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 

Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

By: Geoffrey Jones
  • 2023
  • | 
  • Book
Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase...

Making Meritocracy: Lessons from China and India, from Antiquity to the Present

By: Tarun Khanna and Michael Szonyi
  • 2022
  • | 
  • Book
How do societies identify and promote merit? Enabling all people to fulfill their potential, and ensuring the selection of competent and capable leaders are central challenges for any society. These...

IBM’s Ginni Rometty: Leading with Good Power

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Stacy Straaberg
  • MAY 2023
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  • Case
In March 2023, Virginia (Ginni) Rometty published Good Power: Leading Positive Change in our Lives, Work, and World, which covered her personal history and career at International Business Machines (IBM). Rometty was IBM’s ninth and first woman CEO from 2012–2020. Her tenure followed John Akers,...

Dena Almansoori at e&: Fostering Culture Change at a UAE Telco Transforming to a Global Techco (Abridged)

By: Emily Truelove, Michelle Zhang and Alpana Thapar
  • APRIL 2023
  • | 
  • Case
Dena Almansoori, the first female and one of the youngest members of the United Arab Emirates-based e&’s leadership team, joined in 2020 just before e& began a strategic transition from being a regional telecommunications company to becoming a global technology company. As the group chief HR...

Christiana Figueres and the Collaborative Approach to Negotiating Climate Action

By: James K. Sebenius, Laurence A. Green, Hannah Riley-Bowles, Lara SanPietro and Mina Subramanian
  • 2023
  • | 
  • Case
This case study centers on Harvard’s Program on Negotiation 2022 Great Negotiator, Christiana Figueres, and her efforts as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to build momentum for, and ultimately pass, the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. As...

Patagonia: 'Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder'

By: Brian Trelstad, Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael Norris and Susan Pinckney
  • MARCH 2023
  • | 
  • Case
Patagonia’s change of ownership from a privately held company to a perpetual purpose trust and 501(c)(4) nonprofit in order to use the company’s profit to fight the environmental crisis and be a model for future businesses.

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 

3 Strategies for Making Better, More Informed Decisions

By: Francesca Gino
  • 25 May 2023
  • | 
  • Harvard Business Review

How to have difficult conversations without burning bridges

By: Alison Wood Brooks
  • 19 May 2023
  • | 
  • Harvard Business Review

Don’t Let Passion Lead to Burnout on Your Team

By: Jon Jachimowicz
  • 17 May 2023
  • | 
  • Harvard Business Review

Test Your Leadership Skills

Strategic Management

Rate yourself to discover resources to improve your strategic management skills.
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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.