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It was the best of times—then, suddenly, it was the worst. Nothing quite like a global pandemic to recast the lives of billions. As we look forward to a return to some form of normal, fully knowing it will have to be a very different normal, we have collectively clung...

Adapted with permission from CREATIVE CONFLICT: A Practical Guide for Business Negotiators (June 15, 2021, HBR Press) by Bill Sanders and Frank Mobus. In the scene below, from the comedy classic Monty Python’s Life of Brian,1 our hero is on the run from a phalanx of Roman soldiers. He races...

In working with CEOs for decades, we acknowledge how difficult this question really is. In the past 15 years we’ve seen growing interest in developing more emotional intelligence and with it, executives being more open to the advantages of greater transparency and authenticity.  That inevitably raises the issue of vulnerability. ...

One of the biggest challenges of working in digital is learning to roll with the times. That means dealing with shifting tides and constant fluctuations. What you knew yesterday is not gospel today, meaning you always must be well and truly on the ball.  If there is one thing we...

Value in business today comes from who you know and how you connect with them. These connections build whole new forms of capital—personal, social, intellectual, operational, reputational, and, of course, financial. When we connect with people at work, we feel like “we’re in it together.” Great connection provides a sense...

Over the past several years, companies have realized that cybersecurity can’t just be a check-the-box enterprise – it has to be a fundamental component of their operations, services, and cultures. Many factors have conspired to drive this shift: rapid digitization across industries and sectors, the surging availability and effectiveness of...

Often, executives unknowingly encounter (and find themselves existing in) a success paradox where there are more responsibilities, more expectations, more pressure, more stress, but less time available for themselves. This paradox, of course, leads to exhaustion. But executives aren't executives by accident. They've climbed this trajectory of success because they're...

Closing new customers is cause for celebration. You ring the bell, bang the gong, or pop open a bottle of champagne to commemorate closing a new deal. As long as you keep getting new logos, your company is winning, right? Not necessarily. When you treat every new customer as a “special...

What tone do you set for your organization? Why do some cities that were once great wander aimlessly and waste away into a state of mere existence? Why do once-great organizations crumble? Why do families that seem to be strong succumb to crisis after crisis? The answer is simple: the...

Driven by the very nature of businesses, CEOs are expected to display corporate behavior. Such behaviors are reflected in certain attributes of professionalism, chasing business targets, conducting frequent business meetings/reviews, attending corporate parties and events, activities on social media and other media platforms, verbal and written communications to staff and...