The Best of Harvard Business Review

The past few years have encouraged us to revisit many assumptions about our lives, including the state and function of our workplaces. More than ever, it’s clear that our workplaces both shape and…

«Where you do your work matters, because without you even knowing it, places are anchoring your career and shaping your sense of self.»

Managers launching a new initiative often try to start big. They work to gain approval for a substantial budget, recruit high-profile executives, arrange a big “kick-off” meeting, then look to move…

For better or worse, in today’s world everyone is a brand. Whether you’re applying for a job, asking for a promotion, or writing a dating profile, your success will depend on getting others to…

For the past 20 years “disruption” has been a battle cry in business. Not surprisingly, many have come to see it as a near-synonym for innovation. But the obsession with disruption obscures an…

Traditional sales models focus on customer acquisition and the “funnel” or “pipeline” metrics that dominate talk about sales. But this approach falls short when applied to a recurring revenue…

«The SaaS model, with young and less-experienced sales people, lowered hiring and compensation costs compared to the traditional enterprise software model»

We’re hitting a tipping point for artificial intelligence: With ChatGPT and other AI models that can communicate in plain English, write and revise text, and write code, the technology is suddenly…

«Until now, AI has primarily been aimed at problems where failure is expensive, not at tasks where occasional failure is cheap and acceptabl»

ChatGPT, from OpenAI, shows the power of AI to take on tasks traditionally associated with “knowledge work.” But the future won’t just involve tasks shifting from humans to machines. When technology…

Burnout is the result of chronic stress and, at work, that stress tends accumulate around your experiences of workload, values, reward, control, fairness, and community. If any are lacking or out of…

«The bottom line is this: The more chronic stress we face, no matter where it’s coming from, the closer we get to burning out.»

Whether you want to change jobs or prepare for the next-level role, the most important thing to know about upskilling is that every employee needs to be doing it all the time. Jobs are changing as…

«With rapid changes in technology, including digitization and automation, the World Economic Forum projects that 50% of all jobs will require a change in skillsets by 2027.»

Every design project extends beyond the brief. No matter how straightforward and discrete a project seems at first, it will unfold in the context of a complicated, networked, and messily human organization.

Three lessons from Infosys.

«we found that a persistent set of small, orchestrated changes is the best approach to drive large and lasting change at an organization.»

Raising ideas or concerns to managers can raise your profile positively, but not if your busy manager doesn’t have the headspace for it. The authors present research suggesting that people who wait…

Management behaviors that foster employee engagement

Covid-19 has shown how companies can work together to solve problems.

To do well in business, a company needs to be both robust and nimble.

“Unfocus” enhances resilience, creativity, and decision making.

Too often, when we need to make a difficult decision, we rush through it to avoid sitting with uncomfortable emotions. But channelling those emotions — a process the author calls “emotional…

«But the exercise of emotional bookending helped him realize that there were other ways to get the business acumen that the company needs.»

The alternative is messier, but more democratic.

The approach, once used primarily in product design, is now infusing corporate culture.

«There’s a shift under way in large organizations, one that puts design much closer to the center of the enterprise. But the shift isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about applying the principles of design to the way people work.»

It’s about so much more than your technology.

«What is needed is a shift in mindset, culture, and talent, including upskilling and reskilling your workforce so that they are future-ready»

Lessons from three companies that changed how they create value.

Transformational leaders are exceptional communicators. In this piece, the author outlines four communication strategies to help motivate and inspire your team: 1) Use short words to talk about hard…

Sharpen these seven skills.

«REPEAT PEOPLE’S LAST FEW WORDS BACK TO THEM. If you remember nothing else, remember this simple practice that does so much. It makes the other person feel listened to, keeps you on track during the conversation, and provides a pause for both of you to gather thoughts or recover from an emotional reaction»

When women fail to achieve career goals, leaders are prone to attribute it to a lack of self-confidence. And when women demonstrate high levels of confidence through behaviors, such as being…

«confidence is a highly gendered word aimed at and adopted by both women and men to explain away the slower progression of women at work.»

The authors, executive coaches for women leaders, wanted to understand why some women are able to sustain and maintain career momentum, despite the systemic, structural problems women — and especially…

It’s essential for strategic thinking.

«Cultivating silence, as Hal Gregersen writes in a recent HBR article, “increase[s] your chances of encountering novel ideas and information and discerning weak signals.»

A step-by-step guide to pare down your to-do list.

«When you stop doing the things that make you feel busy but aren’t getting you results, then you end up with more than enough time for what matters.»

New research shows that outstanding performance is the product of years of deliberate practice and coaching, not of any innate talent or skill.

«All the superb performers he investigated had practiced intensively, had studied with devoted teachers, and had been supported enthusiastically by their families»

To combat stress and burnout, employers are increasingly offering benefits like virtual mental health support, spontaneous days or even weeks off, meeting-free days, and flexible work scheduling.…

«In a nutshell, getting some nature into your workplace makes you more happy and energized at work.»

Breaking up your day by going outside can boost your mood, brainpower, and creativity.

«Walk when you can, where you can. Your body, mind, and soul will thank you for it.»