Harvard Business Review

At the heart of dealing with difficult people is handling their—and your own—emotions. How do you stay calm in a tough conversation? How do you get past passive-aggressive comments? And how do you know if you're difficult to work with? Dealing with Difficult People explains the research behind our emotional response to awful colleagues—and how to build the empathy and...

The most important ideas on management all in one place We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on topics such as emotional intelligence, communication, change, leadership, strategy, managing people, and managing yourself and selected the most important ones to help you maximise your own and your organisation's performance. HBR's 10 Must Reads Ultimate Boxed Set includes 14 bestselling...

Is your company spending too much time on strategy development—with too little to show for it? If you read nothing else on strategy, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you catalyse your organisation's strategy development and execution. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy will inspire...

Can blockchain solve your biggest business problem? While the world is transfixed by bitcoin mania, your competitors are tuning out the noise and making strategic bets on blockchain. Your rivals are effortlessly tracking every last link in their supply chains. They're making bureaucratic paper trails obsolete while keeping their customers' data safer and discovering new ways to use this next...

In order to build trust, gain buy-in, and move up in your organisation, you need to be confident. But self-doubt and anxiety can break your composure—and faking it doesn't feel comfortable. How do you push these insecurities away? This book explains how you can better understand your emotions to become more self-assured at work. You'll learn from the latest research...

A well-crafted business plan generates enthusiasm for your idea and boosts your odds of success—whether you're proposing a new initiative within your organisation or starting an entirely new company. Creating Business Plans quickly walks you through the basics. You'll learn to: Present your idea clearly Develop sound financial plans Project risks—and rewards Anticipate and address your audience's concerns Don't have...

The crypto era has arrived, and business will never be the same. Real applications of crypto technology are growing exponentially: cryptocurrency payments are moving frictionlessly across borders; NFTs are generating real value for creators and consumers alike; and new blockchain-enabled business models are being built around decentralised finance and Web3. What do you and your company need to know and...

Open yourself to new possibilities. Curiosity is a powerful tool for leaders. It can help you cope with complexity, learn from challenging conversations, build trust, and discover new perspectives. This book provides the expert research and advice you need to break free of your assumptions, strengthen your relationships, and see the world differently. This volume includes the work of: Tomas...

No data is completely safe. In our connected world, more access and more data come with more risk. The number of cyberattacks companies stop has grown, but the attacks are also increasingly frequent and ferocious. As the complexity and sophistication of our interconnected systems increase, so too do the skills of our adversaries. Cybersecurity can no longer be relegated to...

Push through when procrastination calls. Some days you're on fire at work; other days you're burned out and easily distracted. How can you maintain your drive, make consistent progress, and expend your energy wisely? This book will help you identify what's behind your flagging engagement and productivity—and provide expert research and advice on what to do about it. This volume...

Whether you've been putting off giving an employee negative feedback or wondering how to react when a co-worker erupts in frustration during a meeting, difficult conversations in the workplace are, well, difficult. While there's no one "right" way to have a difficult conversation, there are guiding principles you can follow and strategies you can employ to facilitate a discussion in...

Move past the ESG culture wars and make better choices for your business. Embracing ESG—environmental, social, and governance goals—isn't just the right thing to do. It's good business. Companies that don't address their material long-term risks may save a few dollars today, but they're putting themselves, their stakeholders, and their investors in jeopardy. ESG: The Insights You Need from Harvard...

Empathy is credited as a factor in both improved relationships and even better product development. But while it's easy to say "just put yourself in someone else's shoes," the reality is that understanding the motivations and emotions of others is an elusive capability. This book helps you understand what empathy is, why it's important, how to surmount the hurdles that...

There's always more work to be done. How do you make sure you'll finish your most important tasks and make progress in your key projects by the end of the day? Getting Work Done (HBR 20-Minute Manager Series) runs you through the basics of prioritising your work, staying focused, delegating tasks, and using technology to help you get more done....

Whether you're struggling with a problem employee or want to reward a high performer on your team, you need to be able to share feedback that's easy to understand and act on. Giving Effective Feedback provides the basic guidelines to help you help your team excel. About HBR's 20-Minute Manager Series: Don't have much time? Get up to speed fast...

Improve the way you work - and feel - by forming better habits. We all have habits. Some of them we've carefully established; others we may have simply fallen into. Some help us get our work done; others hold us back. This book explores how to change your behaviour to break counterproductive tendencies, combat everyday stressors, and ultimately reach your...

A curated collection of the business basics to fuel your success. You'll get up to speed fast on the most essential business skills with this set of concise, practical primers. Finance Basics explains the fundamentals of corporate finance—and its jargon. Running Meetings gives you the tools and checklists you need to keep your meetings effective and efficient. Presentations helps you...

The one primer you need to develop your entrepreneurial skills. Whether you're imagining your new business to be the next big thing in Silicon Valley, a pivotal B2B provider, or an anchor in your local community, the HBR Entrepreneur's Handbook is your essential resource for getting your company off the ground. Starting an independent new business is rife with both...

The most definitive management ideas of the century, all in one place. Harvard Business Review is the foremost destination for smart management thinking. Now, at its 100th anniversary, this commemorative volume brings together the most influential ideas since its inception. With an introduction written by editor in chief Adi Ignatius, HBR at 100 features business publishing's most influential voices on...

If you aren't working with a strategy, you're wasting your time. Strategy isn't just a set of plans handed down from the C-suite. To grow as a leader, you need to understand your company's strategy and align your thinking, projects, and team with organisational goals and vision. Master these abilities with the HBR Guides to Building Your Strategic Skills Collection....

Are you a good boss - or a great one? Good bosses can handle the day-to-day work of running a team. Great bosses go beyond that, finding ways to help employees become better versions of themselves as people and professionals. But as a manager, how do you reach that next level? The HBR Guide to Being a Great Boss contains...

A guide for women on how to overcome barriers in the workplace and move into leadership positions. As a woman, you may not be reaching the levels of leadership you desire. Despite the many efforts by organisations and managers alike, unconscious bias and assumptions are still working against you. How can you plan a career as an aspiring leader if...

Break down the barriers to effective collaboration. For cross-functional projects to work, you need to bring together diverse ideas and resources from across your organisation. But office politics, conflicting objectives, and lack of clear authority can get in the way. HBR Guide to Collaborative Teams provides practical tips and advice to help you collaborate more effectively. Whether you're leading your...

Tackle complex situations with critical thinking. You're facing a problem at work. There are many ways you can approach the situation, but each comes with its own pros and cons. How do you sort through all the information so that you know you're taking the right path? The answer is in how you think. The HBR Guide to Critical Thinking...

Don't let a fear of numbers hold you back. Today's business environment brings with it an onslaught of data, but leaving the analysis to others in your company just won't cut it. Now more than ever, managers must know how to tease insight from data—to understand where it comes from, make sense of the numbers, and use those findings to...

Put your strategy into action. Even the best competitive strategies mean nothing if they aren't executed well. Yet many organisations struggle when they move from defining a strategy to actually applying it. Somehow, all the careful planning falls apart, initiatives fail, and leaders are left wondering how to pick up the pieces. HBR Guide to Executing Your Strategy is here...

Drive transformation. Change is now constant. As a leader, you must serve as interpreter, project manager, cheerleader, and conduit. Plans evolve. Contexts shift. Progress happens in fits and starts. Through it all, you must push your team forward even when you encounter pushback. How can you ensure that your team has the information, the mindset, and the resources they need...

Learn how to make better, faster decisions. As a manager, you have to make decisions—from daily choices about team priorities to deciding which long-term innovation projects to pursue. But most decisions don't have a clear-cut answer, and assessing the alternatives and the risks involved can be overwhelming. You need a smarter approach to making the best choice possible. The HBR...

This big initiative could make or break this fiscal year--or your career. A compilation guide for managers that explains how to conceive of, launch, and manage a successful strategic initiative. Strategic initiatives are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to putting strategy into action, and leading a critical initiative may be the key to propelling your career...

Take the stress out of giving feedback. To help your employees meet their goals and fulfil their potential, you need to provide them with regular feedback. But the prospect of sharing potentially negative news can be overwhelming. How do you construct your message so that it's not only well received but also expressed in a way that encourages change? Whether...

Bring strategy into your daily work. It's your responsibility as a manager to ensure that your work—and the work of your team—aligns with the overarching objectives of your organisation. But when you're faced with competing projects and limited time, it's difficult to keep strategy front of mind. How do you keep your eye on the long term amid a sea...

No one will pay as close attention to your personal growth and development as you will. Whether you're lucky enough to work for an organisation that encourages a learning mindset for everyone, or you're in a place where only a handful of stars get all the heat and light when it comes to professional development, you are the best person...

The definitive management ideas of the year from Harvard Business Review. Includes the definitive ideas of the year, all in one place, selected by HBR's editors. Gives readers the opportunity to catch up on a year's worth of recent ideas from HBR quickly—or collect articles over time. Includes articles on leadership, strategy, and management by top thinkers in business today....

As CEO, you set the tone for your organisation. You establish priorities, anticipate and address challenges, champion and lead change efforts, set people up for success, and manage risk. You look at issues and trends to see how they'll affect your company internally, but also externally—in the larger context of your industry, your country, and your company's place in the...

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Innovation (with featured article "The Discipline of Innovation," by Peter F. Drucker) provides essential insights on inspiring and executing innovation. To innovate profitably, you need more than just creativity. Do you have what it takes? If you read nothing else on this topic, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the...

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Building a Great Culture (with bonus article "How to Build a Culture of Originality" by Adam Grant) compiles the essential articles for creating a better organisational culture. This collection, curated by HBR's editors, features the best articles on assessing and improving your company's culture. Readers will find a mix of inspiration, research, frameworks, and case...

Work more productively with individuals and groups inside and outside your organisation. In these ten essential Harvard Business Review articles, you'll find the advice you need to build new relationships and leverage existing ones, collaborate across functions and departments, get others to play nicely, and determine when it makes sense to go it alone. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Collaboration...

The best leaders know how to communicate clearly and persuasively. How do you stack up? If you read nothing else on communicating effectively, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you express your ideas with clarity and impact—no matter what the situation. Leading...

Are your organisation's ideas growing stale? Do your employees need to refresh their thinking? If you read nothing else on creativity, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you instil creativity across your organisation. This book will inspire you to: Understand the 'rules' of creativity and...

Are your organisation's ideas growing stale? Do your employees need to refresh their thinking? If you read nothing else on creativity, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you instil creativity across your organisation. This book will inspire you to: Understand the 'rules' of creativity and...

In today's competitive hiring market, you can't risk excluding or alienating talented employees—regardless of their gender, race, class, or physical ability. Bias can seep into the deepest corners of your workplace and hinder both the success of the people who hold marginalised identities and your organisation as a whole. What sort of hiring procedures, employee development programs, and personnel policies...

The world's elite athletes and coaches achieve high performance through inspiring leadership, strategic choices, and mental toughness. Harvard Business Review has talked to many of them throughout the years to learn how their success can translate to business leadership. If you read nothing else on management lessons from the world of sports, read these 10 articles by athletes, coaches, and...

Create and sustain a culture of learning. If you read nothing else on learning, read these 10 articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you keep your skills fresh and relevant, support continuous improvement on your team, and prepare everyone in the organisation to...

Whether your employees are dispersed across the globe or you're working with a multicultural team in one location, managing a culturally diverse set of employees is fraught with miscommunication, inefficiencies, and frustration. If you read nothing else on managing across cultures, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones...

Master the most daunting challenges of managing people. More of the ideas you want, from the authors you trust. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you maximise your employees' performance. With insights from leading experts, this book will inspire you to: Adjust your management style to fit your people...

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness includes a bonus interview, "Post-Traumatic Growth and Building Resilience," with Martin Seligman. Our professional lives are filled with challenges and setbacks, but those who achieve elite performance consistently rally their emotional strength in pursuit of their goals—no matter what obstacles arise. If you read nothing else on mental toughness, read these ten articles...

Learn how to be strategic and formidable in all aspects of negotiation—from reading the room, to staying cool, to achieving the best outcome. If you read nothing else on negotiation, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you clinch successful deals in business and beyond. This...

Nonprofits and the social sectors are taking on an increasing share of the world's most vital work. Make sure your organisation is ready for the challenge. If you read nothing else on nonprofits and the social sectors, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you align...

Build resilience in your company to weather the greatest crises. If you read nothing else on organisational resilience, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you understand how to reshape your company to overcome disruption, social upheaval, and disaster. This book will inspire you to: Reposition...

Competition is moving beyond industry to ecosystem. Are you ready? In the shift from pipeline to platform, value is no longer created by your company's product or process alone—it's created through interactions. The strategy you used to become an industry leader won't help you compete in an evolving and complex ecosystem. If you read nothing else on platforms and ecosystems,...

Nonprofits and the social sectors are taking on an increasing share of the world's most vital work. Make sure your organisation is ready for the challenge. If you read nothing else on nonprofits and the social sectors, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you align...

If you read nothing else on sales, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you understand how to create the conditions for sales success. This book will inspire you to: Understand your customer's buying centre. Integrate your sales and marketing operations. Assess your business cycle and...

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strengthening Your Soft Skills by Richard Boyatzis, Amy Gallo, Amy Jen Su, Harvard Business Review, and Daniel Goleman will help you strengthen your soft skills and reach your leadership potential. If you read nothing else on developing your interpersonal skills, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected...

Invest in your most valuable resource: your people. Top talent is hard to come by. And seeing your stars walk out the door is painful - and expensive. You need to take steps to ensure that you attract, develop, and retain your best people. If you read nothing else on managing talent in your organisation, read these 10 articles. We've...

What will it take to create a more gender-balanced workplace? If you read nothing else on leadership and gender at work, read these 10 articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you understand where gender equality is today—and how far we...

In challenging times, companies must serve their customers faster and more efficiently. This makes improving your business processes more critical than ever. In Improving Business Processes, you'll learn key steps for carrying out a business process improvement initiative, including how to: Plan a business process improvement initiative Analyse and redesign a current process that needs improvement Obtain the resources needed...

Everyone deserves to feel a sense of respect and belonging. And we all want our coworkers to feel safe, heard, and free to be their authentic selves at work. But being an inclusive colleague doesn't always come naturally. This book will teach you how to be more empathetic, accepting, and socially aware, so you can create a more inclusive work...

Changing hearts is an important part of changing minds. With research into how appeals to human emotion can help you make your case and earn authority as a leader, this book presents both comprehensive frameworks for developing influence and small, simple tactics that you can use to convince others every day. How to be human at work. The HBR Emotional...

Don't leave creativity up to the creatives in your organisation. Fostering creativity within your team can help your organisation solve problems, create innovative products, break out into a new market, and even communicate and collaborate more effectively. Innovative Teams shows you how to: Create the right environment for inventive thinking Build a diverse team Generate a wide array of new...

Manage your team from anywhere. Leading any team involves managing people, technical oversight, and project administration, but leaders of virtual teams perform these functions from afar. Leading Virtual Teams walks you through the basics of: Connecting your people to each other—and to the team's mission Surmounting language, distance, and technology barriers Identifying and using the right communication channels Don't have...

Quick, practical management advice from Harvard Business Review to help you do your job better. Drawing from HBR's popular Management Tip of the Day newsletter, this concise, handy guide is packed with easy-to-read tips on a broad range of topics, organised into three major skills every manager must master: Managing yourself. Managing your team. Managing your business. Management Tips 2:...

You've been asked to manage a key project. Its success could propel your career, but before you take the reins, you want a brief overview of what's expected of you. Managing Projects walks you through the basics from start to finish, highlighting proven techniques for: Drawing up your plan Allocating resources Motivating your team Communicating with stakeholders Closing out the...

Leading teams is an essential skill every manager must possess. To do it effectively, you must know how to instil commitment in your team, improve communication among group members, and diagnose common problems that can derail a team. In Managing Teams, you'll find valuable advice and proven strategies for managing teams, including how to: Diagnose common problems that can impede...

Boost your productivity with these essential tips. About HBR's 20-Minute Manager Series: Don't have much time? Get up to speed fast on the most essential business skills with HBR's 20-Minute Manager series. Whether you need a crash course or a brief refresher, each book in the series is a concise, practical primer that will help you brush up on a...

Move ahead in your career - without leaving your family behind What happens when you're no longer setting goals and chasing dreams that work for you alone? When the career choices you make have ripple effects on your family? Can you uproot your household for an overseas assignment even if it's a surefire path to promotion? How do you make...

The benefits of mindfulness include better performance, heightened creativity, deeper self-awareness, and increased charisma—not to mention greater peace of mind. This book gives you practical steps for building a sense of presence into your daily work routine. It also explains the science behind mindfulness and why it works, and provides clear-eyed warnings about the pitfalls of the fad. This volume...

Seize the benefits of the five-generation workforce. Generational distrust and ageism are seeping into organisations worldwide. Differences over communication style, technology preferences, identity, and politics are fuelling harmful stereotypes and hurting team performance. It doesn't need to be this way. Smart leaders are harnessing age diversity and encouraging mutual learning, cross-generational collaboration, and a culture that embraces both similarities and...

A carefully curated selection of articles about managing your personal power from Harvard Business Review. Highly curated collections of HBR articles provide a variety of perspectives from recognised experts on the topic. The book teaches readers how to wield soft power effectively to influence others. It helps readers understand power dynamics between people and how power plays a role in...

Seize this moment to advance racial justice at your organisation. In the wake of widespread anti-racism demonstrations across the world, many companies have spoken out forcefully. They've made unprecedented commitments to equity and launched ad campaigns and task forces to counter racism, especially anti-Black racism. But now comes the real test—harnessing the energy of this moment to further and sustain...

Reskilling is the new imperative in the war for talent. As the pace of technological change accelerates, the demand for new skills is increasing. And as technologies like AI take on new tasks and jobs, smart organisations aren't waiting for their new workforces to appear. They are investing in reskilling the workers. They're adopting a skills-based approach to hiring and...

Make yourself heard. Having your voice heard at work can be challenging, whether you're confronting a colleague about an inappropriate comment or trying to avoid being talked over by a male peer. But you can find ways to raise issues without raising your voice. Speak Up, Speak Out provides the research, advice, and practical tips you need to address issues...

Is your data strategy ready for the next wave of analytics? Data analytics offer an incredible opportunity to predict the future, engage with new technological advancements, and gain valuable insights about your business. But unless you're staying on top of the cutting edge of analytics, your company is wasting that potential—and your competitors will be gaining speed while you fall...

The future is here. How is your organisation responding? Amid the turbulence of a global pandemic, worldwide social justice movements, and accelerated digital transformation, one thing has been clear – work will no longer be the same. Employees now expect a flexible, inclusive workplace, and a deeper connection to their employer. Organisations must commit to doing good for their people...

A year of HBR's essential thinking on tech - all in one place. Generative AI, Web3, neurotech, reusable rockets to power the space economy - new technologies like these are reshaping organisations at the hybrid office, on factory floors, and in the C-suite. What should you and your company be doing now to take advantage of the new opportunities these...

Data is your business. Have you unlocked its full potential? If you read nothing else on data strategy, read HBR's 10 Must Reads on Data Strategy. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you maximise your analytics capabilities; harness the power of data, algorithms, and AI; and gain competitive advantage...

Stop pushing products—and start cultivating relationships with the right customers. If you read nothing else on marketing that delivers competitive advantage, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you reinvent your marketing by putting it—and your customers—at the centre of your business. Leading...

Be mindful, empathetic, and authentic—even on-screen. Managing your team, building relationships and trust, and facilitating effective meetings in a hybrid or fully remote workforce is challenging. Virtual EI explores how to develop, practice, and demonstrate your emotional intelligence and social skills in a virtual or hybrid setting. You'll learn how to make your team feel heard, draw everyone's voice into...

In the face of hardship, you need perseverance and determination. You need grit. But how do you build it? This book explores how you can persist in difficult situations. You'll learn how to convince yourself to do hard things, find support in trying circumstances, and know when you're pushing yourself too hard. This volume includes the work of: Angela Duckworth...

It's time for female leaders to stand out. Women often aren't seen for their leadership potential. We face a double bind, forced to choose whether to be liked or respected, while neither one alone is enough to secure a seat at the table. It's up to organisations to change, but until then, what's an aspiring female leader to do? You,...

According to research by Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence has proved to be twice as important as other competencies in determining outstanding leadership. It's now one of the crucial criteria in hiring and promotion processes, performance evaluations, and professional development courses. And it's not innate—it's a set of skills that all of us can learn and improve upon. With this double...