Publications

March 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Case

IBM Corporation Turnaround

By: Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan

Describes the details of IBM's dramatic corporate turnaround in the early 1990s led by CEO Louis V. Gerstner. Accounts of events are from interviews with IBM executives. Covers the factors that led to the company's decline and actions taken to recover. View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Restructuring; Management Teams; Management Practices and Processes; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

August 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

C3.ai—Driven to Succeed

By: Robert Simons and George Gonzalez

CEO Tom Siebel navigates his artificial intelligence (ai) startup through a series of pivots, market expansions, and even an elephant attack to become a leading platform ad service provider. The case describes his unusual management approach emphasizing employee... View Details

2009
Book

The Adventures of an IT Leader

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Shannon O'Donnell

Becoming an effective IT manager presents a host of challenges-from anticipating emerging technology to managing relationships with vendors, employees, and other managers. Ultimately, a good IT manager must be a strong business leader, not just a technical... View Details

Keywords: Books; Leadership; Crisis Management; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Safety; Information Technology

Find at Harvard

02 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 2

an instrumental variables and a simultaneous equations approach. Finally, we show that the relation is driven by both the social and the environmental dimension of CSR. Read the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Courses | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Benjamin N. Roth; Associate Professor Natalia Rigol Business Solutions for the Poor (Global and Local) (Fall Q1Q2) Professor Kash Rangan; Associate Professor Benjamin N. Roth; Associate Professor Natalia Rigol Changing the World: Life Choices of Influential Leaders... View Details

Web

Faculty & Research - Business & Environment

While Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) increasingly guides investment management and corporate agendas nowadays, public reactions to firms' ESG performance remain under-studied. This paper fills this gap by investigating whether... View Details

Web

For Alumni - Doctoral

Bulletin Submit Class Notes Faculty In The News At Booking.com, Innovation Means Constant Failure (Summer Repeat) Re: Stefan Thomke 08 JUL 2025 | Cold Call 90 Years of Alcoholics Anonymous: How Bill Wilson Changed the World Re: Robert... View Details

Web

About - Entrepreneurship

led by faculty co-chairs Julia Austin and Shikhar Ghosh. Advisory Board A talented group of faculty and alumni form a supportive and insightful advisory board. In The News 02 Jul 2025 Harvard Business School 90 Years of Alcoholics... View Details

August 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 2: Building a Successful Strategy

By: Robert Simons

This module reading describes the basics of building a successful strategy. Topics in this module include a discussion of the distinction between corporate and business strategy; how to conduct a SWOT analysis of market dynamics and internal capabilities; the use of... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Business Strategy; Five Forces; Distinctive Capabilities; Emergent Strategy; Mission Statements; Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Competitive Advantage

January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Jackie Robinson: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of Jackie Robinson from the poor streets of Pasadena, California to one of the most famous people in America after he overturned the color barrier in baseball. The case describes how as a youth he excelled at basketball, football, baseball,... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Power And Influence; Personal Characteristics; Values And Beliefs; Mission And Purpose; Sports; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Leading Change; Personal Development and Career; United States

Web

HBS - The year in Review

Class Day speaker Robert L. Ryan (MBA 1970). Reunions and commencements were also held for those in the Classes of 2020 and 2021, whose celebrations were virtual during the pandemic. Saturday saw receptions... View Details

January 1991 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Westchester Distributing, Inc. (B)

By: Robert L. Simons and Robert Boxwell

Describes the actions taken by the owner/president to resolve the dilemma. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Customers; Problems and Challenges; Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Behavior; Distribution Industry

Web

Online Business Courses & Certifications | HBS Online

environments. 4 weeks, 6-7 hrs/week Pay by July 31 $1,850 Certificate Strategy Execution Professor Robert Simons Gain the tools, skills, and frameworks to successfully... View Details

09 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 9, 2010

Authors:Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, and Kari L. Granger Abstract The sole objective of our ontological approach to creating leaders is to leave students actually being leaders and exercising leadership effectively as their natural... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1991 (Revised March 1992)
Case

USA Today

By: Robert L. Simons

USA Today is a national newspaper struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top managers--the Friday... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Labor and Management Relations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Journalism and News Industry; United States