Harper Business – serie

Two kinds of leaders populate the world: those who inspire and those who infuriate. Which will you be?Whether you’re a leader, a member of a team, a spouse, or a parent, this engaging and rigorous exploration of leadership skills unpacks the science of inspiration. Through compelling stories, fascinating research, and practical tips for addressing the common dilemmas we face daily, Inspire reveals how all of us, regardless of status or circumstance, can be more inspiring more often. Social psychologist and leadership expert Adam Galinsky has spent three decades building a method for determining when we are inspiring versus infuriating, and where various leaders—presidents, CEOs, coaches, teachers, parents, and a wealth of others—currently land on that spectrum. Galinsky shows how inspiring leaders can fill us with a wellspring of hope and possibility as they guide us to become better versions of ourselves. In contrast, infuriating leaders disappoint and annoy, fueling seething cauldrons of rage. But both types of leaders are deeply connected—together, they represent a universal continuum rooted in organizational psychology and the very architecture of the human brain. This means that inspiring leaders aren’t born—instead, we can inspire or infuriate in any given moment through our behavior, words, or presence. In this captivating book, Galinsky identifies the three universal archetypes of truly great leaders and explains how each of us can develop these characteristics within ourselves to become more inspiring:Visionaries offer a big-picture, optimistic, and engaging vision of the future;Exemplars are courageous and calm protectors who authentically express their passion while remaining consistent in word and deed;Mentors encourage, empower, and elevate others while challenging them to reach their potential.Inspire is an essential guide to becoming not only a better leader but also an effective decision-maker, a dynamic problem-solver, a value-creating negotiator, and an inclusive innovator, giving you the tools to navigate complex workplace dynamics.

How can we fix what we can't see? The norms crushing innovation—and our joy—are finally made visible. All 24 of them.In Our Best Work, Nilofer Merchant names the 24 invisible norms—born of hierarchy, control, and a worn-out model of capitalism—that limit us all. Along the way, she dismantles some of management’s most beloved ideas:Servant LeadershipPersonal BrandingSpeaking UpPerformance ReviewsMove Fast and Break ThingsThese aren’t just ideas that fall short—they are daily routines that trap us in the past. Merchant exposes how and why they fail us. But it’s not enough to know the problem, we must also know how to move forward. She lights the path to the future by providing the 24 leading indicators that bring out the best of us and the best of us. Each chapter closes with a concrete practice, so teams can turn insight into action.Ranked among the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50, Merchant brings an unmatched range of experience: from her start as an administrative assistant to shaping strategy at Apple and early-stage startups to serving on corporate boards. She has experienced the realities of power from every seat at the table, across industries, and around the globe. Her ideas have already reshaped companies—and their futures. With this incisive take, Merchant offers a clear and collective path to do our best work, including:Unlocking the essential source of innovation: new and novel ideasReplacing competition with trustCreating the solutions of tomorrow, not just today’s profitsIf you’ve tired of self-help fixes or the latest fads, Our Best Work offers another way: by changing the rules of work itself.

An unconventional, hands-on guide to turning ideas into products that matter—and that people love—from the legendary Silicon Valley pioneer, founder of Zynga, and creator of Stanford Graduate School of Business’s product management course.Mark Pincus has been at the forefront of each iteration of the internet. He built the original app company ahead of the mobile app economy and sold virtual goods to the masses long before in-app purchase generated $85 billion on smartphones. As the founder of Zynga, he brought us FarmVille, CityVille, and Words with Friends, launching eight hit games and reaching more than a billion users in four years.    Pincus has turned hit-making into a repeatable system, birthing one of his favorite guiding principles that “all new fails”. Life at the Speed of Play is his framework for moving faster and massively increasing your odds of success. His insights and advice are essential in the new world of AI, where speed of testing and learning defines winners.Bursting with wit, wisdom, and a core belief in tech’s endless capacity, each chapter of Life at the Speed of Play contains actionable takeaways based on Pincus’s unorthodox “Mark-isms” including “hire people with broken resumes,” “protect investors from themselves,” and, paradoxically, to “f*** scale” in favor of quality over quantity.What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School for the twenty-first century, here is the essential “bible” for entrepreneurs, product managers, innovators, and anyone who has an idea—digital or analog—that they dream of turning into a reality.

“A must-read for seasoned and new managers alike.” —Johnny C. Taylor Jr., SHRM-SCP, CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)A groundbreaking guide to mastering the job interview, offering proven interview preparation advice and techniques to discover your unique interview style that is key to interviewing better—for those on either side of the table.Conventional interviewing advice doesn’t work. That’s what Anna Papalia, a veteran career coach, learned through years of experience as an HR professional, consultant for Fortune 500 companies, and teacher at the Fox School of Business. None of the existing tools work for one simple reason: they don’t get to the heart of what actually makes a great interview—self-awareness. At its core, an interview is a set of questions about you. If you don’t know yourself, you won’t do well.Determined to make the hiring process better, more inclusive, and less obscure, Anna spent years researching how people interview and uncovered a new science to interviewing. In Interviewology, you’ll learn:How to determine your interview style, whether you’re a Charmer, a Challenger, an Examiner, or a HarmonizerHow your interview style influences how you view, approach, and perform in interviewsHow to lean into your interview style’s strengths and minimize your weaknesses, so you can nail your next interviewPacked with wisdom, Interviewology offers clarity and a dynamic, scientifically validated approach that challenges everything you thought you knew about interviewing, providing unique insight into the process, debunking some of the most common myths, and explaining how you can perform better, whether you’re applying for the job or looking for the right candidate.

NATIONAL BESTSELLERWhat if your biggest risk in life is playing it safe?In Never Play It Safe, bestselling author, award-winning photographer, and founder of CreativeLive, Chase Jarvis, reveals that safety is an illusion—a comforting lie that’s holding you back from true fulfillment and the key to unlocking your potential.Discover the Bold Path to Your Most Authentic LifeChase Jarvis has spent years in deep conversation with the world’s top entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and performers, uncovering the real secrets to overcoming fear and living boldly and authentically. Through these powerful insights and his own transformative experiences, this guide for creative living invites you to shatter the dangerous comfort of the safe path and find your purpose.Inside, you'll discover:Why "playing it safe" is the riskiest move you can makeHow to break free from the toxic voices in your head holding you backThe hidden "attention hijackers" silently sabotaging your dreams The surprising link between playfulness and peak performance in any fieldPractical techniques to train your attention and unlock your potentialReal-life stories of world-class performers who dared to live boldlyAre You Ready to Break Free?If you’re tired of playing small, feeling stuck, or living in fear, it’s time to reclaim the playful, courageous part of yourself that’s been waiting to shine. Never Play It Safe will equip you with actionable strategies, tools, and inspiration to take bold action and create the life of your dreams.Your Life is the Ultimate Creative Act—Don’t Settle for Safety.

Power is not working—for women, for men, or for the world. We don’t need to remake women. We need to remake power.New York Times bestselling authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman are on a mission to reclaim power for women. In the wake of sweeping changes in the way we work, the veteran journalists challenge pre­conceived notions of what power is and what it’s good for, along with the insidious, mostly hidden structures of the status quo that hold women back. What started as a straightforward examination of best practices has become a manifesto for a new form of power, a distinctly female version that is already emerging in workplaces, in politics, and on the home front. It’s a version that is more appealing to women (and most men as well). It offers women a blueprint for shaping their own professional futures, maximizing their impact for the benefit of others, and experiencing the real joy that comes from taking the reins and influencing outcomes. Writing from their own lived experiences, Kay and Shipman interviewed dozens of women of all ages, races, and backgrounds around the world, as well as cutting-edge academic researchers. Taken together, these per­spectives offer a clear-eyed and hopeful redesign of the workplace and our relationships at home, one that puts women in a remade and modernized seat of power. And now is exactly the right moment for women to step into their power. What’s at stake is much greater than the next job; it’s about the need for a new vision of what power can be, for a new code that focuses not simply on hierarchy, on having power over others, but also on purpose, on what power can achieve.Both a prescription for societal change and a pro-fessional guidebook for individual women, The Power Code shows you how to leverage the power you already have, find new sources of power in yourself and your community, and remodel your workplace and your home-life to produce less ego, more joy, and maximum impact.

The foundational and wildly popular go-to resource for the science of influence and persuasion—a renowned international bestseller, with over 5 million copies sold—now revised adding: new research, new insights, new examples, and online applications.In the new edition of this highly acclaimed bestseller, Robert Cialdini—New York Times bestselling author of Pre-Suasion and the seminal expert in the fields of influence and persuasion—explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these insights on human behavior ethically in business and everyday settings. Using memorable stories and relatable examples, Cialdini makes this crucial aspect of behavioral science surprisingly easy to understand. With Cialdini as a guide, you don’t have to be a scientist to learn how to use this science in your own decision-making.You’ll learn Cialdini’s Universal Principles of Influence, including new research and new uses so you can become an even more skilled persuader—and just as importantly, you’ll learn how to defend yourself against unethical influence attempts. You may think you know these principles of social psychology, but without understanding their intricacies, you may be ceding their power to someone else.Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion:ReciprocationCommitment and ConsistencySocial Proof Liking AuthorityScarcityUnity, the newest principle for this editionUnderstanding and applying the principles ethically is cost-free and deceptively easy. Backed by Dr. Cialdini’s 35 years of evidence-based, peer-reviewed scientific research—including a three-year field study on what leads people to change—Influence, New and Expanded EPB is a comprehensive guide to using these principles to move others in your direction.

Building on the success of Reboot and the concept of radical self-inquiry, executive coach Jerry Colonna encourages leaders to consider the ways they have been complicit in, and benefitted from, the conditions in the world they say they’d like to change and shows them the path to creating new systems of inclusion for everyone.We all want to belong. For executives and managers, to be better leaders—and people—we must create welcoming environments in which ourselves and others feel recognized and have a place. But to do so, we must first face our own need for belonging and how that need is often thwarted. Colonna argues that only through radical self-inquiry can we come home to ourselves and others and, in doing so, create systemic belonging—homes—for everyone.Many people in power fall into the trap of toxic leadership. But this toxicity can be overcome. Colonna guides us on a journey of reunification with the disowned parts of ourselves, the myths and truths of our ancestors, as well as a deeper connection with those most affected by systems of exclusion. He shows how to apply radical self-inquiry (“How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don't want?”) and broaden it to include “How have I been complicit in maintaining systems of oppression that I say I don’t want?” And, more important, “What do I need to give up that I love in order to have the systems of belonging that I want?”The necessary first step is for leaders and others who hold power to see themselves clearly. The vital second step is to see and alter the effects of one’s untended, unhealed wounds and beliefs on those we are tasked to lead.Doing so, we are then able to reimagine businesses as collectives where a shared sense of belonging thrives. Doing so will cause a reckoning with the accepted definitions of leadership, success, and value.With its unusual blend of poetry, quotes, and examples from Colonna’s own life as well as the lives of his clients—Reunion is a life-altering guide for today’s complex and divisive world. Its wise insights and practical advice will help create an inclusive and welcoming workspace, discover the best of who we are, and nurture and support those whom we are privileged to lead.

USA Today BestsellerIn his sixth business book, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and investor Gary Vaynerchuk explores the twelve essential emotional skills that are integral to his life—and business—success and provides today’s (and tomorrow’s) leaders with critical tools to acquire and develop these traits.For decades, leaders have relied on “hard” skills to make smart decisions, while dismissing the importance of emotional intelligence. Soft skills like self-awareness and curiosity aren’t quantifiable; they can’t be measured on a spreadsheet and aren’t taught in B-schools or emphasized in institutions. We’ve been taught that emotional intelligence is a “nice to have” in business, not a requirement. But soft skills can actually accelerate business success, Gary Vaynerchuk argues. For analytical minds, it’s challenging to understand how to get “better” at being self-aware, curious, or empathetic—or even why it’s important to try. In this wise and practical book, Gary explores the 12 human ingredients that have led to his success and happiness and provides exercises to help you develop these traits yourself. He also shares what the “half” is—that emotional ingredient of leadership he’s weakest at and makes the most effort to improve. Working through the ideas and exercises in the book, he teaches you how to discover your own “halves” and offers insight on how to strengthen them. Gary’s secret to success is using these twelve traits in varying mixtures, depending on the situation. But how do we know when to balance patience with ambition? Humility with conviction? Gary provides real-life examples involving common business scenarios to show you how to use them together for optimum results. This iconoclastic book will help you refine your ingredients and improve your leadership capabilities. When implemented in the proper situation, these ingredients can help leaders land promotions, retain core employees, move faster than competitors, win the loyalty of customers, and build successful organizations that last.

Drawing from a unique blend of psychology, neuroscience, and consciousness practices, as well as more than fifty years of combined international boardroom experience, three experts offer a unique approach to leadership development, learning and leading with awareness and intentional choice amid even the most challenging circumstances.As change accelerates daily in our increasingly complex world, leaders tasked with performing outside their comfort zones in both their personal and professional lives must adapt. Yet the same conditions that make it so important to adapt may also trigger fear, causing resistance to change and a default to reactive behavior. The authors call this the “adaptability paradox”: at a time when we most need to learn and grow, we stick with what we know, often in ways that stifle change and innovation. To avoid this trap and be ahead of the curve, leaders must become proactive.Enter Deliberate Calm, which combines cutting-edge neuroscience, psychology, and consciousness practices, along with the authors’ decades of experience with leaders around the globe. By practicing Dual Awareness, which integrates internal and external experiences, leaders can become resilient and respond to challenges with intentional choice instead of being limited to old models of success. With Deliberate Calm, anyone can lead and learn with awareness and choice to realize their full potential, master high-stakes decisions, and thrive even in times of uncertainty, complexity, and change.How can you stay resilient and make intentional choices when the pressure is on?Adaptability and Learning: Overcome the “adaptability paradox” that keeps you stuck in old patterns precisely when you need to innovate most.Self-Mastery Practice: Learn to use Dual Awareness, an integrative method for observing your internal and external worlds to respond with intentional choice instead of being limited to old models of success.Neuroscience-Based Tools: Discover how cutting-edge research from psychology and neuroscience can help you regulate your stress response and remain calm under pressure.Team Effectiveness: Apply these principles not just to your own performance, but to foster resilient and effective teams capable of navigating uncertainty and complexity.

A PORCHLIGHT BEST BUSINESS BOOK AWARD WINNERAN INC. MAGAZINE NON-OBVIOUS BOOK AWARDS PICKA unique and revelatory guide to understanding and navigating the unwritten rules of the workplace—the key to achieving success, finding meaning, and staying true to your authentic self in today’s business world—from the organizational expert and celebrated author of The Fix.In her two decades researching organizations, Michelle King has discovered that people who succeed possess a particularly unique skill: They know how workplaces work. More specifically, to get ahead, they do not rely on the often generic and outdated written formal rules that for a century have defined the workplace. Instead, they have learned to gauge how they should behave and perform by becoming aware of informal (and unspoken) rules that exist just below the surface, rather than “formal” organizational guidelines. In this one-of-a-kind guide, King offers her proprietary framework based on over ten years of research and hundreds of employees who reached leadership positions. By focusing on five key areas -- navigating informal networks; developing self-awareness and awareness of others; learning the skills you need to be adaptive to changing conditions; getting support for your next promotion; and finding meaning and fulfillment at work—King teaches every professional how to understand and make these systems work for them and achieve their career ambitions.The new world of work requires a new way of working. With more people vying for top positions, a volatile unpredictable global workplace, and an ever-evolving landscape, it is increasingly important for employees to understand how to negotiate the unspoken and intangible elements of workplace culture.. In How Work Works, King dispels old myths and provides keen observations about what it means to find belonging, build networks, manage the informal and ultimately thrive at work.This practical guide offers a new playbook for career success:The Unwritten Rules: Learn to “read the air” and master the informal, unspoken guidelines that truly govern how you get ahead.Informal Networks: Move beyond formal hierarchies and discover how to build the authentic connections that provide career-defining support and information.Self-Awareness Framework: Understand the critical difference between how you see yourself and how others see you, and learn to bridge the gap.Future-Proof Your Career: Master the adaptive strategies needed to thrive in today’s volatile, hybrid, and remote work environments.Meaningful Advancement: A step-by-step system to get the support you need for your next promotion while finding genuine fulfillment in what you do.

In this updated and expanded edition of her celebrated book Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success, one of the world’s most influential business thinkers reveals the qualities essential for leadership and career development in our fast-changing, post-pandemic world. Some are timeless (confidence, decisiveness), some are brand new (the ability to command Zoom), and all are game-changers.Nearly a decade ago, economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett cracked the code of executive presence (EP). Drawing on complex data and in-depth interviews with senior executives from sectors as different as finance and fashion, she demonstrated that EP is a potent mix of gravitas, powerful business communication, and appearance.Executive Presence became a classic. Translated into seven languages, it’s helped tens of thousands of ambitious, accomplished professionals to fast-track their careers. Chuck Robbins (CEO of Cisco), and Thasunda Brown Duckett (CEO, TIAA), are among the leaders who recommend this book for any up-and-comer seeking to rise through the ranks and do something extraordinary with their lives.But EP has evolved. Black Lives Matter, the #MeToo movement, and a global pandemic have changed the leadership equation. But how? To answer that question, in 2022, Hewlett embarked on a second round of quantitative and qualitative research, targeting seasoned leaders and thirty-something-year-old executives at the cutting edge of the new economy (fin-tech, gaming, media). Her findings are timely as new executives find their feet in a post-pandemic world.Hewlett demonstrates that in 2023 leaders worldwide seek to promote high-performing men and women who exude confidence but also project authenticity and inclusivity. They’re also intent on advancing those who have mastered virtual leadership, excel at leading remote teams, and demonstrate a command of social media. It’s no coincidence that Eddie Glaude, Amanda Gorman, and Gustavo Dudamel are stars of this new edition of Executive Presence and the usual suspects.Hewlett’s most potent message, ten years ago and now, is that EP is eminently learnable. You don’t need to have the voice of James Earl Jones, the communication skills of Steve Jobs, or the athleticism of Michelle Obama to ace EP. You merely have to arm yourself with the tools and tactics for lasting career advancement contained in these pages.  This updated framework for modern leadership delivers:Post-Pandemic Leadership: Move beyond outdated models with new research on what matters now—from commanding a Zoom room to fostering psychological safety in hybrid environments.Authentic and Inclusive Presence: Learn why authenticity and inclusivity are now central to gravitas, and how to project them in every interaction as today’s workplace demands.A New Model for Communication: Master the updated pillars of communication and appearance for a world shaped by social media and virtual-first impressions.A Learnable Framework: Discover why executive presence is a skill you can build, with practical tools and tactics to fast-track your career and do something extraordinary with your life.

AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERUnique insights from pioneers of Google’s Startup Accelerator on why building teams is harder than building tech—and a proven way to develop a strong, resilient and effective team.Most startups fail not because of a bad product, poor timing, or mismanaged cash, but because of people problems: conflicts over strategy, decision-making, and team culture. Even the smartest entrepreneurs have been derailed by these soft problems: How do you fire a loyal friend who’s not up to par? How do you motivate your team to give their all? What happens when egos and emotions overpower facts and reason? The soft stuff can be shockingly hard.Martin Gonzalez and Josh Yellin outline the common traps startup teams fall into, and share their powerful one-day workshop that helps teams escape those traps. The unique process of The Bonfire Moment brings colleagues together for a full day of facing hard truths, noticing hidden dynamics, and gearing up for the intense challenges of startup life. When the constant hustle feels overwhelming, a team’s Bonfire Moment pulls them out of the day-to-day intensity to reflect and reboot.The Bonfire Moment has proven effective with hundreds of teams of all sizes around the world—from the smallest startups to large organizations—significantly improving their cohesion, focus and effectiveness. Now this book will teach leaders the principles behind The Bonfire Moment and how to run the workshop on their own. It's ideal for anyone who needs to build an extraordinary team to achieve big goals.This essential guide to leadership development reveals a road-tested process to: Startup Leadership: Learn why teams are harder than tech and master the skills that separate successful founders from the ones who flame out.Conflict Resolution: Move beyond people problems by learning to handle difficult conversations and navigate the tensions over strategy and decision-making.A Proven Team Building Framework: Get a step-by-step playbook for The Bonfire Moment, a powerful one-day workshop designed to face hard truths, improve cohesion, and reboot your team.Founder Advice from the Field: Discover the four predictable traps that derail startups—from the trap of speed to the maverick mindset—and get actionable strategies to avoid them.

An updated and revised edition of the essential and enduring bestseller, incorporating the latest theories and topics taught at America’s top business schools.In this new, fully revised and completely updated edition of the internationally popular guide, author Steven Silbiger distills the lessons of the best business school courses taught at America’s most prestigious and influential universities, including Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Northwestern, and the University of Virginia, to help anyone in any field become more skilled, forward-thinking, and successful in business.Along with the lasting concepts that have made this book a bestseller, including marketing, finance, and strategy, this fifth edition features sections on:Crypto currencyArtificial intelligenceThe gig economyRemote workAgile methodologiesEnvironmental, social, and governance (ESG)As well as updated examples and material reflecting corporate culture and economic change.Accompanied by illustrations throughout, and with research straight from the notes of real students attending top MBA programs today, Silbiger distills these complex topics into accessible lessons—giving you the tools you need to get ahead in business and in life.

Learn how to perform at your very best, from the psychologist who has advised elite military operators, Olympic medalists, big wave surfers, neurosurgeons, cliff divers, first responders, Cirque du Soleil acrobats, professional athletes and coaches, Fortune 500 business executives, and CIA analysts.Learned Excellence is a comprehensive and practical guide to the mental disciplines of high performance, from the expert who developed the US Navy SEALs' groundbreaking mental toughness curriculum and has worked with thousands of top athletes, elite military personnel, business executives, and first responders.These stars perform across a wide variety of fields, but they all have something in common: when they are at work they know how to think clearly, stay focused, and shrug off setbacks under very high levels of stress. They may have superb physical and intellectual traits, but it is the stuff going on above the neck and between the ears that makes them excellent. The difference between settling and achieving, between good and great, between contentment and fulfillment, is based entirely on their mental approach and mastery of key mental skills.This approach isn’t innate; it is 100% learned. The world’s top performers aren’t born that way, they learn excellence. So can everyone else, and Dr. Eric Potterat can teach us.One of the world’s leading performance psychologists and a retired US Navy Commander, Dr. Potterat has spent over three decades helping thousands of top performers from the military, sports, first responder, and business worlds improve. He served as the lead psychologist for the US Navy SEALs and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and has consulted with the US Women’s National Soccer team, the Miami Heat, Red Bull athletes, NASA astronauts, and dozens of Olympic medalists.In Learned Excellence, a masterclass in performance psychology, Eric distills the insights he’s learned into five mental disciplines for high performance—Values & Goals, Mindset, Process, Adversity Tolerance, and Balance & Recovery. Illustrated with numerous stories and quotes, Learned Excellence features clear principles and practices that anyone can use to raise their game.We are all performers, at work, at school, at home, and at life. Learned Excellence provides the roadmap to help each of us achieve peak performance.Inside, you’ll discover the same elite mental skills used by Navy SEALs and Olympic champions, including:Mental Toughness Framework: Learn the five mental disciplines—Values, Mindset, Process, Adversity Tolerance, and Recovery—that form the foundation of the US Navy SEALs' approach to elite performance.High-Stakes Decision Making: Master the techniques used by neurosurgeons, astronauts, and first responders to maintain clarity and focus under extreme pressure.Resilience and Stress Management: Discover actionable strategies to tolerate adversity, shrug off setbacks, and turn high-stress situations into a competitive advantage.Achieving Ambitious Goals: Move beyond good intentions with a concrete process for setting goals, building an identity-based mindset, and creating a system for consistent execution.

Two startup company founders and angel investors go inside eighteen companies founded by Harvard Business School graduates, uncovering surprising lessons for success and unexpected pitfalls essential for aspiring entrepreneurs. Conventional “wisdom” holds that the most successful entrepreneurs in the world are born with a genius for starting companies, experience one lightning-bolt moment of inspiration after another, follow a tried-and-true process to scale to a billion dollars, and attract deep-pocketed investors at every turn.The real story is a bit more unconventional—and much more interesting.Would-be-entrepreneurs Catalina Daniels and James Sherman, hungry to study and apply the best practices of startups to their own ventures, studied the nuts-and-bolts of entrepreneurship as classmates at Harvard Business School. Years later, after successfully founding and exiting several companies, and as angel investors in start-ups, they were surprised to realize that their experiences greatly differed from what they had been taught in school. HBS provided a world-class education in the basics. But there was so much they learned the hard way—working in the trenches—that, looking back, they wished they’d known before starting up.Inspired, Daniels and Sherman interviewed eighteen HBS graduates and entrepreneurs about their experiences founding companies such as Blue Apron, Rent the Runway, Gilt, and AdoreMe, probing them  about what they discovered along the way and what they wish they had known beforehand.  The authors bring  these insights to life by showcasing the founders in their own words and giving readers the experience of chatting with these remarkable entrepreneurs over a cup of coffee   No other book has unearthed advice from so many HBS entrepreneurs. The result is wisdom that challenges assumptions, destroys preconceived notions, crystalizes hunches, and articulates perceptions with a depth possessed by few people in the world.Starting a business is hard. Seventy percent of startups today fail after their seed round, and less than ten percent achieve success for founders and investors. Faced with such a daunting threshold, aspiring entrepreneurs need all the advice, wisdom,  and inspiration  they can get. Smart Startups is written for them—a timeless record of essential knowledge that can help them avoid failure and achieve success.

AN INSTANT USA Today Bestseller & Financial Times Best Business Book of the Month April 2024“A marvelously readable and extremely practical guide to handling stress.” —Daniel GolemanAn essential guide to protect yourself from burnout by learning to develop and master key emotional intelligence skillsWhy do some people in the world’s most stressful careers avoid burnout while countless others are overwhelmed by the demands of ordinary jobs? What can we learn from these resilient role models who seem to be naturally resistant to the psychological hazards of work?After extreme stress caused a life-threatening health cri­sis in her own life, Dr. Kandi Wiens dedicated herself to understand why work was leaving millions of us sick, exhausted, unmoti­vated, and feeling stuck and ineffective. In her research, she discovered something remarkable: Despite dangerous levels of work-related stress, some people seemed to be naturally “immune” to burnout.So what did these people have that Dr. Wiens and mil­lions of others did not? Regardless of their role, industry, or experience, all these professionals exhibited a high degree of emotional intelligence (EI). EI is the ability to clearly perceive, understand, and productively manage emo­tions, thoughts, and behaviors in service of one’s overall well-being and performance. The people with burnout immunity were relying on specific EI skills to successfully cope with stressful work environments and experiences. The result is that they were more productive; had happier careers and lives; and were free from the physical and men­tal ravages of exhaustion, negativity, and inefficacy that characterize burnout.The good news is that everyone can build and boost emotional intelligence and use EI-based skills to manage workplace stress before it leads to breaking down or burn­ing out. Burnout Immunity shows readers how to: Build self-awareness to identify what makes you vulnerable to burnoutManage your stress triggers and response, and tap into moments of good stressRegulate your thoughts and emotions to remain effective in the midst of stressDevelop healing connections to keep burnout at bayRecover from moments of burnout, reconnect to things that bring you joy, and reimagine a new way forwardBolstered with research, exercises, self-assessments, and real-life stories from people with natural burnout immu­nity and those who’ve cultivated it, Burnout Immunity teaches workers how to positively cope with stress and to enjoy healthier and happier relationships with work.

A groundbreaking work challenging the false narrative that diversity equals a lack of qualifications by uncovering the impact of "competency checking," a core issue of workplace discrimination that unjustly scrutinizes Black people and other people of color, forcing them to repeatedly prove their worth, intelligence, and even their right to be in the workplace.The career advancement of Black and other people of color in the workplace is under attack as there is a turn away from the promise of the "racial reconciliation" of 2020. This period saw Black talent rise in the workplace from DEI managers to CEOs to junior-level hires. Yet, the post-2020 workplace is seeing an alarming retreat from creating workplaces and leadership that reflect the nation’s diversity.That retreat is characterized by underemployment, cracked glass cliffs, toxic work environments, and claims of "empty pipelines." More concerning, Black professionals and other people of color often face greater scrutiny than their peers regarding job applications, work experience, and qualifications to even be considered for employment or advancement. And that scrutiny has a name: Competency Checking.When it comes to hiring Black talent, the leadership pipeline isn’t broken; rather, it is the unconscious bias and assumptions we make about who is competent and qualified. In Qualified, award-winning executive and journalist Shari Dunn combines deep research with enlightening interviews and anecdotes from across the broad spectrum of her career to uncover the history of Competency Checking, how it manifests in the workplace, and what can be done to change it. This systemic racism, Dunn argues, continues to be practiced consciously and unconsciously and is the key reason why Black people and other people of color are underrepresented in so many industries and why there continues to be a revolving door of Black talent even after the hiring surges of 2020.This urgent and deeply researched book provides the tools to dismantle the systems holding exceptional talent back, revealing:The Myth of the Pipeline: Discover why the issue isn’t a lack of diverse talent but the hidden blockages and biased assumptions within the corporate culture that prevent qualified candidates from being hired and promoted.Competency Checking Defined: Learn to identify the three primary ways Black professionals and other people of color are forced to constantly prove their qualifications, from job interviews to performance reviews.Beyond Performative DEI: Move past ineffective initiatives by understanding the historical roots of workplace discrimination and how they manifest in today’s office politics, toxic work environments, and revolving-door retention.Actionable Strategies for Change: Find concrete, evidence-based strategies for leaders, managers, and allies to dismantle biased systems and build a truly equitable and innovative workplace for everyone.

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER • ONE OF FORBES TOP 10 BUSINESS BOOKS OF 2024ELEVATE LEADERSHIP TO TEAMSHIP.In today’s volatile, fast-paced, and decentralized business environment, even the most talented leaders can’t succeed alone—they need to mobilize the full potential of the team.The world’s highest-performing organizations under­stand they need more than leadership to win—they need teamship. Teamship is a profound shift from today’s hierarchical model to sharing the load among a team that elevates one another and the organization to achieve exponential results.Based on more than twenty years of research with more than three thousand teams, world-renowned coach and bestselling author Keith Ferrazzi has cracked the code on what defines the top 15 percent of teams. In Never Lead Alone, Ferrazzi brings to life what is expected of teammates in teamship’s new agile, inclusive, innovative, and challenge culture. Teamship combines:Co-elevation behaviors—the teammates’ com­mitment to pushing one another higher in aligned pursuit of the mission, andtwenty-first-century collaboration processes, prac­tices, and tools to transform team performance.Through rigorous data, dozens of high-return prac­tices, and vivid case studies you will learn:the 10 critical shifts to teamship, including peer-to-peer accountability, personal trust, shared feedback, team resilience, and adopting agile ways of working;how to agree on a new high-performance, high-integrity team social contract; andapproaches to leveraging collaborative technology and AI.Never Lead Alone is an essential step-by-step road map for every teammate and all leaders on their team’s journey from average to extraordinary.

The media guru and bestselling author of Pitch Perfect helps professionals break away from canned communications and find their true—and most effective—voice no matter the workplace.The business world has adopted the wrong definition of successful business communication. For many years, being “on message” was considered the prime directive. The overwhelming majority of professionals today exist in a rigidly narrow range of bland rhetoric, throwing around industry buzzwords and empty jargon to create the impression of business savvy. But when everyone sounds messaged (and the same), no one stands out. And now, with more ways than ever to get your message across, it’s never been harder to communicate clearly and have your message stick.Bill McGowan has devoted more than twenty years to helping people find their distinctive voice. From CEOs to White House staffers to television personalities, he has coached thousands of speakers to improve their presentation skills and make their narrative more memorable and distinctive by breaking free from the challenges preventing them from selling their ideas with conviction, motivating their teams during challenging times, or clearly articulating a company’s mission.Speak, Memorably offers concrete strategies and tools to help anyone, in any stage of their career, cut through the numbing sameness of cliches and boring business rhetoric and find their authentic voice. Inspiring and entertaining, it is a masterclass in the soft skills of interpersonal communication and an inspiring call to action for professionals to break free from forgettable “brand” speak and instead craft thoughtful and memorable messages.How do you break free from forgettable corporate-speak and find the authentic voice that gets results?The Storytelling Formula: Learn the same secrets legendary film director Francis Ford Coppola uses to captivate an audience and make your narrative stick.Actionable Public Speaking Skills: Go beyond theory with concrete techniques coached to CEOs and White House staffers to help you sell your ideas with conviction.Avoid the Conformity Trap: Break free from the buzzwords, empty jargon, and clichés that make most professionals forgettable.Develop Your Authentic Voice: Discover how to stop being “on message” and start communicating in a way that is memorable, distinctive, and uniquely yours.

“A refreshing, long-overdue playbook about leadership for everyone. I wish Lotus Leadership had been around decades ago; It’s grounded in the best kind of wisdom: the kind that scales.”—Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn and bestselling author of Superagency“The way yoga gave the West a new way to breathe, relieve stress, and balance our lives, so too will Lotus Leadership and the powerful Hindu goddess stories in this book give everyone a new way to lead with balance, compassion, and of course, Radical Candor.”—Kim Scott, bestselling author of Radical Candor and Radical RespectA former tech leader’s modern playbook for success, culled from the inspiring stories of a largely unrecognized cadre of luminary women of Indian heritage.We’ve been ignoring the surging force of Indian women in American business for far too long. Not anymore. In this one-of-a-kind book, Silicon Valley tech executive Kamini Ramani tells the story of these women for the first time; highlighting not just their successes, but unveiling how they got there. And the answer is powerful. Notably, it wasn’t by following the same playbook of (white or Indian) men, and it wasn’t by “leaning in.”Instead, these women—often unconsciously—drew on the learned wisdom of their heritage, and specifically the stories of the main Hindu goddesses they were raised with. At the core of this is an embrace of duality similar to the tenants of Yoga that encourages harmony rather than dissonance; an emphasis on the collective over the individual; and the ability to own your power with calm and resilience.Ramani spent a year interviewing more than thirty of the top women of Indian heritage in American business. In Lotus Leadership she distills their paths into a framework likened to a “yoga for business” practice that can be followed by everyone, no matter where they are from.In her no-nonsense “Auntie” style, Ramani unveils—petal by petal—a new way of leading based on five principles: Embracing both your so-called feminine and masculine sides in harmony, and using one or the other as the situation demands.Letting curiosity guide you, not the pursuit of titles, ladders, or a paycheck.Building harmonious life partnerships that take a long-term view of “having it all”—not keeping “50-50” score in the moment.Living in abundance beyond material wealth to include a happy family, a strong team, philanthropy, and investing in your community.Combining all these traits in a way that is completely unique to your strengths and your journey. With inspiring stories and practical advice, Lotus Leadership is a pioneering guide to blossoming in business and in life.

A leading economist discusses his theories on social disequilibrium and suggests ways of restoring the economic balance.

What if the greatest salespeople on the planet are the opposite of who you think they are?Everyone sells, every day. It’s why the most successful people have mastered the art of business communication, selling themselves, their ideas, or their products and services.Yet when people hear the word sales they think of an overly confident, articulate extrovert (at best) or a pushy, know-it-all huckster (at worst). Because of these misperceptions, when we find ourselves in a situation where we need to sell, we feel compelled to put on the persona of a “good salesperson.” But there’s a disconnect between who we think good salespeople are and who they actually are. In any room, they’re not the most self-confident, they’re the most self-aware. They’re not the most sociable, they’re the most socially aware. And they don’t succeed in spite of obstacles, they succeed because of obstacles.Colin Coggins and Garrett Brown sought out some of the most successful people from all walks of life, including CEOs, entrepreneurs, doctors, trial lawyers, professional athletes, agents, military leaders, artists, engineers, and countless others in hopes of understanding why these people are so extraordinary. Colin and Garrett found that, as different as all these incredible people were, they all had an eerily similar approach to selling. It didn’t matter if they were perceived as optimists or pessimists, logical or emotional, introverted or extroverted, jovial or stoic—they were all unsold on what it meant to sell and unsold on who people expected them to be.The Unsold Mindset reveals a counterintuitive sales strategy and approach not just to selling but to life. It’s a journey toward an entirely new sales mindset—the greatest sellers on the planet aren’t successful because of what they do, they’re successful because of what they think. Being a good person and a good salesperson aren’t mutually exclusive. A masterclass in professional development, The Unsold Mindset will change the way you think about selling and the way you think about yourself.Based on insights from their popular USC course and interviews with world-class performers, this book reveals a new playbook for success:Authenticity in Business: Learn why the most successful sellers aren’t overly confident extroverts, but self-aware individuals who reject the pushy salesperson persona.A New Sales Psychology: Discover why the greatest sellers on the planet don’t just succeed in spite of obstacles—they succeed because of them.The Growth Mindset: Shift your perspective from outdated persuasion techniques to a framework built on what you think, not just what you do.Real-World Lessons: Gain wisdom from an incredible range of people—CEOs, entrepreneurs, doctors, and military leaders—who have mastered this counterintuitive approach to life and work.