Publications

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

Companies looking for the best possible leaders—and leaders looking to become CEOs—would do well to heed the model of private-equity (PE) backed companies, which often look outside their ranks when hiring for the top job and see excellent results. Three-quarters of new... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

18 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

When It Comes to Climate Regulation, Energy Companies Take a More Nuanced View

Common wisdom holds that oil and gas companies, electric utilities, and other industries known for their large carbon emissions generally oppose clean energy policies. Now, a study of corporate advocacy spanning 30 years reveals that many companies are more flexible... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Utilities

16 Oct 2015
Blog Post

HBS and the Arts

I am what you may consider an atypical candidate at HBS; I am an art history major in pursuit of an MBA, dedicated to a career path in the arts. My fascination with art stems from an experience I had in high school. I attended a... View Details

February 2023 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Twitter Turnaround and Elon Musk

By: Andy Wu and Goran Calic

Late afternoon on Friday, October 27th, 2022, Elon Musk was the center of attention at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters. The night before, Musk officially took the company private and became Twitter’s majority shareholder, finally ending a months-long acquisition... View Details

Keywords: Elon Musk; Twitter; Acquisition; Revenue; Advertising; Social Media; Business or Company Management; Public Opinion; Job Cuts and Outsourcing

22 Jun 2022
Book

Four Elements for Finding the Right Career Path

my 40 years of working as a psychologist and a trainer of coaches and counselors. The question I asked was: “What issues are always present when individuals are faced with major career and life decisions?” I arrived at an heuristic that I... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

20 Jun 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover: Lessons in Strategic Change

Keywords: Re: Andy Wu; Technology

30 Jan 2019
Blog Post

The Life and Role of a CEO

Miho Sakuma (MBA '20) is from Tokyo, Japan and graduated with a major in history at Williams College. Prior to HBS, Miho worked in management consulting for Mickinsey in the Tokyo and New Jersey offices. As a former management consultant,... View Details

25 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Is Baseball Ready to Compete for the Next Generation of Fans?

While football and basketball are now the most popular and financially successful of the four major professional sports leagues, Major League Baseball appears to be rallying. Last week, MLB said revenue for... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Media & Broadcasting; Sports

18 Mar 2016
Blog Post

What is an IFC?

An IFC (Immersive Field Course) is a class for second year students where the vast majority of content consists of an on-the-ground assignment to learn about and advise on real problems. I enrolled in an IFC focused on building cities... View Details

October 1982 (Revised May 1992)
Case

Johnson & Johnson: The Tylenol Tragedy

By: Stephen A. Greyser

In October 1982, Johnson & Johnson was confronted with a major crisis when seven deaths were attributed to poisoned Tylenol. The case reviews the facts as known a week after the incident occurred, and raises a wide range of questions regarding consumer behavior,... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competitive Strategy; Crisis Management; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry

10 May 2022
News

Being Your Own Boss Can Pay Off, but Not Always with Big Pay

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

[This is the sixth installment in a monthly series on management issues in the time of COVID-19.] We recently asked 600 CEOs: What is keeping you awake at night during this global pandemic? A major and multifaceted concern that emerged is how to keep employees... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922

John H. Patterson created an intricate system of management to monitor and train company salesman. He gave them scripts to memorize and assigned them territory to cover. He held conventions and thematic sales contests, and pressured salesmen to rid their regions of... View Details

Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman

September 2023
Case

David Beckham (A)

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In January 2022, superstar-athlete-turned-entrepreneur David Beckham is deciding on a proposal that has the potential to significantly change the trajectory of his business career: Authentic Brands Group (‘Authentic’) has offered to engage in a strategic partnership... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Decisions; Brands and Branding; Negotiation Offer; Partners and Partnerships; Sports

23 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

Sooner or later, every company runs into challenges that force them to make tough trade-offs during the innovation process. Harvard Business School associate professor Rory McDonald calls these moments “tensions.” The streaming service Netflix, for instance, has faced... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

February 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Background Note

Integrated Marketing Communications

By: Robert J. Dolan

Describes the major communication vehicles and the process via which they can be brought together in an integrated marketing communications plan. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications