Publications

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04 Jun 2020
Book

It’s Not About You: Why Leaders Need to Look Outward

for teams to thrive, even in the leader’s absence. Frei, the UPS Foundation Professor of Service Management at Harvard Business School, served as senior vice president for leadership and strategy at Uber and has consulted with WeWork and... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

06 Jun 2023
Cold Call Podcast

The Opioid Crisis, CEO Pay, and Shareholder Activism

Keywords: Re: Suraj Srinivasan; Health; Pharmaceutical; Distribution

July 1998
Supplement

Bell Atlantic in Union City

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

In this pioneering project to wire a school for the Internet and put computers in students' homes, Bell Atlantic combined its need for a beta site for a technology trial with the school reform efforts of the Union City, New Jersey public schools, under the leadership... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Social Enterprise; Internet and the Web; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; New Jersey

18 May 2021
Cold Call Podcast

How Georgia State University Increased Graduation Rates

Keywords: Re: Michael W. Toffel; Education

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

How Remote Work Changes What We Think About Onboarding What Leaders Can Do to Fight the COVID Fog It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership The COVID Two-Step for... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

April 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Fermenting Accounting Problems at Vermont Kombucha Corp.

By: Tatiana Sandino and Marshal Herrmann

Founded in 2005, Vermont Kombucha Corp. (V-Ko) was an early mover in the fledgling U.S. market for kombucha, a drink brewed for its health benefits. Early on, the company captured more than 90% of market share. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Joe Williams,... View Details

Keywords: Going Public; Business Model; Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Stock Shares; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2019
Case

Coup or Crime? The Case of Carlos Ghosn

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and Puneet Brar

This case explores the interplay of global corporations, management styles, and local traditions through the high profile arrest of auto industry icon, Carlos Ghosn, in November 2018. The case allows students to debate opposing theories that led to the arrest and... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Globalized Markets and Industries; Problems and Challenges; Ethics; Governance Controls

04 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Shackleton: An Entrepreneur of Survival

a new business case called Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance. Shackleton, who died in 1922 at the age of forty-seven, never achieved his goal of traversing the continent of Antarctica. He is... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Novell: CEO-led Turnaround and Growth Strategy

By: Richard L. Nolan and Robert D. Austin

Novell CEO Jack Messman tried to return the company to its leadership position in the software industry through a strategy that embraces Linux and other open source software. This case serves as an introduction to open source software and strategies based on open... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation; Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software; Intellectual Property; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry

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03 Jul 2008
What Do You Think?

Are Followers About to Get Their Due?

Summing Up Are leadership and followership joined at the hip? It seems impossible to separate the two. They are reflective of one another. These are two of the predominant opinions expressed in one way or another by respondents to this... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

September 2020
Case

True North: Pioneering Analytics, Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Kairavi Dey and Hannah Mayer

True North was a private equity fund that specialized in the growth and buyout of mid-market, India-centric companies. The leadership team initially believed that technology was not core to traditional businesses and steered clear of new age technology-oriented... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Information Technology; Management; Operations; Organizations; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; AI and Machine Learning; Computer Industry; Technology Industry

July 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Raymond Jefferson: Trial by Fire

By: Anthony Mayo and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the spring of 2021, Raymond (Ray) Jefferson applied for a job in President Joseph Biden’s administration. Ten years earlier, false allegations were used to force him to resign from his prior U.S. government position as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Personal Development and Career; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation

September 2019
Case

Sonia Millar: Negotiating for the C-Suite

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Anne Donnellon

This case addresses the nuances of gender dynamics and career progression at the top of the organization, where even women who have strong leadership expertise, experience, and alliances with powerful male colleagues still get stuck. Told from the point of view of... View Details

Keywords: Executives; CEO; Promotion; Gender Bias; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Diversity; Power and Influence

03 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Succeed With Your New Boss

such as over how much information the boss wants (and you want to give) and how involved the boss wants to be (and you want him or her to be) in the details of what you are doing. Rather than allowing misunderstandings to complicate your relationship, spend some time... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

November 1990 (Revised March 1994)
Case

Digital Equipment Corp.: The Kodak Outsourcing Agreement (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Herminia M. Ibarra

Describes grassroots effort which culminated in Digital's winning a competitive bid for the outsourcing of Kodak's internal telecommunications business. Describes the "Telstar" project, from the initial identification of the business opportunity to the process of... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Leading Change; Agreements and Arrangements; Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Management Teams; Telecommunications Industry

February 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Creating and Measuring Purpose at Viega

By: Ethan Rouen, Suraj Srinivasan and James Barnett

At its headquarters in Attendorn, Germany, Viega’s chairwoman Anna Viegener gathered the company’s leadership team to discuss their progress on formalizing purpose-driven leadership as a strategic driver within the organization. Viega manufactured and distributed... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Employee Relationship Management; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Expansion; Measurement and Metrics; Germany

January 2014 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Rethinking Cities: Chicago on the Move

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

It is impossible to discuss national competitiveness without considering cities and the regions they anchor. Cities are transportation hubs, centers of commercial exchange, and the locus of lives. They thrive by the ways they connect to the world. Demographic changes... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Management; Strategy; Infrastructure; Innovation and Invention; Chicago

November 2012
Case

Teaming at GE Aviation

By: Rakesh Khurana, Jeffrey Polzer, Willy Shih and Eric Baldwin

Describes the challenges and successes encountered by GE's Aviation business in implementing a teaming work structure and culture in plants across its supply chain. GE Aviation leadership had seen dramatic gains in productivity, quality, and worker satisfaction in... View Details