This case traces the life of Katharine Graham from housewife to publisher of the Washington Post. Born into a family of wealth, Graham described herself as a "doormat wife" after she married Phil Graham and stayed at home to raise their children. His unexpected death thrust her into the role of publisher, a job for which she was ill-prepared. Graham made her mark in history by publishing the Pentagon Papers, which showed the extent to which the government had misled the American people during the Vietnam War, and reporting on the Watergate break-in that eventually forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon. A role model for women and journalists, students will learn how Katharine Graham navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case traces the life of Robert McNamara from Harvard Business School to Ford Motor Company to the U.S. Department of Defense. McNamara excelled in every job along the way: becoming the youngest-ever professor at Harvard Business School, the first non-family president of Ford, and Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy. He achieved these successes by using quantitative techniques he learned at Harvard to drive goal-oriented efficiency. Unfortunately, his tendency to manage by the numbers had dire consequences when he ran the Vietnam War. Many blame McNamara, who relied on incomplete and inaccurate performance measures, for 58,000 American deaths in a war that the United States ultimately lost. Studying the life choices of Robert McNamara will be a cautionary tale for all leaders and students of business.
This case traces the rise of Nelson Mandela from his tribal home in South Africa to president of the country. Rejecting expectations that he would be a tribal leader, Mandela instead dedicates his life to fighting Apartheid. After peaceful approaches fail, he joins with others in violent resistance for which he is ultimately jailed. After a widely-covered trial, he spends 27 years in prison. As his celebrity grows, he continues to fight for freedom and, when finally released, becomes president of South Africa. He ushered in a new democratic constitution and worked valiantly to heal the country. Students will learn how Nelson Mandela navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case traces the rise of Albert Einstein from a small town in Germany to a towering intellectual leader who revolutionized the field of physics. The case describes his early education and his penchant for individual thinking and non-conformity. A committed pacifist, he changed his views during World War II and urged President Roosevelt to build an atomic bomb to defeat Nazi Germany. He then spent the rest of his life advocating nuclear arms control. Students will learn how Albert Einstein navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case traces the rise of Ronald Reagan from small town Illinois to two-term president of the United States. An unlikely candidate for the world's most powerful job, the case describes the different roles that Reagan filled over his life: radio announcer, Hollywood actor, labor leader, state governor, and, finally, president. As president, the case describes how Reagan revitalized the U.S. economy, negotiated nuclear arms reductions, and precipitated the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War. Students will learn how Ronald Reagan navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case traces the life of Steve Jobs who throughout his career flaunted convention and chose an unusual path to success. The case describes how Jobs, as young man, acquired an appreciation for aesthetics and the liberal arts, but was also quick to recognize and capitalize on new information-technology innovations. The case also describes how his demanding personality and continuing quest for perfection influenced those around him and led to the growth and success of Apple, one of the most valuable companies in history. Students will learn how Steve Jobs navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case describes the life of P.T. Barnum, widely considered to the be the father of modern advertising and marketing. Barnum showed his genius for business early, selling lottery tickets and confections from his father's store. He went on to found a famous museum of curiosities that attracted millions of visitors and the world's most famous circus. The case describes his unconventional business choices driven by his lifelong desire to make people happy. His entertainment was often controversial, however, leading to spirited in-class discussions.
This case traces the rise of Leonard Bernstein from a middle-class family in Boston to the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The case describes how he studied music intensely as a young man and developed mentors to open doors for him. As his fame grew, he wrote widely acclaimed musicals such as West Side Story and introduced classical music to worldwide audiences through his popular television shows. Students will learn how Leonard Bernstein navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case traces the rise of James Conant from a working-class neighborhood in Boston to president of Harvard University. The case describes how Conant, as a young man interested in chemistry and physics, embarks on studies to build his academic credentials and the pathbreaking changes that he makes to admissions criteria and curriculums while president of Harvard. The case also describes his pivotal role in developing the atomic bomb that ended World War II. Students will learn how James Conant navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case describes the rise of Marie Curie from a poor family in Poland to the pinnacle of scientific fame. The case describes how Curie, as a young woman interested in science, found a way to earn a doctorate at the Sorbonne and perform pathbreaking research on radioactive materials that won her two Nobel Prizes. Students will learn how Marie Curie navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case describes the rise of Walt Disney, founder of the worldwide entertainment company. The case describes how Disney, as a young artist, created memorable figures such as Mickey Mouse and went on to produce Academy-award-winning films and build the world's most popular theme park. Students will learn how Walt Disney navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case describes the rise of Mary Kay, the founder of the worldwide cosmetics company. As a young single mother, Mary Kay had to overcome many obstacles to start her business and guide it to success. Today, there are more than 3.5 million Mary Kay beauty consultants selling Mary Kay products in 36 countries. The company is still privately owned. Students will learn how Mary Kay navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
This case describes the rise of Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower from a small town in Kansas to the pinnacle of power on the world stage. During his life, Eisenhower was leader of the Allied Forces in World War II, president of Columbia University, head of NATO, and president of the United States for two terms. Students will learn how he navigated life's choices to leave a lasting impact on the world.
JD, China's second largest e-commerce company by gross merchandise volume (GMV) after Alibaba, had expanded rapidly from 2012 to 2016. When the company celebrated its 13th birthday in 2017, Richard Liu, its founder, deliberated on the company's growth strategies. The landscape of China's e-commerce market had changed drastically in recent years. The growth in the e-commerce market had declined significantly. Furthermore, the advancement of AI and big data was turning shopping into a boundaryless experience-consumers could purchase products tailored to their preferences anywhere and anytime. Finally, JD's rival, Alibaba, had made rapid moves to improve its logistics capabilities and expanded aggressively in the offline market. Liu must decide how JD should compete and how to expand the company's offline strategy.
ZBJ.com (ZBJ), an online platform that connects knowledge workers to small and medium-sized enterprises, is China's largest outsourcing platform. Founded by Mingyue Zhu in 2006, ZBJ had grown into a unicorn with 4,000 employees and a daily transaction volume of RMB15 million by 2017. During the company's 11-year history, ZBJ had launched ten transformation campaigns to overcome various challenges by changing its products, operations, and business model. For example, it encountered winner-takes-all competition, disintermediation (when service providers and clients took transactions off the platform to avoid the platform's 20% commission fees), the rise of fake transactions, member management issues, and difficulties in delivering satisfactory services to large enterprises. Zhu must decide how to use the next campaign to address challenges that had emerged since the last campaign and how ZBJ should expand globally.
ZBJ.com (ZBJ), an online platform that connects knowledge workers to small and medium-sized enterprises, is China's largest outsourcing platform. Founded by Mingyue Zhu in 2006, ZBJ had grown into a unicorn with 4,000 employees and a daily transaction volume of RMB15 million by 2017. During the company's 11-year history, ZBJ had launched ten transformation campaigns to overcome various challenges by changing its products, operations, and business model. For example, it encountered winner-takes-all competition, disintermediation (when service providers and clients took transactions off the platform to avoid the platform's 20% commission fees), the rise of fake transactions, member management issues, and difficulties in delivering satisfactory services to large enterprises. Zhu must decide how to use the next campaign to address challenges that had emerged since the last campaign and how ZBJ should expand globally.