How the Other Fukushima Plant Survived

Ranjay  Gulati; Charles  Casto; Charlotte  Krontiris

Article | Harvard Business Review | July–August 2014

How the Other Fukushima Plant Survived

by Ranjay Gulati, Charles Casto and Charlotte Krontiris

Abstract

In March 2011, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was devastated by three reactor explosions and two core meltdowns in the days following a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami that produced waves as high as 17 meters. The world is familiar with Daiichi's fate; less well known is the crisis at its sister plant, Daini, about 10 kilometers to the south. As a result of nature's onslaught, three of Daini's four reactors lacked sufficient power to achieve cooldown. To prevent the disaster experienced up north, the site superintendent, Naohiro Masuda, and his team had to connect them to the plant's surviving power sources. In a volatile environment, Masuda and Daini's hundreds of employees responded to each unexpected event in turn. Luck played a part, but so did smart leadership and sensemaking. Until the last reactor went into cold shutdown, Masuda's team took nothing for granted. With each new problem they encountered, it recalibrated, iteratively creating continuity and restoring order. Daini survived the crisis without an explosion or a meltdown.

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Gulati, Ranjay, Charles Casto, and Charlotte Krontiris. "How the Other Fukushima Plant Survived." Harvard Business Review 92, nos. 7/8 (July–August 2014): 111–115.

Why do some startups that have crossed the threshold of “product-market fit” and have a viable business model still fail? This article begins by exploring the argument that most startups need more professionalization to thrive. Founders resist putting in place structures and systems as they grow and that eventually leads to organizational chaos and, ultimately, failure. But it then departs from this conventional view and explores the idea that while on the one hand too little structure in a high growth venture can lead to chaos, going too far on the other extreme with too much structure can also be equally detrimental and kill the soul of the startup. The article concludes by summarizing some ideas for startup founders on how they can learn the mechanics of scaling up effectively before they reach a point where they tip over too far in one direction or the other. In an attempt to better understand this problem, the authors conducted a closed-group discussion with professionals, investors, and founders operating in various segments of the Indian startup ecosystem on which this article is based.

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2019

The Genesis Lab at Novartis

Amy C. Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati, Patrick J. Healy and Kerry Herman

Novartis' Genesis Labs program, launched in 2016 as part of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), hosted pitch competitions where teams of NIBR scientists proposed ideas to explore that aimed to revolutionize drug discovery. The goal was to break down barriers between functions and regions that slow innovation. After advancing to the pitch stage, a panel selected a handful of winning proposals. Winning teams left their roles for 18 months and received the resources and laboratory space to pursue their ideas. By 2018, two cohorts of winners had been selected—one almost at the end of its 18-month tenure and the other soon to begin. Genesis Labs had already overcome several hurdles—for example, scientists at first worried that stepping out of their ordinary role or pitching ideas that were not chosen could end their careers at Novartis. Though the Genesis Labs program ultimately succeeded in attracting many candidates, the company wondered how to further refine it to foster greater agility in Novartis R&D. Should they expand the call for entries? Did it encourage true shoot-the-moon ideas? How often should the program run, and how disruptive should it be to existing teams? What was the best way to reintegrate scientists to prior roles after their 18-month stint as part of Genesis Labs was over? Finally, could such contests be adapted and rolled out in other functions in the organization?

Keywords: drug discovery; Health Care and Treatment; Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Programs; Management;

Citation:

Edmondson, Amy C., Ranjay Gulati, Patrick J. Healy, and Kerry Herman. "The Genesis Lab at Novartis." Harvard Business School Case 620-007, November 2019. View Details

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