Learning By Doing - Publications - Faculty & Research

03 Dec 2014
What Do You Think?

Can the Brilliant Jerk Be Managed Effectively?

"I think we need to learn more about this type of person to deal with this phenomenon. We need to learn more about specifically how these folks bring something valuable into the organization and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These VC Partners May Make Your Firm Less Innovative

You don’t know what you don’t know—and almost by definition new entrepreneurial ventures need a helping hand from established partners if they hope to succeed. “Startups suffer from what researchers call ‘liability of newness,’” says... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

March 2019
Case

Wattpad

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

How to run a platform to match four million writers of stories to 75 million readers? Use data science. Make money by doing deals with television and filmmakers and book publishers. The case describes the challenges of matching readers to stories and of helping writers... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

25 Jan 2017
HBS Case

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

In India, where many people consider fair skin more desirable than dark, the cosmetics industry has responded by producing a wide range of skin-lightening products—and with great success. But, when these companies pitch their creams in... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Beauty & Cosmetics

08 Feb 2021
Book

How to Make the World Better, Not Perfect

all we’re told is ‘that’s not good enough’ then we’re going to give up.” Bazerman’s book closes that gap by drawing lessons from philosophy, yes, but also from behavioral economics, psychology, and negotiation theory to show how we can... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

12 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Enron’s Lessons for Managers

Some events mark a generation. If a marker is a source of deep learning about ourselves, as Malcolm Salter believes it is, then the Enron crisis is exactly that for business people. Political scientists have the Bay of Pigs; engineers... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

13 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Science Business: What Happened to Biotech?

very "transactional" or "deal-making" terms. They do not think about the potential value of the relationship. So, they structure fairly narrow contracts, with lots of ways to bail out. They then mitigate the risks... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology

30 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Are You Supporting Your B Players?

By day, managers run themselves ragged worrying about their A players: their stars, their rainmakers, their top 15 percent. By night, the same managers fret over their C players—their bottom 15 percent of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

The Country Effect: Does Location Matter?

loyalty, tradition and internal maintenance, are the monkeys. Organizations frequently show aspects of different cultures, making for dragons. Competitive and entrepreneurial firms consistently perform better than do more bureaucratic and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 May 2022
Book

Why Digital Is a State of Mind, Not Just a Skill Set

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance

improve their job performance. “Our work shows that if we'd take some time out for reflection, we might be better off.” In the working paper Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance, the authors... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

14 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Few Women on Boards: Is There a Fix?

they do like the United States—and leave the issue alone? The answer may lie in determining when, why, and how businesses can thrive by balancing their boards, says Harvard Business School Professor Boris... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

18 Dec 2013
HBS Case

Lessons from the Lance Armstrong Cheating Scandal

Rose sees more of a lesson in the decisions made by his followers—fellow riders, medical staff, and training staff—to go along with Armstrong's deceptions. "How do you start to go down that slippery... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports

03 May 2023
Research & Ideas

Why Confronting Racism in AI 'Creates a Better Future for All of Us'

his research, race and racism in the marketplace, and more. Turner founded and runs the Technology Race and Prejudice Lab, also known as the T.R.A.P. Lab. Barbara DeLollis: Why do you research race and technology? Broderick Turner: As a... View Details

Keywords: by Barbara DeLollis

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Waking Up a Sleeping Company

is conducted. Practicing solid values does not guarantee results unless a passionate commitment to performance standards is incorporated into the organization's norms. The question is, Do the organization's norms drive performance or... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

have to be this way. “If companies I know and admire are doing this, it can’t be that bad, or else they wouldn’t do it.” Layoffs are an example of “hope triumphing over science,” says Sandra Sucher, the MBA... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

Delta employees—which was considered a bold action by a high-profile CEO, Hill says. That summer he went on a “listening and learning tour,” holding in-house sessions with Delta’s Black workers and meetings... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

21 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Gender and Competition: What Companies Need to Know

Pressure to not compete against men, rather than an innate preference for cooperation over competition, may keep women from earning what they're worth in the workplace, according to preliminary findings by three Harvard researchers. In... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

25 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Being a Team Player: Why College Athletes Succeed in Business

C-suite roles than their classmates, says Paul Gompers, the Eugene Holman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, who is one of the study’s co-authors. “It certainly makes sense that that kind of intense commitment means there are things that... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

27 Apr 2022
Book

Empower Your Employees to Make Better Decisions

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

Publications