The Nehemiah Strategy: Bringing it to Boston
This multimedia case study uses text, video, and animated exhibits to help students understand and assess the leadership challenges involved in implementing an affordable housing initiative in Boston. Produced by HBS Professors Diana Barrett and Arthur Segel, Nehemiah: Bringing it to Boston is used in MBA and Executive Education real estate and general leadership courses.
A ten-minute video profiles Lee Stuart and shows how she successfully led an effort to use the Nehemiah Strategy to create thousands of units of affordable housing in the South Bronx. The purpose of the video is to deepen the students' understanding of what the South Bronx looked and felt like in the late 1970s and early 1980s and to convey how the grass-roots Nehemiah effort helped transform devastated areas into thriving neighborhoods. The video also provides a greater understanding of Lee Stuart as a person and provides a sense of her leadership style and personal mission. "The video was extremely powerful," explained Professor Segel, "It brings the protagonist right into the classroom."
In 2003 Stuart was working with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization to implement the Nehemiah strategy in Boston. She and her colleagues faced a number of challenges in transferring the strategy, with some questioning whether the strategy was appropriate for the Boston marketplace. At the time the case was produced, the project was at a critical point, and there were key decisions to be made in terms of project direction. The multimedia case includes interviews with key stakeholders who describe the challenges and complexities of implementing the Nehemiah strategy in Boston.
The multimedia case also includes animated exhibits that depict the Nehemiah strategy and illustrate the financial underpinnings of the model. "I thought it was invaluable," said Professor Barrett, "I believe more and more in the use of multimedia products, as they provide a level of substance and complexity that is not available with traditional cases."
For more information and to purchase the Nehemiah case, go to HBS Publishing.
