Crisis Management →
- 09 Sep 2015
- Research & Ideas
Leadership Lessons of the Great Recession: Options for Economic Downturns
In the new case study “Honeywell and the Great Recession,” Sandra Sucher and Susan Winterberg explore employer tradeoffs when a downturn hits: conducting layoffs vs. orchestrating furloughs. Plus: Video interviews with Honeywell CEO Dave Cote. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Jul 2012
- Research & Ideas
Why Good Deeds Invite Bad Publicity
Many executives assume that investments in corporate social responsibility create public goodwill. But do they? Felix Oberholzer-Gee and colleagues find surprising results when it comes to oil spills. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Feb 2010
- Op-Ed
Tragedy at Toyota: How Not to Lead in Crisis
"Toyota can only regain its footing by transforming itself from top to bottom to deliver the highest quality automobiles," says HBS professor Bill George of the beleaguered automobile company that in recent months has recalled 8 million vehicles. He offers seven recommendations for restoring consumer confidence in the safety and quality behind the storied brand. Key concepts include: Toyota Motor Corporation's problem is first and foremost a leadership crisis. It needs a credible leader with a strong, cohesive plan. Competitors Ford and GM are working to regain the market share they have lost to Toyota. Rather than blame floor mats and panicky drivers, as Toyota did when complaints first arose, it should have acknowledged that its vaunted quality system failed. Toyota should seize the opportunity to make radical changes to renew the company and restore consumers' trust. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Jun 2009
- Sharpening Your Skills
Sharpening Your Skills: Leading Change
Nothing like a global recession to test your change-management skills. We dig deep into the Working Knowledge vault to learn about building a business in a down economy, motivating the troops, and other current topics. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Jun 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Don’t Just Survive—Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad
The financial crisis provides a sobering reminder of what happens when innovation fails to drive productive economic growth. For over a decade, money from around the world poured into the United States seeking innovation. Despite these massive investments, when adjusted for inflation, U.S. GDP grew slowly with much of the growth coming from government, professional, and business services, including real estate and outsourcing. What's more, inflation adjusted wages stalled for many, even as consumer spending increased. This paper argues that innovation is not a side business to a real business: rather, innovation is the foundation of a successful business. Key concepts include: Entrepreneurs can be found and a culture of entrepreneurship can be developed in companies of any size and age. Entrepreneurial leaders must relentlessly—but not recklessly—pursue opportunity. They must look beyond the resources currently controlled to harness the power, resources, and reach of their organizations and networks. Breakthrough innovations that change people's lives and the very structure and power dynamics of industries cannot be managed as "silos," tucked away in corporate, university, or government research labs, in incubators, or within venture capital funded entrepreneurial start-ups. Access to the marketplace is needed to help speed commercialization and adoption. Emerging opportunities must be nurtured and the transition to high growth must be managed. Once breakthrough innovations catch hold, growth must be funded and managed to exploit the full value of the opportunity. Incremental innovations must ensure that businesses that have passed through the high-growth stage can continue to deliver the resources, capabilities, and platforms needed to fuel the emerging opportunities of the future. Different organizational structures, cultures, governance and risk management systems, and leadership styles are needed to manage the business innovation lifecycle from an initial idea to a sustainable business that leverages entry position and capabilities to exploit the full potential for growth and evolution over time. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 May 2009
- Research & Ideas
The IT Leader’s Hero Quest
Think you could be CIO? Jim Barton is a savvy manager but an IT newbie when he's promoted into the hot seat as chief information officer in The Adventures of an IT Leader, a novel by HBS professors Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan and coauthor Shannon O'Donnell. Can Barton navigate his strange new world quickly enough? Q&A with the authors, and book excerpt. Key concepts include: The role of CIO is one of the most volatile, high-turnover jobs in business. Why? The driving cause is more than rapid change in IT. Rather, IT is at the crossroads of major organizational change. Barton soon realizes that IT-specific knowledge is not a key to success. Instead, he must take care to collaborate equally with the senior management team and his own staff. Like Barton, today's senior executives are continuously confronted with situations with multiple uncertainties, needing collaboration and input from experts who may know more than they do about the specifics. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Oct 2008
- Research & Ideas
Book Excerpt: A Sense of Urgency
Urgency can be a positive force in companies, says leadership expert and HBS professor emeritus John P. Kotter. His new book, A Sense of Urgency (Harvard Business Press), makes that conviction clear. Our excerpt describes how leaders might skillfully transform a crisis into an organizational motivator for the better. Key concepts include: Always think of crises as potential opportunities, and not only dreadful problems that automatically must be delegated to the damage control specialists. Plans and actions should always focus on others' hearts as much or more than their minds. If you are at a middle or low level in an organization and see how a crisis can be used as an opportunity, identify and then work with an open-minded and approachable person who can take the lead. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Sep 2008
- Research & Ideas
Financial Crisis Caution Urged by Faculty Panel
Dean Jay O. Light and a group of Harvard Business School faculty explored the origins and possible outcomes of the U.S. financial crisis at a recent "Turmoil on the Street" panel. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
What Companies Should Not Do in the Next Banking Crisis
Following the banking meltdown of 2008, many struggling companies in Spain did what they shouldn’t have: sacrificed their future for short-term gain. Professor Claudia Steinwender calls it the Groucho Marx Criterion. Open for comment; 0 Comments.