Core competency? Glass ceiling? Globalization? You may have the Harvard Business Review (HBR) to thank for those. When you’ve been around since 1922 and publishing stories for the absolute top level of business people and academics, you’re bound to help coin an important phrase or two. MPA Reports asked The 4Qs of Josh Macht, HBR’s Group Publisher, who oversees the commercial activities for the magazine, website, books and all emerging technologies.  

Q. For a magazine that’s been around for such a long time, clearly HBR has learned how to adapt with the changing times. What kinds of projects or programs is the magazine currently involved in to help it adapt to the changing environment?

A. We’re currently working on a comprehensive redesign of the HBR print magazine and website, www.hbr.org, which will launch in January 2010. It will be a fairly dramatic refresh of the design and architecture, with new features and more infographics, and will better integrate the web and print experiences for our readers.

The redesign is driven by extensive reader research and our strategy to fully integrate all of our offerings across formats under the Harvard Business Review brand—print, digital, books and mobile. Our objective is to meet our readers wherever they are and to deliver ideas and inspiration in the formats that best suit their needs, whether they’re a first-time manager or an established leader.

Q. What is the most effective use of digital that HBR is involved in currently, and how do you foresee using technology in different ways in the coming year?

A. I think we’ve been successful at merging content, community and commerce. We’ve developed a popular network of management bloggers, in addition to HBR articles and archives. We’ve launched a number of features like the HBR Debate and interactive case studies that tap the knowledge of our audience, and the site is an increasingly attractive destination for advertisers who want to reach engaged professionals and who want to affiliate with smart, authoritative content. In the next year, we will be building on this three-pronged model, as well as launching new features on our website and more mobile content. 

Q. How important is the international audience to your overall business plan?

A. Harvard Business Review is a global brand, and we believe there’s strong opportunity for extending the reach of the magazine into new international markets. Currently, some 30 percent of our global English-language edition readership is based outside of the U.S. We also reach an additional quarter-million people through 11 licensed translated editions, including editions in German, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish. We’re working closely with these editions on pricing and promotion, as well as advertising, to target our efforts with global advertisers. We’re also working to expand our editions network in key markets.

Editorially, we’re introducing more international perspectives and non-U.S company examples into our pages and online, with new contributors like Navi Radjou and Vaneet Nayer.

Q. Has the recession changed your audience and/or your editorial coverage, as well as your approach to advertisers?

A. We have covered the recession extensively—both online and in print—aiming to balance urgency with a more long-term perspective.  Early on, articles like “Seize Advantage in a Downturn” looked at how companies could respond to the crisis swiftly but prudently, while keeping an eye out for potential opportunities. Online, we created a “Recession Survival Guide,” a collection of career, leadership and management strategies for professionals. 

As the economy has improved, we’ve been starting to map out the new management landscape and distill lessons for managers and leaders. Along the way, we have aimed to balance the crisis coverage with our core feature content—the transformative ideas and the best practices that help professionals manage and lead more effectively.

We have also tried to practice what we preach and find our own opportunities to improve and innovate.  To better respond to the urgency of the crisis, and the unprecedented challenges our readers were facing, we accelerated our edit and production schedule and fully leveraged our eb site to publish articles and commentary more quickly. Our editor in chief, Adi Ignatius, also introduced Spotlight sections into the magazine that examined the crisis in-depth.   

Our message to advertisers has remained consistent: HBR is about quality—the audience, the content, the contributors, the partners. We’re a trusted advisor, in good economic times and bad.