Many professionals pursue success first, assuming happiness will follow. But research shows that this sequence is flawed: success alone rarely delivers lasting satisfaction. Instead, happiness is a strong predictor of success across work, relationships, and…

When a big decision must be made by multiple constituencies with different goals, it can often fall victim to challenges from drawn-out processes to data overload. But AI is helping. One field—city planning—is already applying its ability to analyze vast…

If you’re leading a growing organization but can’t justify the cost of full-time executives, there’s another way.

This collection of the 10 most-read HBR articles on gen AI in the first half of 2025 can help leaders engage with, and answer, some of today’s most pressing questions about the technology: What are the practical, real-life applications of gen AI? How do I…

Founders who tailor their pitch language to the strength of their evidence dramatically boost their odds of funding. When substantial resources are already in place—capital raised, partnerships secured, patents filed—high‑energy, passionate wording amplifies…

About a third of middle-market companies are owned by private equity, and many currently founder-led companies will have at least one phase of PE ownership eventually. A majority of PE deals result in the replacement of the CEO within two years. With that…

Research has shown that layoffs yield disengagement, turnover, and reduced productivity among remaining employees. As more and more CEOs talk about the potential for layoffs in the AI era, how executives communicate about layoffs to their staff can make a…

New research from BrightHire and Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work project reveals that although interviews appear to cover most skills listed in job descriptions, they often fail to meaningfully assess them—especially technical and experience…

In the debate over whether it’s helpful or hurtful to share employee pay data, consider a new finding: When the SEC mandated CEO‐to‐median‐employee pay disclosures, the information didn’t erode morale—instead it raised average pay satisfaction by giving workers…

Many organizations are aware that they are suffering from project overload, slowing execution and obscuring strategic priorities. Yet even with this knowledge they struggle to kill projects to release resources and energy to focus on their most important…

In this week’s edition of The HBR Executive Agenda, editor at large Adi Ignatius talks to Nitin Nohria, professor and former dean of Harvard Business School, about his framework to help leaders understand their priorities in an era where everything feels…

Corporate boards have a critical role to play in addressing climate change, not only by overseeing risk and compliance but also by guiding strategy and innovation. As climate-related challenges intensify, boards must move beyond traditional governance models…

Strategic initiatives often land as abstract ideas that feel disconnected from (or irrelevant to) the reality on the ground. As the bridge between the boardroom and day-to-day operations, you need to help employees connect the dots. Here are seven steps leaders…

Strategic plans and budgets are often misaligned because they’re built on incompatible frameworks: Strategy focuses on stakeholders and long-term goals, while budgets are structured around income and expense categories. This disconnect creates confusion,…

Like giving employees access to a searchable database of every meeting and decision.

A conversation with designer and author Nick Foster about how to face the unknown.

In today’s volatile and uncertain world, leadership skills have become more crucial than ever, yet many organizations struggle to train their managers to lead effectively. But experiential learning and failure-based training, as practiced by U.S. Army Special…

Senior leaders often have to make unpopular choices that are necessary for the organization, but aren’t ones everyone agrees with. Many find themselves needing to balance bringing people along without letting others’ emotions derail necessary changes. Here’s…

Learn how to own your decisions, expand your network, and position yourself for success.

Jamil Zaki, a psychologist and longtime student of empathy, responds to questions about a variety of topics: his previous writing for HBR on empathy; changing professional attitudes toward empathy in the workplace; the discrepancy between how leaders and…