HBR IdeaCast

Barry Nalebuff, professor at Yale School of Management and cofounder of Honest Tea, says too many companies shy away from cooperating with a competitor, and they’re leaving value on the table. He says even when working with other companies to find mutual benefits is not a clear win, cooperating may still be better than not cooperating. He shares how Honest Tea, Apple, Ford, and other firms analyze and capitalize on opportunities without giving up their secret sauce. Nalebuff is the author, with NYU Stern professor Adam Brandenburger, of the HBR article "The Rules of Co-opetition."

Race at Work is an HBR Presents podcast hosted by Porter Braswell about the role race plays in our careers and lives. In this episode, he speaks with Donna Johnson, former chief diversity officer at Mastercard, about leading the charge on changing company culture and how diversity can drive real business results.

Jeff John Roberts, an author and journalist, dug deep into the world of cryptocurrency to figure out what the rest of us really need to know about it. He acknowledges that the proliferation and volatility of digital currencies can make them seem like a fad but argues that the oldest among them -- bitcoin -- and the blockchain technology behind it are here to stay because they offer a more efficient way for companies and consumers to transact. He describes in plain English how crypto works and explains why now is the time for forward-thinking business leaders to understand -- and adapt to -- this new kind of currency. Roberts is the author of the book "Kings of Crypto: One Startup's Quest to Take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street."

Joseph Fuller, professor at Harvard Business School, and Allison Bailey, senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, say that the Covid-19 pandemic is only accelerating a recent trend of companies turning to digital talent platforms for highly skilled workers. The need for agility and specialized skills has more firms seeking help with projects. Meanwhile, more workers are joining these online marketplaces for the promise of greater flexibility and agency. Fuller and Bailey explain how organizations can strategically employ this on-demand workforce to unlock value. With HBS researcher Manjari Raman and BCG partner Nithya Vaduganathan, they wrote the HBR article "Rethinking the On-Demand Workforce."

Women at Work is a podcast from Harvard Business Review that looks at the struggles and successes of women in the workplace, hosted by HBR's Amy Bernstein, Amy Gallo, and Emily Caulfield. In this episode, you'll hear about the tension that comes from feeling like you are a shy person, but also an ambitious one who want to lead a team. Former clinical psychologist Alice Boyes gives advice on the professional advantages of certain personality traits related to shyness — like sensitivity and thoughtfulness — and discusses strategies to overcome the aspects of them that may hold you back at work.

Sunil Gupta, Harvard Business School professor, has spent years studying successful digital strategies, companies, and leaders, and he's made Amazon and its legendary CEO Jeff Bezos a particular areas of focus. Drawing on his own in-depth research and other sources, including a new collection of Bezos' own writing, "Invent and Wander," Gupta explains how Amazon has upended traditional corporate strategy by diversifying into multiple products serving many end users instead of focusing more narrowly. He says that Bezos's obsession with the customer and insistence on long-term thinking are approaches that other companies and senior executives should emulate.

Ellen Ernst Kossek, management professor at Purdue University, is researching how the pandemic is putting an enormous strain on working parents and the new challenge that poses for their managers. She shares how supervisors can offer much-needed consistency and predictability for working parents on their teams. She also outlines specific ways to give working parents more flexibility while still holding them accountable. Kossek is the coauthor, with Kelly Schwind Wilson and Lindsay Mechem Rosokha, of the HBR article "What Working Parents Need from Their Managers."

Suzanne Peterson, associate professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management, says many talented professionals get held back from leadership roles because of relatively intangible reasons. She argues aspiring managers can intentionally alter their everyday interactions in small ways to have a large influence on their professional reputation. She explains how to adopt markers of different leadership styles to be seen as both influential and likable. Peterson is a coauthor of the HBR article “How to Develop Your Leadership Style: Concrete Advice for a Squishy Challenge.”

Tsedale Melaku, sociologist at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and David Smith, professor at the U.S. Naval War College, have been looking at the ways people with the most power in society and organizations can become better allies to those who have less authority and influence. In the United States, that typically means white men helping their female co-workers or colleagues of color to advance. In an era when the push for gender and racial equity is gaining momentum, Melaku and Smith join host Alison Beard in a live taping that includes audience questions about the right ways to call out microaggressions, hold senior management to account, and use majority group privilege to help those in the minority. Melaku and Smith are the coauthors, along with Angie Beeman and Brad Johnson, of the HBR article "Be a Better Ally."

Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, associate professor at Harvard Business School, was studying the growing work-from-anywhere movement long before the Covid-19 pandemic forced many more of us into virtual work. He says that more and more organizations are adopting WFA as a business strategy, one that not only reduces real estate costs but also boosts employee engagement and productivity. He acknowledges that there are challenges to creating and maintaining all-remote workforces but outlines research-based best practices for overcoming them. Choudhury is the author of the HBR article "Our Work from Anywhere Future."

James Suzman, an anthropologist and former executive, says one way to better understand the future of work is to learn from the history of it. He has studied an ancient hunter-gatherer society in Namibia and says our modern notions of work, economy, and productivity are perhaps too limiting. Suzman argues that humans have always been drawn to work for its intrinsic value, and that managers can prepare for the future workplace by broadening their thinking about work and purpose. Suzman is the author of the new book "Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time."

John Macomber, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a veteran of the real estate industry, was studying ways to make workplaces safer for employees long before the Covid-19 crisis hit. Now that issues like air and water quality are top of mind, he is encouraging organizations to think more holistically about the buildings in which they operate, balancing cost efficiency and even eco-friendliness with investments in improvements that boost health. Studies show this will not only stop workers from getting sick; it will also enhance productivity, which ultimately helps the bottom line. Macomber is the author of the book “Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity”.

Roger Martin, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, says that for decades the U.S. corporate system has been obsessed with eliminating inefficiencies. There's a point, his research shows, when these efficiency gains come with even greater social and economic costs. And he believes that the Covid-19 pandemic is increasingly exposing those weaknesses. He argues that leaders and CEOs should reassess and, in some ways, reverse course in their perpetual drive for efficiency. Martin is the author of the new book "When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession with Economic Efficiency."

Bruce Tulgan, founder of the management training firm RainmakerThinking, says that the key to career success isn't only embracing opportunities; it's also declining projects, tasks, and requests for help so you create time for the most value-added work. He explains how to evaluate each ask, determine which you should prioritize, and deliver either a strategic "yes" or a well-thought-through no. Tulgan is the author of the HBR article "Learn When to Say No."

Katina Sawyer, assistant professor at the George Washington University, says transgender workers continue to be overlooked even as organizational diversity initiatives become more widespread. Her research shows that many trans employees experience ongoing discrimination, from microaggression to job loss. Sawyer shares effective formal policies and details the informal ways managers can make their workplaces — physical and virtual — truly welcoming for trans people. Sawyer is the author, along with Christian Thoroughgood and Jennica Webster, of the HBR article "Creating a Trans-Inclusive Workplace."