Agility at Work: One Step Ahead

At least for a while, this will be the final posted episode of Agility at Work. More about that in a moment. No matter what unfolds, quite conveniently our conversation today with Rob Garris bridges Kim's world of agile leadership and Mike's jazz of negotiation domain. Rob is the Managing Director of Leadership Development at … Continue reading 43. Agile Leadership and Nimble Negotiation for Social Equity →

The guest in this episode of Agility at Work is our friend and colleague Bob Bordone. Bob taught negotiation and conflict resolution for many years at Harvard Law School. He also founded a clinic here to give students firsthand experience in settling disputes. That program is still going strong. Bob has now moved into multi-faceted … Continue reading 42. Conflict Resilience in Contentious Times →

Our guest this episode, in an encore appearance, is our friend and HBS colleague Christine Exley. Back in Episode 10 we discussed her on-going research on gender inequality and how to address it. This time we learned about her work on charitable giving—why we sometimes say yes and other times no. Most of us are … Continue reading 41. The Power of a Surprise Ask →

Our guest for this episode, Mike Beer, is back with us for an encore. He spoke with us a year ago about his latest book, Fit to Compete: Why Honest Conversations about Your Company's Capabilities are the Key to a Winning Strategy. Mike joins us now to discuss the distinction between top-down leadership and leadership … Continue reading 40. Collaborative Leadership →

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury, with Bruce Patton coming on board for subsequent editions. It remains by far the best seller in the field and has been translated into dozens of languages. William, our guest in … Continue reading 39. Getting to Yes Turns 40 →

In these turbulent times, business as usual is a recipe for failure. In our work—and in our lives more broadly—we need to challenge the status quo and find new ways to overcome obstacles and capitalize on unexpected opportunities. Our guest in this episode is our Harvard Business School colleague, Francesca Gino. She's the author of … Continue reading 38. Rebel Talent →

Imagine you're emailing back and forth with someone trying to resolve a problem. What if you had an app that would track your words and coach you on how to engage more effectively? Or, for that matter, say you're conversing on Zoom or in-person. Would you use an ear bud that would give you real-time … Continue reading 37. Getting a Bad Conversation Back on Track →

Richard Shell, who teaches negotiation at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, is our guest in this episode. His new book, just published this summer, is The Conscience Code: Lead with Your Values, Advance Your Career. It addresses challenging moral issues that arise in negotiation and in leadership, as well. What do we owe others … Continue reading 36. The Conscience Code →

The top-down, command-and-control model of leadership has fallen out of fashion in today's complex and fast-paced world. Our guest in this episode, Rob Wilkinson, provides an agile alternative that he and Kim Leary (co-host here) presented in their recent Harvard Kennedy School working paper, Leading with Intentionality: The 4P Framework for Strategic Leadership. The heart … Continue reading 35. The Four P's of Adaptive Leadership →

That's the name of a book by our HBS colleague Deepak Malhotra, the guest in this episode. The book's subtitle is How to Break Deadlocks and Resolve Ugly Conflicts (without Money or Muscle). The cover shows a bomb shaped like a cannonball. Its short fuse is lit and sparking. Deepak is drawn to dangerous problems … Continue reading 34. Negotiating the Impossible →

Our guest in this episode is Joe Badaracco from the Harvard Business School. Decades ago, he designed a literature-based course for MBA students to enable them to explore deeply the moral issues that they may well encounter in their professional lives. One of us (Mike) taught a section of this course at HBS for several … Continue reading 33. The Moral Leader →

Greetings from Kim Leary and Mike Wheeler, co-hosts of Agility at Work. And for our latest episode, we’re co-authors of this description of our latest episode. It’s Kim here at the top, introducing our guest Sheila Heen, who teaches negotiation at Harvard Law School, and offers training and consulting through Triad Consulting Group. This is … Continue reading 32. Prepping for Difficult Conversations →

We have two guests in this episode. That’s a first for us! They’re Noah Susskind and Samantha Stephens, colleagues at McKinsey, the global consulting company. Noah is deeply into cybersecurity. He shares some of his experiences in our four-way conversation and will come back soon to say more. The focus here is on Samantha’s work … Continue reading 31. Agile Leadership in a Time of Rapid Change →

Our guest for this episode of Agility at Work is Erin Egan. She does business development for Amazon—acquiring technology, partnering with other companies, and sometimes taking a leading role in buying them. She previously did this sort of work for Microsoft and, in France, with Airbus. In short, Erin is a full-time negotiator. And she … Continue reading 30. Reading the Room →

Lots has been written about negotiating transactions—exchanges where I grant you something, in return for something else that you’ll turn over to me. I give you money (not too much, I hope) for your truck. You then use some of that to pay your piano teacher for your kids. And so on. But what about … Continue reading 29. Negotiating Creative Differences →

When the pandemic finally gets under control—soon we hope—work for many people will not go back to the way it was before. Some people may go back to their offices but not necessarily every day. Others, who’ve moved to places where housing is cheaper and life less hectic, will engage with colleagues only remotely, just … Continue reading 28. The Vanishing Workplace →

Our friend and colleague Josh Weiss is our guest in this episode. He’s the author of Real World Negotiation: Successful Strategy from Business, Government, and Daily Life. As you’ll hear, Josh’s book draws important general lessons from seemingly very different kinds of cases (most of them far from our own experience). But Josh knows that … Continue reading 27. The Art—and Importance—of Telling Stories When You Negotiate →

Two episodes ago, we heard our friend and HBS colleague Joe Badaracco suggest that we give ourselves permission to step back and reflect, at least for a few minutes every day. Turn away from the computer screen, he said. Put your smart phone away. Simply look out the window at the clouds passing by. Let … Continue reading 26. Learning Outside of Class →

Our guest in this episode in Peter Sawyer, a New York-based agent who negotiates for a living. Peter has represented Hollywood stars and Broadway actors, along with authors and pro athletes. He seemingly relishes the process of negotiation as much as the result. From where we sit, it looks like a juggling act: setting realistic … Continue reading 25. The Upside of Being Brash: Lessons from an Agent →

Our guest in this episode is HBS Professor Joe Badaracco. His latest book is Step Back: Bringing Reflection Back into Your Life. Joe begins with a story about a private equity guy who invests in start-ups and sits on their boards. He always tells young CEOs that if he ever walks into their office and finds them … Continue reading 24. Gaze Out the Window →

What do you owe others—if anything—in regard to honesty, fairness, and how you use power? That’s a core question every time you negotiate. And it’s just as important when you’re leading a group, large or small. Often, though, the hardest choices aren’t between drawing the line between right and wrong. Rather, they’re about reconciling competing … Continue reading 23. Do the Right Thing. Mostly. →

Big cities and small towns have at least one thing in common: they’re hot houses for breeding costly conflicts. In a leafy suburb, the Hatfields’ application for a zoning variance to expand their house can spark a fight with the McCoys next door, who want to protect their own views. In a metro area, economic … Continue reading 22. Not in My Backyard →

Here’s the challenge. Imagine you want to change your career—radically. Perhaps you’re tired of what you’ve been doing. Maybe you’re excited about doing something very different. It could be both. But how do you leap into a new world where you have no experience and no connections? (Oh, and just to make it harder, whatever … Continue reading 21. Hustle: Negotiating Your Unique Career →

Let’s say you’ve got a great idea. No, amp that up. Your idea is truly brilliant. For example, if you’re in business, let’s say that you’ve come up with something that will disrupt the marketplace. Or if you work in a not-for-profit, you’ve designed a program that will significantly improve the lives of the people … Continue reading 20. Entrepreneurial Negotiation →

Your boss just announced a bold new initiative. But you and your colleagues who do the nitty-gritty work on the ground know that his plan is bound to crash. He says that his door is always open—and he may really mean it—but are you willing to deliver the bad news? Our guest in this episode … Continue reading 19. Is Silence Killing Your Company’s Strategy? →

Our colleague Hannah Riley Bowles, from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, joins us in this episode to share her research on the subtle role that gender plays in how people prepare for and manage negotiations. Hannah is skeptical of the notion that men are significantly more competitive than women. Studies show that there are … Continue reading 18. Her Place at the Bargaining Table: Gender and Negotiation →

In this episode we have an encore visit with Professor Debbie Kolb, author of Negotiating at Work: Turn Small Wins into Big Gains. In an earlier conversation, we discussed how gender issues play out in negotiation. This time our conversation is about the challenge of negotiating within your organization. That can be up, down, or … Continue reading 17. Turning the Tables: How to Transform Weakness into Strength in Negotiation and Leadership →

We sometimes see things not as they are, but as we are. Our unchecked emotional baggage and assumptions can distort how we interpret (and thus respond to) what other people say and do. Missing other people’s signals can make bad situations even worse. In this episode, University of California Professor Clark Freshman explains the importance … Continue reading 16. Reading Your Own Mind: Self-Awareness, Compassion, and the Search for Truth →

There are scads of books, articles, and even courses on how to give effective feedback. That’s no surprise. Directing other people is at the core of what managers do, after all, whether it’s in annual performance reviews or off-hand comments after a task has been completed. Giving feedback is likewise part of a teacher’s job, … Continue reading 15. Thanks for the Feedback! →

Great negotiators are like great athletes in at least one respect: they’re keenly in the moment but at the same time they also see the big picture. Better than their competition, they know how to change the game in their favor. Today Andy Wasynczuk joins us for another episode. Andy’s been teaching negotiation at the … Continue reading 14. Agile Strategy and Negotiation Success →

After a tough negotiation, ever catch yourself thinking, “Oh, I wish I said this, or I should have done that”? But there’s nothing you can do about it now. Your mental light bulb clicked on too late. In this episode we call back our friend Lakshmi Balachandra, who teaches negotiation and entrepreneurship in nearby Babson … Continue reading 13. How to Be Quicker on Your Feet →

Have you signed a consent form to participate in an experiment recently? Ever done so? You might answer no, but actually the odds are high you’ve been conscripted without ever knowing it. That’s the message in a new book, The Power of Experiments, by our Harvard Business School colleagues Mike Luca and Max Bazerman. In … Continue reading 12. The Dark Side of Experimentation →

Professor Frank Barrett, jazz pianist and author of Yes to the Mess, returns for an encore. In this episode he talks with Agility at Work co-hosts Mike Wheeler and Kim Leary about how old habits and assumptions stifle creativity in both negotiation and leadership. It’s one thing to recognize the trap, but quite another to … Continue reading 11. Been There/Done That: How to Unlearn What You Think You Know →

Our guest in this episode is HBS Professor Christine Exley, who has raised a caution flag about the popular notion that women short-change themselves by not negotiating enough. If it were true, the cost would be significant, especially when it comes to salary. But as Christine and her co-authors reported in a recent HBR article … Continue reading 10. Think Twice Before You Lean In →

The person you’re negotiating with may claim to have a better offer, but is she spinning a lie? And should you trust the contractor who promises to finish building your new house before winter sets? Nobody wants to be scammed, but at the same time we don’t want to doubt people who are telling us … Continue reading 9. Lie Detection →

First the good news. Empathy and understanding in negotiation often lead to creative problem-solving and foster productive relationships. This is the core of the win-win approach and it’s been confirmed in numerous studies. The not-so-good news is that being nice may backfire in negotiations that take place on platforms like Craigslist and eBay. In this … Continue reading 8. The Cost of Being Nice in Negotiations →

It’s no surprise that Lakshmi Balachandra is an expert on pitches. After all, she’s a professor in Babson College’s Division of Entrepreneurship. But Lakshmi says pitching isn’t just for entrepreneurs seeking investors. It’s a core skill, whatever your role in the organization. You want a raise, a new assignment, or more resources? You’ll have to … Continue reading 7. Perfecting Your Pitch →

Harvard Business School Professor Michael Luca shares his findings about negotiation in the online marketplace with Agility at Work: One Step Ahead. The good news—most of the time—is that strangers, often miles apart, can nevertheless trust one another to deliver what they promise. Much of that is due to transparency. But there is a downside, … Continue reading 6. Bargaining on Airbnb, Craigslist, and eBay: Is the Table Tilted? →

Professor Deborah Kolb, author of Negotiating at Work, joins One Step Ahead co-hosts Mike Wheeler and Kim Leary to discuss the special challenges of negotiating within your organization. That may be negotiating up for a raise. Down to get real buy-in from your people. Or sideways to help your team go in the right direction. … Continue reading 5. Negotiating Within Your Company: Power, Gender, and the Unwritten Rules of Engagement →

In this episode of Agility at Work: One Step Ahead, co-hosts Mike Wheeler and Kim Leary describe their research on the thoughts and feelings—most of them negative and unproductive—that many people bring to the bargaining table. Together they lay out a six-step process of being emotionally prepared to perform at your best when you negotiate.

Andy Wasynczuk, the former Chief Operating Officer of the New England Patriots, is the guest in this episode of Agility at Work: One Step Ahead. Nowadays Andy teaches Managing, Organizing, and Motivating for Value at Harvard Business School. Co-hosts Mike Wheeler and Kim Leary hear from Andy about how the Patriots management team induced its … Continue reading 3. Motivating Your Top Talent →

In this episode of Agility at Work: One Step Ahead, co-hosts Mike Wheeler and Kim Leary talk with Frank Barrett, author Yes to the Mess (Harvard Business Publishing). Together they explore important lessons for negotiators about improvising and creativity from jazz masters. Frank teaches organizational behavior at the Naval Postgraduate School—and is also a superb … Continue reading 2. The Jazz of Negotiation →

Co-hosts Mike Wheeler and Kim Leary welcome listeners to Agility at Work: One Step Ahead! Mike has been teaching negotiation at the Harvard Business School for twenty-five years. He focuses on strategic agility and quick-on-your-feet tactics. Kim’s specialty is adaptive leadership, which she teaches at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and its Chan School of … Continue reading 1. Welcome to Agility at Work: One Step Ahead! →