Hero Images/Getty Images The potential for improving the quality of healthcare has never been greater. Advances in data analytics give us the ability to look at large populations and precisely segment their needs and new technologies such as tele-medicine give us the...

Monty Rakusen/Getty Images In 2012, HBR dubbed data scientist “the sexiest job of the 21st century”. It is also, arguably, the vaguest. To hire the right people for the right roles, it’s important to distinguish between different types of data...

Renee Comet/Getty Images In recent years, much has been written about how the Blockchain is poised to transform traditional industries such as banking, real estate, and healthcare. More recently, it has gained attention as a way to finance new ventures, through what...

MirageC/Getty Images Large-scale, government-directed discrimination against a group of people is extremely damaging to those being targeted. It also permeates every aspect of society, including business. For example, talented people are often excluded from leadership...

Caiaimage/Martin Barraud/Getty Images Fearless public speaking is about more than combating nerves. It’s about knowing the technique, the art, and the business of public speaking. In my two years working as a TedX producer, and my 27 years working in film,...

Caiaimage/Martin Barraud/Getty Images Fearless public speaking is about more than combating nerves. It’s about knowing the technique, the art, and the business of public speaking. In my two years working as a TedX producer, and my 27 years working in film,...

Francesco Carta fotografo/Getty Images On his first day as CEO of the Carlsberg Group, a global brewery and beverage company, Cees ‘t Hart was given a key card by his assistant. The card locked out all the other floors for the elevator so that he could go...

Francesco Carta fotografo/Getty Images On his first day as CEO of the Carlsberg Group, a global brewery and beverage company, Cees ‘t Hart was given a key card by his assistant. The card locked out all the other floors for the elevator so that he could go...

Francesco Carta fotografo/Getty Images On his first day as CEO of the Carlsberg Group, a global brewery and beverage company, Cees ‘t Hart was given a key card by his assistant. The card locked out all the other floors for the elevator so that he could go...

Shana Novak/Getty Images Most people at one time or another have struggled to navigate the complexities of the U.S. health care system. Many have received unpleasant surprises, such as a medical bill they expected to be covered by their health insurance or an...

The service sector is a large and growing part of our economy. But a lot of service businesses are managed according to old ideas imported from more traditional industries, says Ryan Buell, UPS Foundation Associate Professor of Service Management at Harvard Business...

Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images The global digital economy crossed an important milestone recently: the number of internet users in two countries — China, with just over 800 million users, and India, with 500 million users  – surpassed the aggregate...

Nick Morgan, a communications expert and speaking coach, says that while email, texting, and Slack might seem like they make communication easier, they actually make things less efficient. When we are bombarded with too many messages a day, he argues, humans are...

Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images The global digital economy crossed an important milestone recently: the number of internet users in two countries — China, with just over 800 million users, and India, with 500 million users  – surpassed the aggregate...

PM Images/Getty Images Companies benefit when employees speak up. When employees feel comfortable candidly voicing their opinions, suggestions, or concerns, organizations become better at handling threats as well as opportunities. But employees often remain silent...

bulentgultek/Getty Images In his introduction to Working, the landmark 1974 oral history of work, Studs Terkel positioned meaning as an equal counterpart to financial compensation in motivating the American worker. “[Work] is about a search…for daily...

From the Women at Work podcast: Listen and subscribe to our podcast via Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS Download the discussion guide for this episode Join our online community Download this podcast The glass ceiling is the classic symbol of the...

Fuse/Getty Images When innovations threaten to disrupt an industry by replacing an old business model with a new one, incumbents need to invest in that model in order to survive. That’s the conventional wisdom, and it’s given rise to popular mantra...

Westend61/Getty Images Productivity in the United States’ health care industry is declining — and has been ever since World War II. As the cost of treating patients continues to rise, life expectancy in America is beginning to fall. But there is...

Martyn Goddard/Getty Images More than ever before, managers are using large-scale randomized controlled trials (i.e., experiments) to guide decisions. This has led to impressive gains for organizations ranging from Amazon to the UK government. We are excited about the...

beastfromeast/Getty Images Sometimes a simple story is all it takes to capture complex issues, or so it seems. Take this one. A few years ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost a game of Scrabble to a friend’s teenage daughter. “Before they played a second...

Deanna Kelly/Getty Images Despite recent efforts to increase diversity in tech, the hiring and retention rates of underrepresented groups in the industry remain abysmal. Even Facebook, with billions in cash, has only been able to increase their number of women...

PM Images/Getty Images Over the past few years, most businesses have come to recognize that the ability to collect and analyze the data they generate has become a key source of competitive advantage. ZF, a global automotive supplier based in Germany, was no exception....

Tim Robberts/Getty Images When it comes to health care costs, America’s employers are at a crossroads. Competing for scarce labor in a tight market, they will have trouble continuing to shift medical bills onto employees as they have for several decades. That...

Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images From Uber to Nike to CBS, recent exposés have revealed seemingly dysfunctional workplaces rife with misconduct, bullying, and sexual harassment. For example, Susan Fowler’s 2017 blog about Uber detailed not only her...

How does race affect your workplace? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Tina Opie, a management professor at Babson College. They talk through what to do when your...

Sabine Scheckel/Getty Images Alyssa Mastromonaco is no stranger to tough conversations: she served as White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Obama, was an executive at Vice and A&E, and is Senior Advisor and spokesperson at NARAL...

Sabine Scheckel/Getty Images Alyssa Mastromonaco is no stranger to tough conversations: she served as White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Obama, was an executive at Vice and A&E, and is Senior Advisor and spokesperson at NARAL...

Sabine Scheckel/Getty Images Alyssa Mastromonaco is no stranger to tough conversations: she served as White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Obama, was an executive at Vice and A&E, and is Senior Advisor and spokesperson at NARAL...

Sabine Scheckel/Getty Images Alyssa Mastromonaco is no stranger to tough conversations: she served as White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Obama, was an executive at Vice and A&E, and is Senior Advisor and spokesperson at NARAL...

Sabine Scheckel/Getty Images Alyssa Mastromonaco is no stranger to tough conversations: she served as White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Obama, was an executive at Vice and A&E, and is Senior Advisor and spokesperson at NARAL...

Carmen Martínez Torrón/Getty Images Many factors make an organization prone to sexual harassment: a hierarchical structure, a male-dominated environment, and a climate that tolerates transgressions — particularly when they are committed by those...

Koron/Getty Images I’ve spent my career helping companies address their data and data quality opportunities. Overall, I rate progress as “slower than hoped.” While there are many contributing factors, one of the most important is the sheer lack of...

Alex and Laila/Getty Images Research tells us a lot about why people behave unethically. For example, there is evidence that people tend to be more dishonest later in the day, because they’re more fatigued, and when they’re anxious, because they’re...

Alex and Laila/Getty Images Research tells us a lot about why people behave unethically. For example, there is evidence that people tend to be more dishonest later in the day, because they’re more fatigued, and when they’re anxious, because they’re...

Youngme Moon and Mihir Desai welcome their colleague Ryan Buell to discuss whether airlines deserve their reputation for terrible customer service. They also share other customer service pet peeves, as well as their personal “Customer Experience Picks.”...

fotog/Getty Images CEO activism, the growing trend of top executives speaking out on sensitive social and political issues, has been labeled the “new normal.” But behind the scenes, executives do not feel in control. They are struggling to anticipate and...

Dave King/Getty Images We recently conducted an in-depth study at Lumere to gain insight into physicians’ perceptions of clinical variation and the factors influencing their choices of drugs and devices. Based on a survey of 276 physicians,...

Jorg Greuel/Getty Images Like many professionals, my job doesn’t require expertise in data or analytics. I’m a writer and editor, so I deal with words, not numbers. Still, nearly every knowledge worker today needs to be a regular consumer of data analysis....

ICHIRO/Getty Images As the wave of #MeToo stories have come to light over the past year, it’s become painfully clear that whatever organizations are doing to try to prevent sexual harassment isn’t working. Ninety-eight percent of companies say they have...

Products fueled by data and machine learning can be a powerful way to solve users’ needs. They can also create a “data moat” that can help stave off the competition. Classic examples include Google search and Amazon product recommendations, both of...

Blaise Hayward/Getty Images Most leaders are, deep down, afraid of failure. But our 10-year CEO Genome study of over 2,600 leaders showed almost half (45%) suffered at least one major career blow-up — like getting fired, messing up a major deal, or blowing...

carduus/Getty Images One of our main jobs when teaching and advising students who are thinking of founding blockchain companies is to get them to question whether or not their idea actually requires it. Data integrity is the main benefit conferred by blockchain...

Kelly Sillaste/Getty Images Most modern health care improvements seem to involve expensive technology and an uncomfortable amount of change management. But clinical and nonclinical staff at the Rotterdam Eye Hospital have improved patient care and raised staff morale...

Rose Hollister and Michael Watkins, consultants at Genesis Advisers, argue that many companies today are taking on too many initiatives. Each manager might have their own pet projects they want to focus on, but that trickles down to lower level workers dealing with...

By Brian Selby, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales Operations, Tableau Software How often is your sales team making important decisions based on gut feel? Are you sure that deal will close this quarter and was it optimally priced? Are your sales resources...

Nattapol Poonpiriya/Getty Images Every day there are news stories about the so-called gig economy where workers contribute part or full-time labor — not as employees with benefits, but as independent contractors. Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, the...

Westend61/Getty Images Arthur Nielsen, market research pioneer and founder of the Nielsen Corporation, once said, “The price of light is less than the cost of darkness.” As data proliferates across the enterprise, this observation by Nielsen is rendered...

cnsphotography/Getty Images Every leader wants to avoid major strategic mistakes, but, in a complex world, it’s hard to anticipate all the forces that might impact your goal. It’s vital to find weaknesses in your strategies before you implement them...

Photodisc/Getty Images According to one industry report, U.S. companies spent over $90 billion dollars on training and development activities in 2017, a year-over-year increase of 32.5 %. While many experts emphasize the importance and benefits of employee...

From the Women at Work podcast: Listen and subscribe to our podcast via Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS Download the discussion guide for this episode Join our online community Download this podcast Women are increasingly supporting our families...

Photodisc/Getty Images According to one industry report, U.S. companies spent over $90 billion dollars on training and development activities in 2017, a year-over-year increase of 32.5 %. While many experts emphasize the importance and benefits of employee...

Hero Images/Getty Images In 2013, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation launched the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative, a program that proponents hoped could rein in health care costs by “bundling” payment for the full gamut...

Image Source/Getty Images Facing a tight labor market as the holiday shopping season approaches, many retail companies will undoubtedly consider following the lead of Amazon, which recently announced that it is raising its minimum hourly wage for all of its U.S....

Some people love to play the victim. Nothing is ever their fault and everyone around them is out to get them. Having a coworker like this can take a toll on you. So what’s the best way to protect yourself? How can you help your colleague change their mindset?...

Some people love to play the victim. Nothing is ever their fault and everyone around them is out to get them. Having a coworker like this can take a toll on you. So what’s the best way to protect yourself? How can you help your colleague change their mindset?...

Nick Veasey/Getty Images A study of surgical patients, across 168 hospitals, showed that 23% of patients experience a major complication during their stay. We like to think of complications as atypical events. However, the unfortunate truth is that they are quite...

Westend61/Getty Images Many companies have jumped on the “big data” bandwagon.  They’re hiring data scientists, mining employee and customer data for insights, and creating algorithms to optimize their recommendations.  Yet, these same...

Fernando Trabanco Fotografía/Getty Images It has been well documented that immigrants contribute disproportionately to entrepreneurship. This is true both in the United States, where they represent 27.5% of all entrepreneurs but only 13% of the population, and in...

Fernando Trabanco Fotografía/Getty Images It has been well documented that immigrants contribute disproportionately to entrepreneurship. This is true both in the United States, where they represent 27.5% of all entrepreneurs but only 13% of the population, and in...

MEHAU KULYK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images For some of your team members, the idea of using data to inform decision-making can feel intimidating. Maybe they don’t consider themselves to have strong analytical skills. Maybe they felt overwhelmed by their...

pchyburrs/Getty Images “First, let’s fire all the managers” said Gary Hamel almost seven years ago in Harvard Business Review. “Think of the countless hours that team leaders, department heads, and vice presidents devote to supervising the work...

amriphoto/Getty Images Innovative. Agile. Collaborative. Bold. Over the past year, we’ve been struck by how many times we’ve heard C-suite leaders use these words, or very similar ones, to describe the strengths they believe are critical to transforming...

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images An old saying sums up the data skills of most HR professionals: “The shoemaker’s children go barefoot.” In today’s tightening labor market, HR leaders must work relentlessly to develop and recruit people who advance...

Liyao Xie/Getty Images The growing availability of real-world data has generated tremendous excitement in health care. By some estimates, health data volumes are increasing by 48% annually, and the last decade has seen a boom in the collection and aggregation of this...

Apexphotos/Getty Images The debate about superstar firms and superstar effects has been intensifying, partly in response to the rapid growth of global US tech companies. However, scratch the surface and the superstar phenomenon may not be quite what it seems. Wider...

Atomic Imagery/Getty Images How has technology changed which deals venture capitalists (VCs) fund and how they fund them? Venture capitalists essentially invest in startup ‘experiments’, and subsequently provide more funding to the experiments that work,...

Atomic Imagery/Getty Images How has technology changed which deals venture capitalists (VCs) fund and how they fund them? Venture capitalists essentially invest in startup ‘experiments’, and subsequently provide more funding to the experiments that work,...

Richard Morrell/Getty Images Research has found that employees are more likely to flourish at work when they have high quality workplace relationships with people from diverse backgrounds. These relationships can contribute to greater trust, facilitate information...

Alicia Llop/Getty Images How can an organization tell whether it’s actually letting data inform its decision making — or if it’s merely using superficial analyses to retroactively justify decisions it has already made? Traditionally, organizations...

Dimitri Otis/Getty Images Pay inequality is common in most workplaces. You get paid significantly more than your subordinates, your boss gets paid more than you, and your boss’s boss gets even more. In many large organizations, some employees can take home...