Great American Business Leaders of the 20th CenturyGreat American Business Leaders of the 20th Century   

Identifying and chronicling the lives of 20th century men and women whose business leadership shaped the ways that people live, work, and interact. And understanding how contextual influences deeply affected the opportunities available for businesses throughout the last century. 

Leadership Initiative 

Leaders have always faced the job of inspiring others while making important decisions with incomplete information. Today's leaders are confronted with challenges and opportunities that have never been more dynamic or complex. We help leaders effectively understand and manage these forces.

Faculty & Research 

O Coração do Negócio Os princípios de liderança e a chave para o sucesso

By: Hubert Joly and Caroline Lambert
  • 2022
  • | 
  • Book
A remarkable turnaround by a leader with a remarkable philosophy: Find your noble purpose. Put people at the center. Unleash human magic. "It was fall in Minnesota. It was getting cold and we were...

企業初心 未來企業的新領導準則

By: Hubert Joly and Caroline Lambert
  • 2022
  • | 
  • Book
A remarkable turnaround by a leader with a remarkable philosophy: Find your noble purpose. Put people at the center. Unleash human magic. "It was fall in Minnesota. It was getting cold and we were...

Blake Sports: Evolution of the CEO and the Executive Team

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden
  • SEPTEMBER 2022
  • | 
  • Case
Cameron (Cam) Barker, CEO and Founder of Blake Sports Apparel, sat in his office at his company’s headquarters in Birmingham, England, feeling stunned and disappointed. Only a few minutes prior, he had wrapped up a meeting with CFO James Ryan, a highly-respected star executive who had just abruptly...

BancoSol: Financial Inclusion in the Perfect Storm

By: Michael Chu and Carla Larangeira
  • SEPTEMBER 2022
  • | 
  • Case
In the pandemic, financial inclusion icon BancoSol faces a government-mandated year-long deferral of all loan payments, followed by the sudden Covid death of its CEO. In a Bolivia mired in political turmoil following a failed presidential election, with clients not obligated to pay either interest...

Atlanta Ransomware Attack (A)

By: Amit Goldenberg and Julian Zlatev
  • AUGUST 2022
  • | 
  • Case
This case describes the March 2018 Ransomware attack on the information technology (IT) systems of the city of Atlanta and the response by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and her administration. The case includes a brief background on Bottoms and her young administration at the time of the attack. The...

Air Wars: Deregulating the U.S. Airline Industry

By: Tom Nicholas and James Weber
  • AUGUST 2022
  • | 
  • Case
In the early decades of the twentieth century, the U.S. government assisted in the development of an airline industry by subsidizing the delivery of mail and allowing mail carriers to also fly passengers. Because the government awarded mail routes to the lowest bidders, the emerging airline...

How to Manage for Collective Creativity

Linda Hill
14 Sep 2014

Executive Education 

We offer programs that strengthen the leadership capacity of individuals and their organizations.

MBA Experience 

Students exercise the leadership skills they will practice in business and beyond, and leave with lessons in leadership that are practical, priceless, and most importantly, real.

In the News 

What Makes a Great Leader?

By: Linda Hill & Emily Tedards
  • 19 Sep 2022
  • | 
  • Harvard Business Review

Visualizing a Century of Management Ideas

By: Raffaella Sadun
  • 19 Sep 2022
  • | 
  • Harvard Business Review

Lessons on Leadership and Community from 25 Leaders of Color

Re: Linda Hill
  • 15 Sep 2022
  • | 
  • Harvard Business Review

Test Your Leadership Skills

Strategic Management

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Develops distinctive strategies to achieve competitive advantage
Translates broad strategies into specific objectives and action plans
Defines strategic issues clearly despite ambiguity
Aligns the organization to support strategic priorities
Initiatives focus on societal challenges that are too complex for any one discipline or industry to solve alone.