Motivating people

John and Peter are two salesmen for the XYZ corporation. John sells twice as much as Peter. John earns twice as much as Peter, right? Wrong. John may even earn less. The XYZ corporation’s sales compensation plan is not unique in the modern business world. In the past decade many companies have turned to sophisticated […]

If you need help transforming your organization’s wildest dreams into reality, introduce a new managerial device that’s as simple as it is effective.

The corporate president stared out the window of his skyscraper office. His forehead was furrowed in anger and puzzlement. His fingers drummed the arm of his chair with a speed that signified intense frustration. The other executives in the room waited expectantly. Each had said his piece. Each had come to his and her own […]

In a rapidly changing world managers need to increase their skills at diagnosing resistance to change and at choosing the appropriate methods for overcoming it.

Pop open any package of NatureSweet cherry or grape tomatoes, turn over the top, and you'll find a face looking back at you-a portrait of one of the company's...

By my reckoning, Ben Horowitz is the most thought-provoking blogger on leadership and strategy today. He's also a lot more than a blogger. As one of the...

Managers who motivate with incentives and the power of their vision and passion succeed only in energizing employees who want to be motivated. So how...

Offer different ways to disconnect and recharge.

They can slow down progress and waste effort - but when managed well, they can also present new opportunities.

Your best salespeople possess vast knowledge about how to connect with and motivate people - and perhaps take the company to the next level. But they...

The problem is not your inability to switch off, but to switch on.

To get yourself and your team off to a good start for the new year, focus on progress. Our research discovered that fostering progress in meaningful work is the most important way to keep people highly engaged at work — even if that progress is a “small win.” We call this phenomenon the progress principle; […]

Bonuses and other forms of incentive compensation are an effective motivator of executives to achieve ever higher earnings per share. The drive to produce short-term results, however, often influences management to forgo investment in capital equipment and R&D that would benefit the corporation several years hence even more than improved earnings next year would. The […]

Revisiting W. Edwards Deming helps in an era of short-termism and mistrust.

The so-called war for talent is still raging. But in that fight, employers continue to rely on the same hiring and retention strategies they've been using...

In this economic climate, it is more critical than ever to make your staff feel recognized for their contributions. Harvard Management Update sought the advice of best-selling author and employee motivation expert Bob Nelson, who has worked with such companies as FedEx, Time Warner, and IBM, on how to best handle this. 1.What’s so important […]

Network groups for black and Hispanic employees had been an unqualified success. Now a Christian group was forming—and Bill Thompson didn’t know what to think about it.

Don't minimize the loss.

Imagination activates brain regions that can map your path to success.

Stay on top of your leadership game. Leadership isn't something you're born with or gifted as a reward for an abundance of charisma; true leadership stems...

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Yet being honest about depression, anxiety, and other psychological conditions at work can feel...

Lead your hybrid team to success. The strictly nine-to-five office routine no longer exists, and you may be managing a team that works in several different...

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...

More than a buzzword, agile is a powerful business tool for all. To the uninitiated, agile is a software development and project management process involving...

In November 2021, US Foods CEO Pietro Satriano must decide his company's trajectory following the COVID-19 pandemic. US Foods suffered due to business...

Stay on top of your leadership game. Leadership isn't something you're born with or gifted as a reward for an abundance of charisma; true leadership stems...

Two reasonable people, a boss and a subordinate, find each other 'impossible to handle'. Through their descriptions of each other's behavior we realize...

This case describes a challenging decision faced by Dr. Elizabeth Clarke, Chair of the Surgery Department, regarding what to do about Dr. Jamie Thompson,...

Help your people reach their full potential. Recent data reveals abysmal engagement levels among workers around the globe. Individual employees and organizations...

Imagine walking up to a stranger on the subway and asking them for their seat. What about asking a random person on the street if you could borrow their...

Anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, and other invisible illnesses are plaguing the workforce now more than ever. The Covid-19 pandemic and the...

The one primer you need to develop your leadership skills. Put aside all the overhyped new frameworks, the listicles, the "10 best things you need to...

PagAmigo specializes in transactions for the public from cashiers' windows located near the exit counters of supermarkets located mostly in the greater...

A year's worth of management wisdom, all in one place. We've reviewed the ideas, insights, and best practices from the past year of Harvard Business Review...

Large discrepancies have developed between two elite technology development teams at Crutchfield Chemical Engineering in terms of motivation and creativity....

Brenda Cooper, a new regional sales manager for Hausser Food Products, is stumped after a year on the job. In charge of selling infant foods to customers...

Agile is a powerful business tool for all. Agile is here to stay, and its benefits can be realized beyond IT and project management into other areas of...

Natalie Jung, amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, transformed her newfound passion for handcrafted jewelry into Radiant Sun Shop (RSS), a thriving Etsy business...

Barbara Norris struggles to address the many problems facing her as a recently promoted nurse manager in the General Surgery Unit (GSU) at Eastern Massachusetts...

John and Peter are two salesmen for the XYZ corporation. John sells twice as much as Peter. John earns twice as much as Peter, right? Wrong. John may even earn less. The XYZ corporation’s sales compensation plan is not unique in the modern business world. In the past decade many companies have turned to sophisticated […]

If you need help transforming your organization’s wildest dreams into reality, introduce a new managerial device that’s as simple as it is effective.

The corporate president stared out the window of his skyscraper office. His forehead was furrowed in anger and puzzlement. His fingers drummed the arm of his chair with a speed that signified intense frustration. The other executives in the room waited expectantly. Each had said his piece. Each had come to his and her own […]

In a rapidly changing world managers need to increase their skills at diagnosing resistance to change and at choosing the appropriate methods for overcoming it.

Pop open any package of NatureSweet cherry or grape tomatoes, turn over the top, and you'll find a face looking back at you-a portrait of one of the company's...

By my reckoning, Ben Horowitz is the most thought-provoking blogger on leadership and strategy today. He's also a lot more than a blogger. As one of the...

Managers who motivate with incentives and the power of their vision and passion succeed only in energizing employees who want to be motivated. So how...

Offer different ways to disconnect and recharge.

They can slow down progress and waste effort - but when managed well, they can also present new opportunities.

Your best salespeople possess vast knowledge about how to connect with and motivate people - and perhaps take the company to the next level. But they...