HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2021: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review

Management rarely presents one problem at a time. In this 2021 collection, Harvard Business Review brings together articles on leadership, workplace culture, hiring, technology, and the wider forces reshaping organizations. The result is a varied reading list for anyone who wants to consider current management questions from more than one angle.

Management questions that reach across the organization

The collection moves from feedback and cross-silo leadership to racial justice and creating a trans-inclusive workplace. Other pieces consider innovative cultures, the competitive use of data, and how organizations can build AI-powered operations. Together, these subjects invite readers to look beyond isolated management techniques and consider how decisions affect people, teams, and the organization as a whole.

Technology, talent, and a changing workplace

Articles on hiring, dual-career couples, continuous connection, and artificial intelligence bring practical workplace concerns into the broader discussion. The collection also looks outward, with writing on climate action and the emotional experience of grief. Its range reflects the many pressures leaders and managers may need to weigh at once.

A collection to read by topic or explore over time

Opening with the bonus article “The Feedback Fallacy,” the book gathers work by contributors including Marcus Buckingham, Amy C. Edmondson, Peter Cappelli, and Laura Morgan Roberts. An index helps readers return to subjects of interest, while the breadth of the contents makes it possible to follow one management question or move among several.

For thoughtful business readers

This edition may interest managers, leaders, and readers of business ideas who want a broad survey of management writing on organizational change, people, strategy, and technology. It offers a chance to compare distinct perspectives and reflect on which questions matter most in your own workplace.