Harvard Business Review

As personalization becomes table stakes, a new class of products is emerging that depends not just on data inferred from patterns and history but on deeply personal information that customers are willing to reveal about themselves in the moment. This is “confessional commerce,” a model in which value is created through candid, contextual disclosure and sustained by how products respond to it. Drawing on research from clinical psychology and real-world product building, well-designed interactions can reduce shame, invite deeper honesty, and build trust over time. By applying five principles that psychologists use to elicit meaningful disclosure, teams can pair AI’s predictive power with psychological attunement, creating feedback loops in which better responses lead to greater openness and, ultimately, more effective personalization.

A conversation with C-suite experts about how to really stand out in today’s market.

Talented executives too often accept CEO roles without fully interrogating whether the context—not just the title—sets them up to succeed, leading to costly failures for both leaders and organizations. Extensive boardroom and CEO advisory experience show how overconfidence, unrealistic expectations, hidden constraints, and asymmetric recruiting processes distort these decisions and increase the risk of early exits. They argue that before saying yes, CEO candidates must rigorously align with boards on mission, mandate, conditions for success, and non-negotiable “third rails” to avoid career-defining mistakes.

Many leaders mistake being “nice” for being effective, avoiding hard conversations and decisions in ways that ultimately undermine organizational performance. The authors argue that being “good” instead requires clear accountability, candid feedback, disciplined decisions about roles and retention, and sustained strategic focus. Organizations that engage in these activities see stronger engagement, growth, and lasting impact.

Heading into 2026, leaders are still bullish on AI despite worries about a bubble and struggles to demonstrate value with AI investments. According to a survey of digital leaders at leading global companies, the vast majority of leaders believe that AI is a high priority for their organization, have plans to spend more on it, and report that their company is getting measurable business value from their AI investments. The highly positive perspectives of these leaders on AI may suggest that the party can go on—high valuations of AI vendors, rising stock prices, a boom in data center construction, and initiatives to transform organizations around AI’s capabilities. But the survey also surfaced persistent issues around change and human and organizational readiness to take next steps. Organizations need to be able to address these in the coming years if they hope to achieve long-term success with AI.

While individuals often return feeling refreshed, organizations as a whole can lose focus after an extended period of time off. In this issue of the HBR Executive Agenda, editor at large Adi Ignatius talks to HBS professor Tsedal Neeley about how leaders can address this challenge head on, reminding teams of their shared mission and making sure employees are focused on your most strategic priorities.

Your rising star expects a promotion. It feels inevitable: the rightful reward for their effort. The problem is you can’t deliver it. Managing the gap between their expectations and reality is one of the hardest parts of leadership, and it’s becoming more common. There are six strategies to try to ensure your star employee feels like their career is still moving forward: 1) Be upfront; 2) Listen; 3) Ask questions; 4) Make a plan; 5) Advocate where you can; and 6) be vigilant.

Generative AI is transforming workflows, yet its impact on employee creativity remains uneven. New research reveals one explanation: AI boosts creativity primarily for employees with strong metacognition—the ability to plan, monitor, and refine thinking. These individuals strategically use AI to expand knowledge, free cognitive capacity, and break fixed mindsets, thereby fueling creative ideas. Leaders should pair AI adoption with metacognitive training and design workflows that encourage strategic and iterative engagement. Organizations that cultivate metacognitive skills will turn AI from a productivity tool into a sustained source of creative advantage.

A conversation with author Tim Elmore on leading the workforce’s newest entrants.

In 2025, HBR’s most-watched videos reflected a clear executive shift: from chasing tactics to seeking perspective. As leaders navigated uncertainty, AI disruption, and cultural complexity, more than 60 million viewers turned to HBR content to rethink how they operate mentally, socially, and strategically. Arthur C. Brooks’s viral hits on boredom and imposter syndrome helped leaders reframe inner narratives; Gorick Ng exposed how real decisions happen before meetings begin; and Scott D. Anthony used history to issue a wake-up call on innovation. Meanwhile, the launch of HBR Shorts—research-backed, author-driven explainers across Reels, LinkedIn, and TikTok—extended our reach and impact, proving that brief can still be bold. The biggest takeaway? Leaders are hungry not just for answers, but for clarity. In 2026, we’ll build on this momentum with deeper storytelling, sharper insights, and new ways to connect ideas to action.

A lot happened in 2025. Luckily, charts can help make sense of it all. Here are some of HBR’s most popular, topical, and important charts of the year. They cover a wobbly economy, an explosion of AI-generated slop at work, the challenge of finding joy in a busy life, and more.

2025 was a year of big change—in general, and in the workplace. HBR asked its global social media community to weigh in on the question: How did your work change this year? Overall, three major themes stood out: AI adoption, the importance of people and purpose and major disruptions like layoffs, funding cuts, or career pivots. Alongside their responses are articles HBR published in 2025 on these trends, changes, and challenges.

Digital transformation often stalls when employees resist new technology. To overcome this common challenge, French spirits company Pernod Ricard drew upon four strategies: proving value through A/B testing, reducing risk by adjusting performance evaluations, investing in training and support, and leveraging internal champions. These efforts drove adoption rates as high as 85%, boosting sales up to 4.5% and marketing efficiency by 15%. In order to drive meaningful transformation, companies need to realize that technology on it’s own can’t drive value—humans need to be convinced to buy in.

As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the workplace, it is also reshaping how people learn, develop expertise, and form their professional identities. Although gen AI promises to accelerate learning and boost productivity, it risks undermining the very experiences that foster mastery, deep thinking, empathy, and personal agency. The challenge for leaders is to ensure that amid this transformation, organizations deliberately preserve the human experiences—struggle, choice, and interpersonal connection—that are vital for true development and flourishing.

Individuals persistently report feeling undervalued at work. Despite leaders investing time and money in recognition and appreciation, one thing is missing: affirmation, or having one’s unique qualities and impact noticed, named, and validated. Affirmation is powerful because humans have an inherent need to feel unique. People need genuine relationships with leaders who give them evidence that their presence makes a difference. Fortunately, leaders can learn the interpersonal skills they need to deliver regular, valuable affirmation. First, they must notice and name people’s unique gifts—their strengths, purpose, perspective, and wisdom. Then, they must show them the difference they make using real examples. Finally, they must deliver meaningful gratitude that validates their distinct impact.