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Hirokazu Jike/Getty Images The modern workplace is awash in meetings, many of which are terrible. As a result, people mostly hate going to meetings. The problem is this: The whole point of meetings is to have discussions that you can’t have any other way. And yet most meetings are devoid of real debate. To improve the […]

Gregor Schuster/Getty Images We often equate developing a leadership voice with finding ways to appear more confident. We assume that our success depends upon mimicking someone else, increasing our self-promotion, or saying things louder than others. But rather than living with imposter’s syndrome, or feeling exhausted by wearing your game face all day, you can build a […]

Thomas Barwick/Getty Images According to research published by the New York Times, one in four of us has abandoned our New Year’s resolutions by January 8. Some resolutions are too daunting for people to follow through on. That’s especially true of any “new year, new job” resolution. If you are one of those who are bored, unchallenged, […]

Annabelle Breakey/Getty Images Soda’s empty calories are public enemy number one in the fight against obesity, and taxes on sugary drinks are an increasingly popular tool among local governments hoping to curb consumption. State and federal taxes on tobacco and alcohol have helped reduce consumption; local governments are simply assuming a soda tax will work in […]

Sydney Finkelstein, a professor of management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, encourages leaders to approach their direct reports like teachers. As Finkelstein explains, being a teacher-leader means continually meeting face to face with employees to communicate lessons about professionalism, points of craft, and life. He says it’s easy to try and […]

Kenneth Andersson for HBR In competitive markets, managers have a strong incentive to give their best effort. But economists have long argued that when companies are insulated from competition, their managers may not be motivated to maximize the profit of the firm and instead may choose to enjoy the “quiet life.” Similarly, without sufficient monitoring […]

Martin Poole/Getty Images Watching someone suffer from stress and burnout — and feeling powerless to help — is an awful experience. But it’s a reality for many married professionals who see their spouses staggering under the weight of constant demands from the office. In our work with professionals at many of the Fortune 100 companies, the question “How […]

Purviance/William T./The New York Public Library Market concentration is rising while economic competition — the bedrock of a dynamic, free market economy — is under threat. No wonder the framework that has guided antitrust enforcement for the last four decades is coming under intense scrutiny. There are at least three schools of thought about the […]

Mina De La O/Getty Images With tax cuts now a done deal, Republicans are turning to regulatory reform to give economic growth a further boost. There, they may find more bipartisan support. Past reforms of airlines, rail, and trucking regulation were, after all, set in motion by Democrats. Today there is significant Democratic support for […]

John Devolle/Getty Images A decade ago, Microsoft was considered a dinosaur. It had missed the shift to mobile, was out of step with consumer tastes, and seemed too big and slow to adapt to a digital world that was moving at hyperspeed. Yet today the company is thriving again, largely driven by its growing cloud […]

John Devolle/Getty Images A decade ago, Microsoft was considered a dinosaur. It had missed the shift to mobile, was out of step with consumer tastes, and seemed too big and slow to adapt to a digital world that was moving at hyperspeed. Yet today the company is thriving again, largely driven by its growing cloud […]

Archive Holdings Inc./Getty Images The barriers that keep women out of leadership roles have been well documented. And they’re persistent — increases in women’s share of leadership over time have been in the single digits. In fields with long or unpredictable schedules, with schedules that professionals can’t control, or with extensive travel, women’s representation in leadership is even lower. One key […]

Yenpitsu Nemoto/Getty Images A staggering 55 million people — more than 35% of the U.S. workforce — are now freelancers or contractors, and that number is projected to rise to 43% by 2020. About 44 million people report having some kind of side hustle, and of those who do, 36% say they earn more than $500 a month […]

park troopers/unsplash For more than a decade, leading human resource strategists have hit on a recurring theme: You want your star players working in the roles that matter most to the business. For example, in 2009 professors Brian Becker, Mark Huselid, and Richard Beatty estimated that in most companies less than 15% of jobs are […]

clement m./unsplash Today’s climate challenge is so far beyond our collective experience that it demands a radically different kind of engagement from senior leadership teams in the private sector. The threats that climate change poses to business, markets, and, indeed, capitalism are peculiarly hard for most top teams to spot, let alone act on. Our brains […]

Archi Trujillo/Getty Images Self-awareness seems to have become the latest management buzzword — and for good reason. Research suggests that when we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident and more creative. We make sounder decisions, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively. We’re less likely to lie, cheat, and steal. We are better workers who […]

David Malan/Getty Images In the age of rapid advances in data science and artificial intelligence, many organizations still struggle to incorporate advanced analytics capabilities into their business models. True incorporation requires bold decisions about reorganizing the business to make analytics a key component of strategy. Here we present the case of Grupo Financiero Banorte (GFNorte), […]

Mordolff/Getty Images In the fall of 1930, the U.S. economy was on a path to recovery following a contraction that occurred the year before. However, worries about the state of the economy, and the banking system in particular, prompted an increasing number of bank customers to attempt to withdraw their funds, an event known as […]

It’s not a fad or a ‘soft’ topic. from HBR.org http://ift.tt/2E19rYw

fandijki/Getty Images You can often predict which meetings will be unproductive from the moment you receive the invitation. There’s the “team update” where you spend two hours listening to a rundown of how everyone spent their week, or the “planning meeting” where you hash out picayune details that should have been handled elsewhere, or the […]

Kieran Stone/Getty Images When I worked as a management consultant, I had a client that I thought of as difficult. Let’s call her Marguerite. She and I didn’t see eye to eye on much. I disagreed with the direction she was taking our project, the people she chose to involve, and the pace at which […]

william bout/unsplash “Bureaucracy” has become a catchall term for the many ways in which organizations squander workers’ potential. From needless paperwork to delusional project timelines, administrative overhead can prevent workers from doing the meaningful tasks that contribute to the organization’s bottom line. Employees perceive bureaucracy to be an immovable beast, blocking their path toward efficient, satisfying work lives. […]

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 […]

Jakob Owens/Unsplash We all want to come to work and be treated with kindness and respect. Unfortunately, my research shows that there is rampant incivility in most organizations. I found that 98% of the workers I surveyed over the past 20 years have experienced rude behavior and 99% have witnessed it. And the situation seems […]

Michael Frattaroli/Unsplash Managing promotions effectively is one of the most powerful ways leaders can drive their company’s success. We surveyed over 400,000 U.S. workers in the past year and found that when people believe promotions are managed effectively, they’re more than twice as likely to give extra effort at work and to plan a long-term […]

Evan Smogor/Unsplash Over 90% of medium and large businesses have used social media in their marketing for five years or longer. Yet the CMO Survey reveals that nearly half of marketers are unable to show the impact of their social media investments. That’s why, no matter what your social media strategy is, it’s always a […]