Nancy Koehn
WSB Exclusive Speaker
Harvard Historian, Author, Leadership Coach
Providing historical insights into current realities, Nancy Koehn helps leaders navigate the non-stop turbulence of the business landscape, and inspires organizations and individuals to become more resilient, more courageous, and more effective in pursuit of their mission.
$25K - $40K
Web
Nancy F. Koehn is a historian at the Harvard Business School where she holds the James E. Robison chair of Business Administration. Koehn's research focuses on crisis leadership and how leaders and their teams rise to the challenges of high-stakes situations. Her latest book, Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times, spotlights how five of history’s greatest leaders managed crisis and accomplished extraordinary things.
Koehn has written and supervised cases on Starbucks Coffee Company, Ernest Shackleton, Oprah Winfrey, Bono and U2, Whole Foods, Wedgwood, Estée Lauder, Henry Heinz, Milton Hershey, Madam CJ Walker, Marshall Field, Dell Computer, and other leaders and organizations.
Koehn consults with many companies and speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival and the World Business Forum. She has served as a director of Tempur-Pedic, athenahealth, SeniorBridge, and Fashion to Figure. Koehn has appeared on "American Experience," "Good Morning America," Bloomberg Television, CNBC's "Moneywheel," "The NewsHour," A&E's "Biography," CNN's "Money Line" and many other television programs. She writes for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Huffington Post, and the Harvard Business Review Online and is a regular commentator on National Public Radio and the BBC. In 2012, Poets & Quants ranked Koehn as one of the World’s 50 Best Business School Professors.
Before coming to HBS, Koehn was a member of Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences for seven years, first as a graduate student in history and then as a lecturer in the History and Literature concentration and the Department of Economics. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, Koehn earned a Master of Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government before taking her MA and PhD in History from Harvard.
Koehn lives in Concord, Massachusetts and is a dedicated equestrian.
Featured Videos
Nancy Koehn
shares a Lesson From Lincoln
Nancy Koehn’s Speech Topics
Leading with Courage and Determination in Critical Times: Lessons from Ernest Shackleton
In this compelling keynote, historian and leadership expert Nancy Koehn explores how leaders can navigate uncertainty with resilience and determination, drawing from Ernest Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition. Faced with impossible odds, Shackleton’s bold leadership offers timeless lessons for overcoming crisis and inspiring teams.
Audience members will walk away with actionable strategies to:
- Navigate uncertainty by making strategic, point-to-point decisions while keeping the larger mission in focus.
- Take accountability and adapt by learning from mistakes and adjusting course without getting stuck in the past.
- Lead with agility through experimentation, real-time learning, and thoughtful improvisation.
- Cultivate courage by triumphing over fear, taking bold action, and setting the tone for others.
- Build confidence and self-belief by becoming their own best coach, recognizing strengths, and leading with conviction.
- Sustain team energy by managing morale, acknowledging effort, and exercising authority with humanity.
Through riveting storytelling and real-world leadership insights, Nancy Koehn delivers a powerful blueprint for leading with courage and determination in the face of uncertainty.
Focus, Determination, and Success: Thriving in Non-Stop Uncertainty
The world is being tested with constant disruption, ongoing ambiguity, and widespread uncertainty sweeping across the globe, but there is hope for a better future ahead! Focus. Determination. Success. Nancy Koehn, a Harvard Business School historian with a wealth of real-world perspective and experience, explores these elements and guides leaders, audiences and organizations of all backgrounds on how to effectively think through the problems and uncertainties presented each day, recognize priorities, access the right set of tools at our disposal, and identify the next steps to take in becoming more courageous, resilient, and mission-focused for a brighter tomorrow.
How to Lead Courageously During a Crisis
In times of fear and uncertainty, leaders face a rare opportunity to rise to the challenge. Organizations need strong and inspiring leadership to help teams navigate turbulent and unpredictable circumstances.
In this session you will learn how to:
- Lead with transparency and honesty
- Establish a routine to create order
- Integrate recovery periods and tools for releasing fear
- Prepare a long-term plan to deal with the waves of the crisis
- Communicate strategically by incorporating learnings and collective purpose
What other organizations say about Nancy Koehn
Nancy Koehn connects historical insight to leadership with purpose and clarity. She is both compelling and thought-provoking!
Education Programs
Works by Nancy Koehn
Nancy Koehn
Ernest Shackleton: Exploring Leadership
Nancy Koehn
Oprah, Leading With Heart
Nancy Koehn
Oprah, Brand (Re)new
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