674 Posts found for Source: Harvard Business Review

While backlash to DEI has challenged how many companies and practitioners approach creating more equitable workplaces, fewer have considered whether DEI work itself has room to improve. A new framework, built around the core outcomes of fairness, access, inclusion, and representation (FAIR) that DEI was supposed to achieve for all, offers a new direction. Instead of the performative, individual-centered, isolated, and zero-sum methods of the current … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Lily Zheng | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Diversity, Human Resources

Mergers and acquisitions, though powerful tools for growth, often fall short of expectations. One reason is a lack of focus on the integration experience of acquired employees. While companies tend to invest heavily in pre-deal due diligence, they frequently overlook the day-to-day realities faced by incoming employees—who often feel undervalued, unsupported, and overwhelmed—ultimately threatening deal success, long-term productivity, and retention. These challenges are preventable through planning … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Culture, Mergers & Acquisitions, Organizational Behavior

In fast-paced, complex business environments, it’s often hard to carve out the time for thoughtful, thorough analysis. Leaders might recognize that better questions lead to better decisions, but they aren’t sure exactly what to ask. These five questions can help. 1) What would happen if we did nothing? 2) What could make us regret this decision? 3) What alternatives did we overlook? 4) How will we … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Steven Morris | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Decision Making, Organizational Behavior

It’s well known that understanding your boss’s priorities is crucial for career success. Yet many professionals find themselves guessing what their manager really wants or needs. The result? Misaligned efforts, wasted time, and missed opportunities for both you and your leadership. The problem isn’t just busy bosses or poor communication — it’s that we often don’t ask the good questions to get inside our manager’s head. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Melody Wilding | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Career, Career Info, Organizational Behavior

A big part of innovation is saying, “You know what I’m really sick of?” … “What am I really sick of?” is where innovation begins.

Content: Quotation | Author: Jerry Seinfeld | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Innovation

In merit-based systems, fairness should be manifested in all aspects of organizational life. But while the ideal of a merit-based society is attractive, research shows that bias in promotions and reward distribution is just as prevalent as bias in hiring, exacerbating and multiplying rather than reducing unfairness in the span of our careers. In the world we live in, true meritocracy, where everyone plays on an … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Ludmila N. Praslova | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Diversity, Human Resources

Many team dysfunctions manifest as trust issues when, in fact, they stem from discrepancies in goals, priorities, or expectations. Clearing up those misunderstandings often resolves what you thought were interpersonal issues.

Content: Quotation | Author: Liane Davey | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Teamwork

Hiring managers often ask behavioral questions during job interviews, and it can be hard to know how best to answer them. Which details should you include when you describe one of your previous work experiences? And what should you leave out? The STAR interview method offers a framework for how best to structure your responses. In this article, the author outlines what the STAR acronym stands … [ Read more ]

Content: Career Information | Author: Marlo Lyons | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Career, Interviewing

Curiosity is critical to professional success. A curious mind will spot and solve problems, while being unafraid to try something new. It will seek out the insights of others, and open itself to expanded thinking. A curious person will never succumb to apathy, instead pushing consistently for growth, innovation, and improvement. Anyone seeking to build a successful career must embrace curiosity.

Content: Quotation | Author: John Coleman | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Career, Hiring, Human Resources, Personal Development

In any strategy process, there is a tension between structure, necessary to ensure rigor and alignment, and exploration, critical for innovation.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Madeleine Michael, Martin Reeves, Roeland van Straten, Tim Nolan | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Strategy

A clever strategy on paper is only the starting point for engaging those who will implement it. Strategies must also be communicated and understood — and they must motivate action. Most strategy documents and presentations fail miserably when it comes to this last point. […] Strategy stories can provide a powerful bridge between arguments and actions, intentions and results, and strategists and implementers. […] A … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Madeleine Michael, Martin Reeves, Roeland van Straten, Tim Nolan | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Storytelling, Strategy

The silo effect, characterized by limited communication between specialized business departments, can negatively impact communication and collaboration in organizations. In particular, there are three types of silos: systemic, elitist, and protectionist, each requiring specific strategies for resolution. These targeted solutions—aligning goals, improving communication, and fostering secure data sharing—can help dismantle silos and foster a more collaborative environment.

Content: Article | Authors: Daniel J. Finkenstadt, Elias Kirche, Piyush Shah, Thomas Kull | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Organizational Behavior

Companies need to treat the execution of routine tasks and customer interactions as opportunities for learning. Standardizing tasks or offerings becomes counterproductive since it suppresses variance, which is the grist for new ideas. Instead, firms need to leverage their digital presence and use learning algorithms to capture and process lessons from each interaction.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Adam Job, Martin Reeves, Mihnea Moldoveanu | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Organizational Behavior

When the future state of the world is likely to be similar to the current one, or is at least somewhat knowable, it is efficient to tailor strategy to achieve optimal fit with the current or anticipated environment. But the efficiency gain of striving for fit comes at the cost of flexibility. In times of uncertainty and change, optionality becomes critically important. Companies need to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Adam Job, Martin Reeves, Mihnea Moldoveanu | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Strategy

When others assume you don’t care, they can easily reject your proposal or your presence with the pretense of style. But once they know you do care, and share a similar intent, even your critiques become an expression of that care.

Showing care requires naming a shared intent… It requires acknowledging that you are asking them to sacrifice old habits and norms they have valued, to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Gianpiero Petriglieri | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

Leadership, at its core, is an argument with tradition. As a leader, you are always relating to a tradition that you are trying to preserve, expand, or change. That means, a priori, that you must care about the tradition. Or, more precisely, you must care about what the tradition is trying to accomplish.

Content: Quotation | Author: Gianpiero Petriglieri | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Leadership

Leaders who listen well create company cultures where people feel heard, valued, and engaged. In addition, employees who experience high-quality listening report greater levels of job satisfaction and psychological safety. If you’re interested in sharpening your listening skills, try using these four techniques: (1) Listen until the end — don’t jump in or interrupt the speaker; (2) Listen to summarize the problem, not to solve … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Debra Schifrin | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Communication, Management, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

Unfortunately, many dissatisfied customers opt not to complain. Over the last three decades, ACSI data show that 12.8% of customers formally complained to companies but, in reality, 30% of customers complained more informally about brands on social media. These non-complaining but disgruntled customers instead leave the company and buy substitute products. The takeaway is that it is often better to have customers complain than not … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: G. Tomas M. Hult | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Customer Related

Every interaction between a company and a customer is an opportunity. For the company, it’s a chance to reinforce brand quality and value with the goal of achieving customer satisfaction and loyalty. For the customer, it’s a chance to provide input on their needs, satisfaction with previous experiences, and expectations for future engagements with your brand.

Content: Quotation | Author: G. Tomas M. Hult | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Customer Related

Why do bonuses sometimes backfire? It’s because each incentive design choice both signals information about your own beliefs and intentions as an employer and shapes the signaling value of employee behavior within the organization. If you don’t think through these signals carefully, you may end up approving a bonus scheme with results that are the opposite of what you intend. This article offers a way … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Dirk Sliwka, Timo Vogelsang | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Compensation, Human Resources, Management, Motivation, Organizational Behavior