Creative Process - Publications - Faculty & Research

18 Mar 2013
HBS Case

HBS Cases: LEGO

age 12. The LEGO brick played with by kids and adults around the globe came into being during Godtfred's tenure. He considered it a unique, sturdy, simple product—a system—that offered endless opportunities for creative fun, and drew up a... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Entertainment & Recreation

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

their planning processes and make smart choices. Here's an excerpt outlining the seven questions every manager should ask. 1. Who Is Your Primary Customer? The first imperative—and the heart of every successful strategy implementation—is... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Value Maximization and Stakeholder Theory

is a sure way to destroy value. This is where enlightened stakeholder theory can play an important role. We can learn from the stakeholder theorists how to lead managers and participants in an organization to think more generally and View Details

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is Government Just Stupid? How Bad Decisions Are Made

the economy and the environment through creative trades. Although other scholars have written about flawed government decisions and the failure of policymakers to discover wise trades, these writers have typically viewed such problems... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, Jonathan Baron & Katherine Shonk

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

appreciate. Gift certificates for takeout to local restaurants, personalized miniature embroideries, and online classes in yoga (for adults) and improv (for kids) are only some of the creative rewards managers have given their teams.... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

14 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 14, 2017

practical solutions to real-world problems. By redesigning both the rules that guide market transactions and the infrastructure that enables those transactions to take place, market designers can address a broad range of market failures. In this paper, we illustrate... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

27 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 27, 2007

dearly for the intangible aspects of the product, which the firm works very hard to keep integrated with the physical product. Deals with a range of issues confronting creative economy companies, such as how to produce products with very... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 12, 2019

that hold back progress in resource mobilization research. We then propose a path ahead for future research guided by two overarching goals. First, we advocate for a process perspective, focusing attention on how an individual actor’s... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

2008
Chapter

Artistic Methods and Business Disorganization

The idea that artists' work can usefully inform business practice has gained support in recent years. Managers have long described some business activities as "more art than science," but usually they've meant by this that they don't understand the activity and can't... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Creativity

Citation

06 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

risk is highest because of confidence in their ability to manage uncertainty, and perhaps because they enjoy the process of creating clarity from uncertainty. Other factors that set serial entrepreneurs apart from one-timers include... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Working Knowledge

22 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

When Agreeing to Disagree Is a Good Beginning

Learning and the Harvard Alumni Association. "What can we all do so that disagreement turns out to be productive rather than damaging?" Gino opened the evening with an example of such constructive sparring. Sharing video of the Pixar View Details

Keywords: by Clea Simon, Harvard Gazette

30 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 30, 2007

cognitive processes through which a problem is interpreted associatively in terms of something that has been experienced in the past. Despite recognition's centrality to strategic choice, we have limited knowledge of its nature and its... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 May 2021
Op-Ed

Can Fabric Waste Become Fashion’s Resource?

COVID-19 has broken fashion’s supply chain. As a result, an already wasteful industry has become more wasteful. Even before the pandemic, the global apparel industry was producing about 92 million tons of textile waste a year. That’s about one garbage truck’s worth of... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Shelly Xu; Fashion

26 Sep 2023
Book

Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

clearly epitomized by the advent and affirmation of the electronic processing and sharing of data at a magnitude and speed that in no way we have seen before. The digital age is enabled by the emergence and adoption of four key... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Kind of Blue: Pushing Boundaries with Miles Davis

past success and strove for even greater heights. But what do his efforts for Kind of Blue have in common with business innovation? Rob Austin: We conceived the case to get at questions about how the creative View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Music

23 May 2023
Research & Ideas

Lessons on Life, Graffiti, and Value: 'It's in That Darkness That You Can Actually Develop and Evolve'

pursued. It’s really the ethos that I’ve carried with me from when I was 13 to right now.” “Being neurodivergent and having learning differences, creative outlets like drawing were always a way for me to express myself when finding the... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

July–August 2019
Article

The Soul of a Startup

By: Ranjay Gulati

There’s an essential, intangible something in start-ups—an energy, a soul. It inspires enthusiasm and fosters a sense of deep connection and mutual purpose. While this spirit persists, engagement is high and businesses keep their edge.
But all too often,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Mission and Purpose; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Creativity; Business Growth and Maturation