Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

Rosabeth Moss Kanter; Jonathan  Cohen

Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | April 2016

Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Abstract

This Note was created for the purpose of aiding classroom instructors in the use of the Harvard Business School case, "Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016." As chairman and CEO, David Kenny guided the Weather Company's transformation from a cable television company to a big data technology company from 2012 until January 2016, when IBM acquired the Weather Company's digital business. Within that context, instructors may use this Teaching Note to help students examine how to guide transformative strategies at an established company, including how to evaluate and adjust strategies to meet unexpected challenges encountered in the transformation process. It may also help instructors teach students how to effectively manage competing interests and tensions between mainstream and new stream segments of a company, the importance of having the right team and structures in place to execute a transformative strategy, and the potential benefits and costs of forming partnerships with other companies.

Keywords: Weather Company; IBM; transformation; digital; technology; David Kenny; television; Weather Channel; legacy business; mainstream; newstream; reorganization; Acquisitions; consolidation; Transformation; Technology; Television Entertainment; Acquisition; Consolidation; Change; Leadership;

Language: English

Format: Print

16 pages

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Citation:

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Jonathan Cohen. "Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 316-161, April 2016.

Gun violence was a significant problem in America. Three Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellows Christy Wood, Russell Sternlicht, and Gareth Glaser each decided to do something about gun safety. They each used their professional and leadership experience to identify their own solutions to the issue. Wood created a set of principles for investments funds to pressure gun manufacturers and gun sellers within their portfolios to adopt safety standards. Sternlicht designed a membership-based lobbying and advocacy group in order to harness the power of mass movements to create positive change. And Glaser founded a smart-gun company whose product could help reduce certain types of deaths and injuries. Would any of these three innovations move beyond the historical gridlock on gun safety?

This is a teaching note to the original case: Gun violence was a significant problem in America. Three Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellows Christy Wood, Russell Sternlicht, and Gareth Glaser each decided to do something about gun safety. They each used their professional and leadership experience to identify their own solutions to the issue. Wood created a set of principles for investments funds to pressure gun manufacturers and gun sellers within their portfolios to adopt safety standards. Sternlicht designed a membership-based lobbying and advocacy group in order to harness the power of mass movements to create positive change. And Glaser founded a smart-gun company whose product could help reduce certain types of deaths and injuries. Would any of these three innovations move beyond the historical gridlock on gun safety?

From 2008-2010 Anand Piramal ran a series of pilots for his digital healthcare startup, Piramal e-Swasthya (PeS) to “democratize healthcare” in rural areas of India. PeS ran into difficulties so Anand Piramal had to decide whether to continue the organization and if so how. In 2010, an unexpected opportunity emerged that could have significant implications for PeS’s organizational structure and future prospects. Anand Piramal now faced several options for PeS. He needed to weigh the pros and cons of each option to make the best decision to fulfill his vision of providing quality healthcare services to “bottom-of-the-pyramid” populations. This case exemplifies the strategic decisions an entrepreneur must make to ensure that a social impact venture can be sustainable and scalable.

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Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

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