The Making of Verizon

Rosabeth M. Kanter; Douglas A Raymond; Ryan  Raffaelli

Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2004

The Making of Verizon

by Rosabeth M. Kanter, Douglas A Raymond and Ryan Raffaelli

Abstract

Through a series of mergers, Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon chairman and CEO, successfully shared the co-CEO title twice while building the largest telecom company in the United States. The strong and complementary cultures of the companies that Seidenberg and a key group of executives had merged was a major factor in their success. However, in the steps leading up to this, decreased revenues in their traditional wireline business intensified their dependence on the growth of wireless and broadband services. As Verizon moved into this less familiar territory, the culture that had sustained them through change would have to be evaluated as they embarked on a new wave of growth. As the future of Verizon become more dependent on business in areas that bore little resemblance to the Baby Bells, were the lessons from past successful mergers less applicable?

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Change Management; Transition; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Risk Management; Telecommunications Industry; United States;

Language: English

Format: Print

28 pages

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Citation:

Kanter, Rosabeth M., Douglas A Raymond, and Ryan Raffaelli. "The Making of Verizon." Harvard Business School Case 303-131, February 2004.

In the wake of the recent election, the United States faces a fraught, difficult transfer of power. What we know about hostile takeovers in business can provide help in finding a path forward. Leaders on the winning side of the more successful acquisitions emphasized shared identity, inclusion, and investment in the future.

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural barriers and cultural biases unfriendly to women and people of color, including lack of access to capital and relationships. The case highlights women founders’ backgrounds and experiences with an ed-tech startup, a coding school and events for Black entrepreneurs; an incubator for green businesses with a Black leadership focus; and an accelerator for social impact ventures that also runs social media campaigns for problems such as climate change. The women CEOs reveal the barriers they faced, how they overcame them, and how they attempt to enrich the ecosystem for other women and people of color. This case raises the question of what must be in place for cities to take advantage of the innovation and job-creating potential of a wider population of entrepreneurs and gain the benefits of diversity, and for women founders to thrive.

Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | October 2020

Organizational Reinvention

Ryan Raffaelli

This note is designed to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of leading innovation in established organizations. Reinvention is a process whereby organizations respond to changes in the environment that threaten their core business model, technologies, cultural values, and/or operational norms. Reinvention represents a managerial paradox for organizations that have experienced several years of success: leaders must preserve some elements of the business that once made it successful and simultaneously change other elements that, if left unattended, could render the organization obsolete. The Note outlines four elements associated with organizational reinvention: 1) Understanding technology lifecycles and s-curves: What are technology lifecycles and s-curves?; 2) Reinvention by extending existing capabilities: How do leaders extend existing organizational capabilities in response to new technologies?; 3) Reinvention by adopting new capabilities: How do leaders adopt new capabilities in response to new technologies?; 4) Readying your organization for reinvention: How do leaders develop the right mindset and the right team to engage in a reinvention effort? Finally, the Note includes several diagnostic tools that students and executives can use to analyze an organization’s readiness for reinvention.

Keywords: innovation and strategy; Leadership and Change Management; Organizational ambidexterity; exploration and exploitation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Leading Change; Technology Adoption; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation;

Citation:

Raffaelli, Ryan. "Organizational Reinvention." Harvard Business School Technical Note 421-041, October 2020. View Details

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The Making of Verizon

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