Second Great Divergence - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

Good Leadership Is an Act of Kindness

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." —Henry James As a professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at the Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

lately, Sweden doesn’t seem as traditionally Swedish. The far-right Sweden Democrat party finished second in September’s election, touting an anti-immigrant campaign. The party’s parliamentary votes will influence the nation’s policies in... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

20 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 20

constitute a first level in the system, regulatory systems the second level, and political authority the third. This multi-level system could not emerge until sovereign political authorities relinquished some power in order to release the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

Owners & Entrepreneurs. The answers are already starting to come in, thanks to initial results from a pilot test of “The Entrepreneurial Leader: Self Assessment” survey taken by 1,300 HBS alumni. Results allowed the researchers to refine the self-assessment and to... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Working Knowledge

28 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Billions of Entrepreneurs in China and India

often provided in a top-down manner. The second difference is the nature and extent of openness to outside influence and foreigners. Foreign direct investment pours into China. India has embraced foreign direct investment much less, for... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

29 Sep 2022
Op-Ed

Inclusive Leadership Advice: Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

Gibson. To help us, we brought on stage a group of performers from Second City, the Chicago-based company that established the first ongoing improvisational theater troupe. Second City is the place where... View Details

Keywords: by Francesca Gino

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

What Would It Take to Unlock Microfinance's Full Potential?

about the impact of microfinance.” Bulletin: One of the great surprises of microfinance has been the astonishingly high rates of loan repayment, at around 96 or 98 percent. How do you interpret that? Ben Roth: One metric of success is... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Financial Services

29 Aug 2022
Op-Ed

Income Inequality Is Rising. Are We Even Measuring It Correctly?

information than the Gini alone can capture. Indeed, each one of the Ortega parameters focuses on different aspects of the income distribution; the first captures the extent to which income is distributed between low-income earners and medium-to-high-income earners,... View Details

Keywords: by Jon M. Jachimowicz, Kristin Blesch, and Oliver P. Hauser

18 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

It’s Not Nagging: Why Persistent, Redundant Communication Works

It's the rare child who follows a parent's order to do an unpleasant task the first time she's asked. Upon second request, she might listen, but again ignore the prod. It's often the third time, a more urgent "Brush your teeth,... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

14 Aug 2006
HBS Case

On Managing with Bobby Knight and “Coach K”

"Is it better to be loved or feared?" Machiavelli asked. At Harvard Business School, Professor Scott Snook uses this classic quote to help students become more effective leaders. Using two of the most successful college basketball coaches in history—coaches... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

But others have found pivoting difficult. “We’ve chosen not to go into delivery or pickup,” Shi said. “In the first phase after closing, we were really just concerned about our staff and their welfare. We set up a GoFundMe to raise money to ensure that they were taken... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

18 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by Asking the Right Questions

decisions and automates that process. So, instead of a few humans making decisions, now you can have millions of machines making systematically biased decisions. That scale can have a significant impact on society. The second one is also... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

vaccine did more harm than good. We don't have a great history of introducing vaccines quickly in the middle of a pandemic. We want to keep that in mind. The second point that I think is very important is I... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

21 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Sure Thing to Increase Productivity

productive, even if the tool is a great tool,” Choudhury says. That’s not to say that companies need to necessarily hire computer scientists. It may be that with extensive training, employees without such backgrounds can learn to use... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Information

19 Oct 2022
Op-Ed

Cofounder Courtship: How to Find the Right Mate—for Your Startup

harm businesses more than help. Certainly, when a great match happens it can be magic, but just like any marriage, one should not enter the relationship rashly. When thinking about whether or not you need a cofounder, consider: How could... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

16 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.

than recent economic crises and recessions such as the Great Recession of 2008 and the Mideast oil crisis, whose causes were financially driven. The fundamental driver of the pandemic is health and safety concerns and hence customer... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim; Retail; Service

2014
Working Paper

Stepping Stone, Stopping Point, or Slippery Slope? Negotiating the Next Iran Deal

By: James K. Sebenius

The November 2013 "interim" nuclear deal between Iran and the "P5+1"—the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany—raises challenging questions. Will the initial deal function as a stepping stone toward a more comprehensive deal? Or will it drift into... View Details

Keywords: Negotiations; Iran; Nuclear; Conflict Resolution; Winning Coalition; Blocking Coalition; Strategy; Negotiation; International Relations; France; Germany; Iran; China; Great Britain; United States; Russia

Citation

SSRN

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21 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Are You Sabotaging Your Own Company?

permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.” “Make ‘speeches.’ Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your ‘points’ by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences.” “When possible, refer... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

04 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Shackleton: An Entrepreneur of Survival

lessons for business leaders to be found in areas outside business. History itself, literature, theater—look to Shakespeare and Henry V, Julius Caesar, or King Lear. When we look at these enduring works, we find more than just great... View Details