Publications

August 2022
Teaching Plan

Janet Ames (A), (B), (C), (D)

By: Brian Trelstad

Teaching Plan for HBS Case Nos. 320-076, 320-077, 320-078, and 322-051. The series of Janet Ames cases follow a fictional alumna of Harvard Business School into her consulting career in Boston. Over the series of cases, Ames is first offered the opportunity to join... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Board; Non-profit Management; Career Changes And Transitions; Evaluation; Personal Development and Career; Opportunities; Decision Choices and Conditions; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Governing and Advisory Boards; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Management; United States

11 Aug 2020
News

Find Your Allies

for Educational Opportunity changed her mind. The program, which offers educational and career support to students from underserved communities, helped Harris realize something: she loved finance. “I was 19 years old and there I was,... View Details

Keywords: workplace diversity; gender diversity; career paths; career advice; leadership; networking; workplace relationships; Finance

01 Dec 2022
News

Turning Point: Soul Cycle

recognizing that feeling as something to pay attention to. At Wellesley, I had a similar intuitive experience when I switched majors from neuropsych to economics. That change was scary because it was late in the game, but the decision led... View Details

Keywords: transitions; life experience; career change; entrepreneurship

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Martin Smith: July 2012

By: Josh Lerner and Felda Hardymon

Martin Smith, a recently hired general partner at a Brazil-based venture capital firm, must decide among three deal opportunities. Each has different strengths (management, market, and technology) but each has its own weaknesses as well. He must also consider each deal... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Deal Choice; Venture Capital; Investments; Career Management; Management Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost vs Benefits; Personal Development and Career; Financial Services Industry; Brazil

15 Dec 2024
News

The Golden Thread

their meaningful work? As long as I’ve got breath and a functioning brain, I can continue my meaningful work—my research and writing—in some way. But the academic profession is unusual in that respect. I wanted to find out what it’s like for people in corporate... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Illustration by Nigel Buchanan; retirement; careers; psychology

10 Mar 2021
News

Dream Job: Higher Ed’s New Hire

is a much higher-profile position that will put a spotlight on decisions in a way that didn’t exist to the same degree at Carnegie. As an investor, you’re held to the quality of your returns. It’s my job to ensure that everyone... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; investing; leadership; diversity; career experience; higher education; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

October 2017 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Coaching Makena Lane

By: Ethan Bernstein and Om Lala

Makena Lane has a gift for producing results, even in the challenging retail context of the 2010s, but she also has a knack for “ruffling some feathers” in the process. Recruited to a Fortune 500 grocery and pharmacy retailer after climbing to Associate Principal in... View Details

July 2012 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Lyric Dinner Theater (A)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Jim Sharpe

Looking back at five years of losses, Rivka Belzer, a newly minted MBA, steps into her family owned business with their mandate to turn it around or close it. In her first six months, she has made a number of changes, with mixed results, but is beginning to show a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Management; Crisis Management; Family Business; Turnarounds; Financial Crisis; Boards Of Directors; Operations Management; Strategy Implementation; Career Planning; Entrepreneurship; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

01 Dec 2019
News

3-Minute Briefing: Leslie Hale (MBA 2001)

that’s not where I wanted my career to go. I saw how hard my parents worked. I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur. But growing up just a step away from the decision makers was like the Hamilton song. I knew I... View Details

Keywords: April White; real estate; leadership; diversity; African American; career paths; women in business; Real Estate

Career Coach

Tim Butler

in this area. His research led to the development of the CareerLeader business career assessment program that is used by over 600 MBA programs, universities, and corporations around the world. His coaching is focused on the development of... View Details

01 Sep 2020
News

3-Minute Briefing: Mark Mason (MBA 1995)

different perspectives. But I’m also willing to take ownership. That’s not in contradiction to the first point. Leaders have to make decisions and provide vision and direction to motivate people to execute. Unlike the last crisis, which... View Details

Keywords: April White; Photo by: Michael Bucher; banking; diversity; COVID-19; leadership; African American; career advice; Finance

April 2012
Case

Pret A Manger

By: Frances X. Frei, Rick Goldberg and Stephanie van Sice

Pret A Manger, a London-based chain of sandwich shops, was known for its fast, genuine service and pre-packaged sandwiches prepared on-site daily. Instructed by its board to grow at 15 percent per year, Pret considered opening "twin" shops in locations too small to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Service Excellence; Growth Planning And Management; Employee Performance Management; Information Management; Production Planning; Employee Attitude Development And Empowerment; Employee Retention; Leadership Development And Career Planning; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Employees; Performance; London

October 2004 (Revised February 2005)
Case

John Moran and the Orthopedics Industry

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Reviews John Moran's 25-year career in the orthopedic industry and his current decision whether to start a hand and foot surgery company. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

May 1993
Case

Alan Stein

By: Carl S. Sloane, Shoshana Zuboff and R.Keith Giarman

Deals with issues of adult and career development at mid-life. Describes the career and personal history of an adult male, choice points in his life, and how he made critical career and personal choices. Focuses in on his decision to "retire" from Goldman, Sachs at an... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Satisfaction

Find at Harvard

21 Nov 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Cold Call: Building a More Equitable Culture at Delta Air Lines

Keywords: Re: Linda A. Hill; Air Transportation

August 2023
Case

The Ethical Tightrope: When to Disclose the AI Shortcut

By: David G. Fubini, William Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti

In this short vignette on ethics in consulting, John Child, a new Associate at a prestigious firm who is eager to impress, decides to use an AI tool to expedite his analysis and craft his presentation due to a short project timeframe. Feeling uneasy about his decision... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Development and Career; Decisions; Consulting Industry

March 2001 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Katharine Graham

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Lisa M. Gunther and Dina R. Pradel

Details the career of Katharine Graham of the Washington Post Co., a pioneer in her field and one of the first high-profile women to lead a major public company. Her story is a unique example of how power and expertise are built over time, and differs from those of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Journalism and News Industry

September 2019
Case

Alicia Keys

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

This case explores the life and career of Alicia Keys, the 15-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter and producer. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Keys’s 18-year musical career and additional passions, including acting, entrepreneurship, social justice activism,... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Fine Arts Industry; Music Industry; United States