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Leading ChangeRemove Leading Change →

New research on leading change from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including holacracy as a management structure, how to effect change rather than accept it, and case studies about prominent innovators in the business world.
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Transitions of Power Are Difficult. What Joe Biden and Other Incoming Leaders Need to Know.

by Sean Silverthorne

Rosabeth Moss Kanter discusses ways leaders can navigate bumpy transitions and heal divided constituencies. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Field-Level Paradox and the Co-Evolution of an Entrepreneurial Vision

by Ryan Raffaelli and Richard DeJordy

Swiss watchmaking embodies the classic strategic paradox created by the introduction of new technology: the choice between resisting and defending, or embracing and prospecting. This paper offers a model for how fields and organizational leaders experiencing similar paradoxes can adapt to environmental change while still preserving valuable aspects of their past success.

Managers, Are You Prepared to Handle Religion in the Workplace?

Managers face growing challenges related to religion in the workplace as religious discrimination claims and monetary settlements increase. Derek van Bever discusses two examples that made their way to the US Supreme Court. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Team Learning Capabilities: A Meso Model of Sustained Innovation and Superior Firm Performance

by Jean-François Harvey, Henrik Bresman, and Amy C. Edmondson

In strategic management research, the dynamic capabilities framework enables a “helicopter view” of how firms achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This paper focuses on the critical role of work teams, arguing that managers must leverage the knowledge generated by teams to support innovation and strategic change. It matches types of team learning to innovation activities.

How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com

by Carmen Nobel (with video by Amelia Kunhardt)

Ryan Raffaelli set out to discover how independent bookstores managed to survive and even thrive in spite of competition from Amazon and other online retailers. His initial findings reveal how much consumers still value community and personal contact. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Three Types of Leaders Who Create Radical Change

by Carmen Nobel

Every successful social movement requires three distinct leadership roles: the agitator, the innovator, and the orchestrator, according to institutional change expert Julie Battilana. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Op-Ed: Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders

by Bill George

Courageous leaders inspire employees, energize customers, and position their companies on the front lines of societal change. Bill George explains why there aren't more of them. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Is the Time Right for Self-Management?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP When and where will holacracy, also known as self-management, work best? James Heskett's readers are conflicted as they respond to Zappos.com's radical adoption of the less-is-more management structure. What do YOU think? Open for comment; 38 Comment(s) posted.

Learning From Japan’s Remarkable Disaster Recovery

by Sean Silverthorne

Harvard Business School students make an annual trek to businesses in the Japanese area wrecked by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Their objectives: learn all they can about human resilience and share their own management knowledge. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Innovation Is Magic. Really

by Dina Gerdeman

When Stefan Thomke teaches students how to manage innovation and creativity, he turns to an unexpected source: Magician Jason Randal. Open for comment; 12 Comment(s) posted.

Are Today’s Business Heroes Challenging Our Ideas About Leadership?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP New leadership styles should not cause us to challenge our belief in traditional leadership values, Jim Heskett's readers write. Closed for comment; 41 Comment(s) posted.

Book Excerpt--‘Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World’

Management and leadership are not the same thing. But which is more important to a growing, innovative organization? An excerpt from John Kotter's new book, Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

John Kotter’s Plan to Accelerate Your Business

by Kim Girard

In the fast-paced modern economy, businesses can no longer rely on just one organizational design, argues John Kotter in a new book, Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World. Why we need two "operating systems." PLUS Book excerpt. Closed for comment; 6 Comment(s) posted.

Technology Re-Emergence: Creating New Value for Old Innovations

by Carmen Nobel

Every once in a while, an old technology rises from the ashes and finds new life. Ryan Raffaelli explains how the Swiss watch industry saved itself by reinventing its identity. Closed for comment; 6 Comment(s) posted.

HBS Faculty Remember Nelson Mandela

by Nitin Nohria, Linda Hill, Rosabeth Moss Kanter & Gautam Mukunda

Harvard Business School faculty Nitin Nohria, Linda Hill, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Gautam Mukunda remember Nelson Mandela, a leader who truly made a difference in the world. Closed for comment; 6 Comment(s) posted.

Big Deal: Reflections on the Megamerger of American and US Airways

The proposed marriage between American Airlines and US Airways would create the nation's largest airline. Professors Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Stuart Gilson reflect on a megamerger. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Culture Changers: Managing High-Impact Entrepreneurs

by Sean Silverthorne

In her new Harvard Business School course, Creative High-Impact Ventures: Entrepreneurs Who Changed the World, professor Mukti Khaire looks at ways managers can team with creative talent in six "culture industries": publishing, fashion, art-design, film, music, and food. Closed for comment; 13 Comment(s) posted.

HBS Cases: Sir Alex Ferguson--Managing Manchester United

by Sean Silverthorne

For almost three decades, Sir Alex Ferguson has developed the Manchester United soccer club into one of the most recognized sports brands in the world. Professor Anita Elberse discusses the keys to Sir Alex's long-time success. Closed for comment; 23 Comment(s) posted.

America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

by Gary P. Pisano & Willy C. Shih

In their new book, Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance, Harvard Business School professors Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih discuss the dangers of underinvesting in the nation's manufacturing capabilities. This excerpt discusses the importance of the "industrial commons." Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Cheese Moving: Effecting Change Rather Than Accepting It

by Carmen Nobel

In his new business fable, I Moved Your Cheese, Professor Deepak Malhotra challenges the idea that change is simply something we must anticipate, tolerate, and accept. Instead, the book teaches readers that success often lies in first questioning changes in the workplace and, if necessary, in effecting new changes ourselves. Q&A plus book excerpt. Closed for comment; 12 Comment(s) posted.