A new study analyzed the product orders placed by nearly 2,000 multi-brand retailers in the U.K. and France before and after a partner brand launched direct sales channels. On average, retailers decreased their orders by 19% and paid about 21% more after…

Poor performance management, lack of visibility, repetitive routines, and restricted growth opportunities can result in feelings of frustration, stagnation and boredom. Maybe you have a boss that doesn’t see your potential. Maybe there’s lots to do, but none…

Workplace incivility costs U.S. businesses an estimated $2 billion each day in lost productivity. Uncivil behavior can spread to bystanders like a virus, creating a workplace contagion that decimates productivity and well-being. But new preliminary research…

Listen to the new season of Coaching Real Leaders, where executive coach Muriel Wilkins guides leaders through their biggest challenges.

Adversarial behaviors like intimidation, sabotage, and boycotts are not uncommon in the C-suite. Yet, beneath these visible threats lies a more insidious danger: corporate gaslighting . This subtle tactic undermines credibility and isolates business executives.…

Research indicates that hiring stars can be counterproductive, as they often struggle to replicate their previous performance due to a lack of support systems in new organizations. Additionally, the arrival of new stars can negatively impact existing employees…

A conversation with HBS professor Raj Choudhury on what research really shows about hybrid work.

When executives discuss sales performance, the conversation often focuses on compensation. It’s one of the few areas in sales that senior leaders pay close attention to as a driver of performance. In part, this is because, in B2B companies, compensation typically…

Do resume gaps still matter, or have we moved into a world where they can be explained? There is truth in both these positions. Career gaps can have reasonable explanations: Since the pandemic, nearly everyone has experienced firsthand the challenges of managing…

How one startup balances revenue growth and brand management.

Managing sticky, emotionally loaded situations comes with the territory of leadership. Beyond interpersonal issues, you sometimes must deliver bad news to your beleaguered team, address a client’s frustration, provide tough-to-hear performance feedback, or…

Leaders of Western companies trying to compete in industries dominated by Chinese manufacturers need to understand a phenomenon known as the learning curve: how major increases in production allow companies to learn how to lower their production costs. A…

A conversation with Stanford GSB professor Ilya Strebulaev on embracing disagreement.

And the hidden costs of neglecting this crucial part of your workforce.

Resources are a key hurdle faced by many organizations—not only small, bootstrapped firms, but also large ones, where competition for funds and talent can be just as tough. Resourcefulness, in contrast, is not about the resources a company has, it’s about…

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…

Strategy fatigue is a phenomenon that’s on the rise. Recent studies show a notable increase in the frequency of strategy shifts. A survey of 1,284 executives revealed that 85 percent of senior leaders have observed “an explosive increase” in transformation…

If you and your team are too busy, it’s essential to take time to figure out how to work differently. Here are three key strategies you can use to reassess and reconfigure the work you do to free up vital time and energy for what matters: 1) Make sure your…

She wants to be recognized for her leadership and make sure she’s positioning herself to get to the next level.

To address challenges posed by ambiguous threats, employees need to speak up at the earliest signs of trouble. Yet research shows that the more ambiguous a threat, the more likely employees are to remain silent . Why does it happen? The likely explanation…