Publications

Find at Harvard

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

When Gender Changes the Negotiation

negotiation can set the stage for differences in outcomes negotiated by men and by women, particularly when (1) the opportunities and limits of the negotiation are unclear; and (2) situational cues in these ambiguous situations trigger... View Details

Keywords: by Dina W. Pradel, Hannah Riley Bowles & Kathleen L. McGinn

15 Nov 2016
First Look

November 15, 2016

uncertainty associated with screening early stage ventures. Using data on 652 ventures in high-growth industries, we examine whether experienced entrepreneurs, executives, and investors can predict the outcomes of early stage ventures by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jan 2019
Op-Ed

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

care at lowest cost. Noseworthy also took the leadership in Washington to ensure ACA gave priority to patient outcomes. Noseworthy’s focus on superior quality and patient outcomes elevated Mayo to No. 1 on US News & World Report’s... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health; Banking; Food & Beverage; Consumer Products

23 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Overcoming Nervous Nelly

at how that anxiety can change the outcomes of negotiations. In order to induce anxiety in participants, she asked them to listen to the theme from the horror film Psycho; others heard soothing classical music instead. Then she placed... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 Jun 2007
What Do You Think?

How Should Pay Be Linked to Performance?

sustainable outcomes to the benefit of shareholders." However, Gary Johnson cautions that "Because excitement is so critical to success, pay for performance value can be diminished the longer the time delay for receiving... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

2011
Book

Detour: My Unexpected, Amazing, Life Changing Journey With OnStar

By: Chet Huber

Detour is the story behind the launch of OnStar’s now well known blue button, as told through the eyes of its founder and CEO of over fourteen years, Chet Huber. It’s a personal narrative that describes the events that led up to General Motors’ unexpected choice... View Details

Keywords: General Motors; OnStar; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Transportation; Safety; Personal Development and Career; Creativity; Success; Business History; Auto Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2020
Case

Michael Phelps: 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay'

By: Boris Groysberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Michael Norris

In 2020, Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 medals in various swimming events, was now retired. As he looked back on his 20+ year athletic career, he considered what had gone into making him the greatest of all time—the highs and lows,... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Talent and Talent Management; Training; Health; Success; Performance Improvement; Personal Development and Career; Family and Family Relationships; Sports; Competition; Sports Industry; United States; Baltimore; Arizona; Sydney; Athens; Beijing; London

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Most Accountants Aren’t Crooks—Why Good Audits Go Bad

accounting firms that deliver unfavorable audits. Even if an accounting firm is large enough to absorb the loss of one client, individual auditors' jobs and careers may depend on success with specific clients. Moreover, in recent decades,... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, George Loewenstein & Don A. Moore; Accounting; Financial Services

29 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

The $1 Trillion Link Between Mental Health and Economic Productivity

mental health is an outcome of improvements in economic development.” “We haven’t been as good at understanding the link between mental health and economics as we could be” A behavioral economist, Ashraf has spent most of her View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

25 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

The Economic Cost of Physician Burnout

researchers focused on one aspect of the problem they could measure: lost income due to reduced hours and turnover. To do so, they used a 2014 survey of some 7,000 doctors that asked questions about burnout and short-term career plans to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

November 2016 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Lynda Bussgang's Stages

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Lynda Bussgang is getting ready for her 25th Harvard College reunion and for the first time she is actually looking forward to it. Unlike some of her classmates she has charted her own course to happiness. This path took her from musical theater, to non-profit work to... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Success

29 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Hunting for a Hot Job in High Tech? Try 'Digitization Economist'

advising on everything from the type of auction to run to where to set reserve prices. “Tech firms have also hired economists to solve challenges relating to the choice of outcome of advertising, such as pay-per-click versus... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Technology; Education

March 2021 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Ayn Rand: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the life of Ayn Rand from Russia to Hollywood to New York City. The case describes how Rand fled communist Russia and, in reaction to the deprivations she experienced under communism, developed a philosophy idealizing free will and personal... View Details

Keywords: Writing; Values and Beliefs; Economic Systems; Society; Mission and Purpose; Success; Work-Life Balance; Ethics; Personal Development and Career; Publishing Industry

2018
Working Paper

Class Matters: The Role of Social Class and Organizational Sector in High-Achieving Women's Legitimacy Narratives

By: Judith A. Clair, Rachel D. Arnett, Katherine Chen, Beth K. Humberd and Kathleen L. McGinn

While prior research recognizes that women struggle to maintain legitimacy for their successes and that self-narratives play a key role in building such legitimacy, theory provides limited insight into how women build legitimacy through their self-narratives. Our... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Gender; Success; Diversity; Perception; Situation or Environment

Read Now

December 2006 (Revised June 2013)
Teaching Note

Union Corrugating Company (A) and (B)

By: Paul W. Marshall

Teaching Note to 803065 and 804003. View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Competition; Work-Life Balance; Success; Change Management; Management; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Steel Industry; Boston; North Carolina

July 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Supplement

Philip McCrea: Once an Entrepreneur... (B)

By: William W. George

Philip McCrea is dealing with the aftermath of the move of his company and family from San Francisco to New Jersey (from the (A) case). Although the move goes well from a family perspective, his business runs into challenges when he merges it into a Canadian company... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Leadership; Failure; Ownership Stake; Work-Life Balance; Canada; New Jersey

February 2021 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Sarah Breedlove: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case describes the rise of Sarah Breedlove, who later called herself Madam C.J. Walker, from the cotton fields of Louisiana to the head of a successful, nationwide beauty company providing opportunity and hair care products to Black women. The case describes how... View Details

Keywords: Brands; African-american Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Personal Characteristics; Success; Work-Life Balance; Business Startups; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Personal Development and Career; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States