Still Leading (B10): Louis Gossett Jr.— A New Role Erasing Racism

Rosabeth Moss Kanter; Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2017

Still Leading (B10): Louis Gossett Jr.— A New Role Erasing Racism

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Abstract

Louis (Lou) Gossett Jr.’s exemplary life included a groundbreaking career in entertainment and a bold and audacious goal to erase racism. From the Broadway stage to television and the movie screen, Gossett earned major accolades in his field, notably becoming the first African American man to win an Oscar (Academy Award) for Best Supporting Actor for his moving portrayal as Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman in 1982. Despite his accomplished Hollywood career, as an African-American male he was subjected to constant discrimination in the industry and in society. Amidst the duality of success and distress in his life, Gossett forged a meaningful life path, marked by resilience and perseverance. In 2006, his desire to make an even greater impact led him to create the Eracism Foundation. Eracism was defined as “the removal from existence of the belief that one race, one culture, one people is superior to another.”

Keywords: leadership; Advanced Leadership Initiative; advanced leadership; entrepreneurship; Change; Transition; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Prejudice and Bias;

Language: English

Format: Print

11 pages

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Citation:

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone. "Still Leading (B10): Louis Gossett Jr.— A New Role Erasing Racism." Harvard Business School Case 318-053, October 2017.

Zhang Ruimin's change management efforts as CEO of Haier Group attempted to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital Internet of Things age. His transformational initiatives involving micro-enterprises and platforms aimed to create an ecosystem that would help the Chinese company achieve zero distance between employees and users, making it fast, agile, and responsive. This Teaching Note helps instructors teach the Harvard Business School case, Haier: Incubating Entrepreneurs in a Chinese Giant, presenting analysis of the case and a teaching plan to guide classroom discussions.

In 2018, CEO Lowell McAdam led efforts to transform Verizon through digital innovation, media acquisitions and integration, and changes to the company culture. He sought to manage change at the company as growth in traditional areas slowed, and position it as a leader in a 5G world.

Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2018 (Revised April 2018)

Haier: Incubating Entrepreneurs in a Chinese Giant

Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Nancy Hua Dai

CEO Zhang Ruimin must plan how to accelerate the growth of self-managed micro-enterprises. Platforms were Haier’s business platforms operating in five major sectors: white goods transformation, investment and incubation, financial holdings, real estate, and cultural industry. Platform owners incubated micro-enterprises on their platforms with the resources Haier had, but they were not the supervisors of micro-enterprises. His goal was to tear down the walls between the organization, shortening the time the company took to respond to users’ needs, with the ultimate goal of “zero distance” between employees and users. Haier had engaged in a series of organizational changes since 2005, the most recent of which started in 2012. His latest experimentation was turning Haier into a platform for entrepreneurship. Employees and those outside Haier could set up micro-enterprises on Haier’s platforms. Zhang thought Haier was on the right track, but the model had to prove itself in practice. He set a timetable: the micro-enterprises must reach the tipping point by September 20, 2018, which meant the micro-enterprise would have become a platform to which all resource providers would flock and stay loyal. There was no precedent of transformation like this anywhere. Would Haier succeed? What could Haier do to push the micro-enterprises to get to the tipping point?

Keywords: China; microenterprise; entrepreneurship; appliances; platform; Change; innovation; leadership; Opportunities; Entrepreneurship; Market Platforms; Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; China;

Citation:

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Nancy Hua Dai. "Haier: Incubating Entrepreneurs in a Chinese Giant." Harvard Business School Case 318-104, February 2018. (Revised April 2018.) View Details

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Still Leading (B10): Louis Gossett Jr.— A New Role Erasing Racism

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