Publications

01 May 2017
Research & Ideas

Bad At Your Job? Maybe It's the Job’s Fault

Source: Geber86 When a worker struggles to meet the demands of a particular position, the problem may not be with the employee—maybe it’s the job’s design that is wrong. A poorly designed job can work against even the most dedicated... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

24 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

Passion at Work Is a Good Thing—But Only If Bosses Know How to Manage It

work actually means, which could lead to unhappy workers and frustrated managers. “As an organization, it’s not enough to just hire people for passion. Leaders also need to learn how to manage for passion.” An analysis of 200 million job... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

02 Apr 2010
What Do You Think?

Why Are Fewer and Fewer U.S. Employees Satisfied With Their Jobs?

covered together during that time, especially several of you who have responded to more than half of the topics (and to C. J. Cullinane who has offered views on nearly every one). This month's column yielded many hypotheses to explain why... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

18 May 2021
Book

Launching a Career in the COVID Economy? Here Are 5 Tips.

do the job well, and people will offer you more responsibility. Commitment. Demonstrate that you are excited about your job, and people will invest in you. Compatibility. Prove that you can get along with... View Details

Keywords: by Carolyn DiPaolo

10 Feb 2016
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: New Insights into Career Development

Harvard Business School researchers are offering unique insights into our workplaces and careers. In this world, taking a pay cut can help a career, promotions aren't always good things, and networking may send you to the nearest tub for... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

April 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

TixToGo: Financing a Silicon Valley Start-up

Describes TixToGo, a Silicon Valley start-up company that offers online solutions to individuals and organizations that want to offer activities and/or collect registration fees for events over the Internet. A serial entrepreneur and his partner started the company in... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Information Technology; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; San Francisco

2015
Report

The Global STEM Paradox

By: Mark R. Kramer, Kate Tallant, Amanda Oudin Goldberger and Flynn Lebus

Despite increasing numbers of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates worldwide, STEM jobs remain unfilled in developed and developing countries. Through an exploration of the root causes of this global STEM paradox, FSG offers an answer to this... View Details

Keywords: STEM Labor; Science; Information Technology; Engineering; Jobs and Positions; Global Range

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18 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

New Hires Lose Psychological Safety After Year One. How to Fix It.

Starting a new job often brings excitement and high hopes of mingling with colleagues, sharing innovative ideas, and making a positive impact on an organization. Soon, however, a new employee’s excitement may start to wane, if the person... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

Article

Know Your Customers' 'Jobs to Be Done'

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon and David S. Duncan

Firms have never known more about their customers, but their innovation processes remain hit-or-miss. Why? According to Christensen and his coauthors, product developers focus too much on building customer profiles and looking for correlations in data. To create... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management

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25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

leave vacant positions unfilled for immediate, measurable savings. That's the retail way. Moreover, the costs of understaffing aren't easily quantifiable; who can say how many customers are lost to long lines or stock-outs? “You can invest in your people and View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

August 2011
Case

Martha Rinaldi: Should She Stay or Should She Go?

By: Linda A. Hill and Mark Renella

Martha Rinaldi has been an assistant product manager at leading beverage company Potomac Waters since graduating from business school. Rinaldi is frustrated by her relationships with her boss and a close co-worker. Even though she works hard to please her manager, she... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Relations; Management Styles; Managing Up; Career Planning; Conflict; Management Style; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Food and Beverage Industry

August 11, 2023
Article

How CEOs Can Navigate the Emotional Labor of Leadership

By: Nitin Nohria

Although the CEO role comes with power, pay, and privilege, it also involves emotional labor, as leaders feel the toll of making divisive and unpopular decisions. This aspect of the job has become more challenging the last few years. This article offers leaders four... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Work-Life Balance; Emotions

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December 2009 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Iris Running Crane: December 2009

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Iris Running Crane, an MBA candidate, must choose among three different job offers in private equity. One is with a top-tier megafund buyout operation; the second with a geographically focused mid-market fund; and the third with a one-time top-tier fund that is trying... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Job Offer; Personal Development and Career; Financial Services Industry

December 21, 2021
Article

How to Become a Better Listener

By: Robin Abrahams and Boris Groysberg

Listening is a skill that’s vitally important, sadly undertaught, and physically and mentally taxing. In the aftermath of COVID-19, particularly with the shift to remote work and the red-hot job market, it’s never been more important—or more difficult—for leaders to be... View Details

Keywords: Listening; Nonverbal Communication; Communication; Competency and Skills; Performance Improvement

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October 2008 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Lawrence Trinh: Venturing to Vietnam

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Rachel Gordon

Should Lawrence Trinh pursue his aspiration of working in Vietnam—and if so, what set of principles and practices should he adopt if he encounters corruption? These are questions that reverberate for many students who wish to work in emerging markets and other contexts... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Ethics; Investment; Leadership Development; Emerging Markets; Personal Development and Career; Welfare; Financial Services Industry

November 2008 (Revised December 2008)
Case

Differences at Work: Sameer (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

Sameer, an Indian Muslim, is a summer intern in a small firm. Prompted by a conflict in the Middle East, members of the organization make a number of anti-Muslim jokes. Sameer wonders whether he should surface discomfort; he otherwise enjoys the firm, and is hoping to... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Ethnicity; Behavior; Religion; Organizational Culture; Middle East; India

03 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why a Failed Startup Might Be Good for Your Career After All

of university around the same time held jobs that have the same seniority level that also belonged to the same industry as the entrepreneurs before they started their VC-backed companies. Leapfrogging on the corporate ladder The results... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2016
Book

Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon and David S. Duncan

The foremost authority on innovation and growth presents a path-breaking book every company needs to transform innovation from a game of chance to one in which they develop products and services that customers want to buy and are willing to purchase at a premium price.... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Consumer Behavior

December 2021
Case

Burning Glass Technologies: From Data to Product

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Amy Klopfenstein

In May 2021, Matt Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, a company that provided labor market analytics for a variety of markets, navigates his company’s transition from data company to product company. Burning Glass originated as a service that used artificial... View Details