Personal Development and Career →
- 10 Mar 2011
- What Do You Think?
To What Degree Does the Job Make the Person?
Summing Up: Jobs shape us as much as we shape our jobs, Jim Heskett's readers suggest. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Mar 2011
- Research & Ideas
Why Companies Fail—and How Their Founders Can Bounce Back
Leading a doomed company can often help a career by providing experience, insight, and contacts that lead to new opportunities, says professor Shikhar Ghosh. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Sep 2010
- Research & Ideas
Power Posing: Fake It Until You Make It
Nervous about an upcoming presentation or job interview? Holding one's body in "high-power" poses for short time periods can summon an extra surge of power and sense of well-being when it's needed, according to Harvard Business School professor Amy J.C. Cuddy. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Sep 2010
- Research & Ideas
Mindful Leadership: When East Meets West
Harvard Business School professor William George is fusing Western understanding about leadership with Eastern wisdom about the mind to develop leaders who are self-aware and self-compassionate. An interview about his recent Mindful Leadership conference taught with a Buddhist meditation master. Key concepts include: People who are mindful—fully present and aware—can become more effective leaders. Leaders with low emotional intelligence often lack self-awareness and self-compassion, which can lead to a lack of self-regulation. Authenticity is developed by becoming more self-aware and having compassion for oneself. Group support provides nonjudgmental feedback in order to recognize blind spots, accept shortcomings, and gain confidence. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Apr 2010
- What Do You Think?
Why Are Fewer and Fewer U.S. Employees Satisfied With Their Jobs?
This month's column yielded many hypotheses to explain why U.S. employees' job satisfaction is at a 23-year low, says HBS professor Jim Heskett. Readers also offered antidotes to job malaise. (Online forum now closed. New forum begins May 5.) Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Jun 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Social Influence Given (Partially) Deliberate Matching: Career Imprints in the Creation of Academic Entrepreneurs
How do people select partners for relationships? Most relationships arise from a matching process in which individuals pair on a limited number of high-priority dimensions. Although people often match on just a few attributes, it may be that some set of additional characteristics, which was not considered when a choice was made to develop the relationship, results in the social transmission of attitudes and behaviors. For this reason, social matching is only "partially" deliberate. HBS professor Toby Stuart and coauthors observe this phenomenon in an analysis of the origins and consequences of the matching of postdoctoral biomedical scientists to their faculty advisers. This work shows the imprints of postdoctoral advisers on the subsequent choices of the scientists-in-training who travel through their laboratories. The researchers' findings contribute to a burgeoning literature on the interface between academic and commercial science. Key concepts include: The fact that matching is only partially deliberate clearly opens avenues for the unforeseen transmission of attitudes and behaviors. In certain circumstances, the attributes to which we are unexpectedly exposed can matter. Particularly when these exposures take place in the context of relationships with long durations or ones in which there are notable status or experience differentials between partners, chance exposures can fundamentally change individuals' points of view. In long running, asymmetric relationships (such as those between protégés and advisers), the length of interaction provides ample opportunity for the standard pathways of influence to take hold. And when these experiences occur in the process of professional development as seen in this study, they may result in turning points that reorient actors' career trajectories. Such partially deliberate matching may permeate the sociology of the economy, as many social relationships in market contexts arise from a limited set of economic imperatives, but subsequently become pipelines for social influence. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 May 2009
- Research & Ideas
The IT Leader’s Hero Quest
Think you could be CIO? Jim Barton is a savvy manager but an IT newbie when he's promoted into the hot seat as chief information officer in The Adventures of an IT Leader, a novel by HBS professors Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan and coauthor Shannon O'Donnell. Can Barton navigate his strange new world quickly enough? Q&A with the authors, and book excerpt. Key concepts include: The role of CIO is one of the most volatile, high-turnover jobs in business. Why? The driving cause is more than rapid change in IT. Rather, IT is at the crossroads of major organizational change. Barton soon realizes that IT-specific knowledge is not a key to success. Instead, he must take care to collaborate equally with the senior management team and his own staff. Like Barton, today's senior executives are continuously confronted with situations with multiple uncertainties, needing collaboration and input from experts who may know more than they do about the specifics. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Mar 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Demographics, Career Concerns or Social Comparison: Who Games SSRN Download Counts?
Why do certain individuals commit fraudulent acts—in this case repeatedly downloading their own working papers from the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) repository to increase the papers' reported download counts? HBS professors Benjamin G. Edelman and Ian I. Larkin study the relative importance of demographic, economic, and psychological factors leading individuals to commit this kind of gaming. Authors engage in deceptive self-downloading to improve a paper's visibility on SSRN, to obtain more favorable assessments of paper quality, and to obtain possible benefits for promotion and tenure decisions at those schools that consider download counts in tenure decisions. Data indicates that authors are more likely to inflate their papers' download counts when a higher count greatly improves the visibility of a paper on the SSRN network. Authors are also more likely to inflate their papers' download counts when their peers recently had successful papers—suggesting an "envy" effect in download gaming. Download inflations are also affected somewhat by career concerns (e.g. just before changing jobs) and by demographic factors, though these effects are smaller. On the whole, analysis suggests a heightened risk of fraudulent acts not only where economic returns are high, but also where prestige, status, or reputation are important. Key concepts include: Envy and social comparisons play a strong role in predicting deceptive downloads. Discontinuities and other incentive anomalies invite gaming. At SSRN, gaming increases when it will increase a paper's visibility on SSRN by putting the paper (or keeping it) on a "Top 10 list." Some groups seem to be less likely to engage in download gaming. Females and researchers at low-ranked institutions seem to be somewhat less likely to engage in gaming. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 15 Jan 2009
- Sharpening Your Skills
Sharpening Your Skills: Career & Life Balance
Achieving a life that balances the pleasures and demands of work and life has never been easy. Here are four HBS Working Knowledge stories from the archives that address everything from spirituality in leadership to understanding when "just enough" is truly enough. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Jan 2009
- Research & Ideas
The Value of a ‘Portable’ Career
Can you predict whether star performers will replicate their success in a new environment? HBS professor Boris Groysberg and colleagues ask this question of professional football teams, and the results offer valuable lessons for star performers and hiring executives of business firms, too. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Oct 2008
- Research & Ideas
The Seven Things That Surprise New CEOs
In the newly released book On Competition, Professor Michael E. Porter updates his classic articles on the competitive forces that shape strategy. We excerpt a portion on advice for new CEOs, written with HBS faculty Jay W. Lorsch and Nitin Nohria. Key concepts include: Most new chief executives are taken aback by unfamiliar new roles, time and information limitations, and altered professional relationships. The CEO must learn to manage organizational context rather than focus on daily operations. The CEO must not get totally absorbed in the role. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2008
- Working Paper Summaries
CEO and CFO Career Penalties to Missing Quarterly Analysts Forecasts
(Previous title: "CEO and CFO Career Consequences to Missing Quarterly Earnings Benchmarks.") This paper investigates whether the failure to meet quarterly earnings benchmarks such as the analysts' consensus forecast matters to CEO and CFO careers, after controlling for both operating and stock return performance and the magnitude of the earnings "surprise" revealed at the earnings announcement. In particular, it evaluates a comprehensive set of career consequences such as the impact on compensation, in the form of bonus and equity grants, and the dismissal of both the CEO and the CFO, conditioned on the failure to meet quarterly earnings benchmarks. Key concepts include: Missing analysts' consensus forecasts can potentially damage senior executives' careers. CEOs and CFOs also experience compensation penalties if their firms fail to meet the analysts' consensus forecast. Most of these career penalties for missing earnings benchmarks have increased in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley environment. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Aug 2008
- Research & Ideas
How Female Stars Succeed in New Jobs
Women who are star performers on Wall Street tend to fare better than men after changing jobs. Why? According to HBS professor Boris Groysberg, star women place greater emphasis than men on external business relationships, and conduct better research on potential employers. Plus: Businesswomen are asked to share career experiences. Key concepts include: Star women performers invest more in external than in in-house relationships. They also tend to do far more due diligence than men when they receive a job offer. Organizations that deliberately set out to create female-friendly environments seem to reap a competitive advantage. Women in a male-dominated industry realize that they are vulnerable, but men are also vulnerable to bad management and cultural mismatches more than they realize. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Jun 2008
- Research & Ideas
Rethinking Retirement Planning
Many of us are relying on defined contribution plans to help fund retirement. But Harvard Business School professor Robert C. Merton believes today's plans are not sustainable. So what's next? A new way to look at the problem. Key concepts include: Defined contribution plans currently offered by the majority of employers place an undue burden on workers who don't have the interest, time, or expertise to manage their finances. A new pension program focuses on an inflation-protected annuity rather than an endpoint with a lump sum of accumulated wealth. The program requires few interactions from users: "set it and forget it." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 31 Jan 2008
- Working Paper Summaries
Peer Effects and Entrepreneurship
How do your coworkers affect your decision to become an entrepreneur? The vast majority of entrepreneurs launch their new ventures following a period of employment in established organizations. To date, factors such as the degree of bureaucracy that individuals have experienced have been shown to shape their likelihood to go into business for themselves. But socialization matters, too. Nanda and Sørensen show that the career experiences of coworkers shape both the information and the resources available to prospective entrepreneurs, as well as the value that individuals attach to entrepreneurial activity as a career choice. Key concepts include: Who your coworkers are, and what they have done in their careers, influence the likelihood that you will become an entrepreneur. Peers matter in 2 ways: by structuring coworkers' access to information and resources that help identify entrepreneurial opportunities, and by influencing coworkers' perceptions about entrepreneurship as a career choice. Company policies and practices related to hiring and retention may have indirect consequences for entrepreneurial activity. These findings have policy implications. For instance, policies that encourage long worker tenures will tend to lower rates of movement between firms, thereby indirectly reducing the supply of prospective entrepreneurs. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Jan 2008
- Research & Ideas
New Challenges in Leading Professional Services
Professional service firms are being challenged as never before—by clients, associates, and the competition, just for starters. But old-style PSF leaders are not equipped to respond, says Harvard Business School professor Thomas J. DeLong. He discusses his new book When Professionals Have to Lead. Plus: Book excerpt. Key concepts include: Today's leaders of professional service firms are being overwhelmed by demanding clients, human capital challenges, lack of organizing strategies, and perhaps most of all, unrealistic expectations of the task itself. There is also on ongoing trend to focus on the development of only the highfliers and ignore a vast number of very competent professionals who are the heart and soul of the firm. The integrated leadership model is built on 4 specific dimensions: setting direction, gaining commitment to the direction, executing on the direction, and setting a personal example. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Jun 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
Learning to Make the Move to CEO
Even experienced managers need to learn more if they hope to ascend to the C-Suite. In a program created by Harvard Business School Executive Education, participants learn new techniques and perspectives not only from faculty but from their cohorts as well. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Jun 2007
- What Do You Think?
How Should Pay Be Linked to Performance?
Online forum now CLOSED. Professor Jim Heskett sums up 98 reader responses from around the world. As he concludes, is there another subject as important as this one about which we assume so much and know so little? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 May 2007
- Research & Ideas
The Key to Managing Stars? Think Team
Stars don't shine alone. As Harvard Business School's Boris Groysberg and Linda-Eling Lee reveal in new research, it is imperative that top performers as well as their managers take into account the quality of colleagues. Groysberg and Lee explain the implications for star mobility and retention in this Q&A. Key concepts include: It takes a team. Despite a star's talent, knowledge, experience, and reputation, his or her colleagues make the difference for sustaining top performance. Before considering a career move, carefully evaluate the support you would receive from colleagues even in other parts of the firm. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
Fame, Faith, and Social Activism: Business Lessons from Bono
Many executives struggle to balance work, family, and community, but for rock star Bono the effort is spread across the globe. In the HBS case "Bono and U2," professor Nancy F. Koehn discusses key business lessons to be learned from the famous band. Key concepts include: Take stock of how you are using your funds, your authority, and your people. A leader's mission and purpose isn't static; it evolves. The mission of the CEO should be related to the organization's performance. Who you are and what you stand for as an organization have great relevance to the people who buy your product. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.