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• Article | Harvard Business Review | November 2012

  Accelerate!

  John P. Kotter

  Citation:

  Kotter, John P. "Accelerate!" Harvard Business Review 90, no. 11 (November 2012): 45–58.

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2012 (Revised from original 2005 version)

  The U.S. Current Account Deficit

  Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella, Ingrid Vogel, Renee Kim and Matthew Johnson

  Investors and policymakers throughout the world were confronted with the risk of painful economic consequences arising from the large U.S. current account deficit. In 2007, the U.S. current account deficit was $731 billion, equivalent to 5.3% of GDP. The implications of the deficit were debated with intensity. At one extreme, it was argued that large deficits would eventually resolve themselves smoothly, even if they persisted for many more years. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was among those expecting a "benign resolution to the U.S. current account imbalance." Other analysts, such as economists at the World Bank, believed the large deficits raised the risk of a sharp and disorderly fall of the dollar and that necessary macroeconomic adjustment could be painful, for the United States as well as for the rest of the world. The Financial Times asked: "How long will foreigners be prepared to make such generous 'gifts' to the US?" In this environment, Berkshire Hathaway, run by legendary investor Warren Buffett, postulated that current account imbalances would lead to "some chaotic markets in which currency adjustments play a part" and announced to shareholders a plan to increase investment in overseas companies to protect against this risk. It remained to be seen what the short and long-term implications of the current account deficit would ultimately yield.

  Keywords: Macroeconomics; Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Foreign Direct Investment; Business and Government Relations; United States;

  Citation:

  Alfaro, Laura, Rafael M. Di Tella, Ingrid Vogel, Renee Kim, and Matthew Johnson. "The U.S. Current Account Deficit." Harvard Business School Case 706-002, October 2012. (Revised from original July 2005 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2012

  Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH

  John J. Gabarro and Colleen Kaftan

  Jess Westerly is the assistant product owner of CRM applications for computer and office supply wholesalers and retailers at Kauflauf, a fast-growing provider of subscription enterprise software headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Only months into her job, outsider Westerly tries and fails to implement a change in field consultants' sales call patterns. Westerly had introduced the changes to the sales organization via a memo that outlined her directive and explained the reasons behind it. Field consultants immediately complained about the infringement on their decisions about how to spend their time and the insensitivity to the relationship-oriented nature of developing business. Three months later, sales statistics show little difference in calling patterns. After explaining, defending, and reshaping her stalled initiative, Waverly presents her amended proposal to key senior executives and is given three weeks to produce an implementation plan. If the plan is deemed acceptable, she will be asked to implement it.

  Citation:

  Gabarro, John J., and Colleen Kaftan. "Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH." Harvard Business School Brief Case 913-527, August 2012.

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