Jared D. Harris

Darden Ideas to Action insights draw from faculty expertise, books, research, cases and white papers. Here: the most read stories of 2022. How can one build a brand? What happens when buzz turns to backlash? How does a strategist prepare for the unforeseeable? What inequalities to women face in feedback? And why is storytelling an essential skill?

In an examination of the role of character in leadership and decision-making, Darden Professor Jared Harris offers guidance on creating a personal vision, defining one’s values, preparing for the defining moments of a professional career, and how to actively pursue one’s best self.

Early in 2019, who knew that a novel coronavirus would shut down businesses, communities, industries and economies in just weeks? A good business strategist understands that the future unfolds in ways that are unforeseeable as frequently as they’re predictable. But there are analytical frameworks you can use to yield insights for your organization.

The most successful companies are those that create strategies that align their plans for positioning in the market with the capabilities that they have. Here’s a step-by-step framework to determine if you have what you need to execute your strategy now or if you need to enhance your organizational capabilities moving forward.

Your firm’s value can be affected by trends that should affect your strategic outlook. Those factors may be technological, regulatory, institutional, cultural or societal changes. Analyzing these risks and opportunities—and thinking about how they may evolve—is critical to the long-term success of your business strategy.

Sustaining your stream of economic profits depends on there being certain barriers to entry and imitation to reduce competitive pressures. Here’s how to form a strategic analysis that identifies and analyzes direct competitors to forecast future cash flows and calculate an expected market value for the business.

Spotify is under scrutiny for content on Joe Rogan’s podcast and talent compensation. Darden experts explain how crises can be tempered with good governance — who’s on the board, how it thinks about risk, the business model, strategy, process and culture. Ultimately, “Governance is the way a firm organizes around and executes on its purpose.”

Facebook’s whistlerblower, Frances Haugen, has made international headlines with her claims about the inner workings against the tech giant. Professor Jared Harris discusses business ethics in the era of big tech.

A Matter of Strategy: The laptop industry is competitive, and the product is highly available and highly interchangeable. Faced with unfavorable market dynamics, how did Apple carve out its niche among laptop makers? What implications are there for other organizations and industries? The answers lie in a capacity to rewrite the playbook.

Professor Jared Harris worked with Theranos whistleblower Tyler Shultz to develop a series of cases that reveal how the advanced nature of the technology allowed the ruse to go on so long and the high cost Shultz paid for his part bringing down the house of cards.