The recent rollout of ChatGPT by OpenAI has set the world abuzz about the potential of artificial intelligence. But whatever happened to the last tech phenomenon, the “metaverse”? The once-heavily hyped future of immersive 3D technology seems to have drifted into the background, its bold virtual-reality future yet to materialize as hoped by its biggest proponents. Chief among its backers: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who two years ago went so…
In a little more than a decade, investors have transformed cryptocurrency from a techno-curiosity into a trillion-dollar-plus opportunity that has the potential to one day reshape the global economy. Yet in the past 10 years, little has been revealed about the investors who have signed on for this wild ride. That is, until now. A new study by Harvard Business School professor Marco Di Maggio shows that on average, cryptocurrency…
With more data available than ever before, why would any executive gamble on a hunch—especially for decisions that involve their own employees? An emerging field that uses data to study human behavior at work, “people analytics” is beginning to transform the workplace and significantly impact hiring and productivity, says Jeffrey T. Polzer, the UPS Foundation Professor of Human Resource Management at Harvard Business School. His recent paper probes how organizational…
Often the incentives we put in place to stimulate and reward performance produce unexpected behaviors. Causes vary from one individual to another, depending on what each of us values and what we are willing to do for the organization and the incentive. Misfires also occur because of policies that conflict with incentives or the ways the incentives are administered. In 1975, Steve Kerr, who would later become head of executive…
When unionization rumors begin, most companies react by throwing money at the problem. But that won’t halt the drive if workers feel mistreated or ignored, as Amazon found out. The company boosted hourly wages and benefits for warehouse workers, but many employees continued to call for union intervention. They said the company disregarded their concerns that they were being monitored, overworked, and in some cases, placed in unsafe environments. “Yes,…
With Hepatitis C running rampant in Egypt in 2012, Clifford Samuel, then of California-based Gilead Sciences, convened a series of urgent meetings with Egyptian government officials, doctors, and patients. His goal? To make Gilead’s lifesaving Hepatitis C drugs available for Egypt’s most vulnerable by harnessing a new business model. The bold approach worked. Gilead, one of the world’s leading antiviral makers, would sell its branded Hepatitis C medicines while offering…
Part-time workers who want more hours are a hugely untapped resource. Strange, since employers continue to encounter skills shortages. Why are qualified, eager workers underemployed? Harvard Business School Professor Joseph Fuller’s latest paper, “Hidden Workers, Part-Time Potential,” reveals that many such workers are caregivers, excluded from full-time jobs because short-sighted employers don’t offer them the flexibility they need. Filtered out by hiring algorithms due to employment gaps or other hiring…
Is the globe’s thirst for oil finally topping out? A major international energy watcher says yes, predicting last month that demand for global oil for transport will peak around 2026, plateau for all uses by 2028, and possibly hit a zenith by the end of the decade. Harvard experts say the forecasts track with what’s going on in the developed world, where climate change concerns have fostered a push to…
In a post-pandemic business world of hybrid work and quiet quitting, companies must rethink how they motivate employees. Good incentive plans and reward structures require a careful analysis of a company’s objectives, culture, and pressure points, says Brian Hall, the Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. In May, Hall convened what he hopes will be a yearly conference of scholars now working in the burgeoning…
Thousands of visitors flock to Disney World every day to immerse themselves in all kinds of exciting experiences—a cruise on the Pirates of the Caribbean; a visit to the China pavilion at EPCOT; a meet-and-greet with a favorite princess. For many guests, however, the highlight comes at the end of the day, huddling with family in the Florida twilight as brilliant fireworks light up the sky above Cinderella’s castle. Disney…
Is it possible to truly empower employees to make their own decisions—even when those decisions could mean life or death? That is the question posed by the Dutch home healthcare organization Buurtzorg, which has radically avoided almost all middle management, allowing its nurse teams to care for their patients as they see fit. A new Harvard Business School case study explores Buurtzorg’s decentralized model in depth, with lessons for institutions…
It doesn’t matter if you’re crafting a pitch for tech investors, consumers, or election-season voters. If you want your target audience to remember your message the next day, tell a story. That’s one of the findings of a new study by Thomas Graeber, assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. People are more likely to recall information over a longer period when it’s wrapped in an anecdote as…
On March 10, 1874, Alexander Graham Bell launched a new era in communications with the memorable but mundane phrase, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you." 132 years later, in March of 2006, Jack Dorsey launched another communications revolution with the uninspiring and perhaps even less memorable phrase, "just set up my twitter." All lowercase. By the way, that first-ever tweet sold at auction for 2.5 million in 2021, proving…
We’ve long known that organizations require so-called flexible leaders to respond to rapid market fluctuations; the last couple of years have only emphasized that necessity. The environment we operate in—shaped by the pandemic, social justice issues, war, and economic turmoil—is now more volatile than ever. Amid all this turbulence, strategic thinkers must quickly evaluate opportunities and threats while operationalizing strategy. What organizations need now are “T-shaped leaders”—those who share knowledge…
Perks like remote work or unlimited vacation time might be nice, but when it comes to true fulfilment in a post-pandemic workscape, psychological safety is essential. Harvard Business School Professor Amy C. Edmondson coined the term “team psychological safety” in the 1990s to describe work environments where candor is expected and where employees can speak up without fear of retribution. When employees feel psychologically safe, they’re empowered to iterate and…