- 18 Oct 2010
- Lessons from the Classroom
Venture Capital’s Disconnect with Clean Tech
Clean-tech start-ups depend on patience and public policy to thrive—the Internet models for VC funding don't apply. That's why Harvard Business School professor Joseph Lassiter is making an unusual recommendation to his entrepreneurship students: Spend a few years serving time in a government job. Key concepts include: MBA students and young venture capitalists often assume that all promising start-ups can grow and exit as fast as Internet start-ups, but they're mistaken. Clean-tech start-ups are often stymied by a "valley of death"—that precarious stage between researching and developing a product and going to market. The success of clean-tech companies often is dependent on public policy, so it behooves budding VCs and entrepreneurs to spend a few years learning the ropes in a government or corporate job. Closed for comment; 18 Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Aug 2010
- Lessons from the Classroom
HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers
These tools can help managers make informed decisions on market analysis, breakeven analysis, customer lifetime value, profit and pricing, and analyzing the competitive environment. Interview with Tom Steenburgh. Key concepts include: Immense changes in marketing are driving an increasing need for data analysis. The five HBS-developed tools provide decision-making support for market analysis, breakeven analysis, customer lifetime value, profit and pricing, and analyzing the competitive environment. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 28 Oct 2009
- Lessons from the Classroom
HBS Begins Teaching Consumer Finance
Last spring HBS became the first top-ranked U.S. business school to offer a course in consumer finance. Professor Peter Tufano talks about the course and his determination to make consumer finance a broadly accepted academic pursuit. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin. Key concepts include: The household sector in America represents approximately $61 trillion of assets. The course helps students understand consumers and the financial service firms that serve them. Four functions are studied: payments, movements of money from today to tomorrow (savings and investing), movements of money from tomorrow back to today (borrowing), and managing risk. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 26 Oct 2009
- Lessons from the Classroom
The New Deal: Negotiauctions
Whether negotiating to purchase a company or a house, dealmaking is becoming more complex. Harvard Business School professor Guhan Subramanian sees a new form arising, part negotiation, part auction. Call it the negotiauction. Here's how to play the game. Key concepts include: In a negotiauction, the rules are never perfectly pinned down, which creates both opportunities and challenges. The three common negotiauction moves are set-up, rearranging, and shut-down. Negotiauctions help in the current economic downturn by providing a more nuanced mechanism and better outcome for both parties. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Jun 2009
- Lessons from the Classroom
The Challenges of Investing in Science-Based Innovation
Smart science-based businesses view today's economic turmoil as an opportunity to stoke up research and innovation for long-term competitive advantage, says professor Vicki L. Sato. How about your business? Key concepts include: Companies with highly differentiated products will be able to weather this storm, and come out the other side stronger. Innovation management challenges fall across several key areas, including strategy, organizational design, decision-making, and resource allocation. Different situations will require different business decisions—investing in R&D isn't always the right path to take. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Dec 2008
- Lessons from the Classroom
‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’
Many students say legendary Harvard Business School marketing professor Ted Levitt changed their lives inside his classroom and out. "Ted Levitt was the most influential and imaginative professor in marketing history," HBS professor and senior associate dean John Quelch eulogized on the occasion of Levitt's death in 2006. Colleagues and students remember a life and times. From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Dec 2008
- Lessons from the Classroom
How Many U.S. Jobs Are ‘Offshorable’?
Some 900 Harvard Business School students were asked to recreate a study assessing the potential "offshorability" of more than 800 occupations in the United States. Their findings: It might be a larger number than we thought. Key concepts include: Management students are likely tomorrow to face an unprecedented array of options concerning what they can do where. Increasingly, jobs are being viewed as groups of tasks that can be bundled, unbundled, and sent to different places. Offshoring could come to an end just as quickly as it began. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 27 Oct 2008
- Lessons from the Classroom
Achieving Excellence in Nonprofits
Nonprofit boards and executives are confronted by a confusing landscape of conflicting demands, rapidly evolving rules, and changing opportunities for finding resources. How can organizations stay focused? Harvard Business School professor Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard discusses today's challenges and his Executive Education program on Governing for Nonprofit Excellence. Key concepts include: The biggest challenge facing nonprofit boards is staying focused on key goals; developing a strategy for accomplishing them; and generating a set of tactics, operations, and actions that are aligned with producing them. In high-performing social-mission-driven organizations, the board and executive management team are in clear agreement on goals, strategy, and actions. Always involved in rapidly changing environments, nonprofits need to maintain "situational awareness," rethink their approaches, and implement change constantly. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 09 Jun 2008
- Lessons from the Classroom
Monetizing IP: The Executive’s Challenge
Many companies fail to develop a strategy around protecting and monetizing their intellectual property. In this Q&A, Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner discusses current trends in IP including the rise of patent pools. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Apr 2008
- Lessons from the Classroom
Chris Christensen: Legend of the Classroom
Professor C. Roland ("Chris") Christensen was the maestro of Harvard Business School's case method of teaching. Over a career spanning half a century, Christensen made his colleagues better teachers, and his students better leaders. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 19 Nov 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
Teaching The Moral Leader
In The Moral Leader course at Harvard Business School, students exchange their business management case studies to discuss some of the great protagonists in literature. Sandra Sucher discusses how we all can find our own definition of moral leadership. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 25 Jul 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
The Evolution of Apple
Apple's continuing development from computer maker to consumer electronics pioneer is rich material in a number of Harvard Business School classrooms. Professor David Yoffie discusses his latest case study of Apple, the 5th update in 14 years, which challenges students to think strategically about Apple's successes and failures in the past, and opportunities and challenges in the future. Key concepts include: Apple has an undeniable hit with the iPod, yet faces the question of whether the growth of that business and Apple overall can be sustained. Looking at Apple through the lens of the company's previous chief executives gives students insights into why Apple lost its way after Steve Jobs left the company. Student opinion of Apple tends to be excessively positive or excessively negative, depending on the company's current fortunes. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 27 Jun 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
Learning to Make the Move to CEO
Even experienced managers need to learn more if they hope to ascend to the C-Suite. In a program created by Harvard Business School Executive Education, participants learn new techniques and perspectives not only from faculty but from their cohorts as well. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 11 Jun 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
Teaching the Next Generation of Energy Executives
A new generation of energy industry managers will make decisions that affect the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people. At Harvard Business School, students in professor Forest Reinhardt's Energy course are learning the complexities and realities of developing and implementing strategy in such a complex environment. Key concepts include: Energy executives face a complicated playing field on which to develop strategy, buffeted by factors including increased demand, dwindling resources, technology breakthroughs, and the regulatory environment. General managers will be of great value because many aspects of business contribute to the energy industry. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Apr 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
Making the Move to General Manager
Managers face a critical transition when they rise from functional expert to general manager. It's an exciting shift but it's also fraught with pitfalls. A new executive education program at Harvard Business School aims to smooth and accelerate this transition, as professor and program chair Benjamin C. Esty explains. Key concepts include: The first big challenge for general managers with newly acquired or significantly expanded responsibilities is learning to see linkages and interconnections across the organization. The second is transitioning from the role of "doer" to the role of managing through other people—and that's a big change. The General Management Program helps participants lead through two big sources of turbulence: globalization—what happens when market boundaries change—and shifts in technology. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Feb 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
‘UpTick’ Brings Wall Street Pressure to Students
Money managers work in a stressful, competitive pressure cooker that's hard to appreciate from the safety of a business management classroom. That's why HBS professors Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford invented upTick—a market simulation program that has students sweating and strategizing as they recreate classic market scenarios. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 18 Dec 2006
- Lessons from the Classroom
Grooming Next-Generation Leaders
Organizations succeed by identifying, developing, and retaining talented leaders. Professors W. Earl Sasser and Das Narayandas, who teach leadership development in one of Harvard Business School's Executive Education programs, discuss the fine points of leadership development. Key concepts include: Talent provides organizations a key competitive advantage, but there must be managers and a process in place to identify and nurture next-generation leaders. Large and small companies may have a leg up in leadership development. Medium-sized organizations have the most difficulty with talent identification because these companies often lack the infrastructure and human resources capabilities. What separates true leaders from the merely capable is flexibility in leadership styles in order to meet challenges of the global economy, rapid commoditization, and hyper-competitive environments. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 04 Oct 2006
- Lessons from the Classroom
Surviving Success: When Founders Must Go
At some point, a start-up's founder usually cedes CEO responsibilities to a seasoned manager. But what roles does the founder assume next? Professor Noam Wasserman discusses a recent case study and what students learn from it in the classroom. From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Key concepts include: Start-ups replacing their founder/CEO must consider what duties, if any, the founder assumes after succession. The replacement CEO may have very strong feelings on the future role of the founder. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Sep 2006
- Lessons from the Classroom
Mixing Students and Scientists in the Classroom
In his course on commercializing science and technology, Lee Fleming combines students from business, engineering, law, science, and medicine. The result: Ideas for products from scale-eating bacteria to quantum dot cancer treatments. Key concepts include: Unique approaches and perspectives are crucial when exploring opportunities occurring at the intersection of business, science, and technology. The first step in mixing teams from diverse disciplines is often to break through preconceptions each group has about the other. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
Connecting Goals and Go-To-Market Initiatives
In some respects, developing strategy is the easy part. Executing that strategy in alignment with strategic priorities is where real mastery of management takes place. Harvard Business School senior lecturer Frank V. Cespedes shows how it is done. Open for comment; 14 Comment(s) posted.