Publications

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December 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Curt Schilling's Next Pitch

By: Noam T. Wasserman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Rachel Gordon

As his major-league pitching career was starting to wind down in 2006, baseball all-star Curt Schilling decided to become an entrepreneur. Looking to focus his tenacity and his passion for online role-playing games on a new challenge, he founded an online gaming... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Video Game Industry

March 2024
Case

Katharine Graham: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the life of Katharine Graham from housewife to publisher of the Washington Post. Born into a family of wealth, Graham described herself as a “doormat wife” after she married Phil Graham and stayed at home to raise their children. His unexpected death... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Power and Influence; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Success; Work-Life Balance; News; Newspapers; Media; Gender; Publishing Industry

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

his career studying survival. “We are all day-to-day survivors. We are alive today because from childbirth our behaviour has adapted to our own particular environment,” Leach writes. “The danger arises when we are forced outside of our... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

22 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Student Loan Debt Leads to Better Jobs, Stronger Consumers

Student loan debt is not only crippling Americans financially, it is holding them back from pursuing better opportunities. When student debt is erased, a huge burden is lifted and people take big steps to improve their lives: They seek higher-paying View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Teaching Interest

Managing Human Capital: Keeping Hope Alive in Organizations (Not offered 2013-2014)

Managing Human Capital has been specifically designed to teach practical skills for the general manager who seeks to manage both other people and his or her own career with optimal effectiveness. Any and all students who believe they will need to effectively manage... View Details

2024
Working Paper

What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences

By: Mark Egan, Alexander MacKay and Hanbin Yang

We present an empirical model of portfolio choice that allows for the nonparametric estimation of investors' (subjective) expectations and risk preferences. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 401(k) plans from 2009 through 2019, we explore heterogeneity in asset... View Details

Keywords: Stock Market Expectations; Demand Estimation; Retirement Planning; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); Finance; Investment Portfolio; Investment; Retirement; Behavioral Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States

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October 2023
Case

Shredder Setups or Straightlining into Risk?: Investing in What You Love

By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger

Bob Hall, President of Green Gables Partners, evaluated whether to angel invest into an up-and-coming ski brand. As the son-in-law of the founder of Vera Bradley and having retired from a lengthy career on Wall Street, Hall was well-versed in both direct investing and... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Angel Investors; Direct Investment; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Small Business; Financial Strategy; Personal Finance; Investment Portfolio; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk and Uncertainty; Consumer Products Industry; Montana; United States

15 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 15, 2008

core of the traditional bookmakers' business model. The case examines two aspects of the industry: (1) What specific choices did Betfair make to become the dominant betting exchange, winning the competitive battle over Flutter.com? (2) At... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, March 20, 2018

Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/918037-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 618-034 McKinsey & Company: Early Career Choices (A) This case profiles the early View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Sep 2023
Book

Thriving After Failing: How to Turn Your Setbacks Into Triumphs

missing our goals—sometimes due to our own shortcomings and sometimes due to factors outside our control.” The example shows just how emotionally taxing failure is, in both our careers and our personal lives. As a result, Edmondson says,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

10 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 10, 2007

forces in a company's government, legal, and social environment. Purchase this note: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=707469 U.S. Taxation of Foreign-Source Corporate Income Harvard Business School Note 207-085 Identifies several of the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 5, 2008

hard worker, but instead of becoming an entrepreneur himself, he built a long career at "the biggest company around," GTE. After years of working there in sales and marketing, he decided to venture out on his own. His GTE... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Reforming New Orleans Schools After Katrina

schools are public schools of choice that operate outside the governance and policies of their local school districts. In nearly all states, charter schools must be open to all students, just like traditional public schools. Families... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

could find out my past, and my career and everything I had worked for would be over.” ‘Why me?’ Miller also struggled with tremendous guilt, not only for the murder he had committed years earlier, but also for his success. “I moved up the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

2011
Book

Detour: My Unexpected, Amazing, Life Changing Journey With OnStar

By: Chet Huber

Detour is the story behind the launch of OnStar’s now well known blue button, as told through the eyes of its founder and CEO of over fourteen years, Chet Huber. It’s a personal narrative that describes the events that led up to General Motors’ unexpected choice... View Details

Keywords: General Motors; OnStar; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Transportation; Safety; Personal Development and Career; Creativity; Success; Business History; Auto Industry

Find at Harvard

05 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 5

that the Undefeated refinement better captures actual choice behavior. This is surprising because the Intuitive Criterion refinement is the most commonly utilized belief refinement in the literature while the Undefeated refinement is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely

examiners also benefited financially by bringing their Greater Washington, DC, salaries to less costly regions, effectively increasing their real incomes. Early- and mid-career workers tended to choose locations based on future career... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

November 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Tim Ferriss: What Might This Look like If It Were Easy?

By: Reza Satchu and Denise Koller

In April 2024, writer-podcaster Tim Ferriss—celebrated as the “Oprah of audio” for his billion-download show and known for NYT-bestsellers like The 4-Hour Workweek—found himself at a crossroads. Despite generating a multi-million-dollar annual revenue with just three... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Personal Development and Career; Business Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Media and Broadcasting Industry

August 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Avi Kremer

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Mark Wetzel

If you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, how would you respond and what would you do with your remaining time? Avi Kremer contemplates four options for how to devote himself 18 months after being diagnosed with ALS. His experience thus far and the choices he... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Health Disorders; Leadership Development; Personal Development and Career; Social Enterprise; Personal Characteristics