by Michael Blanding - Publications - Faculty & Research

31 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Checking Your Ethics: Would You Speak Up in These 3 Sticky Situations?

behavior by colleagues—shortcuts in analysis, intoxication on the job, inappropriate relationships. In general, the question you must ask is whether the issue ultimately affects the work delivered to clients and whether it harms the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consulting

19 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Racist Umpires and Monetary Ministers

business and economics as a whole. Eyes On The Ball In order to determine the effect of racial discrimination on baseball games, Parsons and colleagues Johan Sulaeman of Southern Methodist University, Michael C. Yates of Auburn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Information; Publishing

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

enough, then you are creating value not just for the company, but for the customer, or for employees and suppliers as well,” Karp says. Differentiation is key Many companies achieve a competitive advantage by differentiating themselves... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

03 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit

It's been said that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." HBS Assistant Professor Deishin Lee, however, has taken that old adage a step further in her recent working paper Turning Waste into By-Product by showing how it's possible for companies to turn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

08 Feb 2021
Book

How to Make the World Better, Not Perfect

more, that wouldn’t work,” he says. “But if I am in fact using some of that time to do other things to make the world better, then that’s a pretty good trade-off.” About the Author Michael Blanding is a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

04 May 2021
Book

Best Buy: How Human Connection Saved a Failing Retailer

with new lessons centered on human connection. “The mistake that many leaders, myself included, have made is that they lead with their brains,” he says. “But what’s at the heart of business? Well, it’s the heart. It’s people.” About the Author View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

March 2016 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Michael Milken: The Junk Bond King

By: Tom Nicholas and Matthew G. Preble

Michael Milken, an investment banker who dominated the junk bond market in the 1980s, was sentenced to jail in 1990 after pleading guilty to a number of securities and tax-related felonies. In the preceding decade, Milken had helped usher in a new wave of leveraged buy... View Details

Keywords: Junk Bonds; High-yield Bonds; Financial Innovation; Shareholder Value; Bonds; Capital; Capital Structure; Cost of Capital; Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Finance; Investment Banking; Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership; Private Equity; Restructuring; United States

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23 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

Product Disasters Can Be Fertile Ground for Innovation

to improve their products along with safety for their customers. About the Author Michael Blanding is a writer based in Boston. [Image: JohnnyGreig] Related Reading The Hard Work of Failure Analysis At... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

09 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

For Better Ideas, Bring the Right People to the Brainstorm

you need to be a willing to listen to the other person and recombine things that they say,” Koning says. “On the flipside, you want to make sure that the other person is sharing their ideas and not filtering themselves. Otherwise, it’s not much of a conversation.”... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

22 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Want Hybrid Work to Succeed? Trust, Don’t Track, Employees

and if given the tools, empowerment, and support, they will not only perform for you—they will thrive,” Neeley says. “We need to trust ourselves, trust our people, and increase our skills on how to lead both in the office and virtually.” About the Author View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

06 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

The Right Way to Manage Customer Churn for Maximum Profit

they spend any more money or do any additional work. The only thing we are suggesting is that they change their algorithm.” About the Author Michael Blanding is a writer based in Boston. [Image: RyanJLane ]... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail; Service; Financial Services

09 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

These Employers Pay Higher Salaries than Necessary

bazaar—measure the exact difference between the price paid by a first-timer and the price paid by an experienced haggler. Stanton and Thomas obtained the complete database on all administrative support jobs... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Employment; Technology; Computer

18 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

New Hires Lose Psychological Safety After Year One. How to Fix It.

welcome. In fact, new hires often enter fresh roles feeling optimistic and confident their organizations are eager to hear from them, but over time, employees increasingly feel less “psychologically safe” to contribute ideas, new research View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

15 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

We Have Better Ways to Break Habits Than Willpower. Why Don't We Use Them?

The deadline on an important work project is looming, but you keep getting distracted by news stories and silly cat videos online. Even though installing an Internet-blocking app might help you stay focused, you resist the idea, telling... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

24 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility

with Liang and Luc Renneboog of Tilburg University, and Sunny Li Sun of the University of Missouri—Kansas City to study whether the same held true in business. Would a company's use of language, particularly by the CEO and other top... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

25 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

What CEOs Do, and How They Can Do it Better

Why did you come in late on Tuesday? Did you really need an hour and a half for lunch on Wednesday? Why wasn't that report done by Thursday? For most of us, justifying our schedules is an expected part of the job. But what employee hasn't... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

06 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Motivate Your High Performers to Share Their Knowledge

Sometimes a little push like that is all employees need to get out of a rut. About the Author Michael Blanding is a writer based in Boston. [Image: Mark Kostich] Related Reading Ignore This Advice at Your... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

21 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

What Machine Learning Teaches Us about CEO Leadership Style

or nonverbal communication at shareholder meetings to add depth to their assessment of company performance. “There is a whole ocean of data out there that people aren’t using,” says Khanna. “Using it could help examine many questions that are essential to business.”... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

23 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

One More Way the Startup World Hampers Women Entrepreneurs

because all the venture capitalists and engineers and other founders are mostly men,” Koning says. “If you want a platform that is more diverse, then you need the larger ecosystem to be more diverse.” About the Author Michael View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

August 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Michael Lester at Lachlan Consulting

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Joshua D. Margolis

Michael Lester, a consultant with Lachlan, was frustrated by his client's unwillingness to provide key data for an important presentation. Lester must decide how best to confront Nadine Robert, his client, knowing that his personal success and the reputation of his... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Training; Customer Focus and Relationships; Interpersonal Communication; Success; Reputation

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