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Just a few years after its 2005 opening, Georgia Aquarium faced a challenge common to all experience-based businesses: After an initial rush of traffic, attendance declines as the novelty wears off. So the facility brought in V. Kumar, a Georgia State University expert on marketing research and customer engagement, who used data analysis and marketing models to identify and acquire the most-valuable future customers. Kumar's team found the top zip codes of visitors and high-spending season-pass holders and then targeted media spending at residents in zip codes with similar demographics. The big payoff in increased attendance and revenue shows that marketing science can be a potent tool for other experienced-based businesses too. This reprint contains two additional Idea Watch articles. "The Downside of Discounts" provides a visual analysis of the frequency and extent of B2B discounts and the speed with which they erode the average price for all customers. "How Government Assistance Drives Start-Ups" describes several studies showing that public subsidies and insurance prompt more people to start companies.

The pioneers of the United States' first credit agencies, in the mid-nineteenth century, understood that modern commerce required a new kind of foundation.

Once seen as a back-office function, HR has gained importance in recent years, with more and more chief human resources officers (CHROs) serving as the CEO's key adviser and with management theorists highlighting talent strategy as the prime determinant of corporate success. Research by Korn Ferry's Ellie Filler and the University of Michigan's Dave Ulrich shows that the traits of CHROs match up closely with those of CEOs on a multitude of leadership traits-more closely, in fact, than those of any executive except for COOs. Their data and analysis lead them to a provocative prescription: More companies should consider CHROs when looking to fill the CEO position. This reprint contains two additional Idea Watch articles. "Is Your PC 'Made in Kazakhstan'?" is a visual analysis showing that the "techiest" manufacturing economies today are not in countries such as China, but instead are in small countries with less diversified economies. "Taming Scheduling Software" discusses multiple research findings indicating that if companies want to maximize productivity and minimize employee stress, they need to add human decision making to the software's results.

Data can be easily manipulated to tell a desired story, manufacture good results, or exaggerate a trend. Don't get fooled by these infographics tricks.

Psychologist Carol Dweck's work on "mindset" has been hugely influential in fields such as education and sports training, and her 2006 book Mindset was a bestseller. Some people, Dweck has argued, view talent as a quality they either possess or lack, and thus have a "fixed mindset"; others, with a "growth mindset," consistently see potential to develop new skills. Now she is extending her work on mindset to organizations. This article describes her new research with Fortune 1000 companies and details several implications for managers. This reprint includes three additional Idea Watch articles: "Is Extra Legroom Worth Fighting For?" provides a visual analysis showing that on economy class flights, higher ticket prices don't necessarily mean greater comfort. "In China the Right Political Ties Count" describes a study of the TV manufacturing industry in China from 1993 to 2003 revealing that ties to local officials were associated with higher rates of company success, but ties to national officials had no such effects. "The Real Cost of 'Patent Trolls'" focuses on three new studies that show how damaging patent-troll lawsuits are to the economy. They suppress venture investing and R&D spending by substantial amounts.

It was arguably the first financial scandal to play out in the public eye--and even Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe got behind it.

The knock on most CEOs is that their focus is too myopic--that they're fixated on achieving short-term goals to increase their pay. If you studied results produced over the long term, which leaders would truly show strong performance? HBR's ranking of the 100 best CEOs provides an answer. To compile our list, we examined how active CEOs of global public companies performed over their entire tenures. We took a scientific, objective approach, basing our evaluation on hard data, rather than on reputation or anecdote. For each executive, we looked at three metrics: the total industry-adjusted shareholder returns produced, the total country-adjusted shareholder returns, and the total increase in market capitalization. The CEOs who made the 2014 list have undeniably been effective. On average, the top 50 have delivered total shareholder returns of 1,350% during their time on the job. That translates into an annual return of 26.2%. Adjusting for industry effects, average total shareholder returns for the top 50 are 1,161%, and for country effects, 1,087%. But the results turned in by the #1 CEO on our list, Jeff Bezos, were especially impressive. Under his leadership, Amazon produced country-adjusted returns of 15,189% and industry-adjusted returns of 14,917% and grew its market capitalization by $140 billion. We also collected biographical and compensation data on the CEOs to see if we could identify what they had in common and whether there was any correlation between performance and pay. While the top 100 have each had unique journeys to success, there do seem to be two preferred pathways: Over a quarter of the CEOs have MBAs, and nearly as many studied engineering. But in some ways, Bezos's place at the top says it all: The best CEO in the long haul turned out to be one who frequently underperformed in the short term--while continuing to make big bets on the future.

Over the next decade, job growth will be greatest in the health care and personal care fields and in construction. Jobs will actually decline in farming.

A look at the history of railroads and the decentralized organizational structure they used to coordinate operations on an unprecedented scale.

A look at the components of executive compensation--salary, bonuses, stock options, restricted stock, and others--and the forces that have caused some to rise and others to fall in the years since 1992. Draws on research by Kevin J. Murphy, a USC professor who is an expert on executive pay.

A Scottish engineer and economist named William Playfair pioneered line graphs, bar charts, and pie charts, making an inestimable contribution to what we now call data visualization. Here are three examples of his work, courtesy of the Baker Library Historical Collections.

Where did the user icons on our phones and computers come from?

Language is a reflection of culture, so the terms we use most tell us a lot about our shifting management priorities. Ngram graphs highlight how things have evolved.

An elaborately engraved Spanish stock certificate issued in 1758 could almost be a template for modern stock certificates. Here's the story that its iconography reveals about the royal trading company it came from.

Data about hours worked per employee, productivity per employee, and per capita GDP in several countries around the world. The bad news: Even "hot" emerging markets like Brazil have seen little growth in productivity in recent years, so even if labor markets recover, those gains might not result in much added GDP.

A variety of recent research by business, psychology, and sociology scholars offers a window into women's collective experiences at work. Some of these studies confirm widely held assumptions: that women are paid less than men; that the numbers of women drop dramatically the higher you go in organizations; that women are more ethical. But some cast doubt on other popular notions: that caring for their families is a major reason that high-achieving women leave their careers; that female MBAs are less likely to get job offers than male MBAs are; that being disliked is a disadvantage in the workplace. And some studies bring to light forms of discrimination that are less obvious but pernicious: the way men receive more plum assignments, more key sales accounts, and other marks of favor, while women get more praise but not necessarily the big promotions. One of the most disturbing studies? One that reveals the extent to which both women and men are biased against working mothers.

If countries hope to boost their GDPs, they ought to promote the economic advancement of women. See how more than 100 countries measure up on policy support for female workers, the level of economic success their female citizens have achieved, and GDP per capita--and how the three are interrelated.

A visual depiction of the minute-by-minute computer use of two workers--one who is relatively focused and stays on task, one who switches between activities constantly. The lesson: Sticking to one thing at a time means you'll get much more done.

A study from BBDO and AOL offers important insights to advertisers hoping to reach consumers through their smartphones. For starters, "mobile" doesn't always mean on the go; most smartphone use happens at home. And users' number one activity isn't shopping or socializing but relaxing.

How 27 cities worldwide stack up on measures of international appeal--including number of hotel rooms, number of international tourists, airport activity, and international association meetings--and on livability: cultural vibrancy, quality of life, ease of driving and efficiency of public transportation. Overall, Paris and London rank first and second respectively, with New York in fifth place.