In this HBR Executive Masterclass, HBS professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee argues that strategy does not begin with profit, but with value creation—measured as the difference between a customer’s willingness-to-pay and a supplier’s or employee’s willingness-to…

Leaders can take the principles of strategy used in boardrooms across the world and apply them to their own lives, as explained in this HBR Executive Masterclass. BCG’s Rainer Strack and colleagues developed a concept they call “Strategize Your Life” to help…

Leading today is less about getting people to follow you to the future, and more about getting them to co-create it with you. In this HBR Executive Masterclass, HBS professor Linda A. Hill spells out the new ABCs for leading innovation. As an “architect,”…

Leading today means balancing between a series of traditional and emerging styles. For example, an intuitionist makes decisions from their gut instincts, while an analyst looks at the data and evidence before coming to a conclusion. The most effective leaders…

How to make everyday interactions teachable moments for your direct reports.

Strategy involves placing a bet on a desired outcome—often shaped by uncertain customer behavior—and building a logical, testable theory for how the company will achieve competitive advantage. Planning, on the other hand, is about allocating resources and…

Trust between a CEO and their board isn’t optional—it’s the foundation for strategic alignment and effective leadership. Too many leaders erode trust by treating the board as an audience to impress, hiding what they’re worried about, or trying to manage problems…

Conflict on executive teams is inevitable—and necessary. CEOs need to hear a variety of well-informed opinions and arguments to lead through today’s tough challenges and foster innovative organizations. But unhealthy conflict on executive teams can be extremely…

As your company adopts AI, what skills will your employees need and how can you develop them? This HBR Executive Playbook offers advice on how to engage in scenario planning to better understand where and when AI may have the most impact, how to focus on…

As biometric and health-tracking technologies become more accessible, companies are increasingly collecting employees’ bodily data to boost productivity and safety. But research shows these efforts often undermine job security—especially when data collection…

According to recent research, just 39% of employees strongly agreed that someone at work cares for them as a person. Additional research shows that 30% feel “invisible” and 27% feel “ignored.” It’s hard for people to care or be engaged at work if they don’t…

External forces affecting employee mental health have proliferated steadily in the past few years, with the fast pace of AI implementation changing the shape of many careers, geopolitical tumult bringing worry about stability, and murky and shifting economic…

In any leadership role, your style of engaging others plays a significant part in determining success, sometimes even more than the subject matter of the work. And when your style suddenly loses its desired impact, it can be hard to know how to shift it without…

Geopolitical disruptions and tech advances are shaking up manufacturing strategies, pushing leaders to rethink their approaches. Companies need to rethink the way they traditionally decide where to locate plants, and instead utilize scenario planning and…

In recent years, many organizations have reevaluated and attempted to improve their processes for reporting and investigating workplace abuse. But new research, which analyzed thousands of workplace reports, found that reports made by women are less likely…

Aligning on priorities and recognizing style differences is part of a career-long practice.

A leader navigates a project with a partner with unclear roles and little alignment.

A conversation with Simon Fraser University’s Jeff Yip about common mistakes managers make.

In a world where growth is becoming increasingly elusive, companies can still create significant value by adopting a strategy of disciplined stability. By focusing on steady or only slowly growing revenues, businesses can achieve shareholder returns comparable…

New research, including a nationally representative study of U.S. workers, suggests that presenteeism isn’t simply a matter of personal choice or lack of sick leave—it’s a structural problem rooted in how jobs are designed and workplace expectations are managed.…