HBR IdeaCast

Sales commissions act as a crucial lever to increase revenue and customers. But sometimes those incentives bring unintended consequences. New research identifies eight ways that salespeople across industries cheat or bend the rules to maximize their gain—often at the expense of the company's bottom line and customer loyalty. Huntsman School of Business professor Timothy Gardner and consultant Colin Wong explain these tactics, like sandbagging, falsifying data, and giving excessive discounts to close deals. The researchers also share how company leaders can audit, correct, and monitor an incentive program—and when they should let some practices slide to maintain productivity and motivation. Gardner and Wong are coauthors of the HBR article “How Salespeople Game the System.”

What does it take to really energize people and motivate them toward a goal?  Inspirational leadership might seem idiosyncratic and hard to quantify, but, according to Adam Galinsky, professor at Columbia Business School, it involves three key elements: having a vision, setting an example, and mentoring. His research shows this is true across industries and geographies, and he offers advice on how to improve in each area. He's author of the book Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others as well as the HBR article “What Sets Inspirational Leaders Apart”.

There are all kinds of productivity tools out there promising to help you make the most of your day. Some people swear by timeboxing: the method of reserving time on your calendar each day for each task you want to get done, and then truly focusing on that one thing at a time. The return on merging your to-do list with your calendar like this, says Marc Zao-Sanders, is higher productivity, better collaboration, and less distraction and anxiety. He explains how try to the method yourself and the how your team and organization benefit from it, not just you. Zao-Sanders is author of the book "Timeboxing: The Power of Doing One Thing at a Time."

In an age of rapidly changing technology, it’s more important than ever for organizations to effectively support employee learning. Gianpiero Petriglieri, associate professor at INSEAD, has studied leaders who do this well and says they fall into three categories: custodians, challengers, or connectors. He explains which type of learning leader works best in which contexts and how all three approaches can help individuals and teams reach the next level. Petriglieri is author of the HBR article "Three Ways to Lead Learning."

Despite all the ways that artificial intelligence promises to improve our lives, many consumers feel anxious and are averse to AI-powered products and services. For marketers and product managers, it’s vital to understand what is driving that resistance to adoption. Julian De Freitas is an assistant professor in the marketing unit at Harvard Business School. He has identified five main ways people see artificial intelligence negatively: that AI is opaque, emotionless, inflexible, autonomous, and not human enough. Through real-life cases and the latest research, he explains how companies can soothe anxieties and encourage consumer adoption. De Freitas the author of the HBR article "Why People Resist Embracing AI."

Amid the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the United States and elsewhere, leaders in both the public and private sectors are reevaluating their organizations' policies and goals. While many employers and employees still value and support DEI, a growing chorus argues that such programs run counter to meritocratic ideals. Iris Bohnet and Siri Chilazi of the Harvard Kennedy School think there's one principle everyone should be able to agree on -- fairness -- and argue for a data-driven approach to measuring it. They share their research on how to make workplace systems more fair and offer cases we can all learn from. They wrote the book Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results.

Many consumers are buying electric vehicles, thanks to sportscar-like performance, government incentives, and personal motivations to minimize climate change. But the EV industry overall has revved and sputtered in unpredictable ways and offers a case study in managing innovation, regulation, and competition. Mike Colias, deputy bureau chief at The Wall Street Journal, explains the complex landscape that incumbents such as GM and Ford and start-ups like Tesla find themselves in. Through stories of iconic industry executives and bold competitive moves, he shares insights that leaders in every industry can learn from. Colias wrote the new book Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles.

As organizations and workers face a new wave of technological change, Deborah Perry Piscione argues that we're at a pivot point where old models of employment will be replaced by entirely new ones. Get ready for GenAI-assisted, decentralized, sometimes autonomous workforces, and “jobs” that span gigs, companies, industries, geographies, and the metaverse.  Piscione describes this new reality and how mindset shifts and upskilling can help us prepare. She's the coauthor, along with Josh Drean, of the book Employment is Dead: How Disruptive Technologies are Revolutionizing the Way We Work.

If you've ever tried to change things at work, you know the headwinds you face. Teams and processes are often trapped in longstanding, ineffective patterns that are hard to budge. Dan Heath, senior fellow at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, explains proven techniques to reset. Those include making the problem visible, jolting incremental progress to start gaining traction, and motivating teams into a new direction. He shares real-life examples of how leaders and teams broke through seemingly intractable work situations. Heath is the author of the new book Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working.

Our families, schools, and workplaces often train us to comply: taking on additional work when asked, agreeing with the group's consensus, and going along to get along with our bosses and colleagues. So, even when we're told to "think different" and "embrace conflict," we often hold ourselves back. But when individuals learn to say no more often, it can have huge benefits for their careers and organizations, says Dr. Sunita Sah. A psychologist and professor at Cornell's SC Johnson College of Business, she shares a research-backed framework for evaluating whether to comply or defy at work and offers advice on how to do both more effectively. Sah is author of the book Defy: The Power of No In a World That Demands Yes.

High standards, attention to detail, and self-control are invaluable qualities at work. They’re also aspects of perfectionism, something to which many high achievers credit much of their success. But Ellen Hendriksen, clinical psychologist at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, says being your own worst critic can also lead to constant dissatisfaction at work and alienation from coworkers. Her new book is How to Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists. Drawing on her own research, clinical work, and personal experience as a perfectionist, she explains where perfectionism comes from and how it affects teams. Hendriksen shares how not to be so hard on yourself—while still keeping your high standards.

We all know the stereotypes of leaders who use charisma, manipulation, domineering behavior, or their status in the hierarchy to exert control. But there is another type of leader whose power isn’t necessarily related to their position on the org chart. Chris Lipp has spent years studying people who’ve developed this “personal power” that is rooted in their internal values. Lipp is a professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, an executive coach, and the author of the new book The Science of Personal Power. He’s investigated where this second type of power comes from, how it can enhance our lives, and how to tap into it using some simple strategies and tools.

Asking questions is a powerful way to build trust, exchange ideas, and unlock value in organizations. And it is a skill that can be honed to make work conversations more productive, say Leslie K. John and Alison Wood Brooks, professors at Harvard Business School. In this classic episode, they join former host Sarah Green Carmichael to talk through insights from behavioral science research. They share techniques to adjust the frame, tone, and type of questions to improve results—whether you’re looking to get information, find solutions, or just get someone to like you. Brooks and John wrote the article “The Surprising Power of Questions” in the May–June 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Many companies make money by selling goods that need to be constantly replaced; think fast fashion, or tech devices that come out in new versions each year. But according to Vijay Govindarajan, professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, smart organizations are increasingly eschewing that strategy for one focused on products that grow with the consumer through creative design or software updates. He shares several examples and explains how this approach can deliver more value for the buyer – and for the business – over the long term. Govindarajan is the coauthor of the HBR article "Design Products That Won't Become Obsolete."

Hollywood is known for huge personalities and behemoth production studios taking big swings. But critics worry that the movie industry is playing it way too safe recently — by churning out remakes and fleshing out franchises, rather than dreaming up new things. And the same can be said of many established businesses in other industries. Larry Kasanoff, a movie producer and former studio head, has lessons from his career taking passionate risks to make groundbreaking movies like Platoon, Dirty Dancing, and Mortal Kombat. He breaks down his framework for innovation in three parts: Create, Ask, and Play. Kasanoff is the author of A Touch of the Madness: How to Be More Innovative in Work and Life . . . by Being a Little Crazy.

We all know that innovative thinking is vital to individual, team, and organizational success. But we still often put creativity in a box, assuming it's only for people in certain roles or best attempted once a year at an off-site brainstorming session. Marketing executives Kathryn Jacob and Sue Unerman argue that we all need to be exercising our creative muscles more regularly, especially in the age of AI, when routine work can be outsourced to algorithms but new thinking still comes from human minds. They offer prompts for spurring more creativity -- by yourself or with a team -- no matter where you work. Jacob and Unerman are the authors of the book A Year of Creativity: 52 Smart Ideas for Boosting, Creativity, Innovation, and Inspiration at Work.

Twenty-five years ago, a Harvard Business School case study featured the exceptional networking practices of Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist Heidi Roizen. This was before the rise of online social networks and the ubiquity of social media. But today, Roizen says that those developments have not fundamentally changed how she builds and maintains strong personal and professional relationships. Now a partner at Threshold Ventures and a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, she shares the biggest missteps that she sees people take. She also explains the impact of AI and remote work on networking, her most effective strategies for building relationships, and her frank advice for those just starting their careers. Roizen is subject of the HBS case study “Heidi Roizen.”

Palo Alto Networks is the leading global cybersecurity company. Over his six-year tenure there, CEO Nikesh Arora has expanded and reorganized the organization, including safely incorporating generative AI into all of its products. Nikesh explains how he’s managing new opportunities and risks in the age of generative AI – including the single cybersecurity risk that keeps him up at night. He also shares his approach to leading innovation and evolving Palo Alto’s go-to-market strategy when new technologies are developing so rapidly.

This week marks a huge milestone for the HBR IdeaCast: our 1000th episode! Since the podcast launched in 2006, so much has happened. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to sharing in-depth conversations with expert thinkers on key business, management, and leadership issues. To celebrate, hosts Alison Beard and Curt Nickisch have scoured the archive for ten episodes with top-notch insights to give your career a rocket boost. The curated selection features a diverse group of academics—from business strategy icon Michael Porter to burnout researcher Christina Maslach—and practitioners, such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Oscar-winning director Ron Howard. Their powerful ideas and timeless advice cover a range of communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills that are essential for success—whether you’re in your first job, managing a team, or leading an organization. Listen to the episodes: #677: Why People — and Companies — Need Purpose (2019) #114: Speaking Well in Tough Moments (2008) #371: Lead Authentically, Without Oversharing (2013) #924: How One F-35 Fighter Pilot Makes Decisions Under Pressure (2023) #949: Making Peace with Your Midlife, Mid-career Self (2024) #889: Ron Howard on Collaborative Leadership and Career Longevity (2022) #596: Microsoft’s CEO on Rediscovering the Company’s Soul (2017) #595: Transcending Either-Or Decision Making (2017) #771: Why Burnout Happens — and How Bosses Can Help (2020) #229: How to Fix Capitalism (2011) The IdeaCast team would like to thank all the guests who've contributed their voices and expertise as well as all the people who've made the show possible behind the scenes.

Baidu launched in 2000 as a search engine platform. Two decades later, it’s become one of the few companies in the world that offers a full AI stack. Its core businesses span mobile, cloud, intelligent driving and other growth initiatives, and its products and services have attracted hundreds of millions of users and hundreds of thousands of enterprise customers. Leading all of that is co-founder, CEO, and chairman Robin Li. He explains how Baidu has built generative AI into its business – including their AI chatbot, ERNIE Bot. Robin also shares the technology trends he’s keeping an eye on – from AI bubbles to robotaxis – and how he anticipates these fast-moving changes will transform our world.