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Teaching Harvard Cases…Through Graphic Novels

Batman executed a business plan.

Think about it. He conducted a SWOT analysis; he understood that his wealth bought him privacy (and a butler with medical training). At night, he conducted surveillance, combining qualitative observation with big data pattern recognition. He invested in body armour, an underground headquarters, and a hybrid tank to complement his prowess in martial arts and chemistry. Rather than currying favor with fickle politicians, he established alliances with honest cops and lawyers, eventually mentoring franchise partners to patrol Gotham under his brand.

Despite his refusal to kill, the Bat racked up frequent felony miles. And an IRS audit could’ve easily toppled his operation. But Batman intuitively understood business: Establish an identity, build goodwill, and maintain your market position (even by intimidation and force). You could even argue that Batman deserves his own Harvard Case Study (though it’d be difficult to stuff a 75-year career into a few pages).

Ah, Harvard cases…the “Bane” of every business school student. These cases are written to tie theory with real life examples, to spark discussions and breathe uncertainty and nuance into an either-or world. Over time, they grow into mind-numbing redundancies. Now, Harvard is literally taking a page from Batman, hoping to engage students by making their cases into graphic novels.

Yes, comics were molded into literature by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.  And now, Apple is being twisted into the Justice League by Harvard. In a visual, slideshow-driven world where words are attached to images, it isn’t surprising that real world events are being boxed and bubbled.

That’s what makes the introduction of HBS’ “Apple’s Core” so interesting. This study, written by HBS professor Noam Wasserman, chronicles the rise of Apple as the friendship between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak deteriorates. Using Japanese-style Magna artwork, the study’s script and storyboard allows characters to interact, adding an immediacy and dramatic tension to a well-worn story.

The idea for giving The Watchmen treatment to Jobs and Wozniak started three years ago. Thomas Alexander, a HBS alum who served as the dean of the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, assigned a graphic version of a case study. As a result, nearly 90% of his students showed up to discuss it. Recognizing that he was onto something, Alexander sought Wasserman’s permission to turn “Apple’s Core” into a graphic novel.

Although the Magna version hasn’t sold well beyond HBS, Wasserman noticed that his copies for students have quickly “disappeared.” And that doesn’t surprise him. Wasserman notes in The Wall Street Journal that the graphic novel version combines the “visceral” with the analytical, making the story easier to follow, particularly for non-English speakers.

Still, the medium has some potential. Maureen Betses, vice president of higher education at Harvard Business Publishing, tells The Wall Street Journal that graphic novel case studies are a “really thin” fraction of overall case study sales. However, she adds that one graphic novel case study sold 7,000 copies in 2013, making it a success.

In the short term, students shouldn’t expect spandex and dual identities in their reading lists (unless Spanx is being covered). But the concept has some traction. If it makes a buck, expect publishers to produce a bundle.

Source: Wall Street Journal