Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A)

Tsedal  Neeley; Thomas J. DeLong

Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2008 (Revised November 2009)

Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A)

Abstract

Greg James, a global manager at Sun Microsystems, Inc., sets out to meet with his entire 43-member customer implementation team spread across India, France, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America to resolve a dire customer system outage as required by a service agreement. Rather than finding a swift resolution to the rapidly escalating customer situation that motivated his trip, he finds himself facing distributed work, global collaboration, conflict, and management issues that are threatening to unravel his team.

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Crisis Management; Service Delivery; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Technology Industry; India; United Arab Emirates; France; United States;

Format: Print

15 pages

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Citation:

Neeley, Tsedal, and Thomas J. DeLong. "Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 409-003, July 2008. (Revised November 2009.)

Eric Hawkins, director of engineering at AppFolio—a digital technology firm that offered cloud-based business software to small and medium sized companies—was shocked by an unusual request from his senior leadership team. Could Hawkins and one of his agile teams build a check scanner feature inside their management software? AppFolio’s founders had instructed to never build a check scanner; providing technologies to help businesses move into the digital era was a primary company goal. A scanner for paper checks would contradict the hard-won culture of software innovation and project self-selection that AppFolio and Hawkins’ teams lived by. Hawkins also worried that creating a new team to work on the check scanning project would cause workload and morale issues. But the sales team believed that this technology could close deals with larger, more complex property management companies, some with managers who wanted the check scanner feature. Several large-scale deals were on the line. Hawkins quickly assembled an agile market validation team and considered two options: hold fast to the company’s values and refuse to build the check scanner feature or capitulate and build a basic check scanner with minimum functionality. Engineers would likely consider this a “loser” project, yet sales might get a boost that could open a new revenue stream. Hawkins had to make his decision quickly.

Book | 2020

Teaching by Heart: One Professor's Journey to Inspire

Thomas J. DeLong

The best teachers are leaders, and the best leaders are teachers. Teaching by Heart summarizes the author's key insights gained from more than 40 years of teaching and managing. It illustrates how teachers can both lift people up and let them down. It proposes that the best teachers are also leaders, and the best leaders are also teachers. In examining how to lead and teach, renowned Harvard Business School professor Thomas J. DeLong takes the reader inside his own head and heart. He notes that, as teachers, we often focus more on our inadequacies and missteps than on our strengths and unique talents. He explains why this is so by dissecting and analyzing his own experiences—using himself as a case study. The book's goal is to help readers learn about the intricacies of teaching and managing and to impart lessons about how teachers can create a unique teaching atmosphere. To do this, the author analyzes the process of creating a curriculum, preparing for an 80-minute class, managing the 15 minutes before class begins, and evaluating the nature of the teaching experience after the session concludes. Along the way, he connects specific classroom behaviors with leadership issues—in organizations, in teams, and in personal relationships. He also asks—and answers—some provocative questions: What happens on multiple levels when I teach or lead—with me, students, or professionals? What am I thinking and feeling as I process what students are thinking and feeling? How are my internal conversations affecting how I teach and lead? How do I manage my biases, including having "favorite" students? To what extent can I use teaching methods in the arena of management? Throughout Teaching by Heart, DeLong discusses why empathy and authenticity matter. When teachers embrace this mindset, students have the opportunity to have a unique learning experience. Teachers and managers will learn how to create moments of transformation for students.

Whether you're a university professor, a student, a business leader, or just someone fascinated by teaching, this book will instruct, entertain, and—hopefully—inspire.

Keywords: Teaching; Leadership; Attitudes; Management; Business Education;

Citation:

DeLong, Thomas J. Teaching by Heart: One Professor's Journey to Inspire. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2020. View Details

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