Publications

November 2003 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Reinventing the Automobile: General Motors' AUTOnomy Project

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the history of General Motor's attempts to develop a hydrogen fuel-cell powered car. As of 2003, GM developed several prototypes of such a vehicle to demonstrate the viability of the overall concept. Many uncertainties remained, however, with respect to the... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Management; Information Technology; Transition; Competency and Skills; Disruptive Innovation; Machinery and Machining; Auto Industry

June 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Hennessy and Harvey-Jones: Two Responses to the Crisis in Chemicals

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Responding to the crisis in chemicals in the early 1980's, Allied Chemical (U.S.) and ICI (U.K.) appoint new chairmen to revitalize each company's strategy, culture, and organization. Hennessy, an outsider with a background in managing conglomerates, has strong ideas... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Management Style; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy

Find at Harvard

Web

Baker Old Class Collection | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Introduction 1840s – 1880s General Merchants to Commodities Brokers 1880s – 1920s Investment Banking & Securities Underwriting 1920s – 1960s Investing in Emerging Industries 1850–1968 Lehman Brothers Family Partners 1960s – 2000s Leadership View Details

01 Dec 2003
News

Books

Watkins, an expert on leadership transition, presses his case for “accelerating” the critical transition period that begins when a new CEO — or a new manager at any level — is hired. Watkins estimates that more than a half-million... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

13 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Grolsch Brewing Company: Drink Sustainably

In January 2023, Professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel led more than 40 HBS MBA students on site visits to witness the energy transition and innovative sustainable production activities throughout Denmark and the Netherlands, in their new... View Details

01 Oct 2015
News

Banking on Trust

she brought in a former government minister who had guided a similar transition in his South American country. “Hearing directly from someone who had been through it helped convince the president and parliament that they could make the... View Details

01 Jun 2025
News

Crucible: Relocation

Illustration by Caroline Tomlinson When we discussed the concept of crucibles at HBS, my best guess then—based on my dating record and polycystic ovaries—was that I might struggle with finding a life partner and with fertility. As I re-emerge from my first real... View Details

Keywords: Zhang, Qian

Web

Winning with Digital Platforms Online Course | HBS Online

challenges associated with developing, overseeing, or interacting with a platform business Explore strategies for transitioning a product or service into a platform Build offensive and defensive plans to effectively develop or compete... View Details

17 Dec 2020
Blog Post

9 Ways to Have a Better 2021

illustrations by Rose Wong Find Your Maximum Sustainable Goodness Invest in the New Abnormal Bounce Back from a Blunder Hit Pause Kill Groupthink Up Your Time Affluence Advance Racial Equity in the OfficThise Embrace the Corona-Blur Take Time to View Details

22 Apr 2020
Research Event

How Investors Are Sizing Up Climate Change’s Risks—and Opportunities

Until a few years ago, climate change’s potential impact seemed abstract for many investors. Now, as sea levels rise, hurricanes intensify, and droughts threaten food supplies, many investors are confronting its financial realities. But it’s not a simple calculation.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

8 AM – 5 PM EDT, 31 May 2018
Career Events

HBS Career Reboot Camp in Boston

Career Reboot Camp is coming to Boston! Led by Professor Tim Butler and facilitated by HBS career coaches, participants will work through exercises to reflect on their key career interests, what's important to them in work and life, and create a plan to move forward... View Details

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

The ABCs of Addressing Climate Change (From a Business Perspective)

It's Climate Week in New York City. The schedule features a UN Climate Summit, a People's Climate March, the Clinton Global Initiative, substantial criticism of the whole endeavor, and plenty of agitated interaction. There is a lot of noise here. How can businesses cut... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Energy; Utilities

June 24, 2016
Other Article

Why Brexit Is a Big Deal

By: John A. Quelch

The consequences of yesterday's vote by the British people to leave the European Union will be far-reaching, but there is no reason for global markets to panic.
Brexit is a vote against the European Union. Once heralded as the engine of a one-for-all and... View Details

Read Now

March 1974 (Revised June 1996)
Case

First National City Bank Operating Group (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Growth in the banking field has produced new demands on the "back office." Traditional management practices in check processing and paper handling operations have resulted in ten years of cost increases and quality loss. New manager of the operating group faces an... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transition; Banks and Banking; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Production; Banking Industry

Career Coach

Nicole Ledoux

returned stateside to help build a new sell-side fixed income rates business for State Street Global Markets, trading swaptions and FX options. Nicole enjoys advising students exploring various functions in entrepreneurship and finance, especially those seeking to... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products; Entrepreneurship; Investment Management; Financial Services (All)

February 2001 (Revised October 2002)
Background Note

Entrepreneurial History: A Conceptual Overview

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Analyzes HBS cases on five entrepreneurs and the companies they built: Josiah Wedgwood, Henry Heinz, Marshall Field, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Michael Dell. These five cases and their accompanying teaching notes comprise a course module on entrepreneurial... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Demand and Consumers; Competition; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Society

September 2007
Case

Still Leading (B4): Lee Iacocca—Driving Impact

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Lance P. Pierce

Lee Iacocca, a successful CEO of an auto company, devoted himself after retirement to several social causes. Describes issues in the transition. View Details

Keywords: Transition; Transformation; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Civil Society or Community; Auto Industry