Edited by Jen McFarland Flint; illustration by Taylor Callery

Suzuki and advertising agency executives are debating the product positioning and copy strategy alternatives for the Suzuki Samurai prior to its US introduction.

I was cold-called to open the case, and I still remember how I started my response. I knew I’d nailed it. Professor Fareena Sultan was really tough, so I had to always be prepared to rise to her high expectations. She taught me to be smart, defend my ideas, and not get intimidated, which served me well throughout my career in Fortune 500 companies, startups, and now as an entrepreneur. That case was the fork in the road of my career, and I have been in marketing ever since. It gave me confidence to explore a new path that has been both fulfilling and fun, balancing my left and right brain. It probably also explains why my last four cars have been sporty SUVs.
—Paige Arnof-Fenn (MBA 1991)

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J&J was confronted with a major crisis in October 1982, when poisoned products led to seven deaths. The case reviews the facts as they were known a week after the incident occurred and raises a wide range of questions regarding consumer behavior, corporate responsibility, and competitive reaction.

I recall only two cases that we spent more than one class period discussing: the Tylenol case and one on the global oil industry. I came full circle with both of those cases, having spent my career in the oil industry and as CEO of a company involved in the Macondo well disaster in 2010. Going through the Macondo crisis and looking back on the multi-day class discussion of the Tylenol case, I realized the massive difference between sitting in a classroom and pontificating about what the CEO should or should not have done versus the real-world challenges I was facing. I reflected back on J&J’s lessons on proactive communication, public engagement, focus on the people, and the challenges of keeping the broader J&J company performing well, and I tried to implement the best of what J&J did while avoiding the pitfalls it fell into.
—Steven Newman (MBA 1992)

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Smirnoff has 23 percent of the vodka market in 1965 and outsells its next competitor more than four to one. When another premium brand lowers its wholesale price in an attempt to stimulate sales, Heublein’s president decides to increase the price of Smirnoff and put the additional revenue into advertising.

This case taught me that you can increase market share by raising price and thereby create the illusion of higher quality. I’ve always bought the cheapest vodka I could find, but my kids insist on the expensive brands. Great lesson in the realities of marketing!
—Howard (Ted) Greene (MBA 1967)

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Headquartered in Hangzhou, China, Ant Financial has grown into a fintech unicorn that spans multiple verticals. After another sales record during the 2016 Global Shopping Festival with Alibaba, Ant Financial’s chief strategy officer contemplates the various opportunities and challenges associated with the firm’s international expansion, inclusive finance in rural regions, and regulatory uncertainties.

“One of the exciting things about Alibaba and Ant Financial is Jack Ma’s vision of financial inclusion across China. So you have rural potato farmers who have really no bank accounts and no ways of trading, and [the reason] why he started that company was to give them the opportunity to build their businesses.”
—Rebecca E. Katz (AMP 193, 2017)

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A successful executive at Verizon, Lisa Sherman is struggling with the decision to reveal her sexual orientation. After attending a diversity training workshop in which participants expressed extremely negative views about people in her community, she wonders whether the company is the right place for her. Should she meet with the CEO to share her experience, or continue to conceal her sexual orientation while working at Verizon?

This was the only case I studied with an LGBTQ protagonist. Specifically, because it was intersectional, it wasn’t obvious what she should do or what success meant, because she fit into two marginalized groups. The classroom discussion was fantastic. Moreover, the case involved HR and discrimination, which was something I was not prepared for as a manager, but it was a good thing for me to brush up on while managing a diverse team.
—Alterrell Mills (MBA 2016)

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Steven Rogers (MBA 1985) and Michele Rogers (MBA 1986) propose purchasing a lampshade manufacturer not long after attending HBS. Among the issues raised in the case are how to raise the necessary capital and structure the deal and whether or not to buy the company.

This case inspired me to think about small business and manufacturing in a more positive way. It confirmed that I no longer wanted to work in a financial institution, where you are just providing the funds to help others make or build something, and it helped me recognize that I wanted to be in a company that produced or manufactured something directly. It also showed me the trials as well as the benefits of a small company/family business. I have been working in a small manufacturing business with my family since 1997.
—Julie Lopez Santiago (MBA 1994)

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In 2008, the industrial conglomerate Danaher Corporation confronts various challenges that threaten its impressive historical performance. Can it continue to balance organic and acquisition-led growth? What will be the impact of increased competition from private equity players? For how long can its strategy of “continuous improvement” continue?

“I’m the chief human resources officer of a Fortune 500 company, and the Danaher case helps me build the right business systems so that I can see the interconnectedness of anything and everything we do....”
—Bala V. Sathyanarayanan (AMP 192, 2017)

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This series presents profiles from a cross-section of the HBS Class of 1976 at their 10th and 20th reunions, providing a snapshot of life.

This case made a huge impression on me, both while in business school and in the years since I graduated. It reminded us all that having gone to HBS doesn’t inure you to the realities of life—be they good or bad—and that there’s much more to life than our MBA degrees.
—Deeksha Hebbar (MBA 2012)

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I was cold-called by Professor Jim Austin to open the case in our first class, on the first day of our first year. I had read the case but had no idea how to analyze it. I was a deer caught in the headlights. I remember mumbling something for what seemed like forever, then Professor Austin mercifully moved on. He then called on me to open the first class after Thanksgiving, the first after Christmas, the first after Easter break, and the last class of the year—when I analyzed a Gillette case for about 20 minutes and got an ovation. I will be forever grateful to Jim Austin for humiliating me on the first day, then pushing me to go beyond what I thought I was capable of, throughout the year. I managed to get one of my few “excellents” for my final marketing grade.

Hesper Silver also marked the beginning of a journey for me, from a strong feeling that HBS had made a terrible mistake in admitting me, to a sense of self-confidence that I could hold my own in any company. I will never forget Hesper Silver. And if I do forget, my comrades from Section B will be sure to remind me at every reunion.
—Ray Baxter (MBA 1975)

This was the first case in the first class, on the first day of our first year, and the professor called on me. I did my best to go through the math (always start with the numbers!) and then assess the marketing aspects, because it was a marketing case. My main takeaway is that, no matter how thorough your preparation, there is likely to be an important aspect you have missed or overlooked or misjudged. The best way around that is to have a roomful of colleagues smarter than you, to help figure out the best solution.
—Lawrence Honig (MBA 1975)

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The San Francisco investment bank Hambrecht & Quist has a unique entrepreneurial culture relative to its Wall Street counterparts, but competition in the investment banking industry is intensifying in 1997 due to a wave of mega-mergers. The new combined banking entities are able to offer customers a broader array of products and services than H&Q can offer. What action should CEO Dan Case take to balance the competing demands of maintaining the firm's culture and positioning it for future growth?

“Mine came after business school. I came back here with my best friend, who was the subject of a case by Tom DeLong… It was fascinating to watch someone do a case about your best friend right in front of you.”
—Steve Wilson (MBA 1989)

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While managing the dessert business and delivering service to customers on a day-to-day basis in a single location, the founders hope to translate the restaurant’s initial success into a chain.

The case was about looking for a second restaurant location after a successful first location. The lesson I remember is that, when you start out, you spend the time getting everything exactly right: the best location, best chef, best manager, best opening date, perfectly managed advertising campaign. And when you succeed, what you have learned is that your business works under the absolute best conditions. When you seek to expand, suddenly you have to choose the second best location, the second best chef, etc. It is possible that your business works only in the best of conditions. I repeat this story as a reminder that it is important to consider the context and development life cycle of an idea when collecting data or running an experiment—what have we really learned from this experience.
—Amy Lieb (MBA 2001)

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Siblings BJ and Chris Carter were trying to make a name for their race team—and everything they owned was riding on Carter Racing having a successful season. But after their car had suffered engine failure in several of their last outings, BJ Carter has an hour to decide whether or not to risk their existing sponsorships and enter the Pocono race.

So many HBS case studies taught us the technical skills (“Butler Lumber,” “National Cranberry,” anyone?), while others were incredibly thought-provoking (e.g., BSSE cases taught by Professors Clay Christensen and Willy Shih). Few cases, however, evoked as visceral a reaction as “Carter Racing.” It was one of those discussions that you remember years later. It started with a terrific setup by Professor David Thomas, then the realization, little by little, of what the case was truly about, followed by deep lessons in interpretation of data and constructing arguments and the basic process of high-stakes decision-making.

Years later, I see patterns from this case discussion play out in conference rooms and boardrooms over and over again. I can almost predict the way the dialogue will go as each party tries to play their part in influencing decisions and driving outcomes. Watching the momentum of groupthink slowly take over always takes me back to that day in Aldrich in Professor Thomas’s class, debating our stances, confidently driving to a decision, and realizing it was the wrong one. Incredibly powerful, and it certainly influenced my outlook as a leader.
—Arijit Roy (MBA 2007)

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In 1997, a portion of the Manila Metropolitan Water and Sewage System is taken over by a joint venture, the Manila Water Company, which must develop the newly acquired employees and assets into a profitable firm.

I work in financial markets and have always contributed a part to social welfare. The “Manila Water Company” case made me feel even more strongly about designing a career with social welfare as a goal, not just as an option. It also made me think differently about investing and want to encourage investing in businesses that are a force for good and that create prosperity as well as profit. I owe [thanks] to Professor Kash [Rangan] for passionately leading us through a fruitful and impactful discussion.
—Senthilkumar Rajendran (SELP 4, 2019)

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A gifted project leader lacks significant new product development experience. The case highlights the issues and procedures related to defining the project strategy: organizing senior management approvals and support for creating a "heavyweight" team; aligning the disparate perspectives, interests, and biases of project members; and implementing best-practice tools for managing teams within the project.

Before HBS, I was an engineer at Ford Motor. As a project leader on a team of engineers from both Mazda and Ford, I experienced many of the organizational challenges described in the case—working across two different organizations to accomplish a common goal, cultural barriers, and strict deadlines working across various time zones.

One of my favorite professors, Stefan Thomke, taught this case during my first year. He walked into class that morning and said, “Guess what? I got tenure, so I’m taking the day off.” He put the chalk down and said, “How about somebody else teaches the case today?” The case just happened to be about a joint engine program with BMW and Chrysler. Some of my friends said they thought I should teach it, and I said, “Cool!”

Because this was my second semester, I had been through a lot of case discussions before, so I was able to teach for 30 minutes. When the professor took the chalk from me, I sat down to enormous applause. Fast-forward 16 years later, the UVA School of Engineering, my alma mater, asked me to teach a class called the Business of Engineering, utilizing the case study method. Not only am I using some of the cases Stefan personally wrote, I also am using the BMW Chrysler case that I taught 16 years ago. My experience in the class years ago encouraged me to pursue this adjunct teaching position.
—Les Williams (MBA 2005)

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Amid a growing global economic crisis in the fall of 2008, the executive chairman of the luxury brand Shanghai Tang must decide what to do about a recently vacated creative director position and how to manage employees who see themselves as artists.

This case taught me about organizational design, which I had never considered to be so important, as I was not yet in a major leadership position. I now have to manage a team of creatives and business professionals, and often their motivations and goals are misaligned. How to balance out their weightings in the company, and encourage them to collaborate and speak the same emotional language, is now my biggest challenge.
—Krizia Li (MBA 2012)

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A small firm is ready to introduce a new product—contact lenses for chickens—and now an entry strategy must be planned.

I opened this case. I had done the analysis, which suggested that it could work to put contact lenses in chickens, even though this sounded like a bizarre idea. I decided to take the position of, yes, we can do it, because I was tired of every case opening by saying something was not possible. Of course, hands shot up the minute I was finished, but I was happy to have started off with an approach of yes, we can. It was memorable for the opening and taking a position of let’s try, instead of shutting down unusual ideas right away.
—Janet Shaner (MBA 1989)

This case examined the use of (rose-colored) contact lenses for farm-raised chickens, to make them behave more peacefully in the barnyard, leading to a higher yield of eggs and meat for the farm. The ability of the case authors to recognize this device as a solution to a production problem was extremely clever, and the statistical analysis in the case involved great rigor and detail. The case showed the universality of business analysis to solving problems in all walks of life. I am a business school professor, and this case is one of several from HBS that has helped me spot financial issues one level below the surface in a wide range of social interactions. It has been very helpful to me in both teaching and research.
—David Yermack (MBA 1989)

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Heather Evans is a second-year MBA student attempting to start a dress business. The case examines the business plan and the process of acquiring control over the financial and human resources necessary to implement it.

This was my favorite case in my favorite class, Entrepreneurial Management, taught by Professor Howard Stevenson. The protagonist learned the hard way that she had to plan to manage growth and, unfortunately, her operations infrastructure could not keep up with her sales growth. It taught me that you can be successful only if you have your operations in order first and in advance of sales!

After taking this class, I knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. It helped me prepare for and develop an expertise managing fast growth. Most recently, it helped me manage exponential fast growth with a food company during the pandemic. Wow, what a ride—we are still growing!
—Richard Craven (MBA 1987)

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Published in 1967, this case describes the development of the company to its preeminence in high-priced skis, and the avenues that it could follow to obtain new growth.

I don’t remember many cases from 46 years ago, but “Head Ski” is implanted in my brain. Howard Head invented and popularized the first metal (aluminum) skis in the early 1950s, using many cutting-edge technologies. However, once he had dominated the market, he stopped innovating and adapting. Skiers wanted different colored skis but Head refused to make anything but black ones. The huge lesson for me was that one has to keep an eye on the market, understand what customers want, and be willing to change to meet future demands. Head did not do this, and his competitors ate him up. This important lesson is as true in my personal life as it is in my professional work.
—Roy Hitchings (MBA 1974)

Howard Head took his company public and wanted to largely run it like it was still his private company (overstating a bit). The discussion then evolved into a very healthy discussion of what the prioritized objectives of a public company should be and who should decide objectives and strategy. It was one of those times when I thought the answer was obvious, but it turned out that some of my respected sectionmates had viewpoints that amazed me and were quite different from my own.

I consider most of my sectionmates respected friends, with great integrity and intelligence, and the divergence of opinion still amazes me. In a certain sense, the seeds of different worldviews were all in the room during the Head Ski case. That we had Professor John Matthews leading the conversation certainly led to a deep and thorough discussion. Our section still gets together regularly to talk about real stuff, and while differences have grown and worldviews have changed in many cases, we are still united in the mutual respect and norms that we developed at HBS.
—John Bunce (MBA 1977)

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This was the case that hammered home the number-one marketing mistake that is all too common in every type of business: Never assume you are the customer. First-year students fall into that trap every time because the large majority of them cannot imagine shopping at a store like Dollar General, so they completely miss the business opportunity presented to them in this case. Sadly, in my experience, this happens all the time. People use their own habits, feelings, and preferences as a basis for decision-making, completely skipping over the necessary, and sometimes difficult, task of finding out how other people actually think—those other people being the customers or clients you hope to do business with.

The Dollar General case has a lot to say about the political schism in America today. Folks just don’t take the time to understand how other people think, and assume everyone sees the world in the same way. Understanding those who don’t agree with you is time-consuming and takes real effort. Some have said that this may require achieving a degree of empathy with those folks. A more practical and palatable phrase might be market research—the whole point of “Dollar General.”
—Stephen Coit (MBA 1977)

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In the instances that follow, alums find that specific lessons from a case linger, even if the name of the case has since escaped memory. Do you remember these cases? If so, leave a comment below—and tell us about the case that has meant the most to you.

“I was here in years 2002, 2003, and 2004. We had one of the smallest classes of OPMers because many people couldn’t get their visas and many of their businesses failed. It was an extraordinary time of relationships and trust and learning from others. And the lobster case I’ll never forget. And I think about it everyday.”
—Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg (OPM 33, 2004)

There was a case about a company that manufactures the device that lowers caskets into the ground. I remember reviewing the blueprints for the device, and the lesson I took from the discussion was that the devil is in the details. Years later, my father-in-law was honored with a graveside service on a hill in Knoxville, Tennessee. Among the attendees was my three-year-old son, Rob, dressed in a little sailor suit. Throughout the service, his eyes were fixated on the handle of the very device from the aforementioned case. When the service ended and the rest of the family started walking down the hill, I happened to turn around and saw that my son had lagged behind at the gravesite. I immediately knew exactly what he was going to do, and as everyone else turned around to look, he pressed the handle that activates the device. He managed to lower his grandfather’s casket about two feet into the ground before I could intervene. All the mourners down the hill turned to see—and broke into laughter. We were sure his grandfather would have been laughing, too.
—Al Mather (MBA 1960)

“I’ve seen many situations where companies have automated things, and the old-timers who had it all in their heads leave. Vital human resources that disappear, and they scramble to figure out what to do. So I think that automation comes with its risks.”
—Richard G. Linowes (DBA 1984)

There was a case about an entrepreneur who started manufacturing small boats in New England. After initial success, he ran into all kinds of problems and eventually hid in his basement from creditors who knocked on his door. My takeaway was that there’s no premium on good ideas, but there’s enormous value in execution. And execution isn’t limited to one or two areas. A successful business needs to excel at every aspect—production, finance, human resources, sales, facilities management, etc.

A few years after graduating from HBS, I started the first of several companies. It was clear to me that I had to focus not just on one or two aspects of each business, but I had to identify all aspects and either manage them myself or place capable and trustworthy individuals in areas that weren’t in my own skill set. The image of the boat builder hiding in his basement was a powerful motivator to get things right. Thankfully I’ve never had to use my basement as a hideout.
—Michael Kubin (MBA 1973)

“Success or failure is related to how you get along with people because you never achieve anything all alone on a rock somewhere. It’s always with a team.”
—Denise Silber (MBA 1979)

There was a case in the Human Behavior in Organizations class that described a newly graduated HBS student and his wife who chose a job in Colorado because it would allow them the lifestyle they wanted: not a big city, room to enjoy the outdoors and spend weekends hiking, normal work hours, etc. Shortly after starting the job, the HBS alum realized that even though the workday started at 9:00 a.m., everyone was already in the office when he arrived at 8:30 a.m. As for weekends, almost everyone also showed up to work on Saturdays. Almost nine months after starting the job and things hadn’t worked out as he’d hoped—what should he and his wife do? I realized then that lifestyle was important to one’s well-being.

Later in life, I was a single father with two children (8 and 4) and working those long hours. One evening, during another senior staff meeting that usually ran until 6:00 or 6:30, I thought, “Their children are having dinner with their mothers. My children are eating with my housekeeper.” I quit the next day and left to start my own small business, because I wanted to enjoy growing up with my children. I kept thinking, they are going to be 8 and 4 for only one year, and I need to make each year a good memory. It was by far one of the best decisions I ever made. Each year, the children and I had some adventure that would always bring memories. I was able to take seven or eight weeks of vacation each year (it was my own business) and to enjoy the time.
—William Bogardus (MBA 1972)

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