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Tomohiro Ohsumi /Getty Images Artificial intelligence (AI) is engendering all kinds of breathless headlines, from being able to play Go to spotting rare cancer tumors. But how will AI impact the economy in broad terms? The answer hinges on both on what AI can be used for and the dynamics of a competitive race to adopt AI […]

Michael Heim/Getty Images “Don’t believe everything you hear” is good advice — especially in an era of fake news and alternative facts. The same goes for managers who often rely on social-sentiment analysis to get a handle on what consumers think of their brands. Social-sentiment analysis is the process of algorithmically analyzing social posts, comments, and […]

DNY59/Getty Images In 2018, every organization has a data strategy. But what makes a great one? We all know what failure looks like. Resources are invested, teams are formed, time goes by — but nothing comes of it. No one can necessarily say why; it’s always Someone Else’s Fault. It’s harder to tell the difference […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images Divya, a director who leads a large engineering team, was invited to a two-day retreat with the CEO and senior executives of her Fortune 50 company. She and 30 of her high-potential peers were excited to rub shoulders with the leadership team. The purpose of the retreat was to expose up-and-coming leaders […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images Divya, a director who leads a large engineering team, was invited to a two-day retreat with the CEO and senior executives of her Fortune 50 company. She and 30 of her high-potential peers were excited to rub shoulders with the leadership team. The purpose of the retreat was to expose up-and-coming leaders […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images Divya, a director who leads a large engineering team, was invited to a two-day retreat with the CEO and senior executives of her Fortune 50 company. She and 30 of her high-potential peers were excited to rub shoulders with the leadership team. The purpose of the retreat was to expose up-and-coming leaders […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images Divya, a director who leads a large engineering team, was invited to a two-day retreat with the CEO and senior executives of her Fortune 50 company. She and 30 of her high-potential peers were excited to rub shoulders with the leadership team. The purpose of the retreat was to expose up-and-coming leaders […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images Divya, a director who leads a large engineering team, was invited to a two-day retreat with the CEO and senior executives of her Fortune 50 company. She and 30 of her high-potential peers were excited to rub shoulders with the leadership team. The purpose of the retreat was to expose up-and-coming leaders […]

Hudzilla/Getty Images I recently stood in front of a group of emergency room residents at my hospital and asked an unusual question.  “Has any of you ever judged your attending physician for not trying hard enough to save a patient’s life?” Then I looked around the room. But like every time I’d given this presentation, […]

Image Source/Getty Images In the year since allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein shocked the public, the #MeToo movement has exposed widespread workplace sexual harassment—not just in the entertainment world, but across industries. Last week, we at New America’s Better Life Lab published what we believe is a novel, forward-thinking report on […]

MirageC/Getty Images Data and analytics professionals seem to be at the center of the next big race for talent. In 2015, there was a surplus of people with data science skills. Now there’s a significant shortage. By 2020, IBM expects broader demand for data and analytics talent to reach 2.7 million positions in the U.S. […]

HBR Staff With over 1.3 billion people, the Chinese consumer market is a tempting target for Western technology companies. Of course, it’s also a risky place to do business. The recent news that Google is considering a re-entry into China further highlights a troubling balancing act faced by technology companies looking to do business there. […]

John Kerry, former U.S. Secretary of State, shares management and leadership lessons from his long career in public service. He discusses how to win people over to your side, bounce back from defeats, and never give up on your long-term goals. He also calls on private sector CEOs to do more to solve social and […]

Topic Images Inc./Getty Images Many times, especially in business settings, people use words that they think they know — but don’t. Although they do this in an effort to sound intelligent and sophisticated, it backfires badly, because even one small slip-up can cause an audience to focus on only that, not the speaker’s ideas. Sure, […]

Today’s employees are digital consumers who expect to connect at work with the same ease with which they connect at home. Deloitte’s ConnectMe enables a digital workplace by using insights to connect the workforce to what they need, where and when they need it. ConnectMe leverages the world’s leading CRM cloud solution, Salesforce, to help […]

Francesco Sassetti/Getty Images How vital are your vital few? In any team or organization, a small number of individuals will account for a substantial amount of collective output. These “stars” are able to systematically outperform the majority of their peers and confirm the well-established Pareto effect whereby 80% of collective output can be attributed to […]

Today’s employees are digital consumers who expect to connect at work with the same ease with which they connect at home. Deloitte’s ConnectMe enables a digital workplace by using insights to connect the workforce to what they need, where and when they need it. ConnectMe leverages the world’s leading CRM cloud solution, Salesforce, to help […]

Today’s employees are digital consumers who expect to connect at work with the same ease with which they connect at home. Deloitte’s ConnectMe enables a digital workplace by using insights to connect the workforce to what they need, where and when they need it. ConnectMe leverages the world’s leading CRM cloud solution, Salesforce, to help […]

Today’s employees are digital consumers who expect to connect at work with the same ease with which they connect at home. Deloitte’s ConnectMe enables a digital workplace by using insights to connect the workforce to what they need, where and when they need it. ConnectMe leverages the world’s leading CRM cloud solution, Salesforce, to help […]

Today’s employees are digital consumers who expect to connect at work with the same ease with which they connect at home. Deloitte’s ConnectMe enables a digital workplace by using insights to connect the workforce to what they need, where and when they need it. ConnectMe leverages the world’s leading CRM cloud solution, Salesforce, to help […]

Beata Bernina/Getty Images The SEC Chairman recently announced a policy initiative to enable the ordinary investors to invest in private companies. Currently, only  wealthy accredited investors are allowed to invest in private companies. His stated goal is enabling small investors to get access to alternative high-quality investments, such as in private tech companies like Uber […]

mathisworks/Getty Images A key determinant of everything that matters when it comes to health interventions — the experience, cost, and results — has been hiding in plain sight. It is the buildings and spaces in which patients are treated. The size and layout of a room, whether a bed sits in the middle or against a […]

Image Source/Getty Images As we begin our coaching session, Nick is fired up. He radiates energy, his eyes are beaming with determination, and he never really comes to a full rest. He speaks passionately of a new initiative he is spearheading, taking on the looming threats from Silicon Valley, and rethinking his company’s business model […]

From the Women at Work podcast: Listen and subscribe to our podcast via Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS Download the discussion guide for this episode Join our online community Download this podcast If you’ve worked your way up in a competitive field — or are anxious by nature — you may have perfectionist tendencies. Maybe you’re […]

Photography by Bob/Getty Images Across our society and in all industries, leaders and their organizations are racing to unlock the value of data, tech-enable business processes, and create better, more digitally-enhanced experiences for customers, clients, and employees. They are working to disrupt their own businesses before somebody else does. This cannot be done without substantial […]

Martin Poole/Getty Images A recent management column in the Wall Street Journal appeared under the appealing headline, “The Best Bosses Are Humble Bosses.” The article reported that humble leaders “inspire close teamwork, rapid learning and high performance in their teams.” It even reported that one HR consulting firm is planning to introduce an assessment to identify […]

Martin Poole/Getty Images A recent management column in the Wall Street Journal appeared under the appealing headline, “The Best Bosses Are Humble Bosses.” The article reported that humble leaders “inspire close teamwork, rapid learning and high performance in their teams.” It even reported that one HR consulting firm is planning to introduce an assessment to identify […]

Martin Poole/Getty Images A recent management column in the Wall Street Journal appeared under the appealing headline, “The Best Bosses Are Humbles Bosses.” The article reported that humble leaders “inspire close teamwork, rapid learning and high performance in their teams.” It even reported that one HR consulting firm is planning to introduce an assessment to identify […]

Martin Poole/Getty Images A recent management column in the Wall Street Journal appeared under the appealing headline, “The Best Bosses Are Humbles Bosses.” The article reported that humble leaders “inspire close teamwork, rapid learning and high performance in their teams.” It even reported that one HR consulting firm is planning to introduce an assessment to identify […]

Martin Poole/Getty Images A recent management column in the Wall Street Journal appeared under the appealing headline, “The Best Bosses Are Humbles Bosses.” The article reported that humble leaders “inspire close teamwork, rapid learning and high performance in their teams.” It even reported that one HR consulting firm is planning to introduce an assessment to identify […]

HIROKAZU JIKE/Getty Images Women’s conferences and employee resource groups (ERGs) are increasingly inviting men to attend. By creating events aimed at men, they hope to include men in discussions around gender equity in the workplace, and make organizational diversity efforts more successful. The evidence shows that when men are deliberately engaged in gender inclusion programs, […]

PhotoAlto/Michele Constantini/Getty Images To make progress against knotty problems, break them down — dissect the causes and analyze their impact on different groups. That analysis inevitably leads away from dubious “magic bullet” solutions and toward multiple, targeted interventions that are more likely to be effective. The measures and data to perform this type of analysis are […]

ICHIRO/Getty Images In my coaching work with leaders and teams, I often ask my clients whether they engage in workplace gossip. More often than not, they respond, “of course not!” with a look on their faces that indicates that they are insulted to have been asked such a question. But when I ask them whether […]

Billy Currie Photography/Getty Images In the wake of the Theranos scandal, some commentators have asked whether entrepreneurial companies are particularly inclined to deception and downright fraud. Startups are often focused on disrupting existing markets, occasionally bending the rules while doing so. Their employees need to overcome demanding challenges, including the need to draft processes and […]

John Lund/Getty Images Leaders today increasingly turn to big data and advanced analytics in hopes of solving their most pressing problems, whether it’s a drop-off of repeat customers, a shift in consumption patterns, or an attempt to reach new markets. The prevailing thought is that more data is better, especially given advancements in tools and […]

Fernando Trabanco Fotografía/Getty Images Netflix’s global growth is a big factor in the company’s success. By 2017 it was operating in over 190 countries, and today close to 73 million of its some 130 million subscribers are outside the U.S. In the second quarter of 2018, its international streaming revenues exceeded domestic streaming revenues for […]

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images A near-constant stream of business and scientific news reminds us that 50% of Americans are lonely. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s powerful HBR article notes that half of CEOs suffer from loneliness. In addition to its personal toll, there is also an economic cost: workplace loneliness causes burnout, affects job satisfaction, and […]

Fernando Trabanco Fotografía/Getty Images Netflix’s global growth is a big factor in the company’s success. By 2017 it was operating in over 190 countries, and today close to 73 million of its some 130 million subscribers are outside the U.S. In the second quarter of 2018, its international streaming revenues exceeded domestic streaming revenues for […]

Fernando Trabanco Fotografía/Getty Images Netflix’s global growth is a big factor in the company’s success. By 2017 it was operating in over 190 countries, and today close to 73 million of its some 130 million subscribers are outside the U.S. In the second quarter of 2018, its international streaming revenues exceeded domestic streaming revenues for […]

Fernando Trabanco Fotografía/Getty Images Netflix’s global growth is a big factor in the company’s success. It operates in over 190 countries, and close to 73 million of its some 130 million subscribers are outside the U.S. In the second quarter of 2018, its international streaming revenues exceeded domestic streaming revenues for the first time. This […]

Fernando Trabanco Fotografía/Getty Images Netflix’s global growth is a big factor in the company’s success. It operates in over 190 countries, and close to 73 million of its some 130 million subscribers are outside the U.S. In the second quarter of 2018, its international streaming revenues exceeded domestic streaming revenues for the first time. This […]

Thomas Barwick/Getty Images California recently passed a law requiring public firms headquartered in the state to include at least one woman on their boards by the end of 2019. The proposal has led to criticism that board quotas have unintended consequences. Others have claimed that a quota might be necessary to combat the glacial pace […]

Mint Images/Getty Images There are plenty of great ideas and techniques in the data space: from analytics to machine learning to data-driven decision making to improving data quality. Some of these ideas that have been around for a long time and are fully vetted, proving themselves again and again. Others have enjoyed wide socialization in […]

Katsumi KASAHARA/Getty Images When leaders describe how advances in automation will affect job prospects for humans, predictions typically fall into one of two camps. Optimists say that machines will free human workers to do higher-value, more creative work. Pessimists predict massive unemployment, or, if they have a flair for the dramatic, a doomsday scenario in […]

SolStock/Getty Images To create an analytical culture in your organization, you need to nurture the right mindset among your employees. And that starts with creating a culture of analytics in your HR department. How can senior leaders help HR develop a culture in which people think analytically? First, you need to understand the different levels […]

Education Images/Getty Images People are often highly motivated to avoid threats. If you are walking down a dark, isolated city street, you are vigilant for unexpected sights and sounds and probably pick up the pace to get back to a populated area as quickly as possible. If you step into the street and see a […]

retales botijero/Getty Images Let’s face it: The open office can be a nightmare, especially when you’re working on something that requires your undivided attention. To make matters worse, your colleagues can be distracting — maybe they’re having loud conversations or their cell phones are constantly chirping. How can you make peace with your open office? […]

Bjarte Rettedal/Getty Images America spends $3.3 trillion on health care, or more than $10,000 per person, which is twice as much as any other industrialized country. Yet nearly 30 million Americans, or 10% of the population, are uninsured. If the Affordable Care Act unravels in the near term, the number of insured could creep back […]

retales botijero/Getty Images Let’s face it: The open office can be a nightmare, especially when you’re working on something that requires your undivided attention. To make matters worse, your colleagues can be distracting — maybe they’re having loud conversations or their cell phones are constantly chirping. How can you make peace with your open office? […]

retales botijero/Getty Images Let’s face it: The open office can be a nightmare, especially when you’re working on something that requires your undivided attention. To make matters worse, your colleagues can be distracting — maybe they’re having loud conversations or their cell phones are constantly chirping. How can you make peace with your open office? […]

retales botijero/Getty Images Let’s face it: The open office can be a nightmare, especially when you’re working on something that requires your undivided attention. To make matters worse, your colleagues can be distracting — maybe they’re having loud conversations or their cell phones are constantly chirping. How can you make peace with your open office? […]

retales botijero/Getty Images Let’s face it: The open office can be a nightmare, especially when you’re working on something that requires your undivided attention. To make matters worse, your colleagues can be distracting — maybe they’re having loud conversations or their cell phones are constantly chirping. How can you make peace with your open office? […]

Grove Pashley/Getty Images Robert is a strong leader. How do I know? When he left one company to join another, many in his top team followed him to the new company because they wanted to keep working for him. That’s a pretty strong testimonial. “Yes, he pushes us hard,” one of his direct reports told […]

ShutterWorx/Getty Images The consumer banking industry is notoriously difficult to enter, not least because most customers rarely switch banks. In some countries, people change spouses more often than they change banks. The banking industry in South Africa was no exception; for decades the industry was dominated by “the Big Four” (Standard, FNB, Nedbank, and Absa). […]

Nicolas Vallejos Photography and Design/Getty Images Health care practitioners and payer organizations increasingly use big data to overcome what might be called a “flaw of averages” in traditional medicine: a treatment that has been tested at a population level might in fact work better for some individuals than others. The goal of precision medicine is […]

Peter Cade/Getty Images Women engineers have a visibility problem. Like women in other ultra-masculine sectors, they are often excessively visible as women, but overlooked when it comes to their technical expertise. This paradox gets in the way of forming relationships at work and hurts their advancement. We wanted to know how women deal with this. […]

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Amazon recently made headlines by announcing that it would voluntarily increase its minimum hourly wage to $15. With a federal minimum wage of only $7.25, this pledge might seem like a curious decision — especially for a company as laser-focused on cost containment as Amazon. But thinking only about the costs involved in […]

George Diebold/Getty Images It has become common advice for businesspeople to use “I statements” — such as, “I feel frustrated that you missed the budget deadline twice” — as a way to raise challenging conversations without causing colleagues to feel blamed or under attack. Indeed, I statements may be helpful during situations in which you […]

Inti St Clair/Getty Images It is no doubt a sign of progress that a significant proportion of organizations and managers today appear to feel guilty when they admit that they are making big management decisions in an intuitive rather than evidence-based way. Indeed, being data-driven has joined the ranks of “innovative”, “diverse”, and “socially responsible” […]

George Diebold/Getty Images It has become common advice for businesspeople to use “I statements” — such as, “I feel frustrated that you missed the budget deadline twice” — as a way to raise challenging conversations without causing colleagues to feel blamed or under attack. Indeed, I statements may be helpful during situations in which you […]

George Diebold/Getty Images It has become common advice for businesspeople to use “I statements” — such as, “I feel frustrated that you missed the budget deadline twice” — as a way to raise challenging conversations without causing colleagues to feel blamed or under attack. Indeed, I statements may be helpful during situations in which you […]

George Diebold/Getty Images It has become common advice for businesspeople to use “I statements” — such as, “I feel frustrated that you missed the budget deadline twice” — as a way to raise challenging conversations without causing colleagues to feel blamed or under attack. Indeed, I statements may be helpful during situations in which you […]

George Diebold/Getty Images It has become common advice for businesspeople to use “I statements” — such as, “I feel frustrated that you missed the budget deadline twice” — as a way to raise challenging conversations without causing colleagues to feel blamed or under attack. Indeed, I statements may be helpful during situations in which you […]

The summer vacation season may be behind us, but the holidays are right around the corner. And soon enough your colleagues may be asking you to cover for them while they’re away. All of a sudden, you’re juggling not only your normal work but also someone else’s. That’s potentially more email, more tasks, more meetings, and […]

Shana Novak/Getty Images This week brought some sobering news on the near future of our planet and species. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued an important new report about how dire the consequences of climate change are becoming, and how fast we need to move to avoid the worst. The report’s beginnings trace […]

A partnership between the Boston Medical Center and Commonwealth Care Alliance, a community-based health care organization, provides a promising new hospitalist model for inpatient treatment of complex care patients — patients with extensive, persistently expensive medical needs. Complex care patients typically have complicated medical histories, functional limitations or disabilities, numerous medications prescribed by multiple outpatient providers, and […]

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 […]

If you were entering the job market in the early 90s, most job descriptions included “Macintosh experience” or “excellent PC skills” in their preferred qualifications. This quickly became a requirement for even the most non-technical jobs, forcing people across every industry and age group to adapt with the changing times, or risk getting left behind. […]

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, realized that being a good leader required being a good mind reader. “I see my task as serving the majority of people,” he said in an interview to Forbes. “The question is, how do you find out what they want?” For many business leaders who want to understand the […]

From the Women at Work podcast: Listen and subscribe to our podcast via Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS Download the discussion guide for this episode Join our online community Download this podcast Hearing your manager say you’re doing a great job is, of course, lovely. But without examples of your greatness in action, or suggestions […]

Dougal Waters/Getty Images Whether in corporate life or entrepreneurship, the recipe for success is clear: Win and execute lucrative projects. The reasons are obvious: Your business wouldn’t exist without money to run it, and the more, the better. But what’s less obvious is that at a certain point, not turning down lucrative engagements may actually thwart […]

Dougal Waters/Getty Images Whether in corporate life or entrepreneurship, the recipe for success is clear: Win and execute lucrative projects. The reasons are obvious: Your business wouldn’t exist without money to run it, and the more, the better. But what’s less obvious is that at a certain point, not turning down lucrative engagements may actually thwart […]

Dougal Waters/Getty Images Whether in corporate life or entrepreneurship, the recipe for success is clear: Win and execute lucrative projects. The reasons are obvious: Your business wouldn’t exist without money to run it, and the more, the better. But what’s less obvious is that at a certain point, not turning down lucrative engagements may actually thwart […]

Dougal Waters/Getty Images Whether in corporate life or entrepreneurship, the recipe for success is clear: Win and execute lucrative projects. The reasons are obvious: Your business wouldn’t exist without money to run it, and the more, the better. But what’s less obvious is that at a certain point, not turning down lucrative engagements may actually thwart […]

Dougal Waters/Getty Images Whether in corporate life or entrepreneurship, the recipe for success is clear: Win and execute lucrative projects. The reasons are obvious: Your business wouldn’t exist without money to run it, and the more, the better. But what’s less obvious is that at a certain point, not turning down lucrative engagements may actually thwart […]

JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images When Goldman Sachs named David Solomon its new CEO, the media didn’t just focus on his professional background and his rise through the ranks; it also covered his moonlighting as a bona fide DJ. Solomon, aka DJ D-Sol, is known for his mantra of finding passion at, and outside of, work — […]

VCG/Getty Images Caring for the health and well-being of our fellow humans has always been viewed as a combination of art and science. With all the recent advances in technology, there is no doubt the health care industry as a whole gets an “A” in science. The tradeoff, however, is that we’ve become so focused […]

When women behave in ways that don’t fit their gender stereotype — for example, by being assertive — they are viewed as less likable and ultimately less hirable. Does that same hold true for men? Are they similarly penalized for straying from the strong masculine stereotype? The short answer is yes. Research demonstrates that men too […]

HBR Staff The past 10 years have seen a wave of innovative big data software designed to analyze, manipulate, and visualize data. Yet for the regular knowledge worker, Microsoft Excel, 30 years on, remains the go-to product for people looking to make sense of data. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, maintains that Excel is still the […]

I was 34 when I heard my doctor say “stage-four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” The news hit me like a punch to the face. I was stunned. Then every two weeks for six months, I had to go the Lineberger Cancer Center to receive chemo. I had a hard time getting out of bed on those days. […]

I was 34 when I heard my doctor say “stage-four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” The news hit me like a punch to the face. I was stunned. Then every two weeks for six months, I had to go the Lineberger Cancer Center to receive chemo. I had a hard time getting out of bed on those days. […]

I was 34 when I heard my doctor say “stage-four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” The news hit me like a punch to the face. I was stunned. Then every two weeks for six months, I had to go the Lineberger Cancer Center to receive chemo. I had a hard time getting out of bed on those days. […]

I was 34 when I heard my doctor say “stage-four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” The news hit me like a punch to the face. I was stunned. Then every two weeks for six months, I had to go the Lineberger Cancer Center to receive chemo. I had a hard time getting out of bed on those days. […]

I was 34 when I heard my doctor say “stage-four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” The news hit me like a punch to the face. I was stunned. Then every two weeks for six months, I had to go the Lineberger Cancer Center to receive chemo. I had a hard time getting out of bed on those days. […]

Alan Copson/Getty Images Employees around the world are reporting that big organizational changes are affecting their jobs. From leadership transitions and restructurings, to mergers and acquisitions, to regulatory changes, there seems to be constant unrest in the workforce. But according to one survey of more than half a million U.S. employees, almost one-third don’t understand […]

Apple recently announced a new feature to the Apple Watch: the latest version will be able to measure heart rhythms and notify patients about abnormal, and potentially harmful, patterns. Doctors, however, are skeptical. Their biggest concern is that the feature hasn’t been rigorously tested and could provide unreliable data, creating a false sense of risk […]

Scott Barbour/Getty Images With today’s high demand for data scientists and the high salaries that they command, it’s often not practical for companies to keep them on staff.  Instead, many organizations work to ramp up their existing staff’s analytics skills, including predictive analytics. But organizations need to proceed with caution. Predictive analytics is especially easy […]

Hero Images/Getty Images In 2015, CareMore embarked on a journey to transform care delivery in Medicaid with the aim of leveraging its 20-year history in providing comprehensive care for seniors under Medicare. To many at the time, we were fools. Critics outside of CareMore issued an ugly forecast: Our resource-intensive approach to care would never […]

Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Maintaining strong, productive relationships with clients and co-workers can be challenging when you never see the person you’re working with. Yet, it is common to have ongoing work relationships – sometimes lasting years — with people you’ve never met in person. We often think of “virtual work” as working with someone located […]

Driendl Group/Getty Images In science, 1905 is known as the annus mirabilis, or “miracle year,” the period when Albert Einstein, at the age of 26, published several discoveries that changed physics forever. By the summer of that year he’d explained Brownian motion, discovered the photoelectric effect (for which he won a Nobel Prize), and developed […]

Driendl Group/Getty Images In science, 1905 is known as the annus mirabilis, or “miracle year,” the period when Albert Einstein, at the age of 26, published several discoveries that changed physics forever. By the summer of that year he’d explained Brownian motion, discovered the photoelectric effect (for which he won a Nobel Prize), and developed […]

Driendl Group/Getty Images In science, 1905 is known as the annus mirabilis, or “miracle year,” the period when Albert Einstein, at the age of 26, published several discoveries that changed physics forever. By the summer of that year he’d explained Brownian motion, discovered the photoelectric effect (for which he won a Nobel Prize), and developed […]

Driendl Group/Getty Images In science, 1905 is known as the annus mirabilis, or “miracle year,” the period when Albert Einstein, at the age of 26, published several discoveries that changed physics forever. By the summer of that year he’d explained Brownian motion, discovered the photoelectric effect (for which he won a Nobel Prize), and developed […]

Driendl Group/Getty Images In science, 1905 is known as the annus mirabilis, or “miracle year,” the period when Albert Einstein, at the age of 26, published several discoveries that changed physics forever. By the summer of that year he’d explained Brownian motion, discovered the photoelectric effect (for which he won a Nobel Prize), and developed […]

STR/Stringer/Getty Images When a manufacturing line in a factory is running efficiently, one can see lines of robotic arms working synchronously, conveyor belts moving smoothly, and goods being produced. Unfortunately, when it comes to knowledge work, it’s much tougher to get an understanding of how much a team of people is producing. There comes a […]

STOCK4B-RF/Getty Images Being a good doctor is a lot like being a good mentor. Just as clinicians have an ethical duty to act in the best interest of their patients, mentors have a similar duty towards their mentees. In our clinical and academic lives (where we’ve treated countless patients and mentored hundreds of doctors-in-training) we […]

CSA Images/Getty Images The key to any successful relationship is effective communication. In the business world, this means trying to understand what consumers and clients are saying, and responding to them in ways that reflect that understanding. For the most part, however, the way businesses have used language to persuade, satisfy, or rectify has been […]

How does working remotely complicate your career? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Siobhan O’Mahony, a professor at Boston University Questrom School of Business. They talk through how to advance in your job when you’re not in the building, […]

ANTTI AIMO KOIVISTO/Getty Images I’ve long been both paranoid and optimistic about the promise and potential of artificial intelligence to disrupt — well, almost everything. Last year, I was struck by how fast machine learning was developing and I was concerned that both Nokia and I had been a little slow on the uptake. What […]

Mike Stobe/Getty Images It’s a well-known phenomenon: emotions are contagious. If you work with people who are happy and optimistic, you’re more likely to feel the same. The flipside is true, too; if your colleagues are constantly stressed out, you’re more likely to suffer. How do you avoid secondhand stress? Can you distance yourself from […]

Mike Stobe/Getty Images It’s a well-known phenomenon: emotions are contagious. If you work with people who are happy and optimistic, you’re more likely to feel the same. The flipside is true, too; if your colleagues are constantly stressed out, you’re more likely to suffer. How do you avoid secondhand stress? Can you distance yourself from […]

Mike Stobe/Getty Images It’s a well-known phenomenon: emotions are contagious. If you work with people who are happy and optimistic, you’re more likely to feel the same. The flipside is true, too; if your colleagues are constantly stressed out, you’re more likely to suffer. How do you avoid secondhand stress? Can you distance yourself from […]

Mike Stobe/Getty Images It’s a well-known phenomenon: emotions are contagious. If you work with people who are happy and optimistic, you’re more likely to feel the same. The flipside is true, too; if your colleagues are constantly stressed out, you’re more likely to suffer. How do you avoid secondhand stress? Can you distance yourself from […]

Stuart McCall/Getty Images Long before your favorite movie made it to a theater near you, it was presented in a pitch meeting. Hollywood screenwriters typically get three to five minutes to propose an idea, but it takes only around 45 seconds for producers to know if they want to invest. Specifically, producers are listening for […]

thenakedsnail/Getty Images Tracking the data on the effectiveness of employee well-being programs can feel like you’re watching a Ping-Pong match. While more than 60% of U.S. businesses offer such programs, research on their effectiveness has been mixed. There are findings that point to positive gains in both cost savings and productivity measures, while other studies, including […]

FotografiaBasica/Getty Images Over the last several years, competing notions of “diversity” have emerged. In many corners, the traditional definition, focused on demographic diversity, has been eclipsed by a new concept centered on experiential or cognitive differences. Deloitte, a provider of advisory services to firms around the globe, including 85% of the Fortune 500, encapsulates the […]

FotografiaBasica/Getty Images Over the last several years, competing notions of “diversity” have emerged. In many corners, the traditional definition, focused on demographic diversity, has been eclipsed by a new concept centered on experiential or cognitive differences. Deloitte, a provider of advisory services to firms around the globe, including 85% of the Fortune 500, encapsulates the […]

FotografiaBasica/Getty Images Over the last several years, competing notions of “diversity” have emerged. In many corners, the traditional definition, focused on demographic diversity, has been eclipsed by a new concept centered on experiential or cognitive differences. Deloitte, a provider of advisory services to firms around the globe, including 85% of the Fortune 500, encapsulates the […]

FotografiaBasica/Getty Images Over the last several years, competing notions of “diversity” have emerged. In many corners, the traditional definition, focused on demographic diversity, has been eclipsed by a new concept centered on experiential or cognitive differences. Deloitte, a provider of advisory services to firms around the globe, including 85% of the Fortune 500, encapsulates the […]

FotografiaBasica/Getty Images Over the last several years, competing notions of “diversity” have emerged. In many corners, the traditional definition, focused on demographic diversity, has been eclipsed by a new concept centered on experiential or cognitive differences. Deloitte, a provider of advisory services to firms around the globe, including 85% of the Fortune 500, encapsulates the […]

Don Farrall/Getty Images When she first saw the email, she thought she was about to be fired. About 30 minutes prior to her weekly one-on-one with the CEO, the chief marketing officer at a multibillion global financial services firm received a cryptic email from him with the subject line “The Trouble with CMOs.” The email […]

perets/Getty Images Ratings play an enormous role in our lives. Ratings made by critics, judges, and evaluators determine a range of outcomes, from the seemingly trivial (which wine you pick for dinner or which products you buy from Amazon) to the more consequential (which athletes win Olympic gold or which students get into top universities). […]

perets/Getty Images Ratings play an enormous role in our lives. Ratings made by critics, judges, and evaluators determine a range of outcomes, from the seemingly trivial (which wine you pick for dinner or which products you buy from Amazon) to the more consequential (which athletes win Olympic gold or which students get into top universities). […]

Bill Kerr, a professor at Harvard Business School, studies the increasing importance of talent clusters in our age of rapid technological advances. He argues that while talent and industries have always had a tendency to cluster, today’s trend towards San Francisco, Boston, London and a handful of other cities is different. Companies need to react […]

Bill Kerr, a professor at Harvard Business School, studies the increasing importance of talent clusters in our age of rapid technological advances. He argues that while talent and industries have always had a tendency to cluster, today’s trend towards San Francisco, Boston, London and a handful of other cities is different. Companies need to react […]

Bill Kerr, a professor at Harvard Business School, studies the increasing importance of talent clusters in our age of rapid technological advances. He argues that while talent and industries have always had a tendency to cluster, today’s trend towards San Francisco, Boston, London and a handful of other cities is different. Companies need to react […]

Bill Kerr, a professor at Harvard Business School, studies the increasing importance of talent clusters in our age of rapid technological advances. He argues that while talent and industries have always had a tendency to cluster, today’s trend towards San Francisco, Boston, London and a handful of other cities is different. Companies need to react […]

Bill Kerr, a professor at Harvard Business School, studies the increasing importance of talent clusters in our age of rapid technological advances. He argues that while talent and industries have always had a tendency to cluster, today’s trend towards San Francisco, Boston, London and a handful of other cities is different. Companies need to react […]

HBR Staff The past year has served as a wake-up call for many Facebook users. Between the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony and the advent of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we have fresh insight into how much Facebook knows about us—knowledge that has inspired many people to re-think what they share […]

Alice Mollon/Getty Images Precision cancer medicine — sequencing a patient’s DNA in order to customize cancer treatments — shows promise, but is very much in its infancy. It’s still not nearly precise enough to launch a winning battle against many forms of cancer. To dramatically advance in this field, clinicians, medical researchers, and computer scientists must substantially […]

Yongyuan Dai/Getty Images Amazon’s 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods was met with a lot of fanfare. The deal would allow Amazon to grow beyond e-commerce and sell groceries in hundreds of stores while collecting significant shopper data. Meanwhile, Whole Foods could lower its prices (organic avocados for just $1.69!) and scale up after its recent […]

Shana Novak/Getty Images Companies have been trying to adopt customer centricity for nearly 20 years now. But the CMO Council reports that “only 14 percent of marketers say that customer centricity is a hallmark of their companies, and only 11 percent believe their customers would agree with that characterization.” Why do so many companies struggle […]

Shana Novak/Getty Images Companies have been trying to adopt customer centricity for nearly 20 years now. But the CMO Council reports that “only 14 percent of marketers say that customer centricity is a hallmark of their companies, and only 11 percent believe their customers would agree with that characterization.” Why do so many companies struggle […]

Shana Novak/Getty Images Companies have been trying to adopt customer centricity for nearly 20 years now. But the CMO Council reports that “only 14 percent of marketers say that customer centricity is a hallmark of their companies, and only 11 percent believe their customers would agree with that characterization.” Why do so many companies struggle […]

Shana Novak/Getty Images Companies have been trying to adopt customer centricity for nearly 20 years now. But the CMO Council reports that “only 14 percent of marketers say that customer centricity is a hallmark of their companies, and only 11 percent believe their customers would agree with that characterization.” Why do so many companies struggle […]