HBR Blog Network

As you take some time to reflect, relax, and renew before the year to come, we offer you our most popular multimedia content from the year that was: podcasts, videos, slideshows, and infographics that we hope help you chart a successful course in 2012. First off, our most popular podcast this year was Justin Fox's interview with Bob Pozen, "Productivity Secrets of a Very Busy Man." Perhaps if I, too, were willing to eat the... More »

I didn't buy any gifts from Amazon this year. I, whose entire job basically depends on the Internet — including editing HBR Singles like this and this, both sold through Amazon — developed a moral and intellectual aversion to purchasing goods from this Internet stalwart. Here's what happened. My original plan this holiday shopping season was, as usual, to order a pile of books — and kitchen gizmos, and DVDs, and who knows what all... More »

In yet another effort to solve the euro crisis, France and Germany last week agreed on a stability pact that essentially offers increased bailout funds in return for even stronger fiscal austerity on the part of the major debtor countries of Europe. But the deal arguably necessitated changes to the Treaties governing the European Union and as such required assent from all 27 EU member countries, ten of which are not members of the euro... More »

This blog post is part of the HBR Online Forum The Future of Retail. Like many men, I've never been very enthusiastic about shopping. That's partly because I'm frugal, and don't enjoy spending money. It's partly due to the hassles I associate with visiting retail stores — a series of inconveniences that begins in the parking lot (hunting for spaces), continues in the aisles (where I can never find what I need), and ends at... More »

It's no longer about the small fry. With borrowing costs now over 7%, Italy is next in line for a bail-out and the future of the Euro just got even more uncertain. It's a tough topic to blog about these days since the situation is evolving at frightening speed. But let's try and round up some of the various threads. So far the crisis has claimed a lot of political scalps in the severely indebted... More »

First, there was to be a referendum in Greece, then there wasn't. George Papandreou was to remain prime minister, now he isn't. There's to be a coalition government, but the main opposition party (headed by Papandreou's former roommate at Amherst College) won't join. Now, apparently, it might. At least that's where we are at the time of writing. There are those who talk about the tragedy of Greece. On the face of it, though, it... More »

At RoboBusiness this week, a conference devoted to the business and technology of robots, the revelation for me was not just how far robotic capabilities have come but also the range of problems robots are already helping to solve. Take the robot developed by a team at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute to assist in autism research. It's very cute and approachable and responds to kids' behaviors toward it in engaging but low-key ways. As Marek... More »

By now it's pretty clear that the various euro zone rescue packages are all being designed with the German electorate in mind. The story — illogical though it may be — is essentially about teaching profligate Latin economies the values of thrift and financial rectitude. If people believe that these countries will be thrifty and upright, then investors will pile in and create growth (Paul Krugman calls this the Confidence Fairy). But the profligate Southern... More »

I remember pulling all-nighters at college. Two minutes after scribbling the conclusion to my essay I'd trot around to my tutor and read it out. I can't say, though, that my last-minute, desperate efforts were particularly good. Work that I'd prepared thoughtfully, days in advance, usually went down a lot better. Plus, I didn't feel so exhausted afterwards. Well, our glorious leaders here in Europe just pulled an all-nighter. They came out with a deal... More »

A visionary who influenced the lives of countless millions across the world has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He is Dr. Ralph Steinman, a biologist who on Monday, three days after his death, won the Nobel prize in medicine. Steinman discovered what he called dendritic cells, which unlocked the puzzle of how the body reacts to infection. It changed how we treat cancer, infectious diseases and immune system disorders. Steve Jobs also passed... More »

My last encounter with Steve Jobs was in 2007, when he came to Time magazine, my former employer, to give us a peek at Apple's newest gadget: the iPhone. He showed off the product, and then passed it around for us all to play with. We handled it as if it were a moon rock, thrilled to be among the first to check it out. Ever the showman, he concluded by slam dunking the device... More »

Here we are at yet another last chance saloon. Siemens prefers to deposit its money directly with the ECB rather than with European banks because it gets better rates and feels safer. France's major banks have been downgraded. The CDS market is factoring in a 100% probability that Greece will default, and pundits are starting to compare the costs of a Greek exit with the costs of a German one. Greece, meanwhile, is announcing yet... More »

The global economy is in a pretty tight spot. The dismal and uncertain news out of Europe continues and the U.S. still struggles to drive meaningful growth against a persistent and pervasive joblessness. At the heart of these macro trends lie micro-decisions made by business leaders around the world as they ponder questions such as: "Do I feel confident that my company will hit my numbers this quarter?" and "Should I start hiring or hold... More »

Vijay Govindarajan's and Chris Trimble's article, "The CEO's Role in Business Model Reinvention," appeared in our January-February 2011 issue. The article urged forward-looking CEOs to manage reinvention with a "three-box approach": Box 1: Manage the present Box 2: Selectively forget the past Box 3: Create the future Using the example of Infosys chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy, the authors showed how one leader used the approach to remake a company. But the three-box approach is not... More »

In our November 2010 issue, Jeff Weiss and Jonathan Hughes, along with Major Aram Donigian, authored an article called "Extreme Negotiations." In it, they described the temptations we all face when negotiating under duress — for example, acting too quickly or relying too much on coercion — and suggested that the principles of effective negotiation become even more important when the stakes are high and the pressure is on. The article describes five strategies that... More »