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Marketers, here's how to make good use of Twitter's rich consumer data.

A new study found that denying people access to a product made them desire it more and work harder to get it-but also made them less satisfied with it. That has important implications for companies that do not meet the demand for their products.

According to studies done by Dana Carney of Columbia Business School, powerful people are better liars. The stress of lying produces involuntary physiological reactions-such as half shrugs, rapid speech, and cognitive impairment-but liars who have power are much better at masking or suppressing those telltale signs than liars without power. Physiologically, high-power liars closely resemble truth tellers. Bottom line: Powerful people are more comfortable lying, and it is harder to tell that they're being dishonest.

Imitation is vastly underappreciated, says Oded Shenkar, a professor at Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. Nearly 98% of the value of innovations is captured by copycats. Look at McDonald's, Visa, and Wal-Mart, which all far outran the path breakers they followed. Successful imitation, however, requires as much discipline as innovation does. To improve their odds, imitators need to understand "true" imitation, develop the capabilities that enable its effective use, and learn to deploy the right strategies.

Can cold, hard cash actually make you feel stronger? Yes, says professor Kathleen Vohs, whose studies showed that handling money actually reduced research subjects' physical and psychological pain levels. In fact, even pictures of cash had the same effect. Her research shows that money makes people more self-sufficient and more motivated-though it also makes them less helpful, less social, and less charitable. Her findings have interesting implications for companies in their dealings with customers as well as in their efforts to motivate employees.

A neuroscience research team at MIT has discovered that success can rewire your brain-and that failure has no impact at all.

It's not what you say; it's how you say it, and MIT professor Sandy Pentland has the data to prove it. He has created ingenious devices that record the social signals people send-their tone of voice, length of conversation, gesticulation, proximity to others, and the like. In short, the devices allow Pentland to measure subjects' charisma. Armed with that information, he can predict who will prevail in competitive business situations, such as business plan contests or salary negotiations, without even knowing what they have to say. In this article, he explains his studies to HBR.

Our annual survey of ideas and trends that will make an impact on business: Stan Stalnaker heralds a peer-to-peer economy in which consumers become consumer-producers. Tamara J. Erickson dissects the expectations of Gen Y workers. Dr. Jerome Groopman writes a prescription for avoiding misdiagnoses in decision making. Michael Sheehan warns not to resort to the tools of competition when it's really opposition that threatens your company. John J. Medina conceives of a brain-friendly workplace that applies modern science to daily performance. Dan Ariely studies the minds of "honest" people when they cheat. Paul Root Wolpe and Daniel D. Langleben share truths about technologically sophisticated lie detection. Scott Berinato shines a light on the cybercrime service economy. Mark Kuznicki, Eli Singer, and Jay Goldman showcase Toronto, where a technology-driven event led to real social change. John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas argue that online games are preparing the twenty-first-century workforce. Jane McGonigal calls alternate reality games the promising new operating systems for real-world business. Miklos Sarvary mines the history of broadcasting for wisdom about competing in the metaverses of the internet. Judith Donath asks how true to yourself you'll be in the virtual world. Jan Chipchase surveys the soon-to-be-charted territory of metadata trails. Lew McCreary points a finger at people who blame technology for their bad behavior. Jaime Lerner sees the city of the future in a turtle's shell. David Vogel catalogs the advantages of socially responsible lobbying. George Pohle lets the numbers prove the mass-market promise of China's second-tier cities. Aamir A. Rehman and S. Nazim Ali discuss the boom in sharia-compliant finance. Michael J. Mauboussin identifies the shrinking domain in which experts are the best problem solvers. Garrett Gruener reveals his list of sustainable and unsustainable trends.