Harvard Business Review

How the Myth of Meritocracy Divided the U.S.

11 Nov 2020

---

One week after a contentious U.S. election, we speak with Harvard political philosopher Michael J. Sandel about making sense of what’s happening in America. In his new book, “The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good?”, Sandel argues that stalled social mobility has led to anger and frustration. He advocates for building a fairer, more inclusive society shaped by updated principles of justice and dignity. --------------------------------------------------------------------- At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organiza...

Using Philosophy to Deal with a Mid-Career Crisis

27 Feb 2019

---

When MIT philosophy professor Kieran Setiya had a midlife crisis, he turned to philosophy for help — and was surprised by how much it had to say. To find out what he learned, go to https://hbr.org/2019/03/facing-your-mid-career-crisis --------------------------------------------------------------------- At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our leaders made better decisions, if people worked more productively, we believe that all of us — employees, bosses, customers, our families, and the people our bu...

Telling Stories with Data in 3 Steps (Quick Study)

30 Oct 2019

---

Setup, conflict, resolution. You know right away when you see an effective chart or graphic. It hits you with an immediate sense of its meaning and impact. But what actually makes it clearer, sharper, and more effective? In this video, Scott Berinato, author of “Good Charts” and “Good Charts Workbook”, walks through the three essential ingredients of any story--including those told with data. --------------------------------------------------------------------- At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our lea...

The Limits of How We Imagine the Future

5 Sep 2025

---

We’re not as good at imagining the future as we think. Here’s why even smart companies overlook big shifts. Listen to the full IdeaCast episode here: https://s.hbr.org/421AUGN

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

...

U.S. Politics Are Broken: Here's How Industry Competition Theory Can Help Fix the System

25 Oct 2024

---

Unhealthy competition is at the root of political dysfunction. Applying a famous business framework can help identify the best ways to fix it. (This video was originally published in 2020.) Although people tend to think of the American political system as a public institution based on high-minded principles, it’s not. Politics behaves according to the same kinds of incentives and forces that shape competition in any private industry. Our elections and our legislative systems are drowning in...

IDEO’s CEO, Sandy Speicher, Asks: What Is an Office Even For Now?

15 Dec 2021

---

Speicher explains how design thinking can help guide us to new ways of collaborating as we rethink work and the workplace in a post-Covid world. This interview part of a series called “The New World of Work,” which explores how top-tier executives see the future and how their companies are trying to set themselves up for success. Each week, Adi will interview a leader on LinkedIn Live — and then share an inside look at those conversations and solicit question...

Strategies for Underdogs: How Alibaba’s Taobao Beat eBay in China | Cold Call

21 Jun 2023

---

In 2007, Alibaba’s Taobao became China’s leading consumer e-commerce marketplace, displacing the once dominant eBay. How did underdog Taobao do it? And will it be able to find a way to monetize its marketplace and ensure future success? Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee discusses his case, “Alibaba’s Taobao,” (https://store.hbr.org/product/alibaba-s-taobao-a/709456?sku=709456-PDF-ENG) and related strategy lessons from his new book, Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance. This episode originally a...

Struggling to Get Promoted?

16 Nov 2024

---

Do you feel like you’re ready for a promotion, but you’re just not getting it? Executive coach Muriel Wilkins is here with advice and strategies that can help — delivered in one minute or less. Wilkins is the host of HBR’s Coaching Real Leaders, available wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen here: https://s.hbr.org/3YByY6M

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Do I Stay Motivated After Surviving Layoffs? | Coaching Real Leaders

5 Jun 2023

---

She’s finally found a leadership role that feels aligned with her personal mission. But in the wake of unexpected company-wide layoffs, she’s struggling with how to plan for her team’s future amid the organizational uncertainty. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how she can motivate and lead her team when so much feels out of their control. Further reading: - How to Deal with Layoff Anxiety: https://hbr.org/2022/09/how-to-deal-with-layoff-anxiety - How to Support Your Remaining Employees After...

Is AI a Boom or a Bubble?

24 Nov 2025

---

Nvidia and OpenAI’s massive chip deal shows how fast the AI market is accelerating, but adoption remains uneven. Here’s what leaders can learn from the dot-com era to make smarter investments and stay ahead. Read the full article here: https://s.hbr.org/44mItch

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​<...

3 Books to Kickstart Your New Year's Resolutions

26 Dec 2024

---

Will you make good on your New Year's resolutions? Three new books offer strategies to help: Big Goals by Caroline Adams Miller; Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff; and Reset by Dan Heath. Read the full article by Stefanie Fernández, associate editor at HBR, here: https://s.hbr.org/4gIei2V

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to Have a Hybrid Meeting That Works for Everyone

4 Jun 2021

---

As workplaces take tentative steps towards a new normal, social psychologist Heidi Grant shares best practices for interacting when some are in the office and some are remote. 00:00 In the "new normal", the habits we learned during quarantine need to change. 00:30 Cameras on, cameras off: which is it?! 01:14 You need to decide when they'll be on or off for everyone. 03:05 Let's face it: what we're doing now isn't really working. 04:04 How to be fair to all meeting participants: in-person and virtual. 05:09 "...

Why Every Leader Should Journal

9 Oct 2024

---

The higher up you climb on the career ladder, the more difficult it becomes to make time for learning and reflection. That’s why keeping a journal is so valuable. Here are a few tips from one of our authors. Read the full article: https://s.hbr.org/48165Ut

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Does It Take to Start a Union?

31 Oct 2023

---

What if the company you worked for couldn't make decisions without your input? In 2021, the workers at Pavement Coffeehouse in Boston found themselves wondering how they could have a bigger say in their working conditions. Not long after, they became the first unionized coffee shop in Massachusetts. Emma Delaney, a former supervisor at Pavement and now a full-time organizer at NEJB Unite Here, was one of the many employees that led the union's organization efforts. She shared with us what it was like...

Former CEO of PepsiCo on Nurturing Talent in Turbulent Times

5 Nov 2021

---

Indra Nooyi has ideas for how the corporate world needs to evolve. Like changing how we think about talent and improving how we treat all workers. HBR editor in chief Adi Ignatius sat down with the former CEO and chairman of PepsiCo to discuss the power of purpose in driving strategy, triumphs and setbacks she experienced as one of the few women running a Fortune 500 company, and how important leadership is for creating truly inclusive workplaces. Nooyi urges us to think...

How to Take Better Breaks at Work

10 Feb 2025

---

The science behind what makes a good break, and proven tips for making them a regular part of the day. Read the full article by Kira Schabram and Christopher M. Barnes here: https://s.hbr.org/40TjZVp

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Ways to Bring Strategy into Your Work Every Day

26 Jul 2024

---

We all know strategy is important, but how do you actually put it into practice? C-suite coach David Lancefield has six ways to incorporate strategy into your daily work. — Read the full article here: https://s.hbr.org/4bVXYcl #strategy #business #leadership

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Commander's Intent Enables Great Leadership

15 Oct 2024

---

Discover how direct communication, a staple in military leadership, can transform corporate environments. Retired U.S. Army Colonel and Harvard Business School lecturer Hise O. Gibson walks us through "commander's intent" and how it can lead your team to innovation and efficiency. 00:00 Being direct is how military leaders communicate 00:40 Three steps of "Commander's Intent" 02:12 Simplify the "What" for clarity 03:08 Empower through a basic framework 04:36 Define the end state to inspire innovation Books, tools, and more: store.hbr.org Follow us: https://hbr.org/ https://www.linkedin...

When Does Dr. Fauci Think "Normal" Will Happen?

20 Jan 2021

---

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S., returns to HBR Now to discuss the latest coronavirus surge, his expectations for a more effective vaccination roll-out, and when we can expect to restart our normal lives. --------------------------------------------------------------------- At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our leaders made better decisions, if people worked more productively, we believe that all of us — employees, bosses, customers, our families, and the...

Season 8 Highlights — and a Host Reunion! | Women at Work | Podcast

7 Dec 2022

---

Former co-hosts Sarah, Nicole, and Emily reunite with the Amys to discuss the insights and advice that most resonated with them from this season, from how they gained their team’s trust as a first-time manager to how they’re now thinking about retirement. They also talk about their related personal and professional experiences, and share how they’ve been doing since they left the show and HBR. If you haven’t listened to Season 8 in full, this episode also serves as an over...

The Big Idea: What's the dollar equivalent of happiness?

30 Jan 2019

---

One way to encourage people to value time over money is to assign a dollar value to it. New research is doing just that: https://hbr.org/2019/01/accounting-for-time

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Leadership Requires Discomfort, But Our System Discourages It

2 Dec 2025

---

Leadership demands courage and the ability to sit with discomfort—yet today’s high-stakes climate often leaves leaders little room to err or be human. In this IdeaCast episode, former Ford Foundation president Darren Walker explores why navigating discomfort has become so difficult. Listen here: https://s.hbr.org/49R1tDx

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

...

CEO Series: Mary Barra of General Motors on Committing to an Eco-Friendly Future | HBR IdeaCast

1 Mar 2023

---

Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors, says that electric vehicles are the future for the company and the automobile industry. GM has said it will phase out vehicles using internal combustion engines by 2035 and go carbon neutral at all of its facilities. Barra describes how she’s executing on that plan as well as offering broader leadership lessons in an interview with HBR editor Amy Bernstein. This episode originally aired on HBR IdeaCast on Ma...

Why Great Leaders Focus on the Details

22 Dec 2025

---

Conventional wisdom says CEOs should focus on big picture strategy questions and not worry about the details of execution. But Scott Cook, cofounder of Intuit, says sometimes CEOs need to sweat the small stuff. Listen to the full IdeaCast episode here: https://s.hbr.org/49a2aG0

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

<...

When Gratitude Gets in the Way of Growth

16 Jul 2025

---

Feeling grateful shouldn’t mean staying silent. Build a culture of empowered gratitude on your team. Read the full article here: https://s.hbr.org/4nRJkdf

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

To Reinvent Your Career, Start by Imagining a New You

7 Sep 2023

---

For most of us, reinvention—of our careers and ourselves—is an extremely tall order. As London Business School professor Herminia Ibarra notes, you might know what you don’t want to do any more but be unsure what you actually do want to do next. People “don't know how to search when they don't know exactly what they're searching for,” she says. Much more important than trying to figure out the next career step is thinking more broadly about your possible s...

Product Flops and Collapsed Corporations: Business Lessons from the Failure Museum

28 Oct 2024

---

What can failures like Harley-Davidson Cologne or Cheetos Lip Balm teach us about success? Sean Jacobsohn, partner at Norwest Venture Partners and founder of the Failure Museum, takes us on a tour of notable product failures, sharing insights into why they failed and the lessons we can learn from them. Discover the six forces of failure and learn how companies can avoid making the same mistakes. Visit the Failure Museum: https://failure.museum/ 00:00 Harley-Davidson Cologne, Cheetos Lip Balm, and Coors...

Marcus Buckingham Shows You The Most Engaged Employee in the World

20 May 2019

---

Barbara is a composite character based on factors that make us feel engaged, and she has a pet python. --------------------------------------------------------------------- At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our leaders made better decisions, if people worked more productively, we believe that all of us — employees, bosses, customers, our families, and the people our businesses affect — would be better off. So we try to arm our readers with ideas that h...

How the Unionization Trend is Changing Workplace Dynamics | HBR IdeaCast | Podcast

7 Dec 2022

---

For years, union membership has been shrinking in the United States and many other countries. But recently we’ve seen a resurgence, with employees in sectors like retail, hospitality, and media organizing to collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, and job flexibility. Thomas Kochan, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has long studied how unions affect individual, team, and corporate performance. He explains why some fears about them are overblown, how workers form successful ones, and how le...

Purpose-Driven Leadership in an Era of Polarization

8 Dec 2025

---

Former Ford Foundation president Darren Walker talks about the whiplash leaders have faced in recent years—and why courageous, nuanced leadership is essential when public discourse swings to the extremes. Listen to the full IdeaCast episode here: https://s.hbr.org/49R1tDx

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

What Do I Really Love to Do? (HBR Podcast)

5 May 2022

---

Part two of our four-part special series, Find Joy in Any Job, with Marcus Buckingham on how to design your work to focus on what you love. At a time when 41% of us are considering quitting our jobs, it’s time for us to understand why and what we can do about it. In this special series from HBR’s IdeaCast, we’re looking at how to craft your current job around the work you really love. In this episode, we’ll explain...

4 Listening Skills Every Leader Should Master

2 Jan 2025

---

Great listeners foster cultures in which employees feel heard, valued, and engaged. Here's how to build that skill. Read the full article by Debra Schifrin here: https://s.hbr.org/4fwZ6oi

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Do I Lead My Team without Strategic Direction from the Top?

12 Jun 2023

---

He leads a team at a large global organization and gets positive feedback on their work. But he’s having trouble leading his team amid conflicting priorities and without direction from his senior leaders. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how he can help his team have organizational impact, with or without more clarity from above. Further reading: - When Managing Through Ambiguity, Develop a Clear Vision: https://hbr.org/2020/11/when-managing-through-ambiguity-develop-a-clear-vision - How To Lead Through Ambiguity: https://www.fo...

How Cubicles, Telecommuting, Personal Computers, and Email Changed the Way We Work

5 Aug 2020

---

Can a brief history of the modern office help us understand changes happening today? Offices, and the ways we use them, are continually evolving. We identified four key moments in the history of modern offices, then asked HBR readers to share their memories of those disruptive transitions and tell us how the changes affected the ways they work. --------------------------------------------------------------------- At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if ou...

How to Follow Up After a Job Interview

31 Jan 2024

---

You got your foot in the door. You nailed the interview. Now what? Waiting to hear back from a company you’ve interviewed with is the worst. The anticipation, the worry, the dead silence — you can’t help but think that you did something wrong. Should you have sent a hand-written note to your interviewers? Why did you answer that question like that? Is it okay to follow up again? It can be challenging to get through this period of uncertainty, but there are th...

Why Great Careers Take Time (Not Instant Promotions)

9 Jan 2026

---

Why do so many early-career employees feel frustrated by the pace of growth at work? Leadership expert Tim Elmore explains why great careers take time—and how leaders can reset expectations. Listen to the full IdeaCast episode here: https://s.hbr.org/3NzVHNb

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

<...

What Went Wrong with the Boeing 737 Max?

19 Jul 2023

---

How did the evolution of Boeing’s organization and management lead to two tragic plane crashes within six months, in which a total of 346 people died? Harvard Business School professor Bill George discusses the long roots that ultimately led to the crash of Lion Air flight 610 in October 2018 in Indonesia and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 in March 2019 in Ethiopia. He discusses the role cost cutting, regulatory pressure, and CEO succession played in laying the foundation for these tragedies and examines how Boeing ex...

TikTok: Super App or Supernova? | Cold Call

31 May 2023

---

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around the simple idea of helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. By May 2020, TikTok operated in 155 countries and, together with Douyin (its China app), it had roughly one billion monthly active users, placing it in the top ranks of digital platforms globally. Some industry experts argued that it was the first consumer app operating at scale where artificial intelligence (or AI) was the product. But TikTok had drawn the attention of...

Undercover Boss: A Fictionalized Case Study

20 Feb 2019

---

Case study: An airline boss goes undercover to gather ideas for speeding up the cleaning of planes in between flights. Watch the video and let us know what you’d do. hbr.org/turntimes

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Myth Busting 5 Common Pieces of Advice About Switching Jobs | The Harvard Business Review Guide

8 Aug 2022

---

Should you always be looking for another job, never make a lateral move, or be sure to stay at a job for two years? There's a lot of conflicting advice out there. HBR's Amy Gallo helps you sort the myths from the facts. 00:00 So in today’s work world, what should you do when it comes to switching jobs? 00:36 Fact or myth: You should always be looking for your next job. 02:20 Fact or myth: You should stay at...