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Case Study
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HBR.ORG
Thomas J. DeLong is the Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. Vineeta Vijayaraghavan is a senior research fellow at Innosight Institute.
A dance troupe debates who should determine its creative choices. by Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan
The Experts
Should You Listen to the Customer? atalia Georgio knocked on the door of her new marketing director’s ofce. Elizabeth Gardos hadn’t done much with the space yet. Aside from two chairs, a desk, a computer, and a picture of her daughters, the o ce was empty. “You need to get some art in here,” Natalia observed. “I know,” Elizabeth said. “It’s been a busy two weeks. I want to put up some photos of the dancers.” The two women worked for Delacroix, an avant-garde dance troupe based in New York that had ve companies touring the U.S. and Canada. Natalia, a former dancer, was the organization’s executive director. She’d hired Elizabeth, another former dancer, for her decades of marketing experience, most recently at Violet, a fast-growing woman’s athletic clothing company. Despite the stagnant economy, Delacroix was growing at a healthy pace, in part because of its policy of keeping ticket prices reasonably low. Still, Natalia thought
Mario D’Amico, senior vice president of marketing, Cirque du Soleil
N
Jens Martin Skibsted, cofounder of KiBiSi
HBR’s fictionalized case studies present dilemmas faced by leaders in real companies and offer solutions from experts. This one is based on the HBS Case Study “Cirque du Soleil” (product no. 403006-PDF-ENG), by Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan, which is available at hbr.org.
the company needed better marketing to support its expansion strategy. Elizabeth, who’d been keen for a new challenge and to return to the dance scene, had jumped at the opportunity. “So why did you want to meet?” Natalia asked. “I have some ideas I want to run by you—some things I’ve noticed
EXPERIENCE
HBR.ORG
Thomas J. DeLong is the Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. Vineeta Vijayaraghavan is a senior research fellow at Innosight Institute.
A dance troupe debates who should determine its creative choices. by Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan
The Experts
Should You Listen to the Customer? atalia Georgio knocked on the door of her new marketing director’s ofce. Elizabeth Gardos hadn’t done much with the space yet. Aside from two chairs, a desk, a computer, and a picture of her daughters, the o ce was empty. “You need to get some art in here,” Natalia observed. “I know,” Elizabeth said. “It’s been a busy two weeks. I want to put up some photos of the dancers.” The two women worked for Delacroix, an avant-garde dance troupe based in New York that had ve companies touring the U.S. and Canada. Natalia, a former dancer, was the organization’s executive director. She’d hired Elizabeth, another former dancer, for her decades of marketing experience, most recently at Violet, a fast-growing woman’s athletic clothing company. Despite the stagnant economy, Delacroix was growing at a healthy pace, in part because of its policy of keeping ticket prices reasonably low. Still, Natalia thought
Mario D’Amico, senior vice president of marketing, Cirque du Soleil
N
Jens Martin Skibsted, cofounder of KiBiSi
HBR’s fictionalized case studies present dilemmas faced by leaders in real companies and offer solutions from experts. This one is based on the HBS Case Study “Cirque du Soleil” (product no. 403006-PDF-ENG), by Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan, which is available at hbr.org.
the company needed better marketing to support its expansion strategy. Elizabeth, who’d been keen for a new challenge and to return to the dance scene, had jumped at the opportunity. “So why did you want to meet?” Natalia asked. “I have some ideas I want to run by you—some things I’ve noticed