Harvard Business Review - Jan/Feb 2025

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And what are we reading today?

Today we will talk about the: Harvard Business Review magazine edition January/February 2025.

Every edition of Harvard Business Review delivers fresh insights on leadership, strategy, and innovation, and the January–February 2025 issue is no exception.

This Harvard Business Review edition dives deep into some of the most pressing topics for business leaders today—AI integration, sustainable business strategies, negotiation pitfalls, and leadership effectiveness.

In this post, I’ll share key takeaways from this Harvard Business Review issue, highlighting the most impactful articles in my opinion and the lessons they offer for professionals and organizations aiming to grow in 2025.

How to Marry Process Management and AI – Thomas H. Davenport; Thomas C. Redman
The Secret to Successful AI-Driven Process Redesign – H. James Wilson; Paul R. Daugherty
Why People Resist Embracing AI – Julian De Freitas
Getting Strategic About Sustainability – Jason Jay; Kate Isaacs; Hong Linh Nguyen
What People Still Get Wrong About Negotiations – Max H. Bazerman
Leaders Shouldn’t Try to Do It All – A.G. Lafley; Roger L. Martin
How Generative AI Improves Supply Chain Management – Ishai Menache; Jeevan Pathuri; David Simchi-Levi; Tom Linton
Want Your Company to Get Better at Experimentation? – Iavor Bojinov; David Holtz; Ramesh Johari; Sven Schmit; Martin Tingley
Three Ways to Lead Learning – Gianpiero Petriglieri
How the Best Boards Engage with Management – Timothy J. Rowley; Laurence Capron

How to Marry Process Management and AI

By Thomas H. Davenport & Thomas C. Redman – full article

👉 The Big Idea: AI and process management work best when combined. AI helps improve processes, while good process management ensures AI runs smoothly.

📌 The Summary: According to this Harvard Business Review article, process management used to be a big deal in the 90s, but over time, companies lost focus on it. Now, AI is bringing it back in a smarter way. AI can make processes faster and more efficient, but it needs structured workflows and good data to work properly. Companies like Mars Wrigley are using AI-driven digital models to improve supply chains, cut waste, and boost productivity. But making this shift requires a clear strategy—businesses need to align people, data, and AI tools to make real improvements.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ AI can make business processes better, but only if they are well-managed.
✔ Bad data = bad AI. Companies need strong process management for AI to succeed.
✔ Organizations should use AI step by step, instead of rushing full-speed into automation.

The Secret to Successful AI-Driven Process Redesign

By H. James Wilson & Paul R. Daugherty – full article

👉 The Big Idea: AI should empower employees to improve their work, not just replace them.

📌 The Summary: Some companies think AI is all about automation, but the real power of AI is helping employees become more innovative. Inspired by Toyota’s Kaizen (continuous improvement) method, this article introduces “Kaizen 2.0”—where AI helps workers experiment and optimize processes in real-time. Instead of replacing people, AI should augment their work, giving them tools to be more effective and creative.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ AI should support employees, not replace them.
✔ Continuous small improvements with AI (instead of big, risky changes) lead to long-term success.
✔ Leaders need to trust employees to use AI to improve their own work.

Why People Resist Embracing AI

By Julian De Freitas – full article

👉 The Big Idea: People don’t reject AI because it’s bad—they reject it because they don’t trust it.

📌 The Summary: Even with AI becoming more common, many employees are hesitant to use it. Why? This article highlights five psychological barriers that make people uncomfortable with AI:

AI is too complex—people don’t understand how it works.
AI lacks emotion—it feels robotic and cold.
AI is rigid—it doesn’t adapt like humans do.
AI seems too independent—making people feel they are losing control.
People prefer human interactions over AI-driven decisions.

To fix this, companies need to build trust by making AI more transparent, easier to use, and showing employees how it helps (not replaces) them.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ AI adoption is more about trust and understanding than technology.
✔ Businesses should train employees on how AI works and why it’s useful.
✔ AI should be positioned as a helper, not a boss.

Getting Strategic About Sustainability

By Jason Jay, Kate Isaacs & Hong Linh Nguyen – full article

👉 The Big Idea: Companies need to focus their sustainability efforts instead of trying to fix everything at once.

📌 The Summary: This article from the Harvard Business Review magazine shares that many businesses struggle with sustainability because they try to tackle too many issues at the same time—which leads to weak results. The authors introduce a 4-lens framework to help leaders focus:

Business Value – How does sustainability affect profits?
Stakeholder Influence – What do customers and investors care about?
Science & Technology – What does the data tell us?
Purpose – What aligns with the company’s mission?

Successful companies prioritize sustainability where these four lenses intersect.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Focus on sustainability that makes a real business impact.
✔ Don’t try to fix everything—choose the most critical areas.
✔ Use data and technology to drive smart sustainability strategies.

What People Still Get Wrong About Negotiations

By Max H. Bazerman – full article

👉 The Big Idea: Most negotiators think they are fighting for a bigger slice of the pie—but the real trick is making the pie bigger for everyone.

📌 The Summary: Many business leaders see negotiation as a win-lose game. This mindset leaves money on the table because they focus too much on taking rather than creating value. The best negotiators share information, ask the right questions, and look for ways to expand the deal instead of just haggling over price.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Negotiation is about creating value, not just claiming it.
✔ Asking the right questions can lead to better deals.
✔ Don’t assume the deal is over—there’s always a chance to improve agreements later.

Leaders Shouldn’t Try to Do It All

By A.G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin – full article

👉 The Big Idea: Great leaders focus on what they do best and delegate the rest.

📌 The Summary: Many leaders overload themselves trying to do everything. This leads to burnout and inefficiency. Instead, leaders should follow the Theory of Comparative Advantage—a concept from economics. This means focusing on the high-value work only they can do and delegating the rest.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Leaders should prioritize their best skills and delegate everything else.
✔ Trying to do everything leads to burnout and lower productivity.
✔ Successful leaders empower their teams instead of micromanaging.

How Generative AI Improves Supply Chain Management

By Ishai Menache, Jeevan Pathuri, David Simchi-Levi & Tom Linton – full article

👉 The Big Idea: Generative AI can speed up supply chain decisions from days to minutes, making operations more efficient.

📌 The Summary: Supply chain management has always been data-driven, but businesses still rely on human effort to analyze scenarios and adjust strategies. Generative AI changes the game by automating data discovery, scenario modeling, and real-time decision-making. Companies like Microsoft are already using AI to predict supply chain disruptions, optimize logistics, and reduce costs.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ AI can help companies react faster to supply chain problems.
✔ It improves forecasting, making businesses more resilient.
✔ The challenge is integrating AI into existing systems and workflows.

Want Your Company to Get Better at Experimentation?

By Iavor Bojinov, David Holtz, Ramesh Johari, Sven Schmit & Martin Tingley – full article

👉 The Big Idea: Companies that experiment more innovate faster and make better decisions.

📌 The Summary: According to Harvard Business Review authors, top tech firms like Amazon, Netflix, and Microsoft run thousands of experiments per year to optimize their products. But many other companies limit experimentation to just a few projects, relying only on data scientists to run tests. This slows down innovation. The key is to democratize experimentation—giving marketers, engineers, and product managers the tools to test and learn without waiting for specialists.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ More experiments = more learning and better decisions.
✔ Testing shouldn’t be limited to data scientists—everyone should be involved.
✔ AI can help companies run and analyze experiments faster.

Three Ways to Lead Learning

By Gianpiero Petriglieri – full article

👉 The Big Idea: There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to learning—leaders must pick the right strategy for their company.

📌 The Summary: Many companies struggle with employee learning because they use the wrong approach. Through interviews with 69 multinational firms, the author found three types of learning leaders:

Custodians – They focus on structured learning that aligns with company goals. Best for organizations that need stability.
Challengers – They encourage employees to explore and innovate. Best for companies that need constant change.
Connectors – They focus on peer learning and collaboration. Best for companies with siloed teams that need cross-functional learning.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Companies should choose the right learning style based on their needs.
✔ Learning should be practical and aligned with business challenges.
✔ Employees engage more when learning is interactive and collaborative.

How the Best Boards Engage with Management

By Timothy J. Rowley & Laurence Capron – full article

👉 The Big Idea: Boards shouldn’t always act the same way—they must adapt based on the situation.

📌 The Summary: Corporate boards often struggle to balance oversight and autonomy. Some are too passive, giving management complete control, while others are too controlling, micromanaging every decision. The best boards use four different engagement styles based on the situation:

Passive – When management is doing well, boards step back.
Mentor – When guidance is needed, boards act as advisors.
Partner – For big decisions, boards and executives collaborate.
Control – In crises, boards take direct oversight to stabilize the company.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Great boards adapt their role based on the situation.
✔ Too much control or too little oversight hurts businesses.
✔ Agile governance leads to better company performance.

The Harvard Business Review January–February 2025 issue reinforces a crucial theme: the future of work is shaped by those who adapt, learn, and lead with intention.

From unlocking AI’s potential in process management and supply chains to redefining leadership roles and negotiation tactics, the insights shared in this edition of the Harvard Business Review highlight the importance of strategic focus and agility.

For professionals at any level, these articles from Harvard Business Review serve as a roadmap for smarter decision-making—whether that means embracing AI, leading sustainable initiatives, negotiating better deals, or fostering a culture of experimentation and learning.

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