leadership

• October 2018
• Article

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper addresses primarily two questions. First, when (and why) should a company’s strategy be developed by its CEO versus by some outside analyst or other insider? Second, how does strategy interact with vision (in the sense of a strong belief about the right course of action)? The paper studies these questions using a functional definition of strategy as “the smallest set of choices to optimally guide other choices.” Among other things, the paper shows that strategy formulation by the CEO leads to both better strategy and better execution, and that a strategist’s vision may improve execution. In the process, the paper also identifies criteria that make a decision strategic and derives explanations why strategies often reflect the background of the strategist.

More Research

• July 2018
• Case

By: Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard, Emilie Billaud and Arnold M. Howitt

On November 13, 2015, Dr. Marie Borel, Dr. Emmanuelle Dolla, Dr. Frédéric Le Saché, and Prof. Mathieu Raux were the doctors in charge of the trauma center at L’Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière in Paris, where dozens of wounded and dying patients, most with severe gunshot wounds from military grade firearms, arrived in waves after a series of terrorist attacks across the city. The doctors had trained for a mass-casualty event but had never envisioned the magnitude of what they now saw. This case describes how they rapidly expanded the critical care capacity available so as to be able to handle the unexpectedly large number of patients arriving at their doors.

More Research

• July–August 2018
• Article

By: Michael E. Porter and Nitin Nohria

In 2006 Harvard Business School’s Michael E. Porter and Nitin Nohria launched a study tracking how large companies’ CEOs spent their time, 24/7, for 13 weeks: where they were, with whom, what they did, and what they were focusing on. To date, Porter and Nohria have gathered 60,000 hours' worth of data on 27 executives, interviewing them—and hundreds of other CEOs—about their schedules. This article presents the findings, offering insights not only into best time-management practices but into the CEO’s role itself. CEOs need to learn to simultaneously manage the seemingly contradictory dualities of the job: integrating direct decision-making with indirect levers like strategy and culture, balancing internal and external constituencies, proactively pursuing an agenda while reacting to unfolding events, exercising leverage while being mindful of constraints, focusing on the tangible impact of actions while recognizing their symbolic significance and combining formal power with legitimacy.

More Research

• May 2018
• Case

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew G. Preble

More Research

• April 2018
• Case

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

By the middle of the 1990s, Miami’s reputation was changing. An influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants and major investments in the airport and seaport had changed the image of a sleepy southern city to the de facto business center of Latin America, a center for commerce connecting the Americas. But going into the millennium, Miami and South Florida were still known primarily as seasonal tourist destinations, with all the economic and occupational challenges that entailed. Then, between 2000 and 2010, an activist Miami mayor, Manny Diaz, and a handful of civic leaders including foundation heads, undertook investments that began a significant transformation, improving Miami’s economy and quality of life, making residents feel that it was more than a region for tourists. The question in 2011 was what needed to be done to further the transformation, especially in light of fears about what new technology would mean for jobs. What should be the theme or main focus? Who should lead change? This case series begins with data on the situation in 2000, discusses progress between 2000 and 2010, and identifies a possible new regional initiative that is just an idea in 2011. Is it the right direction? And what would it take to have impact on Miami’s future?

More Research