-
Life's Work: An Interview with Marie Kondo
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleKondo, the head of a successful consulting business and the author of several best-selling books about tidying, talks about her motto--"Keep only what... -
What Professional Service Firms Must Do to Thrive
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleDuring economic slowdowns, consulting, law, and accounting firms often start offering services and taking on clients they really shouldn't, just to keep... -
The View from the Field
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleIn this collection of short essays, six executives describe their sales-related success. Jim Koch, of Boston Beer, remembers visiting bars with cold beer... -
Match Your Innovation Strategy to Your Innovation Ecosystem
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleHigh-definition televisions (HDTVs) should, by now, be a huge success. Philips, Sony, and Thompson invested billions of dollars to develop TV sets with... -
Consultant's Comeuppance (HBR Case Study and Commentary)
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleFor ten years, Jeff Patterson's firm, Flynn Fuller Consulting, has worked on projects for financial services giant GloBank. Now Jeff's contact, Bill Holland,... -
How to Buy/Sell Professional Services
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleThree key concepts are fundamental to professional services, and serve as a guide to the buying or selling of these services. First, a professional service... -
When Professionals Have to Manage
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleA professional firm cannot exist without its specialists - accountants, lawyers, consultants, bankers, and so on - who generate client services. But how... -
Consultant's Comeuppance (Commentary for HBR Case Study)
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleFor ten years, Jeff Patterson's firm, Flynn Fuller Consulting, has worked on projects for financial services giant GloBank. Now Jeff's contact, Bill Holland,... -
When Consultants and Clients Clash (Commentary for HBR Case Study)
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleThis fictitious case study by Idalene F. Kesner, the Frank P. Popoff Professor at Indiana University, and Sally Fowler, assistant professor at Victoria... -
In Praise of Uncertainty
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleThe tech industry has a really good grasp of what works and how its products will be used--and that's killing innovation, says the Berkman Center's Jonathan... -
Taking the Bias Out of Bean Counting
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleProposed changes by the SEC will reduce the accounting profession's conflicts of interest arising from consulting. But auditors can never be truly independent... -
Why Good Accountants Do Bad Audits
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleOn July 30, President Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act addressing corporate accountability. A response to recent financial scandals, the law... -
Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleConsulting's fundamental business model has not changed in more than 100 years: Very smart outsiders go into organizations for a finite period of time... -
Putting Products into Services
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleHigh-end professional services firms, unlike product companies, traditionally experience only linear revenue growth. That's because selling more services... -
Rate Yourself as a Client
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleThe talent for making good use of professional advisors ranks as one of the most necessary skills for an executive. Certain types of client attitude and... -
Get Your Money's Worth from Consultants
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleHave you ever hired a consultant or been asked to work with one? If not, you're a distinct minority. Management consulting is a $160 billion industry,... -
Preparing for a Pandemic
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleThis month, all of Harvard Business Review's Forethought contributions address avian influenza, its potential to become a pandemic, and the red flags... -
What Makes People Follow Reluctant Leaders
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleA new study finds three traits that help people rise to the top. -
Will She Fit In? (HBR Case Study and Commentary)
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleSusan Carter, a partner at a prestigious strategy consulting firm, is caught in a dilemma she never expected: her firm's most important client has made... -
How to Lead Your Fellow Rainmakers
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleIn most corporate settings, leaders are expected to inspire and direct employees--leading is something they do to followers. But in professional service...
-
RSSWorks Inc. - An Early Stage Investment
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details RSSWorks Inc. represents a very early stage funding opportunity - the business model has not been decided. The case provides an introduction to the thinking... -
The LEGO Group: Publish or Protect?
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Senior managers at the LEGO Group are faced with a quandary: Should they patent inventions coming out of their manufacturing process development work,... -
Wladimir Klitschko: F.A.C.E. Your Challenges
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details In 2020, Olympic goal medal winning boxer and former heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko had built himself a "second ring" to continue his career... -
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. (A1)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details The CEO of Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. must decide what to do when he receives information that the company's supply of apple juice concentrate may be adulterated.... -
ZEFER: Building a Business at Hyperspeed
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In the past 18 months, ZEFER has gone from a several-person Internet consulting firm to a major player in the information-technology services industry.... -
Nomis Solutions (B)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details Simon Caufield and Bob Phillips had just put the finishing touches on the business plan for Nomis Solutions, a start-up company that planned to offer... -
Bob Fifer
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details Explores the life and concerns of Bob Fifer, HBS class of 1979 and CEO of Kaiser Associates. Explores the many influences on Bob's development and his... -
Saga of Prince Jefri and KPMG (A): Mystery of the Missing Billions
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Accounting and law firms around the globe are following with great interest the progress through British courts of a lawsuit. Those familiar with the... -
Tom Tierney at Bain & Co. (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Bain managing director Tom Tierney is contemplating how best to rotate the office head position between two partners at one of the firm's offices. The... -
Delwarca Software Remote Support Unit
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details Delwarca Software provides business software to large corporate clients around the world. The firm serves customers who prefer to assemble corporate solutions... -
GlaxoSmithKline in Brazil: Public-Private Vaccine Partnerships
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Three years into a major public-private partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and Fiocuz, Brazil's principal health institute, the company assesses technology... -
Cisco Systems: Web-enablement
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Describes how Cisco web-enabled their ERP systems and developed the "front office" systems to electronically link to their customers and suppliers. A... -
The Predictive Index
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Mike Zani and Daniel Muzquiz needed to decide next steps to create a new category in the human resources consulting industry and scale their company.... -
Advanced Medical Technology Corp.
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details A loan officer must decide whether to lend $8 million to a rapidly growing high technology company. The company has had a series of relationships with... -
Frameworks for General Management and Operations Consulting
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details This note addresses a number of different frameworks that general managers and consultants use to address problems. A general framework for addressing... -
ENSR International
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details What is the best way to "sell" consulting services? Should the firm focus on key accounts? Should it have dedicated salespeople? How should the firm account... -
Jewellworld.com: A Jewellery Industry B2B Portal
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Jewellworld.com was established in April 2000 to take advantage of the business opportunity presented by the Internet. Participating in Jewellworld.com's... -
Shanghai Real Estate (B)
Global Business Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
Microsoft IT India
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Raj Biyani faced tough challenges managing Microsoft IT India: leading a remote development organization in which key decisions were made in Redmond,... -
Coca-Cola Co. (B): Douglas Daft Takes Over
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Describes Douglas Daft's first quarter as chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Co. Highlights actions taken to resolve issues that arose under M. Douglas...
-
RSSWorks Inc. - An Early Stage Investment
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details RSSWorks Inc. represents a very early stage funding opportunity - the business model has not been decided. The case provides an introduction to the thinking... -
Life's Work: An Interview with Marie Kondo
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleKondo, the head of a successful consulting business and the author of several best-selling books about tidying, talks about her motto--"Keep only what... -
The LEGO Group: Publish or Protect?
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Senior managers at the LEGO Group are faced with a quandary: Should they patent inventions coming out of their manufacturing process development work,... -
Wladimir Klitschko: F.A.C.E. Your Challenges
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details In 2020, Olympic goal medal winning boxer and former heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko had built himself a "second ring" to continue his career... -
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. (A1)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details The CEO of Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. must decide what to do when he receives information that the company's supply of apple juice concentrate may be adulterated.... -
ZEFER: Building a Business at Hyperspeed
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In the past 18 months, ZEFER has gone from a several-person Internet consulting firm to a major player in the information-technology services industry.... -
Kenexa, Student Spreadsheet
Communication Digital ArticleStudent spreadsheet for case 907C04. -
Infosys: Born Global to Exploit the Skilled Workforce Advantage--A Profile of One of India's Pioneering Multinationals
Global Business Book Chapter8.95View Details The Indian outsourcing industry has helped put India on the global corporate map. Of the many famous Indian IT companies like Infosys, TCS, and Wipro,... -
Nomis Solutions (B)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details Simon Caufield and Bob Phillips had just put the finishing touches on the business plan for Nomis Solutions, a start-up company that planned to offer... -
What Professional Service Firms Must Do to Thrive
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleDuring economic slowdowns, consulting, law, and accounting firms often start offering services and taking on clients they really shouldn't, just to keep...
