Publications

05 Feb 2009
What Do You Think?

Why Can’t We Figure Out How to Select Leaders?

simply impossible to select people with any degree of confidence? Do behaviors change when one is anointed with the power of a leadership position? Are we condemned to an on-the-job training approach, with... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders

Entrepreneurs, Managers and Leaders examines the role that business leaders play in shaping industries and how evolving industries shape leaders. This co-evolutionary process of leadership and industry development is told through the dynamic story of the... View Details

February 2013 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Wayne Ferrari: iAutomation at a Crossroads

By: Jim Sharpe and Michael Norris

Wayne Ferrari has bridged the gap between being an independent entrepreneur and a "professional manager." After selling his business to a Private Equity (PE) firm, Ferrari takes on the role of CEO and with their support implements a roll-up strategy to attain growth... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Leveraged Buyouts; Roll-up; Career Planning; Acquisitions; Pricing; Pricing Policies; Pricing Strategy; Pricing Structure; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Distribution; Integration; System; Electronics Industry; Distribution Industry; United States

February 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Estee Lauder and the Market for Prestige Cosmetics

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Opens with a brief history of the U.S. cosmetics market and its rapid development in the 1920s. Also recounts Lauder's initial involvement in the sector, making skin care products and selling them in Manhattan beauty parlors during the Great Depression. Pays particular... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Luxury; Business Strategy; Society; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

15 Nov 2018
Blog Post

Valuing an MBA: Beyond Dollars and “Sense"

Weekday mornings, in a discussion group composed of a math teacher, beauty product strategist, and a pro-athlete-turned-investor, I tackled over a hundred watershed corporate decisions, ranging from optimizing operations at a Massachusetts hospital to leading... View Details

July – August 2011
Article

The Enabling Role of Social Position in Diverging from the Institutional Status Quo: Evidence from the U.K. National Health Service

By: Julie Battilana

This study examines the relationship between social position, both within the field and within the organization, and the likelihood of individual actors initiating organizational changes that diverge from the institutional status quo. I explore this relationship using... View Details

Keywords: Status and Position; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Projects; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Relationships; Power and Influence; Health Industry; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

April 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Laura Ashley (A): A New CEO Takes Charge

By: Richard L. Nolan

In a turnaround situation, a new CEO must take actions in the short term to gain control and exercise executive leadership and lay groundwork to formulate a long-term strategy to rebuild a viable business. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

July 1994 (Revised July 1995)
Case

VeriFone: The Transaction Automation Company (A)

By: Richard L. Nolan, Donna B. Stoddard and Hossam Galal

Describes VeriFone's new organizational model and its role in catapulting VeriFone to a market leadership position. Examines the impact of information technology and information access on the ability to leverage global resources, market responsiveness, and... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Leadership Development; Market Transactions; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizational Structure; Information Management; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

17 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Advice for the New CEO: Talk to Your Employees Early and Often

CEOs have never had so many ways to communicate with their employees. But despite the availability of Slack, internal newsletters, and virtual town hall meetings, organizations can still go quiet. One of the most common culprits: Major View Details

Keywords: by Ami Albernaz

26 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Two sides, same coin: How I left the Bay Area as an operator and returned as an investor

leadership team for the Venture Capital and Private Equity Club and the Women in Investing Club. She will be returning to San Francisco after graduation to join Bessemer Venture Partners as a growth-stage investor. She hopes that sharing... View Details

January 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Hindustan Unilever Limited

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Mona Srivastava

This case illustrates Hindustan Unilever Limited's conflict resolution and people development policies using a “leading from the middle” example. The story centers on the challenges faced by an HR manager at a factory who must meet organizational objectives while... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Labor Unions; Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Managerial Roles; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; India

07 Aug 2009
What Do You Think?

Why Can’t Americans Get Health Care Right?

and digest information, test ideas, define the purpose, and align it to a strategy (Akram Boutros, Jack Slagle, Nikos Mourkogiannis, among others). This all will require more leadership (Paul Karras, Phil Clark). There was general... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

Karim R. Lakhani

Karim R. Lakhani is the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He specializes in technology management, innovation, digital transformation and artificial... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; communications; computer; health care; high technology; information technology industry; internet; pharmaceuticals; software; video games

15 Jan 2009
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Career & Life Balance

individuals to change their way of thinking about themselves and their role in the world. There is a six-phase plan for recognizing and overcoming impasse, starting with feeling stuck and ending with finally taking action. Each phase has... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

June 2008
Case

Treadway Tire Company: Job Dissatisfaction and High Turnover at the Lima Plant

By: C. Wickham Skinner and Heather Beckham

Treadway Tire's plant in Lima, Ohio must confront strong job dissatisfaction and high turnover among its line foremen. The foremen are caught in the middle of an adversarial relationship between the union and management, and they must cope with the needs and interests... View Details

Keywords: Superior ＆ Subordinate; Labor Relations; Work Force Management; Human Resource Management; Hiring; Job Satisfaction; Management; Leadership; Retention; Rank and Position; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Selection and Staffing; Satisfaction; Personal Development and Career; Labor and Management Relations; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Ohio

September 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Epic: The Future of Health Information Technology

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Brian L. Walker

How should the founder and leadership team of a health IT company with more than 45 years of market leadership prepare for the future, while navigating founder transitions and industry changes? Founded by Judy Faulkner in the late 1970s, Epic pioneered electronic... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Private Ownership; Customer Focus and Relationships; Information Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Health Industry; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry

07 Dec 2022
Blog Post

2022 Climate Symposium: Tackling Climate Together

The theme of the 2022 Annual Climate Symposium was “Tackling Climate Together” with a focus on the intersectionality of climate change and the critical need for businesses, individuals, policy makers, and consumers to come together to... View Details

2023
Book

Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

Speed has gotten a bad name in business, much of it deserved. When Facebook made "Move fast and break things" an informal company motto, it fueled a widely held belief that we can either make progress or take care of people, one or the other. That a certain amount of... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Performance Improvement; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture