Publications

January 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Zaoui & Co. (A): Consigliere for High Stakes M&A Transactions

By: Ashish Nanda, Alex Kitsberg and Zack Kurtovich

In September 2019, Zaoui & Co.’s close-knit team of professionals convened for their annual off-site. In its nine years of operation, the boutique investment bank founded by the brothers Michael (HBS ’83) and Yoel Zaoui (Stanford GSB ’88), had garnered a track record... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Strategy; Investment Banking; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Europe; United Kingdom

2008
Working Paper

Product Development and Learning in Project Teams: The Challenges are the Benefits

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Ingrid M. Nembhard

The value of teams in new product development (NPD) is undeniable. Both the interdisciplinary nature of the work and industry trends necessitate that professionals from different functions work together on development projects to create the highest quality product in... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Learning; Management Skills; Product Development; Projects; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Social and Collaborative Networks

July 2015 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Ron Johnson: A Career in Retail

By: Das Narayandas, Joshua D. Margolis and Ryan Raffaelli

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leadership Development; Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Organizational Behavior Modification; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Competition; Retail Industry; United States

10 Feb 2016
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: New Insights into Career Development

Receiving an unexpected professional status bump doesn't always feel good, especially if it wasn't really earned. Companies need to be aware of potential problems with unearned status gain, and be ready with solutions, says Tsedal Neeley.... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

22 Jan 2025
Blog Post

Career Risks and Professional Growth: Finding a Fulfilling Career with Paige Arnof-Fenn (MBA 1991)

Learn about the career resources available to HBS alumni through HBS Career & Professional Development When I decided to attend Harvard Business School, I wasn’t entirely sure what my next step would be,... View Details

29 Jan 2025
Blog Post

Finding professional purpose: Building an impactful career that reflects your values with Lisa Tanzer (MBA 1993)

entertained. I’ve always been someone who wants to brighten peoples’ day, and I sought to integrate that into my career. I took on roles that combined creative development and strategic leadership, working my up to CMO, and then President... View Details

December 2016
Supplement

Ron Johnson: A Career in Retail

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Joshua D. Margolis and Das Narayandas

This is a video supplement, to be used when teaching the Ron Johnson case. See abstract:

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leadership Development; Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Competition; Organizational Behavior; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

11 Jan 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

New Game, New Rules: Developing Managers for a Competitive World

needs. These reside deep within the organization, and therefore must be developed and leveraged through processes completely foreign to the vertical, control-based management approaches that proved all powerful in earlier times. This, in... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

29 Jan 2025
Blog Post

Finding Professional Purpose: Building an Impactful Career that Reflects your Values with Lisa Tanzer (MBA 1993)

Learn about the career resources available to HBS alumni through HBS Career & Professional Development When I started my journey at Harvard Business School, I was eager to broaden my business knowledge... View Details

July 2018
Teaching Note

Ron Johnson: A Career in Retail

By: Ryan Raffaelli

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leadership Development; Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Competition; Organizational Behavior; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

20 Oct 2017
Blog Post

Taking Care to Prepare Leaders: Lessons in Leadership Development from DaVita Kidney Care

Professional Development office at HBS. “Don't just start an LDP to attract talent,” Fitzpatrick says. “You need to think about what’s best for your company; you’re looking for talent pipeline and bench... View Details

Keywords: Health Care

2019
Working Paper

Using Technology to Augment Professionals, Instead of Replacing Them, for Innovative Problem Solving

By: Hila Lifshitz - Assaf, Felicia Ng, Aniket Kittur and Robert Kraut

While in some technological and scientific areas innovation is flourishing, in others it is stalling, leaving important problems unsolved for decades. One explanation is professionals’ limitations as problem solvers, as accumulating depth of knowledge enhances one’s... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Expertise; Future Of Work; Crowdsourcing; Artificial Intelligence; Problem Solving; Professionalism; Experience and Expertise; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Problems and Challenges; Research and Development

September 2012
Article

Learning Agility: In Search of Conceptual Clarity and Theoretical Grounding

By: D. Scott DeRue, Susan J. Ashford and Christopher G. Myers

As organizations become more complex and dynamic, individuals' ability to learn from experience becomes more important. Recently, the concept of learning agility has attracted considerable attention from human resource professionals and consultants interested in... View Details

Keywords: Learning And Development; Learning

Find at Harvard

2016
Article

Three Lenses on Occupations and Professions in Organizations: Becoming, Doing, and Relating

By: Michel Anteby, Curtis K. Chan and Julia DiBenigno

Management and organizational scholarship is overdue for a reappraisal of occupations and professions as well as a critical review of past and current work on the topic. Indeed, the field has largely failed to keep pace with the rising salience of occupational and... View Details

Keywords: Professions; Professional Identity; Occupations; Work; Workplace; Work Culture; Literature Review; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career

February 2014
Teaching Note

Leadership in Law: Amy Schulman at DLA Piper

By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

This teaching note provides a discussion plan and rich conceptual background for the "Leadership in Law: Amy Schulman at DLA Piper" case. Topics covered include definitions of success, lifespan career development, team leadership, managing professional service firms,... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Team Leadership; Women And Leadership; Career Planning; Law; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Service Industry

December 2018
Case

Tiantong & Partners: Transforming Litigation Practice in China

By: Ashish Nanda and Lisa Rohrer

Jiang Yong founded Tiantong & Partners in 2002, seeking to radically improve the level of litigation-related services in China. By 2015, Tiantong was the premier Chinese litigation firm with the highest per lawyer revenues. The firm focused exclusively on high-stakes... View Details

Keywords: Law Firm; Law Firms; Growth; Legal Industry; Regulation; Professional Services; Law; Lawsuits and Litigation; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Legal Services Industry; China

July 2013 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Collaborating for Growth: Duane Morris in a Turbulent Legal Sector

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Annelena Lobb

By the late 2000s, the law firm Duane Morris had transformed itself from a growing U.S. law firm to a significant global player. The firm's uniquely collaborative organizational culture, which featured a transparent, data-driven compensation system, practice-group... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Collaboration; Performance Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Performance; Cooperation; Globalized Firms and Management; Compensation and Benefits; Volatility; Growth and Development Strategy; Legal Services Industry; United States

March 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Transition at DataCo?

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Carin-Isabel Knoop

The founder of a data analytics company, Stefan Brecht, has several issues with his key business developer and head of marketing and sales, Tamara Smithson. Smithson, an early hire who had been instrumental in building the firm; operates as an individual contributor;... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Performance Management; Professional Services; Salesforce Management; Sales; Marketing; Performance; Consulting Industry; United States; France