Books by Peter Cappelli

Will College Pay Off?: A Guide to the Most Important Financial Decision You'll Ever Make

by Peter Cappelli

The decision of whether to go to college, or where, is hampered by poor information and inadequate understanding of the financial risk involved.

Adding to the confusion, the same degree can cost dramatically different amounts for different people. A barrage of advertising offers new degrees designed to lead to specific jobs, but we see no information on whether graduates ever get those jobs. Mix in a frenzied applications process, and pressure from politicians for "relevant" programs, and there is an urgent need to separate myth from reality.

Peter Cappelli, an acclaimed expert in employment trends, the workforce, and education, provides hard evidence that counters conventional wisdom and helps us make cost-effective choices. Among the issues Cappelli analyzes are:

What is the real link between a college degree and a job that enables you to pay off the cost of college, especially in a market that is in constant change?
Why it may be a mistake to pursue degrees that will land you the hottest jobs because what is hot today is unlikely to be so by the time you graduate.

Why the most expensive colleges may actually be the cheapest because of their ability to graduate students on time.
How parents and students can find out what different colleges actually deliver to students and whether it is something that employers really want.

College is the biggest expense for many families, larger even than the cost of the family home, and one that can bankrupt students and their parents if it works out poorly. Peter Cappelli offers vital insight for parents and students to make decisions that both make sense financially and provide the foundation that will help students make their way in the world.

Fortune Makers: The Leaders Creating China's Great Global Companies

by Michael Useem, Peter Cappelli, Harbir Singh, Liang Neng

Fortune Makers analyzes and brings to light the distinctive practices of business leaders who are the future of the Chinese economy. These leaders oversee not the old state-owned enterprises, but private companies that have had to invent their way forward out of the wreckage of an economy in tatters following the Cultural Revolution.

Outside of brand names such as Alibaba and Lenovo, little is known, even by the Chinese themselves, about the people present at the creation of these innovative businesses. Fortune Makers provides sharp insights into their unique styles -- a distinctive blend of the entrepreneur, the street fighter, and practices developed by the Communist Party -- and their distinctive ways of leading and managing their organizations that are unlike anything the West is familiar with.

When Peter Drucker published Concept of the Corporation in 1946, he revealed what made large American corporations tick. Similarly, when Japanese companies emerged as a global force in the 1980s, insightful analysts explained the practices that brought Japan's economy out of the ashes -- and what managers elsewhere could learn to compete with them. Now, based on unprecedented access, Fortune Makers allows business leaders in the United States and the rest of the West to understand the essential character and style of Chinese corporate life and its dominant players, whose businesses are the foundation of the domestic Chinese market and are now making their mark globally.

The Future of the Office, with a New Afterword by the Author Work from Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We All Face

by Peter Cappelli

A GLOBE & MAIL BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF 2021

Now with an updated introduction and a new afterword by the author

The COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented experiment that reshaped white-collar work and turned remote work into a kind of "new normal." A little over a year into the pandemic, with vaccines more widely available, employers began to think about bringing employees back to the office. Both employers and employees had great trepidation about what the future held.

Into this fraught moment stepped Wharton professor Peter Cappelli with The Future of the Office, which provided employers and employees with guidance as they faced urgent decisions with limited information. Cappelli's insights have proven remarkably prophetic and provide valuable insights for those wrestling with these issues today.

In an updated introduction, Cappelli reminds readers where we were at that historical inflection point and what was at stake. He offers insight into what today's readers can take away from the book and why the questions raised a year into the pandemic still apply today.

In an all-new afterword, Cappelli shares what we have learned since the book first published. Employers, he says, have failed to grapple with the hardest challenges about remote work and remain in a state of indecision, often prioritizing financial results over employee well-being. Employees want to keep remote work in the mix, but evidence shows that these arrangements are not working as well as the in-person alternative.He offers insights that have the potential to positively transform the way we work. But he cautions that the challenges--and our questions about what works--are sure to linger for a long time.

Whether you're an executive crafting company policy, a manager leading hybrid teams, or an employee navigating this shifting landscape, The Future of the Office provides a unique lens for understanding the pandemic's impact on work and the strategic choices that lie ahead.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Employee Engagement

by Marcus Buckingham, Adam Grant, Harvard Business Review, Renee A. Mauborgne, Peter Cappelli

Engage your employees and transform your organization.

If you read nothing else on employee engagement, read this book. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you make your employees feel valued, motivated, and ready to do great things.

This book will inspire you to:

• Invest in a culture of cohesive teams
• Turn employee feedback into action
• Learn why people quit--and how to retain them
• Curb burnout by designing better jobs
• Make HR a champion of employees
• Create a purpose-driven organization

This collection of articles includes "Creating a Purpose-Driven Organization," by Robert E. Quinn and Anjan V. Thakor; "How Customers Can Rally Your Troops," by Adam Grant, "Why Employees Quit," by Ethan Bernstein, Michael B. Horn, and Bob Moesta; "The Power of Hidden Teams," by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall; "Do You Tell Your Employees You Appreciate Them?" by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman; "The Case for Good Jobs," by Zeynep Ton; "To Curb Burnout, Design Jobs to Better Match Employees' Needs," by Michael P. Leiter and Christina Maslach; "HR's New Role," by Peter Cappelli and Ranya Nehmeh; "Turn Employee Feedback into Action," by Ethan Burris, Benjamin Thomas, Ketaki Sodhi, and Dawn Klinghoffer; "Beware a Culture of Busyness," by Adam Waytz; "Collaborative Overload," by Rob Cross, Reb Rebele, and Adam Grant; "Designing the Hybrid Office," by Anne-Laure Fayard, John Weeks, and Mahwesh Khan; and "Blue Ocean Leadership," by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

HBR's 10 Must Reads are definitive collections of classic ideas, practical advice, and essential thinking from the pages of Harvard Business Review. Exploring topics like disruptive innovation, emotional intelligence, and new technology in our ever-evolving world, these books empower any leader to make bold decisions and inspire others.

In Praise of the Office The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work

by Peter Cappelli, Ranya Nehmeh

Five years after the pandemic forced a global experiment in remote work, organizations are facing a critical inflection point. For the first time, we have evidence, drawn from experience and research, on what works and what doesn't.

In their important new book, In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work, Wharton professor Peter Cappelli and workplace strategist Ranya Nehmeh deliver a balanced, research-based approach to navigating the complex landscape of remote and hybrid work. They provide a fresh perspective on why hybrid models often fail and what organizations must do differently to succeed in this new era--with takeaways that may not be welcome to all.

In this timely book, discover:
+ Why remote work succeeded initially but has become increasingly problematic over time
+ What has been lost with the move away from in-office work
+ The hidden benefits of in-person work
+ How work dynamics post-pandemic have further influenced workplace culture and employee attitudes
+ How career advancement opportunities have changed
+ How new hires are faring
+ How the changes have impacted home life

In Praise of the Office also reveals when in-office works best, when fully remote work works best, and what is required to make hybrid work. Plus, it identifies what aspects of hybrid can do the most damage to employers and employees.

Fast-reading and practical, In Praise of the Office offers all of us--employers and employees alike-- the tools and insights to make informed decisions about the future of work, whether navigating a return-to-office initiative, refining hybrid models, or fully embracing remote work. Cappelli and Nehmeh provide leaders with the clarity and direction to build stronger, more resilient workplaces.

Reskilling + Upskilling

by Harvard Business Review, Ginni Rometty, Boris Groysberg, Peter Cappelli, Raffaella Sadun

Reskilling is the new imperative in the war for talent.

As the pace of technological change accelerates, the demand for new skills is increasing. And as technologies like AI take on new tasks and jobs, smart organizations aren't waiting for their new workforces to appear. They are investing in reskilling the workers. They're adopting a skills-based approach to hiring and developing talent. And they're leveraging digital learning tech to upskill their employees dynamically and efficiently. What new approaches should your organization be taking to build the workforce you need--now and tomorrow?

Reskilling and Upskilling: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review brings you today's most essential thinking on rebuilding and retraining your workforce. It explains how to launch the right skilling initiatives, how to measure their impact, and how to prepare your company to compete in the new skills economy.

Business is changing. Will you adapt or be left behind?

Get up to speed and deepen your understanding of the topics that are shaping your company's future with the Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review series. Featuring HBR's smartest thinking on fast-moving issues--blockchain, cybersecurity, AI, and more--each book provides the foundational introduction and practical case studies your organization needs to compete today and collects the best research, interviews, and analysis to get it ready for tomorrow.

You can't afford to ignore how these issues will transform the landscape of business and society. The Insights You Need series will help you grasp these critical ideas--and prepare you and your company for the future.