How to Capitalize On the Coming M&A Wave
24/02/2021
Well-capitalized companies will soon face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make acquisitions and consolidate power. As the Covid-19 crisis continues and the full brunt of its economic impact becomes clear, weaker players that had been given some breathing room by temporary government support programs or by falling back on their cash reserves, are likely to experience […]
Global Stars: The Most Innovative Countries, Ranked by Income Group
23/02/2021
The Most Innovative Countries, Ranked by Income Group Innovation can be instrumental to the success of economies, at macro and micro scales. While investment provides powerful fuel for innovation—the relationship isn’t always straightforward. The 2020 ranking from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reveals just that. The above map breaks down the most innovative countries […]
Giving Critical Feedback Is Even Harder Remotely
19/02/2021
Delivering constructive feedback is nerve-wracking in the best of times — most managers don’t want to crush their employees’ spirits. These tough conversations are even harder to have as multiple crises and their side effects wear on, which can make the negativity bias that often accompanies them even worse. To top it all off, a […]
The World’s Most Searched Consumer Brands
18/02/2021
Strong brands create an emotional link with consumers, and tech brands are no exception. In fact, Google, Amazon, Netflix, and even eBay rank as some of the most searched consumer brands worldwide. It’s hard to imagine life without these household names, but how do brand preferences shift and change across internet searches worldwide? This […]
The path forward for sustainable retail
18/02/2021
Retail is undergoing an unprecedented transition. The internet has led to new sales channels and new opportunities to reach out to customers, and globalization has opened markets and introduced new competitors. Then COVID-19 happened, rocking the industry to its core, as stores around the world closed and consumers had no choice but to order online. […]
The Secret to Building Resilience
17/02/2021
An anesthesiologist we’ll call Jacob used to describe his job as “90% boredom, 10% horror.” With a few exceptions of challenging surgeries and managing a department of several hundred physicians and nurses, most of the time, Jacob’s role was routine. But that was before the Covid-19 pandemic. Since anesthesiology is not a specialty that can […]
The CEO agenda for companies in advanced industries
16/02/2021
CEOs and corporate leaders are awash with uncertainty due to the persistent transmission of COVID-19, shifting regional dynamics, fluctuating customer demand, and transformational technology disruptions. For industrial companies—those within advanced electronics, aerospace and defense, and automotive and assembly—the decisions made today about their strategy, products and services portfolio, and sustainable performance transformations could have […]
WFH Doesn’t Have to Dilute Your Corporate Culture
12/02/2021
The pandemic pushed many organizations to become fully remote, and the experience has been better than many imagined. As a result, a hybrid working model that embraces the best of both remote and office-based work awaits many workers and companies on the other side of the crisis. Adapting to this new working model might seem […]
When to Switch Strategy in a Crisis
11/02/2021
The universal managerial imperative is clear: When something happens, you must do something. Still, while operational adjustments are relatively straightforward, even if potentially painful, it is hard to know whether you should you change your competitive strategy. It would help, of course, if we could run experiments. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a double-blind […]
Transformation in uncertain times: Tackling both the urgent and the important
10/02/2021
In ordinary times, successful leaders continually strive to master the balance between the urgent and the important, both in their organizations and their daily schedules. But today’s CEOs face unprecedented financial, health and safety, and operational challenges. For them, the problem isn’t balancing the urgent with the important. It’s that most everything is both urgent […]
Reimagining the Balanced Scorecard for the ESG Era
09/02/2021
In August 2019, the U.S. Business Roundtable, the leading gathering for Fortune 500 CEOs, stated that “each of our stakeholders is essential. We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country.” This re-orientation acknowledges widespread concerns that companies who focus only on their […]
Boards Are Obstructing ESG — at Their Own Peril
05/02/2021
The list of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues that can pose financial risks to corporations exploded in 2020: climate change, water scarcity, pollution, #metoo, #blacklivesmatter, worker welfare, employee diversity, corruption, human rights abuses, supply chain scandals…not to mention Covid-19. Yet while many investors and chief executives now take ESG seriously in their decision making, […]
How to Support an Employee with a Chronic Health Condition
03/02/2021
In the United States, 60% of adults have at least one chronic health condition: illnesses or conditions like chronic pain and fatigue that last at least one year and require ongoing management or restrict an individual’s activities. These numbers don’t include Covid-19 “long-haulers,” or the 10% of those who experience lingering symptoms, such as difficulties with […]
Your Star Employee Just Quit. Will Others Follow?
01/02/2021
Movement of talented employees across firms is inevitable, but if you’re in a leadership role, there are things you can do when a star employee leaves to prevent their departure from becoming a stampede to the exits. Ask Questions, Then Listen Perhaps the most important thing you can do when someone leaves is to listen […]
How to Set Up an Ethics Advisory Board
29/01/2021
In the face of an ever-growing array of ethical dilemmas, many organizations may benefit from establishing an Ethics Advisory Board, or EAB. While EABs are still a new concept (and they don’t always work out), they can provide very real value, offering crucial perspectives from diverse, external stakeholders on ethically fraught decisions pertaining to anything […]
How incumbents can lay the foundations for hypergrowth
28/01/2021
Even with considerable resources available, many big organizations find it challenging to achieve double-digit revenue growth for new products and services—a range that for many start-ups and scale-ups would be dangerously low. But established companies can expand the market reach of their new businesses quickly and effectively by gaining an understanding of how scale-ups and […]
7 Strategies to Build a More Resilient Team
27/01/2021
Announcing Q4 results that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, Apple CEO Tim Cook identified resilient, high-functioning teams as a key element that fortified the company in the midst of the pandemic’s unprecedented challenges. “Even though we’re apart, it’s been obvious this year that around the company, teams and colleagues have been leaning on and counting on […]
How procurement can boost business growth post-COVID-19
26/01/2021
As economies begin their transition to the next normal, crisis management is evolving into recovery, with a few signs of growth starting to return. Our conversations with procurement leaders have identified a common theme: of newfound energy to apply hard-won lessons learned from an extraordinary time. These executives’ new focus is on reimagining the procurement […]
Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?
25/01/2021
If you want to silence a room of executives, try this small trick. Ask them, “Why would anyone want to be led by you?” We’ve asked just that question for the past ten years while consulting for dozens of companies in Europe and the United States. Without fail, the response is a sudden, stunned hush. […]
It’s Time to Replace the Public Corporation
21/01/2021
The public corporation is no longer fit for purpose, and its popularity as an ownership model is declining. Why It Happens In today’s capital markets, the model incentivizes executives to manage in tiny, short-term windows, thus failing to satisfy the primary needs of its critical stakeholders: retirement investors and knowledge workers. How to Fix It […]
Mental health in the workplace: The coming revolution
20/01/2021
Three weeks prior to his resignation, suffering severe depression, Mendonca had checked into a hospital for an overnight stay. But, acting in his position of great responsibility, in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, Mendonca had “told myself and my team that we all have to operate at 120 percent. . . . This meant […]
How the Gender Balance of Investment Teams Shapes the Risks They Take
19/01/2021
Women are more risk averse than men on average — at least that’s what research and received wisdom seem to suggest. Women take fewer risks when picking stocks, investing in venture capital, and making acquisitions, for example. There are various explanations for these differences in appetite for risk. The most common one holds that in […]
Build a Family Business That Lasts
15/01/2021
The Paradox Family businesses are famous for power plays, backstabbing, and dramatic implosions. Yet some are among the most enduring companies in existence. Why It Matters Family-controlled firms represent some 85% of the world’s businesses. In the United States they employ 62% of the workforce. The Keys to Longevity The owners of a family business […]
The next normal arrives: Trends that will define 2021—and beyond
14/01/2021
Businesses have spent much of the past nine months scrambling to adapt to extraordinary circumstances. While the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet won, with a vaccine in sight, there is at least a faint light at the end of the tunnel—along with the hope that another train isn’t heading our way. 2021 […]
Worried You Might Be in a Dying Industry?
13/01/2021
Any business in any sector is ultimately vulnerable to disruption or obsoletion if it doesn’t plan and adapt for the future. Technological progress creates lots of opportunities but also leaves destruction in its wake. Much of that destruction exacts a human cost in the form of jobs that are lost as one company or industry […]
How Did Business’s Role in Society Change in 2020?
12/01/2021
The year 2020 was incredibly rough, but with one big bright spot at the end. A once-in-a-century global pandemic — an unfathomable tragedy — devastated lives and economies. But in a miraculous display of scientific prowess, Pfizer, Moderna, and other pharmaceutical companies produced what appeared to be highly effective Covid-19 vaccines by December. After a year of […]
What Will the U.S.-China Relationship Look Like in the Biden Era?
11/01/2021
The sight of Hangzhou’s railway station packed to the rafters during China’s Golden Week holidays in early October was a powerful symbol of the country’s swift recovery from Covid-19. With mobility restrictions long lifted, more than 600 million Chinese crisscrossed the country to visit family and friends — providing an important boost to domestic consumption […]
Cross-Team Meetings Don’t Have to Be a Waste of Time
08/01/2021
There is a frustrating familiarity about meetings with other departments, with an outcome you can predict even before the conversation begins: Heads will nod, there will be vague statements or a call for more data, and then unfailingly, you’ll repeat the same conversation repeated next time. Eyes roll, progress stalls, yet no one calls out […]
With vaccines on the horizon, here’s how business leaders can plan ahead |
10/12/2020
Still, many questions remain and in all my years of scenario planning, I’ve never seen uncertainty like that which has arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders are in need of guidance as to how to plan for the months ahead. Salesforce has been tracking the many uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 since March and developed a range […]
What Inclusive Leaders Sound Like
09/12/2020
Illustration by HBR Staff When leaders commit to building an inclusive organization, they tend to start with the company mission, vision, values, and a promise to ensure everyone in the organization has a voice. But if they don’t change the way they communicate every day with their employees, leaders are missing a crucial piece. In […]
Poor diets making children shorter, according to new study
08/12/2020
“Our findings should motivate policies that increase the availability and reduce the cost of nutritious foods, as this will help children grow taller without gaining excessive weight for their height,” said Dr Andrea Rodriguez Martinez, the study’s lead author. “Household poverty and food insecurity rates have increased. Essential nutrition services and supply chains have been […]
How to Actually Encourage Employee Accountability
07/12/2020
Fewer words in corporate vernacular induce a tighter wince than “accountability,” and for good reason. Companies and leaders have grappled with what it is and how to achieve it effectively for decades. Ask anyone if they look forward to their performance evaluation or periodic check-in with their boss, and most will give an emphatic “no.” […]
Consumers with food allergies: A growing market remains underserved | McKinsey
04/12/2020
Around the world, half a billion people, including close to 85 million in the United States, avoid allergens when shopping for food and beverages. The number of American children who experience food allergies has been growing about four times faster than the population has for at least 20 years. They aren’t alone: evidence suggests that […]
The Case for Asking Sensitive Questions
03/12/2020
Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images “How much money do you make?” We often avoid asking questions that feel too sensitive or personal. But avoiding these potentially awkward conversations comes at a cost: When negotiating a salary or choosing where to live, for example, it can be very useful to know how much a coworker earns or […]
Overcoming pandemic fatigue: How to reenergize organizations for the long run
02/12/2020
Pandemic fatigue: it’s plaguing organizations and employees right now. In 2020, we’ve endured a global pandemic, a massive economic crisis, and widespread social unrest. Layer on top of that forces that are fundamentally reshaping societies—technological innovation, business-model disruption, societal inequality, and workforce automation—and it’s clear that an epidemic of stress has been building, with the […]
In a Pandemic, We Buy What We Know
01/12/2020
llustration by Rocio Egio Back in May, Unilever’s CEO predicted that consumers would eat healthier during the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the CEO of McDonald’s remains confident they’ll return to Big Macs and other familiar favorites. Certainly, both can’t be right. Or can they? Organic and healthy food sales are in fact surging — but so […]
More than a mission statement: How the 5Ps embed purpose to deliver value
27/11/2020
We’ve all seen it: companies that have the “it” factor, an enthusiasm and passion that lights up employees, delights customers, and shines for investors. It’s not just the company’s warmer fleece, or a more delicious ice cream, or even a breakthrough technology. And it’s so much more than just a mission statement. It’s purpose. Purpose […]
7 Ways HR Can Build a Fairer, Data-Informed Culture
26/11/2020
People data and analytics is now one of the hottest, most in-demand skills for HR professionals and ranks as one of the most important human capital trends for organizations today. Companies are looking at data to inform decisions and answer questions such as: Who will leave and when? How do our capabilities compare to competitors? […]
The case for stakeholder capitalism
25/11/2020
None of this could have been done without economic growth. And that is what free-market-oriented economies, in their many different varieties, have delivered better than the alternatives. Think of West Germany versus East Germany; South Korea versus North Korea; or Costa Rica versus Cuba. And yet, there is palpable anger and distrust with the idea […]
5 Strategies for Reinventing Your Career in Uncertain Times
24/11/2020
During times of uncertainty, we tend to hunker down and cling to the status quo. A kind of myopia kicks in, and we focus on our most urgent decisions: how to keep our families safe and healthy, how to keep our bosses happy, or, if we’ve lost a job, how to find a new one […]
When do you need a chief restructuring officer?
23/11/2020
In less than a year, however, the ailing company’s cash situation had stabilized, avoiding the possibility of an abrupt insolvency. The company had found new sources of liquidity, and millions of euros in working capital were freed up thanks to improved short-term cash management. Lenders and other key stakeholders got behind the balance-sheet restructuring. What […]
10 Leadership Lessons from Covid Field Hospitals
20/11/2020
ExCel Centre in London Converted Into Temporary NHS Nightingale Coronavirus Field Hospital The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic starkly revealed fundamental deficiencies in health care delivery around the world, including endemic racial disparities, the fragility of supply chains, the vulnerability of staff, and the depth of uncertainty about both a novel disease and our own systems. It […]
The conflicted Continent: Ten charts show how COVID-19 is affecting consumers in Europe
19/11/2020
While these trends can be observed across the Continent, there is also significant variance in how different countries and age groups react to the crisis. In the following charts, we will look both at the big picture and at the most striking outliers. 1 1. The insights in this article are based on a survey […]
Don’t Get Blindsided by Your Blind Spots
18/11/2020
To help people navigate the profound challenges posed by a global pandemic, a fragile economy, and social unrest, leaders at all levels of organizations in the public and private sectors must be more sensitive than ever to others’ situations and needs. Most breakdowns in workplace interactions are caused not by bad intentions but rather by […]
How to find and maximize digital value in any M&A deal
17/11/2020
The digital revolution is changing the dynamics of M&A transactions. IT used to represent a cost that needed to be managed and controlled as two organizations came together. Today, IT and digital capabilities are often the driving force behind the transaction. But, even when an acquisition centers around a company’s other attractive assets, digital capabilities […]
Self-Compassion Will Make You a Better Leader
16/11/2020
It’s understandable for leaders to get caught up in fear, doubt, and criticism when facing critical business decisions that will have a major impact on lives and livelihoods. But what’s needed in times of uncertainty and disruption is mental clarity, emotional balance, fortitude, and vision. To move from self-doubt and paralysis to clarity and action, […]
Navigating Office Politics When There Is No Office
07/11/2020
Across jobs, companies, and industries, people’s success has always depended not just on what they produce or deliver, but also on their ability to navigate the murky waters of office politics. A great deal of scientific research has explored the hidden potent forces underlying the formal and informal power dynamics in any group or organization, […]
A Measured Approach to Regulating Fast-Changing Tech
06/11/2020
Paul Taylor/Getty Images Amid the economic upheaval caused by Covid-19, technology-driven disruption continues to transform nearly every business at an accelerating pace, from entertainment to shopping to how we work and go to school. Though the crisis may be temporary, many changes in consumer behavior are likely permanent. Well before the pandemic, however, industries and […]
Why Hiring During Covid Is Different Than in Previous Downturns
05/11/2020
PM Images/Getty Images In the past, the intensity of competition for talent followed the ups and downs of the economic cycle. It’s therefore unsurprising—given the Covid-19 downturn—to hear that a number of thought leaders are concluding that we are back to an employer’s market. But a closer look at the data, as well as our […]
Now Is the Time to Shake Up Your Sales Processes
04/11/2020
Major sales force changes such as restructuring or downsizing are disruptive to how sales teams work and to the systems that support them. A poorly-orchestrated change can damage customer relationships, hurt the top line, and threaten salespeople’s sense of control and self-esteem. Not surprisingly, leaders often wait to implement major changes until a significant event […]
“Serious” Leaders Need Self-Care, Too
03/11/2020
Thomas Barwick/Getty Images The benefits of self-care are well known. Yet when I work with my leadership clients, I often get major pushback around the whole idea. Why are many leaders so resistant to taking a bit of time for themselves? It usually boils down to misperceptions around what good leadership is, what self-care is, […]
A rolling disruption: COVID-19’s implications for private equity and portfolio companies | McKinsey
02/11/2020
The global COVID-19 pandemic shows few signs of relenting—in fact, in addition to its dual burden on lives and livelihoods, it is triggering civil unrest, new concerns about economic inequality, geopolitical tensions, and many other effects. The pandemic is more than an epidemiological event; it is a complex of profound disruptions. The pandemic is more […]
Managing a Team with Conflicting Political Views
30/10/2020
Wulf Voss/EyeEm/Getty Images Politics around the world seem to be getting more and more divisive, and it’s impossible for the topic not to enter into our everyday conversations — including those that happen at work. When people on your team have differing views, those conversations can often get tense. As a manager, what should you […]
Agile resilience: Lessons from COVID-19
29/10/2020
Organizations able to absorb and adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic successfully are, by definition, resilient. Many also find themselves making decisions at a speed, which would have been unthinkable in pre-COVID-19 times. What characterizes these organizations? What creates this kind of resilience? And how can organizations apply the lessons learned from the […]
How to Make Rational Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty
28/10/2020
Johannes Schwaerzler/EyeEm/Getty Images As we’re battling a virus that scientists still don’t fully understand, watching the stock market sink, then soar, then sink again, and facing a contentious election, the future seems completely unpredictable (instead of merely as unpredictable as it has always been). When we feel such heightened uncertainty, our decision-making processes can break […]
How nine digital front-runners can lead on AI in Europe
27/10/2020
Globally, researchers are working to discover how artificial intelligence (AI) can be usefully applied across a range of commercial and public-sector situations. Much of the most exciting work is taking place in tech clusters, particularly in China and the United States, which are attracting some of the brightest global talent. Europe is also seeing rising […]
To Foster Innovation, Cultivate a Culture of Intellectual Bravery
26/10/2020
Jake Wyman/Getty Images When an organization stops innovating, it is only a matter of time before it fails. But what causes a company to cease coming up with new ideas? Over the last 20 years, I’ve studied many failed organizations and one of the things I consistently see is an almost imperceptible erosion of intellectual […]
The boss factor
23/10/2020
Today’s leaders have never been under so much pressure. Even as they navigate the evolving COVID-19 crisis—keeping their customers and employees safe and their businesses viable—expectations are sky-high. Shareholders are calling for foresight, bold strategies, agility, and resilience, while governments and communities increasingly expect businesses to support broader goals, such as sustainability and social justice. […]
6 Ways a Crisis Can Help You Cultivate a Growth Mindset
22/10/2020
Disruptive, stressful experiences are often opportunities for growth. Research has shown that crises can help lift the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra that pervades many organizations, creating new opportunities for people to voice their ideas on how to do things better. For example, when the pandemic forced an insurance company we advise to […]
This is what the co-founder of LinkedIn says about the future of work
22/10/2020
“One of the things we’ve discovered in our work with the World Economic Forum is the importance of remote learning. Delivering skills at a distance is absolutely essential in a time when so much is changing,” he said in an interview with the Forum. “And frankly, coming together to learn new things is more difficult.” […]
Tech Should Enable Change, Not Drive It
22/10/2020
Hiroshi Watanabe/Getty Images The world is changing in rapid, unprecedented ways, but one thing remains certain: as businesses look to embed lessons learned in recent months and to build enterprise resilience for the future, they are due for even more transformation. As such, most organizations are voraciously evaluating existing and future technologies to see if […]
Gravitas Is a Quality You Can Develop
22/10/2020
Artem Hvozdkov/Getty Images “Rebecca, I need more gravitas,” Andreas said to me at the start of our first coaching session, “but I want to be myself. I don’t want to pretend to be someone else.” As an organizational psychologist at the London School of Economics, teaching leadership development in executive education programs and coaching professionals […]
How to Inoculate Your Team Against Conspiracy Theories
22/10/2020
Illustration by Franziska Barczyk We’ve made our coronavirus coverage free for all readers. To get all of HBR’s content delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Daily Alert newsletter. This year, we have had to protect ourselves not only from a deadly virus, but also from some very dangerous ideas. Around the world, conspiracy […]
Tech Is Transforming People Analytics. Is That a Good Thing?
22/10/2020
Illustration by Shani Pleasants A century ago, Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management laid the foundations for modern HR. His central premise was that organizations should turn their workplaces into real-world psychology labs, measuring and monitoring employees’ every move in order to boost their performance and reduce their stress levels. The paradigm was revolutionary, and led famous […]
Startups, It’s Time to Think Like Camels — Not Unicorns
21/10/2020
Edwin Remsberg/Getty Images The world has changed. In the wake of Covid-19, and the global recession it has caused, business leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors are all girding for a long period of extremely challenging conditions in the global market. How can startups and innovators of all stripes survive in such conditions? Many are not […]
Today’s Leaders Need Vulnerability, Not Bravado
21/10/2020
Illustration by Peter Gehrman Few myths are as pervasive as the notion that leaders ought to appear tough and confident. Or at least, that was the case prior to the current pandemic, which has exposed the many weaknesses of forceful, dominant leaders and highlighted the superiority of those who have the courage to reveal their […]
Are You Really Innovating Around Your Customers’ Needs?
16/10/2020
Benne Ochs/Getty Images How would you reimagine a gas station for the future? Even with the increasing penetration of electric vehicles, gasoline cars are likely to remain the dominant automobile for years or even decades. I have asked this question of hundreds of senior executives. They typically suggest things like including a coffee shop, making […]
How CPG companies can adapt their digital marketing in the next normal
15/10/2020
At many US consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) companies business has been turned on its head. Even for companies in categories that experienced rapid growth, the past several months have been dizzying. A historic drop in US consumer confidence was accompanied by pantry loading for essential items such as household supplies (up 76 percent in March) and packaged […]
4 Tips for Effective Virtual Collaboration
14/10/2020
PM Images/Getty Images Team collaboration done right is a powerful force to align a group of individuals to accomplish a common goal in the most effective way possible. But even the best collaborations, filled with smart, capable, and experienced team members, can be a struggle. Done wrong, collaborative projects can feel like a waste of […]
The Post-Pandemic Rules of Talent Management
14/10/2020
Stewart Cohen/Getty Images Over the past decades, rapid digital transformation has enabled organizations to completely reimagine the way they work and manage talent. From reliable video conferencing platforms, to digital collaboration software, to ubiquitous cloud-based connectivity, and a data-centric approach to strategic decision-making powered by the synergy between artificial and human intelligence, an imaginary worker […]
Leaders Need to Harness Aristotle’s 3 Types of Knowledge
14/10/2020
Illustration by Asia Pietrzyk If you’re working to improve your leadership capability, what exactly should you be trying to develop? The experience of the 2020 pandemic offers a powerful lesson: A critical skill a leader must bring to the table is the ability to figure out what kind of thinking is required to address a […]
How CEOs and boards drive long-term value creation
13/10/2020
Corporate long-term behaviors: How CEOs and boards drive sustained value creation Ample evidence shows that when executives consistently make decisions and investments with long-term objectives in mind, their companies generate more shareholder value, create more jobs, and contribute more to economic growth than do peer companies that focus on the short term. Addressing the interests […]
How Businesses Can Recruit and Develop More Young People of Color
12/10/2020
Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images For the college graduates of 2020, Covid-19 has disrupted dreams and shifted plans. But what about the millions of college students who dropped out this year before earning a diploma? Or others who graduated saddled with debt only to be underemployed in their first job? These students, many of whom are people […]
What to Do When You Become Your Friend’s Boss
10/10/2020
Andy Sacks/Getty Images How many hours will you spend with your coworkers over the course of your lifetime? If your job is a typical 9 to 5, that means you’ll spend around eight hours a day, five days a week, for roughly 40 years, with the various people you work with. That equates to almost […]
An Innovative Way to Prevent Adversarial Supplier Relationships
09/10/2020
Nick Dolding/Getty Images The economic impact of the pandemic and the uncertainty about what lies ahead are having a major impact on relations between companies and their suppliers. For procurement professionals at large multinational companies, the temptation is to use their company’s clout to pressure suppliers to reduce prices. And when the supplier has the […]
What Are Your KPIs Really Measuring?
09/10/2020
Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty Images No CEO doubts the importance of measuring their company’s performance properly. Yet the executive teams I’ve assisted over more than 25 years generally struggle to engage with the challenge. As one CEO put it to me, “when we get to corporate KPIs their eyes glaze over.” Or, as another said “they [the […]
Is Your Executive Compensation Plan Undermining Your Mission?
09/10/2020
Cactus Creative Studio/Stocksy New technologies have been disrupting business for decades, especially since the internet became widespread in the late 1990s. But a new wave of innovation, centered on artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and the internet of things, is now intensifying the pace and magnitude of disruption. AI-powered advances by themselves, according to a […]
How COVID-19 has pushed companies over the technology tipping point–and transformed business forever
09/10/2020
In just a few months’ time, the COVID-19 crisis has brought about years of change in the way companies in all sectors and regions do business. According to a new McKinsey Global Survey of executives, 1 1. The online survey was in the field from July 7 to July 31, 2020, and garnered responses from […]
CEOs, Don’t Let Fear and Paranoia Sink Your Leadership
08/10/2020
Illustration by Richard A Chance For decades, we’ve told CEOs to be humble. It’s fine to be confident, even fiercely determined, we say, but arrogance will bring you down. The ideal leader respects and listens to colleagues, communicates honestly, adjusts opinions when confronted with new evidence, and makes decisions that strengthen the organization rather than […]
What Will the Retail Experience of the Future Look Like?
14/09/2020
RICARDO ARDUENGO/Getty Images The world’s retailers face a host of challenges. Even before the pandemic, many brick-and-mortar retailers were struggling. Now, as we emerge from the liminal space of nationwide lockdowns into new psychological and social territory, shoppers will be anxious about whether visiting stores will increase their exposure to the virus. Adding to the […]