Publications

January 2014
Case

In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma

By: Robert J. Dolan and Heather Beckham

Peak Sealing Technologies (PST), a manufacturer of premium carton sealing tapes, stresses technological innovation as the company's core value. But when a new regional competitor introduces a less expensive and inferior product, PST is faced with a decision that could... View Details

15 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Learning from Mistakes and Leveraging Personal Experiences: Tiffany Kent (MBA 2001)

obstacle now became a gift. I realized that executive women, female business owners, and women navigating significant life transitions were underserved. This insight inspired me to focus my expertise on this unique and growing clientele,... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

January 15, 2015
Article

Surviving in a Family Business When You're Not Part of the Family

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Navigating office politics in a family-owned business can be challenging for non-family executives. Based on experience with various business families worldwide, this article offers strategies for success:

Play in your room: Non-family executives should... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Employees; Problems and Challenges; Talent and Talent Management

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March 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Social Salary Setting at Spiber

By: Ashley Whillans and John Beshears

Can a “set your own salary” system boost employee happiness and motivation? Spiber made synthetic silk built from proteins mimicking the proteins found in spider silk, the world’s toughest known material by weight. Kazuhide Sekiyama and Junichi Sugahara established... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Happiness; Negotiation Tactics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Biotechnology Industry; Japan; United States

2017
Chapter

Platforms, Open/User Innovation, and Ecosystems: A Strategic Leadership Perspective

By: Elizabeth J. Altman and Michael Tushman

Platform, open/user innovation, and ecosystem strategies embrace and enable interactions with external entities. Firms pursuing these approaches conduct business and interact with environments differently than those pursuing traditional closed strategies. This chapter... View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Open/user Innovation; Ecosystems; Crowdsourcing; Strategic Leadership; Top Management Teams; CEO Role; Business Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Digital Platforms

March 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

When Should CEOs Speak Out Publicly? The 2021 Georgia Voting Law

By: William W. George, Hubert Joly and Amram Migdal

This case describes the March 2021 passage of a voting and elections law in the U.S. state of Georgia and reactions by corporations and corporate leaders to the law. Included are a brief history of voting rights in the United States and Georgia and an overview of the... View Details

JAMES K. (“Jim”) SEBENIUS, is the Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he founded the Negotiation unit and teaches advanced... View Details

Article

Stop the Meeting Madness: How to Free Up Time for Meaningful Work

By: Leslie Perlow, Constance Noonan Hadley and Eunice Eun

Many executives feel overwhelmed by meetings, and no wonder: On average, they spend nearly 23 hours a week in them, up from less than 10 hours in the 1960s. What’s more, the meetings are often poorly timed, badly run, or both. We can all joke about how painful they... View Details

Keywords: Time Management; Performance Efficiency; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement

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April 2011
Supplement

Felipe Calderón: Leading with Light and Power (B)

By: J. Bruce Harreld and David Lane

This sequence of cases explores how leaders get their team focused on framing, analyzing, and ultimately acting upon complex decisions. The A case provides an inside look as President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, works with his cabinet ministers to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cases; Crime and Corruption; State Ownership; Business or Company Management; Economics; Risk and Uncertainty; Finance; Performance; Management Teams; Strategic Planning; Energy Industry; Mexico City

02 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Leading Professional Service Firms

The HBS Executive Education course Leading Professional Service Firms (LPSF) is an intensive, one-week program that focuses on management issues unique to these firms. It provides a forum for participants from around the world to apply... View Details

Keywords: Re: Jay W. Lorsch; Service; Consulting; Accounting

2010
Book

Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads

By: Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin and Patrick Cullen

"Business Schools Face Test of Faith." "Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?" As these headlines make clear, business education is at a major crossroads. For decades, MBA graduates from top-tier schools set the standard for cutting-edge business knowledge and skills. Now... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges