HBR’s Most Popular Blog Posts of 2011

Katherine Bell

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Katherine Bell for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here.

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As 2011 comes to a close, the editors of HBR.org are taking a look back at the most popular blog posts of the year to find out what most preoccupied you, our readers. These 11 posts all hit a common nerve and went viral; it’s no surprise that most of them contain advice about how to succeed and be happy at work. We can’t resist including another 11 posts, a hard-to-agree-upon sampling of the ideas we were proudest to publish and discussions we most enjoyed hosting this year. If you have some free time during the holidays to catch up on your reading, we hope you’ll find this list a good place to start.

[Here are four of the 11. To read the complete article, please click here.]

1. Nine Things Successful People Do Differently
by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Talent plays only a tiny role in your success; what really matters is what you do. This post has stayed on our most popular list for months.

2. I Don’t Understand What Anyone Is Saying Anymore
by Dan Pallotta

We all hate business jargon, but we can’t stop using it. More people commented on this post than on any other in HBR.org’s history.

3. The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received
by David Silverman

Silverman’s basic philosophy on cover letters? Don’t bother. This was originally posted in 2009, and it remains one of our most popular posts.

4. Four Destructive Myths Most Companies Still Live By
by Tony Schwartz

Do you perpetuate these productivity-destroying falsehoods at your company?

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And, in No Particular Order, [three of] Our Editor’s Picks

Was Marx Right?
by Umair Haque

His diagnosis is looking pretty good, even if his prescription was wrong.

Great People Are Overrated
by Bill Taylor

Would you rather hire one genius or 100 pretty good people?

Groupon Doomed by Too Much of a Good Thing
by Rob Wheeler

Businesses should become profitable before they become big.

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To read the complete article, please click here.

Katherine Bell is Deputy Editor of HBR Group. To check out her other blog posts, please click here.

Giving Tough Feedback? Sleep on It

 

Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

Many people advise that you should give difficult feedback immediately, preferably within 24 hours of an incident. But next time you have to provide constructive criticism, consider sleeping on it first.

• Your input will be far more effective, and better received, if you aren’t feeling agitated.

• Put some distance between the offending action and the feedback to gain perspective. You may need to calm down over several days.

• This will give you time to prepare, consider the other’s point of view, and deliver the message in a calm and helpful way.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from Guide to Giving Effective Feedback.

To check out the book and join the discussion, please click here.

Also, you may wish to check out the new book, Management Tips from Harvard Business Review, based on HBR’s Management Tip of the Day by clicking here.