Difficult Conversations - Publications - Faculty & Research

29 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Time Pressure and Creativity: Why Time is Not on Your Side

employees, and how difficult was that process to manage? A: We wanted to do what few researchers have ever attempted: "trap creativity in the wild" in organizations, by observing it as it was happening within teams who are... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education; Fine Arts

10 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

How to Live Happier in 2023: Diversify Your Social Circle

more difficult to maintain and people might have lost touch with people in their lives. “An important part of the ‘new normal’ might be to seek out and foster connections with different people in your life,” says Collins. “Chat with your... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

21 Dec 2023
Blog Post

Top 10 MBA Voices Blogs of 2023

to sustainability, cases share the story of a business leader (the case protagonist) making a key decision in a difficult situation. In the classroom, students discuss and debate potential solutions with fellow classmates, bringing their... View Details

09 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Could Clean Hydrogen Become Affordable at Scale by 2030?

Hydrogen is poised to move from the sidelines of global clean energy as the industry learns to produce it more efficiently and at lower cost, according to newly published research led by Gunther Glenk, a climate fellow with Harvard Business School's Institute for the... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Green Technology

Web

2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

your years at HBS including yearbooks, course catalogs, photographs, issues of the HarBus and other materials from the HBS Archives. Saturday, June 3 8:30 am Community Conversation Breakfasts | 8:30 am – 9:30 am Batten Hives + More Info –... View Details

Web

Skydeck - Alumni

while skiing 1,000 miles through the Alaskan wilderness? How to Have Effective Conversations Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Charles Duhigg (MBA 2003) on the rules of real talk On the Job Recipients of the 2024 Alumni Achievement Award... View Details

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

“birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement.” “And only 2 percent of the poorest residents ever managed to get out of poverty,” Hill recalled discussing in her conversations with Delta employees when researching and writing the cases. At the... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

not even be sure how. Yet reflection is important; it gives us a chance to pause and figure out what really matters, especially when struggling with a difficult issue professionally or personally, says Joseph Badaracco, the John Shad... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

the cloud-storage industry, including an overview of the largest players and their pricing/service models. Further, various freemium-based companies across industries are compared, including user conversion rates and revenue profiles.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

08 Sep 2022
Book

Gen Xers and Millennials, It’s Time To Lead. Are You Ready?

George says, she became an “enabler” for the whole firm. Navigate today’s challenges. Be prepared to successfully lead your company through crises and help solve difficult global problems. In 2014, new General Motors CEO Mary Barra faced... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

10 May 2021
Research & Ideas

Who Has Potential? For Many White Men, It’s Often Other White Men

assignments that help them learn new skills. With more opportunities to shine, they rise through the ranks faster, preserving the status quo. "Those deemed stars are given the benefit of the doubt, even when they make mistakes." Assessment-oriented cultures are View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

Leadership - Faculty & Research

had to decide whether to respond to the letter and, if so, how. What made this decision difficult was that several relatively small and unknown activist investors had won important victories against large corporations in recent years.... View Details

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

defensive drives. The implicit, almost unconscious ways we get information and reassure each other are lost when people go remote. Colleagues are not going to overhear useful conversations while getting coffee. Because of this, functions... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

05 Jul 2012
What Do You Think?

Why Is Trust So Hard to Achieve in Management?

organization's management team can do is be transparent (and) persistently continue open conversation and not expect to be perfect." Karl Hunrick suggested that we need to employ more managers willing to take risk, because... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

08 Mar 2016
First Look

March 8, 2016

Consumer Neuroscience: Advances in Understanding Consumer Psychology By: Karmarkar, Uma R., and Carolyn Yoon Abstract—While the study of consumer behavior has been enriched by improved abilities to generate new insights, many of the mechanisms underlying judgments and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Dec 2016
First Look

December 13, 2016

Standards, Collusion, and Internal Trade in the 19th Century U.S. By: Gross, Daniel P. Abstract—Technology standards are pervasive in the modern economy, and a target for public and private investments, yet evidence on their economic importance is scarce. I study the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Web

Generative AI - Alumni

for a role in [industry]. Can you please write a conversational cover letter for a job application as a [position] at [company] using my resume and job description below as a reference. The cover letter should be around 400 words in... View Details

Web

Diversity and Inclusion - Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning

group For example, calling on a French student for the French or European perspective on an issue. Suggestions: Include in the conversation students from both within and outside of the demographic group under discussion, with an explicit... View Details

29 Sep 2022
Op-Ed

Inclusive Leadership Advice: Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

disapproval takes the form of silence—“the death pause,” as Pixar’s Ed Catmull describes it. Improv comedy teaches us to keep an open mind, understanding that communication drives insight and that closed conversations generally fail.... View Details

Keywords: by Francesca Gino

20 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Language Wars Divide Global Companies

fine with the new policy (most Indian workers are already bilingual, training at university in English), while many Germans found reading and speaking English awkward, making it difficult to express and defend their ideas. According to... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

Publications