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• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2018 (Revised December 2018)

  C3: Driven to Succeed

  Robert Simons and George Gonzalez

  CEO Tom Siebel navigates his Internet-of-Things (IoT) startup through a series of pivots, market expansions, and even an elephant attack to become a leading artificial intelligence software company. The case describes his unusual management approach emphasizing employee testing and selection, customer testing and selection, and a high degree of professionalism.

  Keywords: strategy execution; performance measurement; critical performance variables; strategic boundaries; digital transformation; Internet of Things; artificial intelligence; software development; big data; Machine learning; Business Startups; Management Style; Business Strategy; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry; United States; California;

  Citation:

  Simons, Robert, and George Gonzalez. "C3: Driven to Succeed." Harvard Business School Case 119-004, August 2018. (Revised December 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2001 (Revised October 2018)

  DIENA

  Robert Simons and Indra Reinbergs

  Requires students to draw a new organization structure diagram for a rapidly evolving business. A/S DIENA is a newspaper publisher founded during Latvia's 1990/91 struggle for independence from the USSR with a clear social mission to support democracy. With the help of Swedish investors, over the 1990s the entrepreneurial business survives the ups and downs of the transition economy to build a leading national newspaper. In 1997, seeking new sources of growth, A/S DIENA expands outside the Latvian capital to set up the Regional Press Group, a decentralized network of community newspapers emphasizing employee ownership and a separation of roles between editors and publishers. By 2001, however, the community newspaper market is shrinking, the Regional Press Group is not yet profitable, and a Western-style profit planning system is met with some resistance by former state employees. The decision point focuses on how to redesign the Regional Press Group and its interactions with the national newspaper and the other business units of A/S DIENA.

  Keywords: Employee Ownership; Organizational Design; Marketing Strategy; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development; Economic Systems; Publishing Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Latvia;

  Citation:

  Simons, Robert, and Indra Reinbergs. "DIENA." Harvard Business School Case 102-001, September 2001. (Revised October 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2018

  Verona Group

  Robert L. Simons and Sarah Abbott

  Are a salesperson's struggles her own fault or the result of a problematic job design? Anna George works as a salesperson at Verona Group, a company that designs and wholesales high-end women's apparel. She had spent nearly 20 years in sales with another fashion label and was well regarded in the industry. Verona Group hired her to bolster its small but growing presence in the western United States. In her first two years with the company, however, George has missed her sales targets and received mixed scores from customers in Verona Group's annual customer service survey. When Emilio Chao, the head of Verona's sales force, looks at George's performance review and discusses George's situation with Catherine Edwards, Verona Group's head of human resources, he wonders whether the company should give George additional support that would help her be more successful. Or is George not a good fit for the company?

  Keywords: Jobs and Positions; Design; Analysis; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Salesforce Management; Organizational Design;

  Citation:

  Simons, Robert L., and Sarah Abbott. "Verona Group." Harvard Business School Brief Case 918-531, June 2018.  View Details

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