Publications

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2019
Working Paper

The Strategic Management of Execution

By: David J. Collis

“Tell me David, is it better to have a great strategy poorly executed or a so-so strategy really well executed?” The age-old question suggests there is a fundamental tradeoff between strategy and execution. The tone in which it is asked typically flags that the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Execution; Strategy; Management

SSRN

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November 15, 2021
Article

What Do Black Executives Really Want?

By: Frank Cooper III and Ranjay Gulati

Recruiting and retaining Black talent is a priority for many organizations. Most are committed to and investing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). And yet, according to interviews and focus groups with Black executives working in a variety of blue-chip... View Details

Keywords: Black Executives; Selection and Staffing; Retention; Race; Organizational Culture; Change Management

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June 10, 2022
Article

What Top Executives Can Learn from Junior Employees

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Having reached the pinnacle of their careers, many top executives think their learning days are over. Their role, as they see it, is to make pronouncements, define strategy and impart to others the benefits of their vast experience—that is, to tell the employees below... View Details

Keywords: Executives; Mentoring; Innovation; Leadership; Employees; Learning; Change

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March 2017 (Revised May 2017)
Teaching Note

The Strategy Execution Series

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

This is the teaching note for the 15-module Strategy Execution series. New management tools and techniques are needed to implement strategy in the 21st century. Rapid innovation, entrepreneurial competitors, and increasingly demanding customers have radically altered... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Performance Measurement; Profit Planning; Organization Design; Profitable Growth; Management Attention; Organizational Conflict; Job Design; Business Strategy; Management Systems; Entrepreneurship; Competition; Organizational Design; Performance Evaluation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

January 2022
Article

Determinants of Gender Differences in Change in Pay among Job-Switching Executives

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Eric Lin

The authors investigate what determines differences in change in pay between men and women executives who move to new employers. Using proprietary data of 2,034 executive placements from a global search firm, the authors observe narrower pay differences between men and... View Details

Keywords: Executive Pay; Executive Labor Market; Gender Pay Gap; External Recruitment; Executive Compensation; Gender; Human Capital

Teaching Interest

Executive Education

By: Shawn A. Cole

Shawn Cole regularly teaches executive education. He has taught in the ACCION microfinance in the HBS-ACCION Microfinance Program on Strategic Leadership, View Details

March 2009 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Executing Strategy

By: J. Bruce Harreld

This is a note to introduce the principles for effectively implementing a new strategy. It emphasizes the interdependence of strategy and execution in developing and sustaining superior competitive performance. Primarily based on the notion that strategy should be a... View Details

Keywords: Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Management Teams

Educators

2020
Working Paper

Corporate Leadership and Creditor Recovery Rates: Evidence from Executive Gender

By: Clarissa Hauptmann, Syrena Shirley and Anywhere Sikochi

We examine the relationship between the gender of executives and corporate creditor recovery rates. Using 2,288 defaulted debt instruments, we find that female executives are associated with higher creditor recovery rates. Our findings are robust to tests that correct... View Details

Keywords: Executive Gender; Default; Recovery Rates; Debt; Corporate Bonds; Conservatism; Leadership; Gender; Borrowing and Debt; Bonds; Risk Management

Teaching Interest

Executive Education: Finance for Senior Executives

By: Malcolm P. Baker

Finance for Senior Executives provides the frameworks to strategically use financial resources and position your company for future success. By examining corporate finance from both internal and external perspectives, this HBS Executive Education View Details

2022
Working Paper

Passing the Mic: Career and Firm Outcomes of Executive Interactions

By: Wei Cai, Ethan Rouen and Yuan Zou

We exploit a unique feature of conference calls to study one type of interaction among executives—directly inviting colleagues to respond to analysts’ questions. We find that the frequency of initiating interaction is positively associated with an executive’s ability,... View Details

Keywords: Conference Calls; CEO Succession; Executive Interactions; Promotion; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Development and Career; Retention

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Teaching Interest

Strategy Execution

By: Dennis Campbell

This course takes strategy as given and teaches what students need to know to execute and win in highly competitive markets. Using fundamental building blocks based on accountability systems and structures, this course is divided into seven modules:

1.... View Details

Research Summary

Executive Compensation

By: Tatiana Sandino

Professor Sandino’s other stream of research examines players that influence the design of an executive’s compensation. She has examined the role shareholder activists can play in influencing CEO pay and found that a compensation-related shareholder proposal could... View Details

September 1992 (Revised September 2010)
Background Note

Executive Stock Options

By: Henry B. Reiling

After a brief comment on the practical problems associated with taxing options and the possible occasions on which taxation might occur, the note describes the current policy imbedded in the Internal Revenue Code and gives examples of this policy in operation. The... View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Policy; Taxation; Executive Compensation; Employee Stock Ownership Plan

November 2016 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Blake Sports Apparel and Switch Activewear: Bringing the Executive Team Together

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Cameron (Cam) Barker, founder and CEO of Blake Sports Apparel and Switch Activewear, manufacturers and distributers of sports apparel and accessories, was facing a challenge with his executive team. Their inability to work together on seemingly simple issues was a... View Details

Keywords: Team Dynamics; Team Management; Team Effectiveness; Team Performance; Executive Leadership; Groups and Teams; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United Kingdom

Educators

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 14: Managing Strategic Risk

By: Robert Simons

This module reading provides an overview of the business conduct boundaries, strategic boundaries, and internal control systems used to manage risk. Boundary systems—linked to clear, enforceable sanctions—are essential whenever demanding performance goals are set and... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Boundary Systems; Innovation; Internal Controls; Fraud; Human Behavior; Staff Experts; Strategy; Risk Management; Behavior; Governance Controls; Management Practices and Processes; Boundaries; Employees; Business Strategy; Innovation and Invention

Research Summary

Executive Compensation

Professor Meulbroek is investigating the gap between what equity-linked compensation costs the firm and what it is worth to managers. This gap arises because such compensation prevents managers from fully diversifying their holdings, so managers must bear firm-specific... View Details

May 1999 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Executive Health Group

Executive Health Group provides in-depth physical exams. Facing stagnant revenues, CEO William Flatley has to reposition his firm, strengthen the brand franchise, and grow share in an increasingly competitive health care environment. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Competition; Health Care and Treatment; Brands and Branding; Health Industry

Educators

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 13: Identifying Strategic Risk

By: Robert Simons

This module reading begins by describing the three sources of strategic risk—operations risk, asset impairment risk, and competitive risk—and demonstrates how these risks can undermine an entire business. To assist in the identification of these risks, the risk... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Risk Assessment; Operational Control; Asset Impairment; Franchise Risk; Fraud; Strategy; Information Management