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26 Nov 2021
News

Today’s CEOs Need Hands-On Digital Skills

16 Jun 2022
News

CEO Recruiters Increasingly Prize Soft Skills

November 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Cisco Systems: In Search of the Next CEO

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott, Olivia Hull and J. Yo-Jud Cheng

It’s August 2014 and John Chambers is expected to announce his retirement after 17 years as CEO of global technology giant Cisco Systems. Under Chambers’s leadership, Cisco has grown from $2.2 billion in annual revenues and under 4,000 employees to revenues of $46... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Succession Planning; CEO Succession; Managing Change; Person-organization Fit; Management Succession; Transition; Talent and Talent Management; Change Management; Retirement; Innovation Leadership; Recruitment; Corporate Governance; Experience and Expertise; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States; San Jose; California

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

23 Jun 2022
News

The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most

21 Oct 2019
Video

Migrating Skills at Vodafone

June 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

The Perfect CEO

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

A venture capitalist must decide among three highly qualified candidates to be CEO of a start-up software company. Each has unique strengths and weaknesses and will take the company in very different directions. Whom should he recommend to the board? View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Competency and Skills; Leadership Style

12 Jan 2013
News

In Defense of the CEO

September 2022
Case

Blake Sports: Evolution of the CEO and the Executive Team

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Cameron (Cam) Barker, CEO and Founder of Blake Sports Apparel, sat in his office at his company’s headquarters in Birmingham, England, feeling stunned and disappointed. Only a few minutes prior, he had wrapped up a meeting with CFO James Ryan, a highly-respected star... View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Managing People; Leadership Skills; Team Dynamics; Team Effectiveness; Team Leadership; Team Management; Leadership Style; Leadership; Management; Management Skills; Management Style; Talent and Talent Management; Groups and Teams; United Kingdom

29 May 2006
Research & Ideas

Why CEOs Are Not Plug-and-Play

"Is talent management portable?" That's the question asked and answered in a recent Harvard Business Review article discussing issues surrounding how top managers can transfer their skill sets to a new company. The... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Andrew N. McLean & Nitin Nohria; Employment

13 Apr 2017
News

Solving Nigeria’s Skilled Workforce Challenge

Photos by Kunle Ogunfuyi Even a college degree couldn’t help Temi Abiola, who grew up in Nigeria, land a job. Though he speaks fluent English, he lacked the problem-solving and customer relations skills required for his dream job in the... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

28 Mar 2017
Working Paper Summaries

CEO Behavior and Firm Performance

Keywords: by Oriana Bandiera, Stephen Hansen, Andrea Pratt, and Raffaella Sadun

June 14, 2023
Article

How New CEOs Establish Legitimacy

By: Nitin Nohria

CEOs are given the authority to lead by the rules of corporate governance. They gain additional influence and credibility by demonstrating competence. CEOs who achieve legitimacy have a higher level of trust and influence. This legitimacy will be gained by consistently... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Leadership Style; Power and Influence; Trust; Competency and Skills

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June 2020
Supplement

Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO (B)

By: Tsedal Neeley and Briana Richardson

With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It’s 2008 and lightning has... View Details

Keywords: Race; Gender; Leadership Style; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; California

12 May 2021
Book

The Hard Truth About Being a CEO

a leadership guide to navigating a role that Fubini says is unlike any other, which leaves many new CEOs and leaders struggling to find their footing. “People strive for a long time to develop functional View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

12 Mar 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Firing the CEO

hesitant. Yet sometimes, this is necessary. But when? You should fire your CEO under two of these three conditions: (1) there is a weak and unfixable fit between the CEO's skills and the needs of the... View Details

June 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley and John Masko

With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It’s 2008 and lightning has... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Race; Gender; Leadership Style; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; California