Publications

February 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Olympia Machine Company, Inc.

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Benson P. Shapiro

The management team of an industrial equipment supplier is debating the company's method of compensating salespeople. Different executives have offered different alternatives to the current method of straight salary plus expenses. Each option has different implications... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Mission and Purpose; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Industrial Products Industry

Portrait Project

Drew Johnson

turkey sandwich and a bottle of water on a hot afternoon. As I think about what to do with my life, I see that my ultimate purpose is to make a positive impact on people by doing things both big and small. For me, it’s knowing that people... View Details

Portrait Project

Gordon C. Liao

seeing black, white, red and brown as just colors but culture and re-route the traditional hbs highway that makes success for some of us most likely i want to love with a purpose and fall into it every day of my existence but also make... View Details

28 Jul 2021
News

Squarely in Their Corner

easy-to-use online tools for payments, payroll, and loans was a natural fit, thanks to her background. “I felt the strongest purpose and calling in Square in helping that entrepreneur,” Ms. Ahuja told the Wall Street Journal, “because of... View Details

Keywords: mentorship; entrepreneurship; fintech; career; work-life balance; Finance

30 Mar 2018
News

Fighting Poverty One Neighborhood at a Time

come from low-income neighborhoods.” While his background is in commercial real estate and corporate finance, since 2012 Majors has served as a vice president at Purpose Built Communities, an Atlanta-based, nonprofit consulting group.... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Speaking out on behalf of the disabled

assumptions. “They wanted me to contribute more,” he says. “I made a course correction,” says Lipsitz. “I’ve come to realize that a large part of my purpose here is to set a good precedent for people with disabilities who will follow me.... View Details

August 2020
Teaching Note

Sesame Workshop (B): Celebrating 50 Years of Helping Kids Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Teaching Note for Case No. 321-015. In 2019, Sesame Workshop celebrated its 50th anniversary while on a winning streak of social impact, innovation, and peak media and financial results. Over the past four years, CEO Jeff Dunn and his turnaround team exhibited... View Details

Keywords: Social Impact; Innovation; Television; Children; Media; Television Entertainment; Education; Innovation and Invention; Change Management; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Education Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

July 2020
Case

Sesame Workshop (C): Mission Critical Responses to Global and National Crises

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Beginning in March 2020, Sesame Workshop navigated a global pandemic and racial justice crisis, which caused unemployment, business shutdowns, school closures, and remote work. The CEO and team responded with new partnership using its assets and reinforcing its... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Social Issues; Crisis Management; Global Range; Mission and Purpose; Education; Education Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

2015
Chapter

How Leaders Use Values-based Guidance Systems to Create Dynamic Capabilities

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Matthew Bird, Ethan Bernstein and Ryan Raffaelli

How do strategic leaders create change-adept organizations? Based on qualitative field research, this chapter argues that well-defined institutionalized purpose, values, and principles act as an organizational guidance system that integrates and strengthens the... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Capabilities; Field Research; Intrinsic Motivation; Organizational Identity; Ecosystem; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Motivation and Incentives; Research; Management Systems; Change

Find at Harvard

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Governance of the Family Business

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the ways to achieve governance of the family business. Points out the importance of plans (e.g., strategic plans), statements (e.g., mission statements), policies, rules, and agreements to the governance process. Discusses the roles of three structures in... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Mission and Purpose

23 Feb 2015
News

Preserving a Musical Tradition; Inspiring Future Generations

Photo courtesy of Ben de Menil In a palm tree–lined school courtyard in the small town of Cabarete, on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, children are making music. Some play the bongos; some, guitars. Others sing or step and sway to the familiar four-count... View Details

Keywords: April White; Arts, Sports, Language, Driving, and Other Schools; Educational Services

01 Dec 2014
News

Feedback

bulletin@hbs.edu Groundwork Re: Foundations for the future Great vision. The master plan feels good and logical with the purpose of being a residential learning center not only for virtual contacts but, more importantly, for... View Details

Keywords: feedback

May 2003
Case

Sun Hydraulics: Leading in Tough Times (A) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill and Jennifer Suesse

Sun Hydraulics, 32-year-old global hydraulics engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida; confronts tough choices due to the economic downturn in 2001. The company leadership debates how to maintain profitability and reduce labor costs... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Financial Crisis; Crisis Management; Manufacturing Industry; Florida