Kathleen M. Eisenhardt – författare

HOW SIMPLICITY TRUMPS COMPLEXITY IN NATURE, BUSINESS, AND LIFE   Complexity surrounds us. We have too much email, juggle multiple remotes, and hack through thickets of regulations from phone contracts to health plans. But complexity isn’t destiny. Sull and Eisenhardt argue there’s a better way. By developing a few simple yet effective rules, people can best even the most complex problems.   In Simple Rules, Sull and Eisenhardt masterfully challenge how we think about complexity and offer a new lens on how to cope. They take us on a surprising tour of what simple rules are, where they come from, and why they work. The authors illustrate the six kinds o f rules that really matter - for helping artists find creativity and the Federal Reserve set interest rates, for keeping birds on track and Zipcar members organized, and for how insomniacs can sleep and mountain climbers stay safe.   Drawing on rigorous research and riveting stories, the authors ingeniously find insights in unexpected places, from the way Tina Fey codified her experience at Saturday Night Live into rules for producing 30 Rock (rule five: never tell a crazy person he’s crazy) to burglars’ rules for robbery (“avoid houses with a car parked outside”) to Japanese engineers mimicking the rules of slime molds to optimize Tokyo’s rail system. The authors offer fresh information and practical tips on fixing old rules and learning new ones.   Whether you’re struggling with information overload, pursuing opportunities with limited resources, or just trying to change your bad habits, Simple Rules provides powerful insight into how and why simplicity tames complexity.  

NEW from the bestselling HBR's 10 Must Reads series. Most teams underperform. Yours can beat the odds. If you read nothing else on building better teams, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you assemble and steer teams that get results. Leading experts such as Jon Katzenbach, Teresa Amabile, and Tamara Erickson provide the insights and advice you need to: * Boost team performance through mutual accountability * Motivate large, diverse groups to tackle complex projects * Increase your teams' emotional intelligence * Prevent decision deadlock * Extract results from a bunch of touchy superstars * Fight constructively with top-management colleagues Looking for more Must Read articles from Harvard Business Review? Check out these titles in the popular series: HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR's 10 Must Reads on Communication HBR's 10 Must Reads on Collaboration HBR's 10 Must Reads on Innovation HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership HBR's 10 Must Reads on Making Smart Decisions HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategic Marketing

Most teams underperform. Yours can beat the odds.

If you read nothing else on building better teams, read these 10 articles. We’ve combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you assemble and steer teams that get results.

Leading experts such as Jon Katzenbach, Teresa Amabile, and Tamara Erickson provide the insights and advice you need to:

Boost team performance through mutual accountabilityMotivate large, diverse groups to tackle complex projectsIncrease your teams’ emotional intelligencePrevent decision deadlockExtract results from a bunch of touchy superstarsFight constructively with top-management colleagues

Conflict in the workplace is natural—and even necessary. Colleagues who challenge one another''s thinking tend to consider a richer range of options, which ultimately leads to better business decisions. How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight reveals the tactics managers can use to ensure that these healthy back-and-forth moments remain constructive and focused on the issues. Managers who embrace this kind of positive conflict will find increasingly engaged, productive teams—and discover that they themselves are better positioned to lead these teams to success. Since 1922, Harvard Business Review has been a leading source of breakthrough ideas in management practice. The Harvard Business Review Classics series now offers you the opportunity to make these seminal pieces a part of your permanent management library. Each highly readable volume contains a groundbreaking idea that continues to shape best practices and inspire countless managers around the world.

Most teams underperform. Yours can beat the odds.If you read nothing else on building better teams, read these 10 articles. We’ve combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you assemble and steer teams that get results.Leading experts such as Jon Katzenbach, Teresa Amabile, and Tamara Erickson provide the insights and advice you need to:Boost team performance through mutual accountabilityMotivate large, diverse groups to tackle complex projectsIncrease your teams’ emotional intelligencePrevent decision deadlockExtract results from a bunch of touchy superstarsFight constructively with top-management colleagues