Publications

11 Jun 2019
Book

These Aren't Beach Books, but Managers Should Read Them Anyway

disruption, but Gary Pisano says there are ways to stay ahead of the innovation curve. Kissinger the Negotiator: Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Level James Sebenius explains the art of Henry Kissinger’s dealmaking. Problem... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

04 Aug 2011
What Do You Think?

How Dangerous Is Common Sense to Managers?

systems may, in some cases, eliminate the need to predict the future by allowing managers to respond only to events that have just occurred. A variation on this was proposed years ago by View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

07 Jun 2004
What Do You Think?

How Important are Big Ideas?

Summing Up Judging from responses to the June column, big ideas rank high on a list including technology and intellectual property as sources of competitive advantage. But they are only a starting point, outweighed by methods and the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

05 Dec 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Growth Good?

Summing Up by Jim Heskett A small but thoughtful set of responses to the question "Is Growth Good?" posed this month conveys the sense that the wrong questions were asked. According to the responses, growth is not only good—it... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

05 Oct 2016
What Do You Think?

Can the US Economy Regain the Growth and Prosperity of the Past?

accomplished, including more freedom for business, more immigration, and big bets by the government and industry to meet imposing infrastructure needs. Ron Kurtz said, “I am concerned that we are facing a decline in the size and spending... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

05 Nov 2014
What Do You Think?

Are We Entering an Era of Neuromanagement?

Summing Up: Where Do We Draw the Line on the Use of Technology in Hiring Practices? The idea of using brain scans in hiring, while it generated limited enthusiasm among respondents to this month's column, nevertheless was rejected by only... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Brand Power from Wedgwood to Dell: Part One

A conversation with Nancy Koehn, author of Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers' Trust From Wedgwood to Dell, HBS Press, 2001. "I am just fascinated by the power, the quirks, the determination, and the durability of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

Trevor Fetter is a Senior Lecturer and the Henry B. Arthur Fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has been on the faculty since 2019. He teaches two MBA required courses: Financial Reporting and Control and Leadership and Corporate Accountability. He has also... View Details

07 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

How “Career Imprinting” Shapes Leaders

new book, Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across an Industry, is scheduled to be published in April by Jossey-Bass. Mallory Stark: What is career imprinting? Monica Higgins: Career imprinting refers to the process View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

July 2011
Article

Unexploited Efficiencies in Higher Education

By: Henry C. Eyring

In "Unexploited Efficiencies in Higher Education," Henry C. Eyring argues that one way that the U.S. can compete globally in college attainment is to decrease cost-per-graduate. He explains how many stakeholders in higher education stand to benefit from unexploited... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Innovation; Control Systems; Education; Performance Evaluation; Innovation and Invention; Education Industry; United States

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November 1989 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Since Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Co., Ford vehicles have been sold and serviced the same way. By the late 1980s Ford began to consider making changes in its sales and service process. Two developments forced Ford to reconsider these processes. First, Ford found... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Distribution Channels; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Amitabh Chandra is the Henry and Allison McCance Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School where he is the Faculty Chair of the joint View Details

November 2018 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Bangladesh: Into the Maelstrom

By: Reshmaan Hussam, Sophus A. Reinert and Namrata Arora

In the fall of 2018, Rohima Begum considered her options as the small island, or “char,” on which her family’s house rested slowly but inescapably eroded into the mighty Brahmaputra River in northern Bangladesh. The country, once unceremoniously dubbed a “basket case”... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Adaptation; Environmental Management; Problems and Challenges; Immigration; Bangladesh