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 

Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
  • 2023
  • | 
  • Book
Speed has gotten a bad name in business, much of it deserved. When Facebook made "Move fast and break things" an informal company motto, it fueled a widely held belief that we can either make...

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...

Khanmigo: Revolutionizing Learning with GenAI

By: William A. Sahlman, Allison M. Ciechanover and Emily Grandjean
  • NOVEMBER 2023
  • | 
  • Case
Already a leader in the edtech space since its 2008 launch, Khan Academy was now one of the first edtech organizations to embrace generative artificial intelligence ("genAI"). In March 2023, Khan Academy began beta testing Khanmigo, a genAI “guide” and tutor built with ChatGPT, a technology...

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: A Curriculum Provider Puts Itself on the Hook for Student Outcomes

By: John J-H Kim, Derek C. M. van Bever, Michael Norris and Max Hancock
  • OCTOBER 2023
  • | 
  • Case
Jack Lynch, CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) since 2017, was leading the company’s transformation from a legacy textbook publisher to a digital-first student outcomes provider, which earned subscription revenue from digital products and curriculum. In 2023, HMH acquired NWEA, a leading...

Making Progress at Progress Software (A)

By: Katherine Coffman, Hannah Riley Bowles and Alexis Lefort
  • OCTOBER 2023
  • | 
  • Case
In this case, the Human Capital team at Progress Software has identified that some employees have a hard time understanding how to advance within Progress. This realization leads the team to develop several major people-process innovations: the introduction of clear-cut, widely accessible leveling...

Leading Transformation at IHCL

By: Krishna G. Palepu, V.G. Narayanan and Malini Sen
  • OCTOBER 2023
  • | 
  • Case
In November 2017, Puneet Chhatwal, took charge as MD and CEO of IHCL, popularly referred to as the Taj Hotels. Despite being India’s largest hospitality company by market capitalization and respected for its values and service, IHCL had made losses for the last seven years and had high debt levels....

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 

Uber Is Being Added to the S&P 500. Does That Make the Stock a Buy?

Re: Robin Greenwood & Marco Sammon
  • 06 Dec 2023
  • | 
  • MarketWatch

You Need a Generative AI Strategy

Re: Andy Wu
  • 06 Dec 2023
  • | 
  • HBR On Strategy

Lessons in Decision-Making: Confident People Aren't Always Correct (Except When They Are)

Re: Thomas Graeber
  • 05 Dec 2023
  • | 
  • HBS Working Knowledge

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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.