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Are You Paying Too Much for That Acquisition?
Mergers and acquisitions Magazine ArticleThe key is knowing what your top price is—and having the discipline to stick to it. -
Staples’ New Run at Strategic Innovation
Innovation Digital ArticleWhat do you do when the very breakthrough strategy that once made your business uniquely powerful now threatens to turn you into a commodity? That’s the question stationery supplier Staples is facing. I still remember when Staples changed my life. Before its 1986 opening, buying stationery and office supplies was a time-consuming, inconvenient, and expensive […] -
How to Penetrate the US Market
Marketing Digital ArticleAccounting for almost 30% of world GDP, the United States is the world’s largest and most demanding market for almost everything from oil to microprocessors to premium coffee. Companies around the world aspire to do business in the US, or at least with US companies in their home markets. By doing so, they learn much […] -
Anatomy of a Failed Launch — The Michelin PAX Tire
Innovation Digital ArticleIt is always instructive to examine how successful firms can go wrong, even in markets that they think they understand well. The market failure of the Michelin run-flat PAX tire illustrates the common mistake of failing to realize that even a groundbreaking product has to create a complete consumption chain. Broken links in the chain […] -
How to Respond to "Take It or Leave It"
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleYou really do have a choice. -
Your Biggest Social Media Fans Might Not Be Your Best Customers
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleHow analytics can mislead marketers. -
Management's Little Black Dress: Essential Practices for Leaders
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleSince Coco Chanel unveiled her iconic black dress in Paris in 1926, that little black dress has become a clothing essential in every woman's wardrobe.... -
Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters
Business communication Magazine ArticleThe leader’s fall from “Who’s Who” to “Who’s that?” is full of stigma and shame. But the story doesn’t have to end there. -
Five Warning Signs Your Innovation Efforts Are Going Off the Rails
Innovation Digital ArticleFor the past ten years, my colleague, Chris Trimble, and I have studied one critical question: What are the best practices for executing an innovation initiative? Execution is the poor stepchild of the innovation challenge. People love to engage in the hunt for the big ideas, but, let’s face it, without execution capability, an idea […] -
Executive Incentives vs. Corporate Growth
Boards Magazine ArticleBonuses and other forms of incentive compensation are an effective motivator of executives to achieve ever higher earnings per share. The drive to produce short-term results, however, often influences management to forgo investment in capital equipment and R&D that would benefit the corporation several years hence even more than improved earnings next year would. The […] -
How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleAwareness of these forces can help a company stake out a position in its industry that is less vulnerable to attack. -
Luxury Branding Below the Radar
Sales & Marketing Magazine Article"Inconspicuous consumption"--elite consumers' affinity for discreet rather than traditionally branded luxuries--has become a global phenomenon. Work by... -
Speed Kills: Supply Chain Lessons from the War in Iraq
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleThe battle plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom called for a rapid, responsive force capable of identifying and removing threats immediately. Commercial supply... -
Why I’m Glad I Got Fired
Managing yourself Digital ArticleThis post is part of HBR’s special issue on failure. I came to be an expert on collaboration because Carol Bartz both hired me and fired me — within 18 months. Here’s what happened. A friend of mine, Godfrey Sullivan, asked me to consider running the operations for the Americas unit at Autodesk. Only sheer […] -
Who Had the Best Unadjusted Financial Performance?
Business management Digital ArticleTo earn the right to be CEO for more than 20 years, your performance should be top-notch. -
Creating Breakthroughs at 3M
Innovation Magazine ArticleCompanies say they want breakthrough products, but most are far more adept at making incremental improvements to existing lines. A pioneering division at 3M successfully navigated a process that leads to breakthrough thinking. -
What to Ask the Person in the Mirror
Organizational restructuring Magazine ArticleThere comes a point in your career when the best way to figure out how you’re doing is to step back and ask yourself a few questions. Having all the answers is less important than knowing what to ask. -
Email and Calendar Data Are Helping Firms Understand How Employees Work
Change management Digital ArticleAnd making reorgs more effective. -
The Power of “Risktakes”
Leadership Digital ArticleYour animated interaction in response to my post The Miracle of Making Mistakes delved deep into the subject, broadened the interpretation of a mistake, and even coined a delightful new term: Risktakes. Thank you Notmd, Dawna, Brett, and all the others, who provided terrific insights over the past four weeks. A mistake is as an […] -
Diversification via Acquisition: Creating Value
Mergers and acquisitions Magazine ArticleDuring the past 25 years an increasing proportion of U.S. companies have seen wisdom in pursuing a strategy of diversification. Between 1950 and 1970, for example, single-business companies comprising the Fortune “500” declined from 30% to 8% of the total. Acquisition has become a standard approach to diversification. In recent years the productivity of capital […]
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Apple Computer--1996
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Updates Apple Computer--1992. -
Dwyane Wade
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In July 2016, while on his annual China tour to help promote the sportswear brand Li-Ning, basketball superstar Dwyane Wade and his long-time business... -
Hybrid Classroom - an Opportunity or a Threat?
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details When the Covid pandemic struck in the spring of 2020, HBS pivoted to remote instruction while maintaining the interactive and engaged discussions which... -
Ethiopian Airlines: Bringing Africa Together
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Ethiopian Airlines plans to expand its African market base to become a leading airline in the continent. As part of the airline's multi-hub strategy,... -
The Morning Star Company: Self-Management at Work
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details Morning Star, a collection of affiliated companies, had grown steadily since 1970 when Chris Rufer, president and founder, started the business hauling... -
The Premamrutha Dhaara Project: A Sustainable Drinking Water Solution with Social Impact
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Access to clean water is so critical for development and survival that the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal number 6 (SDG-6) was to ensure... -
Freshworld: Marrying The Art of Street Vending With The Science of Modern Retail
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details The case tracks the evolution of FreshWorld, a unique mobile fruit and vegetable vending (FnV) startup in India. It gives a snapshot of the dilemmas faced... -
UpDown: Confidential Instructions for GEORG
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details Michael Reich is having severe doubts about how he split the equity with his co-founders two months ago, when they completed a one-page "November Agreement."... -
Apple Computer--1997
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Updates Apple Computer--1992. -
First National City Bank Operating Group (C)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details Provides a short summary of John Reed's succession at City Bank from Executive Vice President in 1976 to CEO in 1984. -
Transforming Arizona's Health Care System: Developing and Implementing the Health-e Connection Roadmap
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details This case addresses the issues of leadership and change management in the process of transforming an industry through an innovative public-private partnership... -
The Procter & Gamble Company and the Biggest Corporate Proxy Fight in US Corporate History
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) was facing a proxy attack from Trian Fund Management, L.P. (Trian) after Trian declared a US$3.5 billion position in... -
Orangia Highways (B)
Finance & Accounting Case Study5.00View Details An abstract is not available for this product. -
Indesit Company: Does Global Matter?
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details In 2007, the leadership of the Indesit Company is focused on long-term corporate strategy. After 3 decades, the company has emerged as the number 2 home... -
Redefining Global Strategy, with a New Preface: Crossing Borders in a World Where Differences Still Matter
Global Business Book35.00View Details New Tools for Succeeding Globally. Why do so many global strategies fail--despite companies' powerful brands and other border-crossing advantages? Because... -
Managing Business Risk of Information Technology
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Sets up a situation in which participants must create presentations that assess the IT risk of a large company. -
Reinsurance Negotiation: Confidential Information for JLT Insurance Company
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details The Reinsurance Negotiation case is a fictional three-party negotiation between a primary insurer and two reinsurers. The case is appropriate for use... -
Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which... -
PSA Peugeot Citroen: Re-Entering the United States
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details In 2017, PSA Peugeot Citroën (PSA), the French-based automaker known for its famous Peugeot and Citroën brands, announced its plans to re-enter the U.S.... -
Polaroid-Kodak
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Describes Kodak's long-awaited challenge to Polaroid in the field of instant photography. Provides technological and company background of both Polaroid...
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Are You Paying Too Much for That Acquisition?
Mergers and acquisitions Magazine ArticleThe key is knowing what your top price is—and having the discipline to stick to it. -
Staples’ New Run at Strategic Innovation
Innovation Digital ArticleWhat do you do when the very breakthrough strategy that once made your business uniquely powerful now threatens to turn you into a commodity? That’s the question stationery supplier Staples is facing. I still remember when Staples changed my life. Before its 1986 opening, buying stationery and office supplies was a time-consuming, inconvenient, and expensive […] -
How to Penetrate the US Market
Marketing Digital ArticleAccounting for almost 30% of world GDP, the United States is the world’s largest and most demanding market for almost everything from oil to microprocessors to premium coffee. Companies around the world aspire to do business in the US, or at least with US companies in their home markets. By doing so, they learn much […] -
Anatomy of a Failed Launch — The Michelin PAX Tire
Innovation Digital ArticleIt is always instructive to examine how successful firms can go wrong, even in markets that they think they understand well. The market failure of the Michelin run-flat PAX tire illustrates the common mistake of failing to realize that even a groundbreaking product has to create a complete consumption chain. Broken links in the chain […] -
How to Respond to "Take It or Leave It"
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleYou really do have a choice. -
Apple Computer--1996
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Updates Apple Computer--1992. -
Your Biggest Social Media Fans Might Not Be Your Best Customers
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleHow analytics can mislead marketers. -
Management's Little Black Dress: Essential Practices for Leaders
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleSince Coco Chanel unveiled her iconic black dress in Paris in 1926, that little black dress has become a clothing essential in every woman's wardrobe.... -
Dwyane Wade
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In July 2016, while on his annual China tour to help promote the sportswear brand Li-Ning, basketball superstar Dwyane Wade and his long-time business... -
Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters
Business communication Magazine ArticleThe leader’s fall from “Who’s Who” to “Who’s that?” is full of stigma and shame. But the story doesn’t have to end there.