Abby Falik, founder and CEO of Global Citizen Year (GCY), quickly read through the most recent news updates regarding the Ebola crisis in West Africa as she prepared for her board call on July 31, 2014. Based in Oakland, California, GCY was a five-year-old not-for-profit with a fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget of $3.5 million. Its mission was to make it much more the norm for graduating high school students in the U.S. to choose a "bridge year." GCY believed this experience after high school, but before college, would help students build self-awareness, learn about the world, and develop grit. In turn, GCY felt these attributes laid the foundation for success in college, and beyond.
Language pervades every aspect of organizational life. Yet leaders of global organizations--where unrestricted multilingualism can create friction--often pay too little attention to it in their approach to talent management. By managing language carefully, firms can hire and develop the best employees, improve collaboration on global teams, and strengthen the company's footing in local markets. Language proficiency--either in a lingua franca, or shared language, or in a local language--does not guarantee high performance. Recruiters may favor fluency over other capabilities. They may rely on external hires with language skills rather than grooming internal candidates with the capacity and motivation to learn new languages. And leaders may give expatriate assignments not to the best candidates but to people who speak certain languages. To hire and promote the best people, firms may need to provide training to meet global and local language needs. Fluency in a language also does not equal cultural fluency. For leaders, understanding the cultural background of each team member and customers is as essential as learning to conjugate new verbs. The same can be said for employees at all levels: Even when they are fluent in the lingua franca, a lack of cultural understanding can cause significant misunderstandings. To prevent such rifts, language training must include cross-cultural education.
Mitch Daniels, Governor of the State of Indiana, knew he had to make a difficult choice as he sat in his office in December 2010. Should he aggressively push the state legislature to pass comprehensive education reform-a major priority of his administration-or, instead, push for a new "right-to-work" law that he believed might be critical to improving his state's competitiveness? He was concerned that he wouldn't be able to do both during his second term. He prided himself on being an action- and results-oriented governor. He prided himself on being able to work with both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature. In the elections of fall 2010, the Republicans regained control of the Indiana House of Representatives. Passage of a right-to-work law was not a major part of their election platform because of the union opposition they thought it would generate. Quietly, however, Republicans did support a right-to-work law that was expected to attract more jobs to the state in a very difficult economic environment. Daniels had to weigh the political ramifications as he considered which initiative to pursue. He knew that despite his various accomplishments, this choice would likely impact his legacy as governor. As he weighed the decision, Daniels began to jot down notes about the tradeoffs relating to his various options.
In 2008 and 2009, a period of severe economic turmoil, Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren led a large-scale transformation of the iconic department store. Having previously converted the many department stores owned by Macy's to the Macy's names (except Bloomingdale's), Lundgren and his team set out to create a more efficient, dynamic organization. Their "One Macy's" initiative consolidated and centralized all key functions, while their "My Macy's" initiative focused on customizing the offerings of individual stores to local markets. By 2011, Macy's had many advantages, including an energized, highly experienced executive team; a nationwide presence and strong brand in the U.S.; a competitive offering of private label and exclusive brands; and, following the execution of One Macy's and My Macy's, a fresh, unique foundation for future growth. However, the company still faces significant challenges, including low sales productivity (in part due to the large size of its stores), the decline of mall-based shopping, poor floor-level sales capabilities, lack of appeal to younger consumers, intensifying competition, and an overall dearth of future growth opportunities. This case allows students to assess Lundgren's leadership to date and options for the future, as well as the overall viability of the department store business model.
Since becoming the President's envoy responsible for post-war Iraq, Paul Bremer endured many sleepless nights, struggling with the decision of how to hand over sovereignty to the Iraqi people. Despite daily assassination attempts, tribal warfare, growing violence, and political pressure--at home in Washington, D.C. and abroad--the CPA undertook the difficult task of handing over power to an Iraqi civil society which was simultaneously being rebuilt from the ground up.
Bob Beall is the Chief Executive Officer of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation ("CFF"). CFF is an extremely successful organization, but Beall has to determine how to manage the organization through the financial crisis of 2008/2009. In this situation, donations are likely to decline, investment surplus has declined and biotech partners are challenged to finance joint projects as well as their own operations. Beall is striving to find a cure for cystic fibrosis while also determining what priorities he must emphasize and what trade-off decisions he must make in managing through the current period. He is preparing for a meeting with his board of trustees where he plans to discuss the current situation and the key decisions the organization needs to make.
Despite their lofty job titles and impressive pay, many high-achieving executives feel professionally dissatisfied and unfulfilled. Looking back, they wish they'd accomplished more or even chosen a different career altogether. Often they feel trapped in their jobs. In this article, Kaplan, a Harvard Business School professor, examines why people arrive at this impasse-and offers them guidance on how to break through it and reach their full potential. That goal isn't about getting to the top, he says. Rather, it's about taking a very personal look at how you define success in your heart of hearts, and then finding your own path there. To discover your way, you need to step back and reassess your career, recognizing that managing it is your responsibility. Many people feel like victims when, in fact, most career wounds are self-inflicted. Taking control begins with understanding yourself: seeking frank feedback about your strengths and weaknesses from colleagues above and below you, and figuring out what you truly enjoy doing. That understanding-not other people's definition of success-should guide your career choices and goals. Next, it's critical to identify the three or four tasks central to your business and make sure you excel at them; otherwise, success is likely to elude you. Once you've chosen the right enterprise, you must show character and leadership. Great executives put the interests of their company and colleagues ahead of their own. They're willing to speak up, even to voice unpopular views. Many managers hit a plateau because they play it too safe. But those that identify their dreams, develop the skills to realize them, and demonstrate courage will find fulfillment-even if they hit bumps along the way.
Marc Buoniconti is the co-founder of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a nonprofit medical research organization. The project was founded in 1985 by Marc and his father Nick, a former Hall of Fame football player, when Marc suffered a spinal cord injury. In 2007, Marc was still confined to a wheelchair, but the Miami project had developed into the world's largest spinal cord injury research and treatment center. It had 250 employees, operated from a $37 million state of the art facility located on the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine campus, and had raised in excess of $275 million since its inception. However, there was still no cure for spinal cord injury, and many of the project's supporters were becoming anxious for a substantial clinical breakthrough. Fundraising was always a concern, particularly as government spending on research was declining. Marc and his father were keenly aware of the challenge of maintaining the enthusiasm and financial backing of the Miami Project's supporters. Yet they needed to avoid over-promising regarding the likelihood of potential breakthroughs, which required painstaking research and stringent clinical trials. The leadership also questioned whether the mission should remain focused on spinal cord injury, or whether it should broaden to include brain trauma and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Case provides an opportunity to discuss the challenges of non-profit management, medical research, and to debate appropriate strategy for the Miami Project in 2007.
Leslie Brinkman is the founder and CEO of a hedge fund, Versutia Capital. Leslie spent late 2002 and early 2003 assembling her team and launched the fund in early 2003. While the firm performed well during 2003 and 2004 (both in terms of returns and new assets), in 2005 the results began to suffer. Describes the process of designing the firm, the resulting team dynamics, the strains on the staff and the impact of Leslie's management style on the performance of her team. In the spring of 2005, Leslie must decide whether to re-design the firm and/or change her management style in order to address the performance issues that Versutia Capital is facing.
Bob Rubin was a businessman given the task of setting up and running the National Economic Council for the Clinton Administration. Unfamiliar with management in a political climate, Rubin worked hard to design, staff, and position the Council to make better economic and policy decisions. Traces the career of Robert E. Rubin from his practice in law to his work at Goldman Sachs and studies how his work experiences prepared him to establish the National Economic Council.
Every leader gets off track from time to time. But as leaders rise through the ranks, they have fewer and fewer opportunities for honest and direct feedback. Their bosses are no longer monitoring their actions, and by the time management missteps have a negative impact on business results, it's usually too late to make course corrections that will set things right. Therefore, it is wise to go through a self-assessment, to periodically step back from the bustle of running a business and ask some key questions of yourself. Author Robert S. Kaplan, who during his 22-year career at Goldman Sachs chaired the firm's senior leadership training efforts and cochaired its partnership committee, identifies seven areas for self-reflection: vision and priorities, managing time, feedback, succession planning, evaluation and alignment, leading under pressure, and staying true to yourself. The author sets out a series of questions in each of the areas, illustrating the impact of self-assessment through vivid accounts of real executives. Although the questions sound simple, people are often shocked-even horrified-by their own answers. Executives are aware that they should be focusing on their most important priorities, for instance, but without stepping back to reflect, few actually know where they are allocating their time. Kaplan advocates writing down what you do every working hour for a week and checking how well your actions match up with your intentions. As for feedback, managers should ask themselves whether they're getting truthful evaluations from their subordinates. (In all likelihood, they aren't.) It takes time and discipline to persuade your employees to tell you about your failings.
Adrian Ivinson is the director of Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair (HCNR), a not-for-profit research center at the Harvard Medical School (HMS). The center was started in late 2000 with a gift of $37.5 million from an anonymous donor. Its mandate was to conduct research that could lead to actual treatments for neurodegenerative disease (i.e., ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, MS, and Huntington's) and do so by encouraging collaboration among researchers in the HMS community. When Ivinson takes the helm in 2001, he finds a dysfunctional center with little organization or structure. In addition, he has little formal authority to make changes and he must navigate the complex culture of the HMS neurological research community as well as the HMS academic culture. Demonstrates Ivinson's efforts to develop HCNR as a catalyst for aligning scientific researchers in the HMS community by creating incentives for innovation and collaboration. Also, profiles the issues he faces as general manager at various stages of the organization's development--and how his style, priorities, and approach must change as the needs of the organization change. Provides an opportunity for action planning to address the major issues facing the HCNR at the end of 2005. Focuses on organizational culture, alignment, leadership style/fit, and change management.