the The Art of the Interview By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 25 Feb 2016 14:22:43 -0500 Job interviews can feel more like a stylized ritual than a normal conversation. Esquire writer and journalist Cal Fussman, who's interviewed scores of people from Mikhail Gorbachev to Jeff Bezos to Dr. Dre, gives us his advice, from how to build trust with a subject to getting an honest answer to a tough question. Full Article
the The Condensed April 2016 Issue By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 22 Mar 2016 12:01:41 -0500 Amy Bernstein, editor of HBR, offers executive summaries of the major features. Full Article
the Life’s Work: Dr. Ruth Westheimer By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 17:26:03 -0500 Iconic relationship expert Dr. Ruth discusses what she's learned over a long career. Full Article
the Smart Managers Don’t Compare People to the “Average” By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 07 Apr 2016 16:43:55 -0500 Todd Rose, the Director of the Mind, Brain, & Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the author of "The End of Average: How to Succeed in a World That Values Sameness," explains why we should stop using averages to understand individuals. Full Article
the The Condensed May 2016 Issue By hbr.org Published On :: Fri, 22 Apr 2016 13:09:03 -0500 Amy Bernstein, editor of HBR, offers executive summaries of the major features. Full Article
the Brexit and the Leadership Equivalent of Empty Calories By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:49:06 -0500 Mark Blyth of Brown University and Gianpiero Petriglieri of INSEAD discuss Britain's vote to leave the European Union. Full Article
the We Can’t Work All the Time By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 14 Jul 2016 17:04:19 -0500 Anne-Marie Slaughter on (finally) bringing sanity to the work/life struggle. Full Article
the The Era of Agile Talent By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 21 Jul 2016 16:00:43 -0500 More of us are working in organizations employing a mix of freelancers, contractors, consultants, and full-timers, explains Jonathan Younger, coauthor with Norm Smallwood of "Agile Talent: How to Source and Manage Outside Experts." Full Article
the The Zappos Holacracy Experiment By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 28 Jul 2016 19:18:52 -0500 Ethan Bernstein, Harvard Business School professor, and John Bunch, holacracy implementation lead at Zappos, discuss the online retailer's transition to a flat, self-managed organization. They are the coauthors of the HBR article "Beyond the Holacracy Hype." Full Article
the The Connection Between Speed and Charisma By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:34:25 -0500 Bill von Hippel, professor at the University of Queensland, on how the ability to think and respond quickly makes someone seem more charismatic. Full Article
the Making the Toughest Calls By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 08 Sep 2016 17:29:24 -0500 Joseph Badaracco, Harvard Business School professor, explains what to do when no decision feels like a good decision. He is the author of "Managing in the Gray: Five Timeless Questions for Resolving Your Toughest Problems at Work." Full Article
the When Not to Trust the Algorithm By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 06 Oct 2016 17:03:26 -0500 Cathy O'Neil, author of "Weapons of Math Destruction" on how data can lead us astray–from HR to Wall Street. Full Article
the What the World’s Best CEOs Have in Common By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 16:31:14 -0500 Long-term thinking, short-term savvy, and relentless focus on employees. Full Article
the The 10 People Who Globalized the World By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 17:30:37 -0500 Jeffrey Garten of Yale School of Management discusses how Genghis Khan, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, Margaret Thatcher, and others made the world more integrated. Garten is the author of "From Silk to Silicon: The Story of Globalization through Ten Extraordinary Lives". Full Article
the A Leadership Historian on the U.S. Presidential Election By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 10 Nov 2016 18:45:39 -0500 Harvard Business School professor Nancy Koehn talks about the surprising election of businessman Donald Trump as U.S. president, and what leaders throughout history can tell us about bridging divides and leading in times of uncertainty. Full Article
the Why the White Working Class Voted for Trump By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 17 Nov 2016 19:32:14 -0500 Joan C. Williams, distinguished professor and director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings, discusses the white working class voters who helped elect Republican Donald Trump as U.S. President, and why Democrat Hillary Clinton did not connect with them. Full Article
the How Focusing on Content Leads the Media Astray By hbr.org Published On :: Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:27:31 -0500 Bharat Anand, author of The Content Trap and professor at Harvard Business School, talks about the strategic challenges facing digital businesses, and explains how he and his colleagues wrestled with them when designing HBX, the school's online learning platform. Full Article
the Handling Stress in the Moment By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 01 Dec 2016 18:18:21 -0500 HBR contributing editor Amy Gallo discusses the best tactics to recognize, react to, and recover from stressful situations. She's a contributor to the "HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work." Full Article
the The “Jobs to be Done” Theory of Innovation By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 08 Dec 2016 17:42:41 -0500 Clayton Christensen, professor at Harvard Business School, builds upon the theory of disruptive innovation for which he is well-known. He speaks about his new book examining how successful companies know how to grow. Full Article
the The Secret to Better Problem Solving By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:22:54 -0500 Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg discusses a nimbler approach to diagnosing problems than existing frameworks: reframing. He’s the author of “Are You Solving the Right Problems?” in the January/February 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. Full Article
the Restoring Sanity to the Office By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 29 Dec 2016 12:08:37 -0500 Basecamp CEO Jason Fried says too many people find it difficult to get work done at the workplace. His company enforces quiet offices, fewer meetings, and different collaboration and communication practices. The goal is to give employees bigger blocks of time to be truly productive. Full Article
the Voices from the January-February 2017 Issue By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 12 Jan 2017 20:26:19 -0500 Roger Martin of Rotman School of Management, Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University, Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and HBR Editor-in-Chief Adi Ignatius respectively discuss customer loyalty, the neuroscience of trust, entrepreneurship in Africa, the source of innovation, and the new, hefty magazine. For more, see the January-February 2017 issue. Full Article
the The Rise of Corporate Inequality By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 23 Mar 2017 18:30:06 -0500 Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom discusses the research he's conducted showing what’s really driving the growth of income inequality: a widening gap between the most successful companies and the rest, across industries. In other words, inequality has less to do with what you do for work, and more to do with which specific company you work for. The rising gap in pay between firms accounts for a large majority of the rise in income inequality overall. Bloom tells us why, and discusses some ways that companies and governments might address it. He’s the author of the Harvard Business Review article, “Corporations in the Age of Inequality.” For more, visit hbr.org/inequality. Full Article
the To Reinvent Your Firm, Do Two Things at the Same Time By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:20:11 -0500 Scott D. Anthony, Innosight managing partner, discusses why established corporations should be better at handling disruptive threats. He lays out a practical approach to transform a company’s existing business while creating future business. It hinges on a “capabilities link,” which means using corporate assets—that startups don’t have—to fight unfairly. He also discusses the leadership qualities of executives who effectively navigate their companies’ imminent disruption. Anthony is the coauthor of the new book, “Dual Transformation: How to Reposition Today’s Business While Creating the Future.” Full Article
the Why Doesn’t More of the Working Class Move for Jobs? By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 18 May 2017 17:34:05 -0500 Joan C. Williams, director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, discusses serious misconceptions that the U.S. managerial and professional elite in the United States have about the so-called working class. Many people conflate "working class" with "poor"--but the working class is, in fact, the elusive, purportedly disappearing middle class. Williams argues that economic mobility has declined, and explains why suggestions like “they should move to where the jobs are” or "they should just go to college" are insufficient. She has some ideas for policy makers to create more and meaningful jobs for this demographic, an influential voting bloc. Williams is the author of the new book, “White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.” Full Article
the The Talent Pool Your Company Probably Overlooks By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 16:18:51 -0500 Robert Austin, a professor at Ivey Business School, and Gary Pisano, a professor at Harvard Business School, talk about the growing number of pioneering firms that are actively identifying and hiring more employees with autism spectrum disorder and other forms of neurodiversity. Global companies such as SAP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are customizing their hiring and onboarding processes to enable highly-talented individuals, who might have eccentricities that keep them from passing a job interview — to succeed and deliver uncommon value. Austin and Pisano talk about the challenges, the lessons for managers and organizations, and the difference made in the lives of an underemployed population. Austin and Pisano are the co-authors of the article, “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” in the May-June 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. Full Article
the When Startups Scrapped the Business Plan By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 03 Aug 2017 18:11:48 -0500 Steve Blank, entrepreneurship lecturer at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Columbia, talks about his experience of coming to Silicon Valley and building companies from the ground up. He shares how he learned to apply customer discovery methods to emerging high technology startups. And he explains why he believes most established companies are still failing to apply lean startup methodology in their corporate innovation programs. Blank is the author of the HBR article, "Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything." Full Article
the How the U.S. Navy is Responding to Climate Change By hbr.org Published On :: Fri, 18 Aug 2017 09:13:11 -0500 Forest Reinhardt and Michael Toffel, Harvard Business School professors, talk about how a giant, global enterprise that operates and owns assets at sea level is fighting climate change—and adapting to it. They discuss what the private sector can learn from the U.S. Navy’s scientific and sober view of the world. Reinhardt and Toffel are the authors of “Managing Climate Change: Lessons from the U.S. Navy” in the July–August 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. Full Article
the Why Everyone Should See Themselves as a Leader By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 18:24:45 -0500 Sue Ashford, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, breaks down her decades of research on leadership—who achieves it, and how a group grants it. She explains that the world isn’t divided into leaders and followers. Instead, it’s a state that everyone can reach, whether they’re officially in charge or not. She also explains why shared leadership benefits a team and organization. Ashford offers tips on how to effectively grow leadership in yourself and your employees. Full Article
the Transcending Either-Or Decision Making By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 15:39:44 -0500 Jennifer Riel, an adjunct professor at the Rotman School of Management, presents a model way to solve problems: integrative thinking. It’s taking the best from two inadequate options to come up with a successful solution. She gives examples from the film industry to show how CEOs have put the process to work. Riel is the co-author, along with Roger Martin, of the book “Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking.” Full Article
the Microsoft’s CEO on Rediscovering the Company’s Soul By hbr.org Published On :: Thu, 28 Sep 2017 16:38:59 -0500 Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s third CEO, opens up about his effort to refresh the culture of the company and renew its focus on the future. He reflects on important life lessons he learned growing up in India, immigrating to the U.S., and working for Microsoft for 25 years. Nadella thinks of the past, he says, for the sake of the future—of technology, public policy, and work. His new autobiography is "Hit Refresh." Full Article
the The Hardscrabble Business of Chinese Manufacturing in Africa By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 07 Nov 2017 15:35:38 -0500 Irene Yuan Sun, a consultant at McKinsey, explains why so many Chinese entrepreneurs are setting up factories in Africa. She describes what it’s like inside these factories, who works there, what they’re making—and how this emerging manufacturing sector is industrializing countries including Lesotho and Nigeria. Sun’s new book is “The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment Is Reshaping Africa.” Full Article
the Box’s CEO on Pivoting to the Enterprise Market By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 05 Dec 2017 14:40:06 -0500 Aaron Levie, the CEO of Box, reflects on the cloud storage company’s entry into the enterprise market. He was skeptical about pivoting away from consumers, and it was challenging. But by staying disciplined with the product and deeply understanding market trends, they've made the strategic shift from B2C to B2B work. Full Article
the Breaking Down the New U.S. Corporate Tax Law By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 26 Dec 2017 15:42:08 -0500 Mihir Desai, a professor of finance at Harvard Business School, breaks down the brand-new U.S. tax law. He says it will affect everything from how corporate assets are financed to how business are structured. He predicts many individuals will lower their tax burdens by setting themselves up as corporations. And he discusses how the law shifts U.S. tax policy toward a territorial system of corporate taxes, one that will affect multinationals and national competitiveness. Finally, Desai explains what he would have done differently with the $1.5 trillion the tax cut is projected to cost. Full Article
the Hiring the Best People By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 02 Jan 2018 17:06:42 -0500 Patty McCord, Netflix’s former Chief Talent Officer, sees hiring as constant matchmaking. Building a team of people that gets amazing work done, she says, requires managers to really know what they need, and for HR to actually understand the workings of the business. She says money should not be the reason someone leaves and that we should stop using words like “poaching” and “firing.” McCord is the author of “How to Hire,” in the January–February 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review. Full Article
the The Future of MBA Education By hbr.org Published On :: Wed, 14 Feb 2018 14:50:07 -0500 Scott DeRue, the dean of University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, says the old model of business school education is gone. It's no longer good enough to sequester yourself on campus for two years before heading out into the world of commerce. DeRue discusses how the perceived value of an MBA education is changing in the digital era, and how MBA programs are innovating in response to individual and company demands. Full Article
the The CEO of Merck on Race, Leadership, and High Drug Prices By hbr.org Published On :: Mon, 19 Feb 2018 09:45:50 -0500 Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of North America, discusses his upbringing and how it influences his leadership as chief executive. He is one of the few African-American CEOs in the Fortune 500, and shot to prominence after resigning from a council advising the Trump White House. Frazier discusses the importance of values in leadership and how Merck thinks about R&D and drug prices. Full Article
the How Some Companies Beat the Competition… For Centuries By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 10 Jul 2018 15:42:15 -0500 Howard Yu, Lego Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School in Switzerland, discusses how the industrial cluster in the Swiss city of Basel is a unique example of enduring competitive advantage. He explains how early dye makers were able to continually jump to new capabilities and thrive for generations. He says the story of those companies offers a counter-narrative to the pessimistic view that unless your company is Google or Apple, you can’t stay ahead of the competition for long. Yu is the author of “LEAP: How to Thrive in a World Where Everything Can Be Copied.” Full Article
the The 2 Types of Respect Leaders Must Show By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 17 Jul 2018 16:46:31 -0500 Kristie Rogers, an assistant professor of management at Marquette University, has identified a free and abundant resource most leaders aren’t giving employees enough of: respect. She explains the two types of workplace respect, how to communicate them, and what happens when you don't foster both. Rogers is the author of the article “Do Your Employees Feel Respected?” in the July–August 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review. Full Article
the The Science Behind Sleep and High Performance By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 04 Sep 2018 15:57:40 -0500 Marc Effron, president of the Talent Strategy Group, looked at the scientific literature behind high performance at work and identified eight steps we can all take to get an edge. Among those steps is taking care of your body -- sleep, exercise, and nutrition. But the most important is sleep. He offers some practical advice on getting more and better rest, and making time to exercise. Effron is the author of the new book, "8 Steps to High Performance: Focus On What You Can Change (Ignore the Rest)." Full Article
the The Power of Curiosity By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 09 Oct 2018 16:40:50 -0500 Francesca Gino, a professor at Harvard Business School, shares a compelling business case for curiosity. Her research shows allowing employees to exercise their curiosity can lead to fewer conflicts and better outcomes. However, even managers who value inquisitive thinking often discourage curiosity in the workplace because they fear it's inefficient and unproductive. Gino offers several ways that leaders can instead model, cultivate, and even recruit for curiosity. Gino is the author of the HBR article "The Business Case for Curiosity." Full Article
the The Right Way to Solve Complex Business Problems By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 04 Dec 2018 16:07:59 -0500 Corey Phelps, a strategy professor at McGill University, says great problem solvers are hard to find. Even seasoned professionals at the highest levels of organizations regularly fail to identify the real problem and instead jump to exploring solutions. Phelps identifies the common traps and outlines a research-proven method to solve problems effectively. He's the coauthor of the book, "Cracked it! How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants." Full Article
the Improving Civility in the Workplace By hbr.org Published On :: Wed, 26 Dec 2018 09:30:40 -0500 Krista Tippett, host of "On Being," believes we are in the middle of a big shift in the workplace. For a long time, she says, we were taught to keep all of our personal opinions and problems out of the office — even if that wasn't the reality. Now, as worker expectations change and people bring more of their authentic selves to work, Tippett says managers need to discover how to allow more honesty and emotions and humanity in the workplace, while still delivering in a high-performing environment. Full Article
the The Harsh Reality of Innovative Companies By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 08 Jan 2019 17:10:20 -0500 Gary Pisano, professor at Harvard Business School, studies innovation at companies large and small. He says there’s too much focus on the positive, fun side of innovative cultures and too little understanding of the difficult truths behind sustained innovation. From candid feedback, to strong leadership, to individual accountability and competence, to disciplined choices, Pisano says leaders need to understand and communicate these realities. He's the author of the HBR article “The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures” and the new book “Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation.” Full Article
the Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 22 Jan 2019 09:30:09 -0500 Amy Edmondson, professor at Harvard Business School, first identified the concept of psychological safety in work teams in 1999. Since then, she has observed how companies with a trusting workplace perform better. Psychological safety isn't about being nice, she says. It’s about giving candid feedback, openly admitting mistakes, and learning from each other. And she argues that kind of organizational culture is increasingly important in the modern economy. Edmondson is the author of the new book "The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth.” Full Article
the A Theoretical Physicist (and Entrepreneur) on Why Companies Stop Innovating By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 19 Mar 2019 09:30:36 -0500 Safi Bahcall, a former biotech CEO, began his career as a theoretical physicist before joining the business world. He compares the moment that innovative companies become complacent ones to a glass of water freezing, becoming ice. The elements are the same, but the structure of the company has changed. Bahcall offers ways for growing companies to avoid these inevitable forces and continue to innovate. He's the author of the book "Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries" and the HBR article “The Innovation Equation." Full Article
the The Right Way to Get Your First 1,000 Customers By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 02 Apr 2019 09:29:35 -0500 Thales Teixeira, associate professor at Harvard Business School, believes many startups fail precisely because they try to emulate successful disruptive businesses. He says by focusing too early on technology and scale, entrepreneurs lose out on the learning that comes from serving initial customers with an imperfect product. He shares how Airbnb, Uber, Etsy, and Netflix approached their first 1,000 customers very differently, helping to explain why they have millions of customers today. Teixeira is the author of the book "Unlocking the Customer Value Chain: How Decoupling Drives Consumer Disruption." Full Article
the Avoiding the Expertise Trap By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 16 Apr 2019 09:30:12 -0500 Sydney Finkelstein, professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, says that being the most knowledgeable and experienced person on your team isn't always a good thing. Expertise can steer you wrong in two important ways. It can stop you from being curious about new developments in your field. And it can make you overconfident about your ability to solve problems in different areas. He says that, to be effective leaders, we need to be more aware of these traps and seek out ways to become more humble and open-minded. Finkelstein is the author of the HBR article "Don't Be Blinded By Your Own Expertise." Full Article
the Understanding the Space Economy By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 28 May 2019 09:30:04 -0500 Sinéad O'Sullivan, entrepreneurship fellow at Harvard Business School, discusses how space is much more important to modern business than most people realize. It plays a role in making food, pricing insurance, and steering self-driving cars. While moonshot projects from SpaceX to Blue Origin drive headlines, the Earth-facing space economy is booming thanks to plummeting costs of entry. As tech companies large and small compete to launch thousands of satellites, O'Sullivan says we are actually running out of space in space. Full Article
the The Surprising Benefits of Sponsoring Others at Work By hbr.org Published On :: Tue, 18 Jun 2019 09:30:46 -0500 Sylvia Ann Hewlett, an economist and the founder of the Center for Talent Innovation, has studied the difference between mentoring and sponsorship and what leaders have to gain from the latter. She says it's important to seek out protégés who outperform, are exceptionally trustworthy, and, most importantly, offer skills, knowledge, and perspectives that differ from your own, so you can maximize the benefits for both parties. Hewlett brings real-world lessons from several successful pairings and tips on how to effectively launch and manage these long-term relationships. She's the author of the book "The Sponsor Effect: How to Be a Better Leader by Investing in Others." Full Article