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This note introduces some fundamental concepts regarding Indigenous peoples and their relationships to the land in Canada. It revisits injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples since the arrival of European settlers and investigates attempts at addressing those injustices. In the context of this note, “Indigenous” refers to the original inhabitants of North America and their descendants. Indigenous peoples in Canada describes three distinct groups, the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, all of which are individually discussed later in this note. This note is based on a literature review of academic and governmental information sources.

SPACE is a course with two goals: to use the tools of economics to better understand the rapidly evolving space sector, and to train the next generation of commercial space leaders. We pursue these goals through a systematic study of the growing space economy, proceeding through a series of case studies that chronicle the past, describe the present, and help us to speculate about the future of what is arguably the industry most important to the future of humanity. The cases cover the full range of civil, commercial, and national security space, and they confront the most pressing and substantial questions facing the sector. We pair each case with at least one classic tool of economic analysis, providing both rigor and generalizability of the lessons learned.

Venture capital is a cyclical, ever-changing industry, as seen in recent years. The late 2010s and early 2020s witnessed record amounts of capital flowing into the sector, high valuations, and new types of investors entering the market. Innovations in the seed stage, such as rolling funds and SPVs, enabled more individuals to enter the industry. At the later stages, firms were becoming multi-stage investors, and aggressive hedge funds had entered the space. Then, in 2022, the macroeconomic environment created challenges, fundraising declined, and few venture-backed IPOs occurred. As of 2023, it was unclear where the VC industry was heading next. This note covers these recent events and the industry's increased focus on diversity and ESG.

<p align= "justify">Many factors influence corporate governance in a family firm, the most prevalent form of business entity in Latin America. National culture affects a family firm's societal values, as well as economic, political, and legal systems of governance. Normative behaviour and expectations are also key factors that affect both individual and organizational norms. The firm’s characteristics are another major source of influence. In addition to these major factors, various other variables play a role on shaping the firm's corporate governance, including family unity, patriarchal expectations, and inclusivity of the family definition. All of these factors can influence the numerous decisions that family businesses make in regard to their corporate governance, which makes it impossible to apply one approach for all family firms in Latin America. Each organization’s board of directors may have specific characteristics that require different mechanisms to make effective governance decisions. This technical note discusses an evolutionary pattern of corporate governance, rather than a single approach, that could be effectively applied to the decision-making board of a family firm in Latin America.

This note provides an overview of the healthcare system in Ghana. It discusses the public and private sector as well as traditional medical practice. It also discusses the country's pharmaceutical industry. It is recommended as a companion to Professor Regina Herzlinger and Ben Creo, "mPharma: Scaling Access to Affordable Care," HBS No. 323-033 (Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2022, rev. 2023). mPharma is trying to create the largest pan-African healthcare company ever to provide much needed primary care and a reliable, fairly priced supply of drugs. Founder and CEO Greg Rockson must decide how best to achieve this lofty goal. He must prioritize launching a telemedicine program, expanding his pharmacies across the continent, and/or creating a new payment program to cover the cost of medication. Rockson cares deeply about health equity, but his venture capital financed company must be profitable.

With the rapid growth of venture capital ("VC") in recent decades, we might wonder: who succeeds at VC and why? This is a complicated question, as many factors come into play. VC partnerships are comprised of individual investors with varying backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets. VC firms also feature a wide range of investment philosophies, goals, history, and resource sets. Finally, external factors such as geography and culture seem to be correlated with VC activity. This note summarizes some VC research at the individual, firm-wide, and national levels.

This technical note introduces readers to two important concepts involving design in the digital sphere: continuous design and hypothesis-driven design (HDD). Continuous design applies the proposition that rather than doing a large amount of design and research up front, a team is better off building smaller, specific items, testing them with users, and iteratively changing the design based on what it learns. HDD operates from the foundation that ideas should be testable and teams should work to minimize waste through small batch sizes and relevant evidence. HDD can help teams design better by helping them find the right problem and the right solution through two hypotheses: the persona hypothesis and the jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) hypothesis. Using these, teams ask, ""Who is this for and what existing job (or problem, habit, or desire) does it deliver on?"" Touching on Lean Startup, agile, and other influential bodies of work, this note walks readers through asking the right questions; designing experiments to test persona, demand, JTBD, and usability hypotheses; and creating user-focused stories. It is a helpful tool for any team that's innovating and wants to make astute decisions about where and how to invest its time and energy.

We hear it all the time as managers: "what is the data that backs up your decisions?" Even local mom-and-pop shops now have access to complex point-of-sale systems that can closely track sales and customer data. Social media influencers have turned into seven-figure solopreneurs from digital advertising analytics. In 2023, globally, we will create three times the data we did in 2019, and by 2025, it is estimated that 181 zettabytes of data will be generated (that is 181 followed by 21 zeros). Data is becoming a critical, arguably inextricable, part of business operations in our modern context. Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) uses data to inform decisions rather than relying on intuition. The digital era has given rise to the importance of data science for business applications. This technical note explores how different design thinking principles can assist the data-driven processes in a project.

This technical note follows F. D. Wilder, who is being tasked with driving the Procter and Gamble's digital transformation effort. The cornerstone of the transformation would be "assessing and improving the digital capability of the firm." He decides to develop an assessment tool that would enable P&G's brand leaders to assess "digital ability" and then work with their bosses to create learning plans to address ability gaps.

A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "The Trusted Advisor's Mindset" introduces some of the differences between working as an operator and an advisor.

A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "The Advisor's Approach to Strategy Analysis" introduces the options-led approach to strategy as well as how this valuable piece of an advisor&#39;s toolbelt differs from that of an operator.

A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "Communication as a Trusted Advisor" provides best practices for communicating as an advisor across multiple contexts.

A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "Client Interviewing and Data Collection" introduces the essentials of client interviews and provides best practices for early career consultants and advisors.

A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "Persuasive Client Presentations" breaks down bad habits and good rules of thumb when preparing and giving client presentations.

The OKR framework is a popular goal-setting and strategy execution tool that uses goal setting through "Objectives" and measuring performance using "Key Results" on a periodic basis to measure and drive performance. The OKR framework has been adopted and practiced at companies such as Intel, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Netflix among hundreds of others ranging from start-ups to large businesses. Users have found it to be a powerful performance management and goal setting tool as it focuses on near-term measurable goals without losing the aspirational aspect of an organization's unique mission or purpose. This primer aims to explain fundamental OKR concepts, summarize implementation best practices, discuss OKR mistakes to avoid, and compare OKR with other common management goal setting tools.

Globally, over the past fifty years, more companies have used layoffs to cut costs during periods of decreased demand or economic downturns. But layoffs have far-reaching consequences, generate hidden costs, and harm the company in myriad ways. This note reviews ways to approach and manage workforce change in two ways: 1) It examines the hidden costs and consequences of layoffs on employees (those who leave and those who remain), the company's financial performance, the community, and industry. 2) It offers suggestions for managing workforce change, including strategies for conducting layoffs to mitigate the negative effects for all parties.

Why do some entrepreneurs succeed and others do not? Are there personality traits that lead someone to become an entrepreneur? Although many questions still remain, there has been significant research on the "entrepreneurial personality." This note provides an overview of the most frequently studied entrepreneurial traits, including a set of "Big 5" traits, a need for achievement, locus of control, innovativeness, and risk tolerance. Where data exist, we chronicle what is correlated with a desire to be an entrepreneur and what is associated with actual success as an entrepreneur.

The Social Purpose of the Firm (SPF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to "make a difference in the world" - that is, to address a significant societal problem as a commercial endeavor. This Module Note summarizes the cases and themes discussed in SPF. Together, the cases are designed to study entrepreneurs and business leaders who are tackling some of the world's most complex problems and understand 1) how to identify the problems or challenges that have both commercial potential and a positive impact on society; 2) the opportunities and limitations of the private sector's role in systems change; and 3) how to collaborate with other societal entities to operate most successfully in a cross-sectoral fashion.

Speaking with groups of people is a critical leadership skill. During their careers, leaders need to engage with stakeholders including employees, investors, and members of the general public. This technical note aims to provide the reader with a brief guide for harnessing and channeling the energy they experience when they are about to give a speech. It has two parts. The first section uses scientific research to reinterpret what we experience physically, mentally, and emotionally when we ready ourselves to speak before others. The second section leverages this knowledge by providing tips speakers can employ to perform at their peak.