Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • May 2022
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Executive Decision-Making at Zola

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michael Roberto
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:17
ShareBar

Abstract

In April 2020, Rachel Jarrett, President and COO of wedding technology company Zola, called a meeting with the organization’s key decision-makers. The company had previously launched three business expansions: a vendor marketplace, a wedding apparel division, and a honeymoon-planning service. However, the March 2020 onset of COVID-19 had prompted many couples to delay or cancel their weddings, and it was unclear how long the pandemic would last. As a result, Jarrett and Zola CEO Shan-Lyn Ma knew that they could only fully invest in one of the three new businesses, while they could pursue a second business with limited funding. To decide the appropriate path forward, Jarrett and Ma sought the perspectives of the company’s leadership team through a four-step decision-making process that Jarrett had developed. The process, which the team called “taking a vote,” began when the key decision-maker delivered a data-driven presentation on a discrete set of options for a given strategic dilemma. Next, the team conducted an anonymous vote, followed by a discussion in which each team member explained the reasoning behind their vote. Finally, the team voted a second time on the ideal path forward. During the meeting, the Zola team must decide which business to pursue, which to continue in a limited way, and which to pause. Jarrett must also decide how to proceed if the team’s opinion differed from her own.

Keywords

Decision Making; Voting; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Skills; Management; Management Style; Organizations; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

Citation

Edmondson, Amy C., and Michael Roberto. "Executive Decision-Making at Zola." Harvard Business School Case 622-074, May 2022.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Amy C. Edmondson

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

Related Work

    • November 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Executive Decision-Making at Zola

    By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michael Roberto
Related Work
  • Executive Decision-Making at Zola By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michael Roberto
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College