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When you're in the midst of a major career change, telling stories about your professional self can inspire others' belief in your character and in your capacity to take a leap and land on your feet. It also can help you believe in yourself. A narrative thread will give meaning to your career history; it will assure you that, in moving on to something new, you are not discarding everything you've worked so hard to accomplish. Unfortunately, the authors explain in this article, most of us fail to use the power of storytelling in pursuit of our professional goals, or we do it badly. Tales of transition are especially challenging. Not knowing how to reconcile the built-in discontinuities in our work lives, we often relay just the facts. We present ourselves as safe--and dull and unremarkable. That's not a necessary compromise. A transition story has inherent dramatic appeal. The protagonist is you, of course, and what's at stake is your career. Perhaps you've come to an event or insight that represents a point of no return. It's this kind of break with the past that will force you to discover and reveal who you really are. Discontinuity and tension are part of the experience. If these elements are missing from your career story, the tale will fall flat. With all these twists and turns, how do you demonstrate stability and earn listeners' trust? By emphasizing continuity and causality--in other words, by showing that your past is related to the present and, from that trajectory, conveying that a solid future is in sight. If you can make your story of transition cohere, you will have gone far in convincing the listener--and reassuring yourself--that the change makes sense for you and is likely to bring success.

HBR's editors searched for the best new ideas related to the practice of management and came up with a collection that is as diverse as it is provocative. The 2004 HBR List includes emergent concepts from biology, network science, management theory, and more. A few highlights: Richard Florida wonders why U.S. society doesn't seem to be thinking about the flow of people as the key to America's advantage in the "creative age." Diane L. Coutu describes how the revolution in neurosciences will have a major impact on business. Clayton M. Christensen explains the law of conservation of attractive profits: When attractive profits disappear at one stage in the value chain because a product becomes commoditized, the opportunity to earn attractive profits with proprietary products usually emerges at an adjacent stage. Daniel H. Pink explains why the master of fine arts is the new MBA. Herminia Ibarra describes how companies can get the most out of managers returning from leadership-development programs. Iqbal Quadir suggests a radical fix for the third world's trade problems: Get the World Bank to lend to rich countries so that there are resources for retraining workers in dying industries.

Everyone knows a story about a talented businessperson who has lost his passion for work or a person who ditched a 20-year career to pursue something completely different and is the happier for it. "Am I doing what is right for me, or should I change direction?" is one of the most pressing questions for today's midcareer professional. A true change of direction is hard to swing. Many academics and career counselors contend that the problem lies in basic human behavior: We fear change and don't want to make sacrifices. But author Herminia Ibarra suggests another explanation. People most often fail, she says, because they take the wrong approach to finding new careers. Indeed, the conventional wisdom on how to change careers is a prescription for how to stay put. Most of us have heard that the key to a successful career change is figuring out what we want to do next, then acting on that knowledge. But change actually happens the other way around. Doing comes first, knowing second, because changing careers means redefining our working identity--our sense of self in our professional roles, what we convey about ourselves to others and, ultimately, how we live our working lives. Who we are and what we do are tightly connected, the result of years of action. And to change that connection, we must first resort to action.

Supplements the (A) case.

Ethan Berman, CEO of J.P. Morgan's risk management spinoff, has grown RiskMetrics Group (RMG) from a small team of 30 to a 70-person firm contemplating an IPO. Along the way, the consensus-based decision-making process that he espoused started to prove unwieldy; his personal and informal managerial style also could not meet the growing demands on his time. More senior managers were needed--but who? Could the unique, informal culture of the group be maintained as it grew into a mid-sized firm? How should Berman go about making these decisions?

For years, partners at professional service firms considered the leap from professional to partner a function of "natural selection"--a test of survival of the fittest. But that model is on the verge of extinction: in today's firms, securing and retaining talent is becoming paramount as young MBAs, once willing to log years of hard labor in hopes of being made partner, are leaving in hordes for hot new Internet companies. So how can companies keep the talent they've worked so hard to cultivate? One way, Ibarra says, is to have partners take a more active mentoring role in helping junior professionals create a partner persona. She explains the three steps that senior colleagues can take to guide junior professionals on this journey. The first has to do with observing role models. By taking a collage approach, young professionals can survey a broad range of personalities and so accumulate a larger repertoire of possible styles to choose from. For their part, partners can assist in this observation process by communicating explicitly what styles work for them and why. The second step partners can take is to encourage professionals to develop a repertoire of role models; by working with many senior professionals, junior colleagues are more apt to find just the right mix of mentors. And third, senior people can take extra care to support young professionals at the most difficult moments in the process. Indeed, the leap from professional to partner is difficult--even trying at times. But for those willing and daring enough to take the leap--and for those who've already made it--understanding the associated psychological and emotional obstacles is critical to success.

Jeffrey Smith and David Johnson have apparently irreconcilable differences over their firm's strategy, which have led Jeffrey to conclude that he must fire David. Focuses on whether Jeffrey has used his influence in such a way as to avoid conflict. If he has no other option, how should Jeffrey go about firing David? A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Summarizes six principles of effective persuasion. A rewritten version of an earlier note.

Introduces students to Peter Black's tactical approach toward building coalitions.

Portrays Margaret Thatcher's rise to the leadership of Great Britain's Conservative Party. Thatcher's political career began with her election to Parliament's House of Commons in 1959. Sixteen years later she was elected the leader of her party, and then in 1979, she became prime minister. Thatcher's emergence as a world leader illustrates her unlikely transition from ultimate outsider to powerful insider.

Containing excerpts from Jerry Kaplan's best-selling book, Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure, this case begins with Kaplan's idea for developing a handheld, pen-operated computer. It follows Kaplan, who becomes the CEO of GO Corp., as he goes on the road to sell his idea to investors and customers. Closes as Kaplan prepares to pitch his idea to the data--processing administration of State Farm Mutual Life Insurance. With IBM and other established firms as competitors, Kaplan must plan his presentation carefully.

Designed to help executives identify patterns in their approaches to developing networks of relationships. A "network" refers to the set of relationships that help people to advance professionally, get things done, and more generally, develop professionally and personally. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise.

Designed to help students identify patterns in their approaches to developing networks of relationships. A "network" refers to the set of relationships that help people to advance professionally, get things done, and more generally, develop personally and professionally. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise.

Describes a manager's role in developing a staff group responsible for enhancing the efficiency of Xerox's worldwide logistics and inventory management systems. Illustrates a range of management strategies for upward and lateral influence in a complex organizational context, as well as the use of a number of innovative human resource management techniques. If used with John A. Clendenin it allows for the discussion of career development issues.

People from different national cultures often operate under different assumptions about what is appropriate behavior. In organizational settings, these cultural differences in underlying assumptions can significantly affect interactions when individuals from various nationalities meet. This note describes a landmark study by Geert Hofstede of the impact of national culture on the work-related attitudes and values of IBM employees in 40 countries.

Describes a managerial network as a set of relationships critical to a manager's ability to get things done, get ahead, and develop personally and professionally. "Networking" refers to the activities associated with developing and managing such relationships. Describes different types of networks, outlines characteristics that make networks useful, and concludes with practical guidelines for developing a useful network.

Do men and women have distinct leadership styles? Do they approach management differently? This note summarizes the two perspectives that have dominated the ongoing debate on gender differences in organizational leadership and management behavior. Psychological theories emphasize the different outlook, attitudes, and values inculcated in men and women during their development and socialization. In contrast, situational theories argue that gender differences are few, and largely an artifact of differences in opportunity, power, and lack of representation in business and organizational settings. The evidence from research studies is reviewed briefly.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 495-031.

Updates CEO Beers' progress two years after her initiation of a massive organizational change effort. Designed as an in-class handout.

Examines Beer's actions on assuming leadership of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, the world's sixth largest advertising agency, during a period of rapid industry change and organizational crisis. Focuses on how Beers, the first outsider CEO, engages and leads a senior team through a vision formulation process. Chronicles closely the debates among senior executives struggling to reconcile creative, strategic, and global vs. local priorities. Sixteen months later, with a vision statement agreed upon, Beers faces a series of implementation problems. Turnaround has begun, but organizational structures and systems are not yet aligned with the firm's new direction. Concludes as Beers must decide how to work best with her senior team to achieve alignment in 1994.