Faculty Research Online
HBS Working Knowledge is an online forum for innovation in business practice, offering a first look at new thinking from HBS faculty. Read the complete articles summarized below by visiting their Web links.
How Much Time Should CEOs Devote to Customers?
Every corporate mission statement pays lip service to respecting customer needs, but actual customer expertise is typically a mile wide and an inch deep, says Professor John Quelch. Here’s why every CEO should spend at least 10 percent of his or her time thinking about, talking to, and steering the organization to the customer. See http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6037.html.
Updating a Classic: Writing a Great Business Plan
Professor William Sahlman’s article on how to write a great business plan is an HBR classic. He discusses how he would update it, ten years later. See http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5993.html.
How Economics May Lead to Better Football Games
When economists watch football games, they see more than flying pigskin and stadiums full of fans. Professor Alvin Roth studied the timing of team selection for U.S. college football championship bowls. What he found: Good teams are much better matched up than they used to be, and there are implications beyond sports. See http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6010.html.
The Silo Lives! Analyzing Coordination and Communication in Multiunit Companies
This Q&A with Professor Toby Stuart looks inside the communications “black box” of a large company to understand who talks to whom and finds the corporate silo as impenetrable as ever. See http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6011.html.
