Weekly Hotlist: The Hard Data on Being a Nice Boss

 

December 02, 2014 The Hard Data on Being a Nice Boss By Emma Seppälä Warmth beats toughness.

Managing people What Maslow's Hierarchy Won't Tell You About Motivation by Susan Fowler Leaders need to focus on three basic psychological needs. Presentations How to Give a Stellar Presentation by Rebecca Knight Don't let fear get in the way. Managing people Why Middle Managers Are So Unhappy by Jack Zenger The problem is often their bosses. Managing up How to Disagree with Your Boss by Joseph Grenny First, be sure that your good intentions are clear. Managing yourself To Get Over Something, Write About It by Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries Psychology suggests it's more powerful than just talking. Entrepreneurship What Airbnb Gets About Culture that Uber Doesn't by Arun Sundararajan The two companies are inventing a new organization form, and going about it very differently. Innovation A Chief Innovation Officer's Actual Responsibilities by Alessandro Di Fiore There are seven. Customer service Customer Service Needs to Be Either More or Less Robotic by Rafe Sagarin The middle ground creeps us out.

BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials | HBR's 10 Must Reads Boxed Set | HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations | HBR Guide to Better Business Writing | HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

FEATURED PRODUCT Well-Designed: How to Use Empathy to Create Products People Love HBR Press Book In this refreshingly jargon-free and practical book, product design expert Jon Kolko maps out this process, demonstrating how it will help you and your team conceive and build successful, emotionally resonant products again and again. The key, says Kolko, is empathy. You need to deeply understand customer needs and feelings, and this understanding must be reflected in the product. In successive chapters of the book, we see how leading companies use a design process of storytelling and iteration that evokes positive emotions, changes behavior, and creates deep engagement. Here are the four key steps: (1) Determine a product-market fit by seeking signals from communities of users, (2) Identify behavioral insights by conducting ethnographic research, (3) Sketch a product strategy by synthesizing complex research data into simple insights, and (4) Polish the product details using visual representations to simplify complex ideas. Kolko walks the reader through each step, sharing insights from his fifteen-year career in product design along the way. Whether you're a designer, a product developer, or a marketer thinking about your company's next offering, this book will forever change the way you think about--and create--successful products. Buy It Now

FEATURED PRODUCT HBR Guide to Coaching Your Employees HBR Press Book When you're swamped with your own work, how can you make time to coach your employees—and do it well? If you don't help them build their skills, they'll keep coming to you for answers instead of finding their own solutions. Got a star on your team who's eager to advance? An underperformer who's dragging the group down? A steady contributor who feels bored and neglected? You'll need to agree on goals for growth, motivate your people to achieve them, support their efforts, and measure their progress. This guide gives you the tools to do that. You'll get better at (1) Matching people's skills with your organization's needs; (2) Creating realistic but inspiring plans for growth; (3) Customizing your approach; (4) Prompting with questions before you dispense advice; (5) Providing the support your employees need to achieve peak performance; (6) Giving them feedback they'll actually apply; (7) Tapping their learning styles to make greater progress; (8) Giving people room to grapple with problems and discover solutions; (9) Engaging your employees and fostering independence. Buy It Now

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