthiness, and caring that she had painstakingly created since becoming... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership Development; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Family Ownership; Leadership Style; Management Teams

31 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 31, 2017

democratic history and an immediate, practical exercise for anyone looking for a way to strengthen our common civic commitments. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52134 2017 Academy of Management Annals... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

22 Jan 2020
News

What It Takes

Middle East, running a huge sovereign wealth fund, took it over. He was a royal family member. And I had never met him before, so I was going to be the first person who managed money for this giant institution. To meet him, it was going... View Details

07 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Whatever Happened to Caveat Emptor?

efforts in Germany and France), consumers favor products that evolved slowly and are well engineered, while the French prefer style and innovation. These preferences are not just a matter of national DNA, but also reflect decisions made... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

23 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

Theory and Practice, edited by Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana Harvard Business Publishing, 2010 Abstract The idea of a contingency theory of leadership is not novel. In the 1960s several scholars conducted research and proposed such an approach arguing that the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 18, 2007

Administration (VHA). Kizer was appointed as the Under Secretary of Health, to oversee the VHA, in 1994. Upon Kizer's arrival, it was immediately apparent that the management style that pervaded the VHA was... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2011
Teaching Note

KiOR: Catalyzing Clean Energy (TN)

By: Ramana Nanda

Teaching Note for 809092. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Renewable Energy; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership Style; Geographic Location; Energy Industry

18 May 2010
News

A Teacher At Heart

Keywords: Finance

06 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

How to Do Away with the Dangers of Outsourcing

Staffing, risks, benefits, and regulatory compliance are all increasingly externalized, most often to parts of the world where need routinely trumps prudence. Rather than manage their own corporate assets, CEOs and other top executives of... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati; Manufacturing; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

02 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles of 2006

In the six-year history of Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge, some types of articles have always been popular with our readers. Want to generate a lot of reader buzz? Then write about negotiation strategy, managing IT,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

May 2004 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Clarence Saunders: The Comeback King

By: Nitin Nohria and Bridget Gurtler

Follows the rise and fall of the founder of the modern supermarket, Clarence Saunders. Prior to 1915, all staple shopping took place in the market or general store, where a clerk behind a counter pulled items from shelves for customers , measured them from a barrel, or... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Mission and Purpose; Business Processes; Leadership; Consumer Behavior; Leadership Style; Advertising; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Order Taking and Fulfillment