Difficult Conversations - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

You have to project confidence that you’re going to be able to see this through successfully, with a minimum amount of hurt to the company, but also to all of the stakeholders who are relying on your leadership to get them through the View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

23 May 2024
News

HBS After October 7

On Friday, May 17, 2024, Dean Srikant Datar, HBS Alumni Board President Andreas Stavropoulos (MBA 1997), and members of the School’s leadership held an online forum for alumni to learn more about the School’s activities and actions since October 7, 2023. Stavropoulos... View Details

09 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Five Steps to Better Family Negotiations

as they are currently rather than as they were when they were younger. Third, because families generally fear conflict, they avoid certain conversations (that may be useful or necessary in a negotiation) for fear it will touch on a... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Davis and Deepak Malhotra

13 Nov 2017
Blog Post

5 Worries I Had about Applying to HBS

would be difficult to learn business concepts through the case method I like intellectual discussions but I was skeptical about the potential for real learning through the case method. All I had done up till my MBA were class lectures. I... View Details

14 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Understaffed and Overworked: What Now?

conversations with their bosses, notes Thomas DeLong, who teaches organizational behavior at Harvard Business School. "I'm amazed that although organizations are willing to set metrics for success in View Details

Keywords: by Paul Michelman

Web

Design Thinking Course | HBS Online

concepts, and as a virtual Learner Success Assistant who can help you stay on track with completing the coursework in a timely fashion. When you are finding a particular concept difficult to master, or would like additional examples of a... View Details

19 Mar 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’

program successful. Neeley, who has studied this unmined subject for nearly 10 years, worked closely on the case with Mikitani, described by some as Japan's Bill Gates. Mikitani expected that the initial global English-only conversion... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

31 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

Can a ‘Basic Bundle’ of Health Insurance Cure Coverage Gaps and Spur Innovation?

additional medical services like dental or long-term care, and patient cost sharing. How much health care is a right? Establishing a basic plan would require policymakers to wrestle with complex questions about access and cost. Defining the scope of what a basic bundle... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Insurance; Health

15 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

What You Don’t Know About Making Decisions

Unfortunately, superior decision making is distressingly difficult to assess in real time. Successful outcomes—decisions of high quality, made in a timely manner and implemented effectively—can be evaluated only after the fact. But by the... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin & Michael A. Roberto

22 Feb 2021
Book

Reaching Today's Omnichannel Customer Takes a New Sales Strategy

modern-day sales management. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity: Kristen Senz: What shifts in sales should managers and executives be aware of right now? Frank Cespedes: Prospects are now online and offline throughout... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

30 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

The New Rules for Remote Work: Pandemic Edition

difficult decisions, such as closing offices or eliminating travel, but now they should express in black-and-white terms how employees’ work priorities should change as a result of these business disruptions. If certain non-essential... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

Organizational Leadership Course | HBS Online

and less averse to having difficult conversations. Juliana Casale Head of Marketing at Crazy Egg Learn to lead at scale and mobilize your employees as you transition your business from a startup into a growth-stage company. "HBS Online... View Details

11 Apr 2024
News

Mission Control

we are meant to do, is something that I have been, in various forms, following since being a teenager. I had a very inspirational preacher in our community, very open, ecumenic, always forcing us to ask the difficult questions about life.... View Details

11 May 2009
Research & Ideas

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

high-speed technological advances their employees master, and that so much of the work is difficult to observe. “IT has become a 'participative sport' for the senior management team, rather than a 'spectator sport.'” Chapter 15 of the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

Frequently Asked Questions | HBS Online

reflections and contribute to conversations on the course platform. Participants who fail to complete each course’s requirements will not receive a Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Specialization, and will be ineligible to... View Details

01 Jan 2013
News

Joanna M. Jacobson, MBA 1987

Colgate–Palmolive, Product Manager 1991 Named SVP of Marketing and Product Development, Converse 1994 Joins Core Strategy Group, Partner 1996 Named President, Keds 2002 Launches Strategic Grant Partners 2013 SGP has granted more than $40... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

pandemic is likely to change how companies do business. Here’s what they said: Michael Beer: Organizations will develop trust-based cultures with employees The coronavirus challenge demands an organization-wide, honest conversation that... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

29 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

For Entrepreneurs, Blown Deadlines Can Crush Big Ideas

That's just human nature." That leads to a “cascading effect” that is difficult for most people to anticipate, much like the way that the public was surprised by the speed with which COVID-19 spread in early 2020, Peterson says. “Consider... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

13 May 2019
Blog Post

The Many Facets of Becoming a Mother at HBS

joy of realizing my miracle pregnancy eclipsed the fear of being a geographically-single mommy at HBS. Nevertheless, being a new mom at HBS was extremely challenging. Yet, this wonderfully difficult period allowed me to fully experience... View Details

18 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

Pulpit Bullies: Why Dominating Leaders Kill Teams

to ask questions and make comments. In reality, however, the speakers often do the opposite—dominating the time and not allowing for much discussion at all. "As professors we do this too," admits Gino. "It's very difficult... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Publications