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 ja

42. Conflict Resilience in Contentious Times

Apr 23rd, 2022 24m 44s

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 se

41. The Power of a Surprise Ask

Mar 8th, 2022 18m 26s

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 charitabl

40. Collaborative Leadership

Jan 25th, 2022 18m 32s

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

39. Getting to Yes Turns 40

Dec 22nd, 2021 23m 12s

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

38. Rebel Talent

Nov 7th, 2021 26m 9s

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

37. Getting a Bad Conversation Back on Track

Sep 21st, 2021 15m 5s

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

36. The Conscience Code

Aug 20th, 2021 22m 43s

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

35. The Four P’s of Adaptive Leadership

Jul 26th, 2021 29m 11s

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 t

34. Negotiating the Impossible

Jun 15th, 2021 26m 9s

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

33. The Moral Leader

May 13th, 2021 19m 45s

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 professiona

32. Prepping for Difficult Conversations

Apr 27th, 2021 20m 14s

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

31. Agile Leadership in a Time of Rapid Change

Apr 13th, 2021 22m 15s

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

30. Reading the Room

Mar 23rd, 2021 25m 52s

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

29. Negotiating Creative Differences

Mar 9th, 2021 17m 42s

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

28. The Vanishing Workplace

Feb 16th, 2021 27m 58s

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 ch

27. The Art—and Importance—of Telling Stories When You Negotiate

Feb 1st, 2021 25m 11s

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 seeming

26. Learning Outside of Class

Jan 19th, 2021 22m 22s

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 aw

25. The Upside of Being Brash: Lessons from an Agent

Jan 5th, 2021 27m 25s

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 m

24. Gaze Out the Window

Dec 20th, 2020 22m 31s

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 tel

23. Do the Right Thing. Mostly.

Dec 1st, 2020 25m 55s

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 choice

22. Not in My Backyard

Oct 20th, 2020 19m 45s

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 doo

21. Hustle: Negotiating Your Unique Career

Sep 22nd, 2020 18m 59s

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

20. Entrepreneurial Negotiation

Sep 3rd, 2020 25m 54s

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 des

19. Is Silence Killing Your Company’s Strategy?

Aug 11th, 2020 23m 15s

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 d