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3 Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Incentives for Sales Teams
When executives discuss sales performance, the conversation often focuses on compensation. It’s one of the few areas in sales that senior leaders pay close attention to as a driver of performance. In part, this is because, in B2B companies, compensation typically represents the largest line item in the sales budget. So, while compensation needs to be effectively managed, it can be misused or overused as a means of influencing sales behavior. Here are three common mistakes leaders make when trying to boost the performance of their sales teams along with ideas for how to produce better results.
How Costly Is a Resume Gap for Executives?
Do resume gaps still matter, or have we moved into a world where they can be explained? There is truth in both these positions. Career gaps can have reasonable explanations: Since the pandemic, nearly everyone has experienced firsthand the challenges of managing demands between private and work lives. An analysis of salary data suggests that resume gaps still have a negative effect. These effects differ by region and functional role, but publicly traded companies are less forgiving and bigger firms see bigger penalties. The analysis also found that credentials, such as MBAs or degrees from a prestigious university, don’t have offsetting effects.
Research: Hiring a Superstar Can Backfire
Research indicates that hiring stars can be counterproductive, as they often struggle to replicate their previous performance due to a lack of support systems in new organizations. Additionally, the arrival of new stars can negatively impact existing employees, who may feel threatened or resentful, leading to poor overall performance. A new study of 2,700 star lawyers showed that practice areas hiring stars generally performed 10% worse in the following year compared to those that did not hire stars.
When Another Senior Leader Is Threatening Your Reputation
Adversarial behaviors like intimidation, sabotage, and boycotts are not uncommon in the C-suite. Yet, beneath these visible threats lies a more insidious danger: corporate gaslighting . This subtle tactic undermines credibility and isolates business executives. Recognizing its signs is crucial, as it can ultimately diminish confidence, challenge mental health, and lead to an executive’s premature departure.
What It Takes to Fix a “Mean” Workplace
Workplace incivility costs U.S. businesses an estimated $2 billion each day in lost productivity. Uncivil behavior can spread to bystanders like a virus, creating a workplace contagion that decimates productivity and well-being. But new preliminary research suggests civility is just as contagious. Anyone can break the cycle of incivility through three steps: 1) Noticing your automatic response; 2) Naming your automatic response; and 3) Communicating in a way that doesn’t trigger the other person.
In a Slump at Work? Here’s How to Motivate Yourself.
Poor performance management, lack of visibility, repetitive routines, and restricted growth opportunities can result in feelings of frustration, stagnation and boredom. Maybe you have a boss that doesn’t see your potential. Maybe there’s lots to do, but none of it excites you. In an uncertain economy, making a career move might not feel realistic or desirable. Especially for remote workers, there might not be many opportunities for organic networking opportunities. Here are five ways to reignite motivation at work: Review past feedback on your performance to create a mini performance review, seek a stretch assignment, explore opportunities to shadow others, strengthen skills by sharing knowledge, and recognize incremental wins.
Research: How Retailers Respond When Brands Start Selling Direct
A new study analyzed the product orders placed by nearly 2,000 multi-brand retailers in the U.K. and France before and after a partner brand launched direct sales channels. On average, retailers decreased their orders by 19% and paid about 21% more after the entry compared to the period before the launch. But not all retailers responded the same way: the larger and more powerful the retailer, the less likely they were to retaliate against the brand. The researchers offer suggestions for brands looking to maintain relationships with both small and large retailers, noting that partnerships of all sizes can add up to significant portions of brand profits.
How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base
The software company SAP successfully leveraged AI tools to begin selling to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) market, which had previously been uneconomical for its in-person sales approach. By mapping the customer journey and deploying over 40 AI tools, SAP transformed the way it sells, reducing the sales cycle from 12–18 months to 3–6 months and supporting over 22,000 new customer opportunities in 2024. This case study demonstrates the potential of thoughtful AI scaling to add significant revenue to large businesses.
Cover Letters Still Matter—Even If They’re Not Required
Many companies now don’t require candidates to submit cover letters. But should you still submit them? The author argues that cover letters are still important and uses research and his conversations with six career experts to support the argument. The article also provides a six-part template for crafting a compelling cover letter: start with a specific, enthusiastic opening statement; connect your skills and experiences to the job description; mention any relevant contacts or experiences with the company; add supporting details like published work or unique skills; address potential resume concerns; and end with your excitement about contributing to the company’s mission.
What Leaders Need to Know About Auditing AI
While audits are becoming a core feature of working with AI, they don’t have a predetermined process that follows a straight line; rather, they are a web of different decisions, both from the business and the technical side. Specifically, audits often face four core challenges: 1) they don’t follow a straight line, 2) data governance is messy, 3) they require internal trust, and 4) they focus on the past. Leaders can take steps to help audits succeed. Before an audit, they can instill the right culture and incentives, and help design the audit. During the audit, they can shape the process and remove red tape.
How to Build Career Resilience in Uncertain Times
In an era when career uncertainty—marked by layoffs, automation, shifting regulations, and changing expectations—traditional notions of job security are becoming obsolete. The challenge isn’t just keeping a job, it’s building a career resilient to change. To navigate uncertainty and build real career resilience, adopt a proactive mindset: 1) Identify your non-negotiables, 2) build adaptability and agility, 3) deepen relationships, and 4) create your next best option.
How a Legacy Financial Institution Went All In on Gen AI
Why did Moody’s—a legacy financial institution built on risk assessment—move aggressively to adopt generative AI, an unproven technology? Because leadership calculated that the risk of standing still outweighed the risk of moving fast. Instead of cautious experimentation, Moody’s launched a company-wide transformation grounded in three principles: 1) everyone had to be involved, 2) new ideas should be built upon, not dismissed, and 3) real business impact was the priority. This required a fundamental shift in how transformation was viewed—not as a move toward a fixed goal, but as a continuous process of adaptation. Moody’s example offers lessons for other companies: inaction comes with its own risks, decentralized innovation works, change must be continuous, strategic partnerships matter, and culture drives adoption.
How Should Gen AI Fit into Your Marketing Strategy?
To successfully integrate generative AI (gen AI) in marketing, companies need to balance automation, customization, and human oversight. As such, they should follow a few steps. First, determine whether a task requires gen AI for content creation or analytical AI for data-driven predictions—often, a combination of both is ideal. Next, assess whether to rely on general AI models or invest in proprietary training data to enhance accuracy and reduce risks. Finally, establish the appropriate level of human review based on risk—low-risk tasks like summarizing reviews may be fully automated, while high-stakes content, such as legally binding promotions, requires rigorous oversight. Using a structured framework to evaluate these trade-offs ensures that gen AI enhances efficiency while mitigating errors, privacy concerns, and regulatory risks.
When You Oversell Your Abilities and It Backfires
After decades of praising inclusive, empathetic, vulnerable, and self-aware leaders, we currently work in an emboldened climate of self-promotion and braggadocious leadership. But trying to persuade others that you’re better than you actually are when trying to land a promotion or new job often backfires. If you’re feeling the urge to embellish your abilities to others—or already have and now realize you can’t keep up the illusion—you can take steps to start a graceful journey back to reality and legitimate credibility: 1) Identify the perceived risk of the truth; 2) reframe the narrative; 3) own it with honesty; 4) shift the focus to growth; and 5) redirect the spotlight.
5 Techniques to Build a More Powerful Speaking Voice
In an era where the human elements of leadership matter more than ever, mastering your “vocal presence” isn’t just an enhancement to executive capability—it’s an essential dimension of how you inspire, connect with, and mobilize others toward shared goals. Through conscious practice of breath coordination and vocal techniques, you can develop a more commanding, authentic, and engaging presence that will resonate deeply with your audience. The article outlines five simple, functional exercises to improve vocal presence.
Employees Won’t Trust AI If They Don’t Trust Their Leaders
AI adoption in the workplace is growing rapidly, but employees remain skeptical due to concerns over trust and benevolence—both in AI and in leadership. Sentiment around AI reflects broader confidence in leadership, as employees question how these tools will be used and whether they will serve their interests. To address this, organizations must build cognitive trust by ensuring AI is reliable, accurate, and transparent through regular audits and bias-mitigation efforts. Leaders must actively engage employees, demonstrating genuine concern for their well-being and positioning AI as a tool for empowerment rather than replacement. The most effective approach is an “AI-leader combination,” where leadership fosters AI literacy, facilitates open discussions, and frames AI as a supportive tool for career growth. By aligning technological transparency with empathetic leadership, companies can cultivate both cognitive and emotional trust, ensuring successful AI adoption.
How to Approach Business Ethics as Global Consensus Breaks Down
Global consensus is breaking down on ethical issues such as anti-bribery enforcement and corporate responsibility. This moment is a call for leaders to face these challenging realities or risk potential financial and reputational damage to their businesses. There are three strategies leaders can use to navigate these ethical challenges—before it’s too late for their organizations: 1) Know your true values and pressure-test them; 2) embrace friction; and 3) “health check” expectations to drive ethical outcomes. By following these strategies, leaders can create constructive and healthy work environments that support ethical decision-making, even amid geopolitical risk and market volatility.
A Guide to Updating Your Resume When Moving from Public to Private Sector
With recent and ongoing layoffs in the federal workforce, many public sector workers are seeking employment in the private sector. Public service roles tend to have specialized language, non-traditional organizational structures, and distinct success metrics, so those looking to make the move need to translate their accomplishments, skills, and capabilities in a new and different way. Here are four ways to update your resume, as well as some networking tips, to set yourself up for private sector success.
“The Manager’s Job,” 50 Years Later
“No job is more vital to our society than that of the manager. The manager determines whether our social institutions will serve us well or whether they will squander our talents and resources.” Henry Mintzberg wrote these words 50 years ago, in his classic HBR article “The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact,” which sought to debunk some of the myths about what makes a good manager. HBR Editor at Large Adi Ignatius recently caught up with Mintzberg, who is still active at McGill University, to discuss the state of management today, the four fundamental types of organizations, and how the business world has changed throughout his career.
Strategic Impact Initiatives Can Make Your Business Stronger
While many companies are retreating from social commitments, evidence shows that strategically designed impact initiatives can support business growth. There are four key principles for creating impact programs that help leaders build more resilient businesses, drawing from successful cases like Flexport.org and Twilio.org: 1) listen before leaping, 2) deploy your core strength, 3) make impact drive value, and 4) design for the long-run. The article also offers concrete steps to help leaders turn these principles into practice.
How to Learn from a Failed Negotiation
Even the best negotiators sometimes fail. When that happens, it is important to consider went wrong so you can do better in the future. Start by understanding the types of failure you can experience, why you’ve failed, and how much it matters. Then follow a five-step process: accept the failure, analyze why it happened, consider what lessons apply to future negotiations, pinpoint and fix your weaknesses, and, finally, come back to the table with confidence.
4 Styles of Coaching—and When to Use Them
People often believe they’re coaching when they’re actually just giving instructions. So what is coaching and how do you get better at it? Effective coaching involves knowing when to ask questions and guide your employee and when to step back and let them own the decision-making. To help managers navigate their coaching journey, the author created the Coaching Styles framework—based on “push” and “pull” concepts from sports—that helps managers choose a coaching style that works for them and the situation. The framework helps leaders understand the importance of adapting different coaching styles to varying situations and fostering employees’ self-sufficiency. Mastering coaching requires practice and discernment, but it ultimately empowers both leaders and their teams to grow.
3 Ways to Drive Continuous AI Transformation
To drive continuous AI innovation, businesses should consider three key strategies: rigorous technical reviews, cross-functional AI integration, and structured conflict resolution. Regular, transparent progress assessments ensure AI investments align with customer needs, while embedding AI experts within mission-based teams enhances adaptability and upskills the workforce. Additionally, fostering a culture that embraces constructive conflict through clear escalation frameworks accelerates decision-making and innovation velocity. These principles have enabled Intuit to significantly boost efficiency, improve customer experiences, and scale AI-driven solutions.
You Don’t Need a Mentor to Get the Career Advice You Need
Mentors are great for your career, especially when you’re in the early stages. But finding senior leaders with the time and interest to support you can be hard. Young professionals often have abundant—but easily overlooked—opportunities for what the authors call “micro-mentorship”: short, actionable advice that can make a tangible difference. Professors, former teaching assistants, and family friends, for example, are hidden mentors. Gaining broader insights from interesting, thoughtful strangers can be just as pivotal as interactions with the hidden mentors you already know. It may feel challenging if you don’t have a mentor guiding your career development on an ongoing basis. But micro-mentoring can be just as beneficial as cultivating a single mentor.
3 Types of Silos That Stifle Collaboration—and How to Dismantle Them
The silo effect, characterized by limited communication between specialized business departments, can negatively impact communication and collaboration in organizations. In particular, there are three types of silos: systemic, elitist, and protectionist, each requiring specific strategies for resolution. These targeted solutions—aligning goals, improving communication, and fostering secure data sharing—can help dismantle silos and foster a more collaborative environment.
The Economic Data You Need to Make Decisions Through Volatility
When major events—like new tariffs or government layoffs—happen rapidly, it can be challenging to know what impact they will have on the economy and your business. To help make sense of recent economic changes, researchers analyzed readouts from the U.S. Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, federal government spending reports, and recent unemployment claims reports. They offer guidance about what data organizations should keep an eye on as things continue to evolve.