Skip to main content

100 Years Of Business And Leadership Lessons

Last year brought the release of the new book, HBR At 100, a commemorative volume featuring the most influential ideas since the inception of the Harvard Business Review. 

As a celebration of the magazine’s 100th anniversary, this new book covers a broad range of management topics, including: 

  • Disruptive Innovation
  • Design Thinking
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Racial Equality At Work
  • Persuasion
  • Leading With Authenticity
  • Leading Change
  • Communication 

When Harvard Business Review first rolled off the presses a century ago, it became a welcome showcase of fresh ideas for the relatively new field of business management. 

Since then, the magazine has published some of the most influential ideas in the history of modern business, and HRB At 100’s collection of articles highlights many of them. 

This is a goldmine of education for both experienced leaders and those new to their leadership role. 

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How To Achieve Human Leadership

Human Leadership: The Courage To Face Ourselves And Each Other is Kristen Hadeed ’s newest book. It’s a raw, personal account of losing herself in service to others and the challenging work of finding her way back.   It’s a story of burnout, ambition, resentment, grief, reinvention, profound self-examination, and the courage it takes to share what you discover with the people around you. By learning to face herself, tell the truth, and take ownership of her choices, Hadeed became a more courageous, compassionate leader and built a life and business that would take care of her, too.   Hadeed’s journey shows that leadership doesn’t have to mean endless sacrifice or self-abandonment. Human Leadership offers a different path―one where courage, honesty, and humanity become the foundation of meaningful leadership and a meaningful life.   Part memoir, part invitation, Hadeed’s story will empower you to:   Recognize the values, fears, and limiting beliefs driving your lead...

The Playbook For CEOs To Lead Under Pressure

“Most CEOs spend years mastering strategy, finance, operations, and execution,” says author Andrea Petrone , “Far fewer spend time defining who they are as leaders.” He adds that all too often the leadership style that got a CEO to the top becomes the very thing holding them back.   More specifically, after more than two decades coaching CEOs and senior executives at Shell, Unilever, Takeda, EssilorLuxottica, and PwC, Petrone noticed a pattern: sustained pressure was pulling leaders away from who they were. Fortunately, in his latest book, Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure , Petrone introduces the Throughline, an architecture that helps leaders align their identity, message, and presence so they can lead powerfully under pressure. Whether stepping into a new role, navigating a crisis, or reinventing an organization, Throughline offers CEOs a practical roadmap for leading without losing themselves.   As you read the book you will discover: ...

How To Build A High Performing Sales Team

  Based on Stephanie Friedman 's 20 years of sales experience, her new book, Built to Grow: A Handbook For High-Performance Sales Teams , is the perfect step-by-step, go-to-market field guide for startup founders.   Friedman offers readers a structured and repeatable methodology for building a high-performing sales function from a company’s earliest days. The book is divided into three phases of startup growth— Experiment, Build, and Scale.   Within each of the three phases, Friedman covers: Sales Playbook Hiring Revenue Management Customer Success Compensations Culture Internal Collaboration   Some of my favorite takeaway tips from the book include:   No matter how experienced your salespeople are, any high-performing sales organization should follow one simple but important rule: No call without an agenda. This helps reinforce the necessary discipline around call preparation and ensures your customers have the best possible experience when talking to your...

Leadership Lessons From Kent Taylor, Founder Of Texas Roadhouse

From cover-to-cover of Made From Scratch you’ll learn the leadership lessons of the late Kent Taylor , founder of the restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse.  In the new book, Taylor recounts how he built the restaurant chain from the ground up after being rejected more than 80 times as he pitched the idea for the business.  His approach to business was often out-of-the-box, however, his business lessons and leadership lessons from the course of his life and career are invaluable.  Here are some of my favorite leadership lessons from Kent and his book:  The best leaders stay down-to-earth and approachable.  In a bottom-up company, the leader learns from frontline people.  As soon as you make a profit, find a way to give back.  Be willing to laugh at yourself.  Become a student of your craft.  Positive reinforcement inspires much greater performance than fear ever can.  Want to get the respect of your people? Then roll up y...

The Science And Secrets Of High-Performing Teams

Ron Friedman ’s new book, Superteams , is the best book about teams and team building that I have ever read and have reviewed on my blog. It’s all about what the best teams do differently.   It’s packed with counterintuitive insights, surprising science, and real-world lessons "from the most comprehensive study of elite groups ever conducted" reports Friedman. Read through it once and then keep it handy to refer to repeatedly. The 50-plus strategies for how a team does its best work are invaluable.   Friedman surveyed thousands of teams and pinpointed the precise habits that separate the best from the rest. He reports that “the results upend everything we think we know about teamwork. It turns out that the most successful teams aren't the ones that collaborate most, get along best, or put in the longest hours.”   What really sets them apart, according to Friedman, is the way they:   Manage their energy and attention. Bring out the best in one another. Keep improving...

Thoughts From The Book, Decide

Two of my favorite observations made by author Steve McClatchy in his new book, Decide , are: Goals :  The reason so many people fail to achieve their goals is because they have not committed to defending a time in which they will work on their goals. Management vs. Leadership :  Management is keeping things the way they are today.   Management Maintenance .  Leadership is moving things forward from where they are today.  Leadership = Improvement . Steve McClatchy

How To Get Along With Anyone

T he new book, How To Get Along With Anyone , by John Eliot and Jim Guinn , is the playbook for predicting and preventing conflict at work and at home.  As you read the book, you will discover how to defuse any heated conflict by learning which of the five conflict styles you are and how to resolve even the most sensitive dispute with this must-read guide.  Through decades of building and facilitating team chemistry for Fortune 500 companies, professional sports franchises, schools and government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and families, Eliot and Guinn have discovered people respond to conflict in one of these five ways:  Avoider : Uninterested in minor details; excels in solitary work with a knack for concentration.  Competitor : Always pushing the envelope; never rests on laurel and takes risks for achievement.  Analyzer : Evidence-based and methodical; patiently gathers information before acting.  Collaborator : A deeply caring individual,...

How To Improve The Way Teams Think, Collaborate And Make Decisions Under Pressure

  “Great decisions don’t happen by accident—they happen by design,” shares Dr. Ricardo Valerdi , author of the new book, The Five-Tool Team: Bringing Out The Best In People To Make Better Decisions .  This book is not about finding perfect answers. It is about building a framework that allows you to make good decisions repeatedly, even when conditions are imperfect, information is incomplete, and outcomes are uncertain.  More specifically, Valerdi reveals a practical framework for improving the way individuals and teams think, collaborate, and make decisions under pressure.   Drawing on lessons from sports, business, engineering, and real-world experience, Valerdi shows how the most effective leaders build teams that question assumptions, analyze consequences, and make choices grounded in clarity rather than instinct or urgency.  “Writing this book has been a phenomenal journey that started in 2018 when I was a visiting professor at the United States Military Ac...

The Five Traits Of An Effective Leader

I was recently asked, " What five most important traits must a leader have to be effective ?"  I could reply fairly quickly, but I did take a moment to remember that when I asked a similar question in a LinkedIn group discussion, group members offered up nearly 100 different adjectives to describe an effective leader. But, for me, I contend the five most important traits are : Good communicator . That means effectively communicating timely and consistent messages during good and bad times. And, knowing how and when to be a good listener. Communicating is critical. Employees must hear from their leaders. And, hearing from their leaders in person versus e-mail and written memos is even more effective. Being a servant leader . Put your employees and your company first. A top manager who makes decisions that are self-serving will lack followers and will bring the company down. Adaptable . Today, more than ever, a leader needs to adapt. That means adapting to c...

How To Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives

Equity ,  the new book by  Minal Bopaiah , is a timely guide to help leaders create more inclusive organizations using human-centered design and behavior change principles. The book is based on research and provides engaging, real-world examples for taking impactful next steps. Most important, Bopaiah explains that equity is different from equality .   She shares, “ equality is when everyone has the same thing. Equity is when everyone has what they need to thrive and participate fully. Equity does not fault people for being different; it makes room for difference and then leverages it.”   In short:   Equality = The state of being equal, especially in status, rights and opportunities. Equity = A state of fairness and equal access to opportunity that recognizes that people have different needs.   Equity allows leaders to create organizations where employees can contribute their unique strengths and collaborate better with peers. Equity in the wo...