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 […]
Consumer companies in the “next normal”
11/09/2020
Roiled by the COVID-19 pandemic, many consumer organizations are wondering how they can survive and thrive in a time of unprecedented uncertainty. Even after the pandemic subsides, we face an unpredictable future that demands more flexibility than ever before. But while the COVID-19 crisis is unique to modern history, a look at prior global disruptions […]
How to win with digital marketplaces
10/09/2020
Digital marketplaces have been the buzz of the consumer industry for the past several years, yet many brands and retailers still struggle to understand if and how to partner successfully with them. As a result of marked shifts in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, digitization has accelerated even further: 40 percent of consumers are […]
How companies can create value from digital ecosystems
08/09/2020
While ecosystem-building has been a red-hot topic in the business world in recent years, the COVID-19 crisis has amplified the importance of digital interactions and will likely further accelerate the adoption of digital-ecosystem business models. Our global consumer sentiment surveys indicate that the spike in online sales will continue to some extent even after the […]
How incumbents scale up their new businesses
04/09/2020
So you’ve launched a new business, gotten the funding, built a product, and created a brand. But after some initial success, it’s not scaling. What do you do? If this situation is familiar to you, you’re not alone. In fact, only one in five incumbents succeed in scaling their business after their initial success. That’s […]
How to Create Your Own Career Luck
03/09/2020
Noam Galai/Getty Images Job seekers, entrepreneurs, and executives aiming to advance their careers face unprecedented uncertainty. To succeed, they must be ready for the unexpected and turn it into positive outcomes by seeing and connecting the dots. In short, they need to nurture serendipity: the unexpected good luck resulting from unplanned moments, in which proactive decisions […]
Back to school: Lessons for effective remote and hybrid learning
02/09/2020
In much of the Northern Hemisphere, it’s back-to-school season. But this year’s preparations are fraught with added anxiety as educators, public-health officials, and parents try to balance the need to reduce the spread of the coronavirus with the desire to get students into more productive learning environments. The first priority of every school system must […]
Lessons from Chinese Companies’ Response to Covid-19
28/08/2020
The past months have provided an opportunity to study a once-in-a-lifetime moment — how companies function during an unprecedented global pandemic while also navigating an accelerated shift to digital operations. China was weeks ahead of the rest of the world in dealing with the pandemic and its fallout, so their experience is of interest. We […]
3 Behavioral Trends That Will Reshape Our Post-Covid World
27/08/2020
Colin Hawkins/Getty Images Typically, consumers’ supermarket shopping habits are stable and slow to change. When people do dramatically change their behavior around buying food and beverages, it’s usually driven by a major life event such as having a baby, moving to a new town, or changing jobs. The Covid-19 crisis is, of course, changing everyone’s life […]
Reskilling workers for industry 4.0
26/08/2020
Technological progress is enabling machines to complete many of the tasks that once required human beings. That new automation revolution will have a major effect on employment in the coming years. Nearly every job will change, many quite profoundly, and the overwhelming majority of today’s employees will need to develop new skills. Preparing for the […]
What to Do When Your Employee is Harassed Online
25/08/2020
Hiroshi Watanabe/Getty Images U.S. law requires employers to create a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. But as offices go virtual, what happens when staff confront a torrent of hate and abuse online? Given that over 44% of Americans say they’ve experienced online harassment, chances are, if you’re an employer, you have people on staff […]
Igniting individual purpose
24/08/2020
In these stressful, surreal times, it’s understandable for CEOs to fixate on urgent corporate priorities at the expense of more intangible, personal considerations. How important is getting your people to think about their “purpose in life” right now when you’re worried about their well-being—not to mention corporate survival? It’s more important than you think. During […]
Anxious About What’s Next? Here’s How to Cope.
20/08/2020
Liyao Xie/Getty Images This is a time of the year often marked by personal and professional transitions, a time of graduations, weddings, first-days-at-the-new-job, and strategic planning for the next fiscal year. These transitions often bring a mix of anticipation and excitement — a sense of not knowing exactly what lies ahead but an eagerness to […]
From surviving to thriving: Business after coronavirus
04/08/2020
The 1966 World Cup marked a low point for Brazilian soccer. Although the winner of the previous two tournaments, the team was eliminated in the first round, and its star player, Pelé, failed to perform. Fouled frequently and flagrantly, he threatened never to return to the World Cup. Many wondered if Brazil’s glory days were […]
Innovation in a crisis: Why it is more critical than ever…
30/07/2020
John F. Kennedy once observed that the word “crisis” in Chinese is composed of two characters—one representing danger, the other opportunity. He may not have been entirely correct on the linguistics, but the sentiment is true enough: a crisis presents a choice. This is particularly true today. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every aspect […]
Why Visionary Leadership Fails
29/07/2020
Gary Waters/Getty Images Visionary leadership is widely seen as key to strategic change. That’s because visionary leadership does not just set the strategic direction — it tells a story about why the change is worth pursuing and inspires people to embrace the change. Not surprisingly, then, science and practice have a very positive view of […]
Companies Need to Rethink What Cybersecurity Leadership Is
27/07/2020
Jorg Greuel/Getty Images For businesses today, cyber risk is everywhere. Yet for all the investments they’ve made to secure their systems and protect customers, companies are still struggling to make cybersecurity a vibrant, proactive part of strategy, operations, and culture. The root cause is twofold: (1) Cybersecurity is treated as a back-office job and (2) […]
What Meditation Can Do for Your Leadership
24/07/2020
HBR Staff/jermzlee/Getty Images One of the things that stands in the way of many leaders’ success — and therefore the success of their companies — is their ego. Leadership expert Jim Collins found in his seminal study on what makes companies sustainably great that in two thirds of the comparison cases, it was “the presence […]
CEO’s guide to COVID-19: Restarting after the crisis
23/07/2020
As governments in Europe announce plans to end the lockdown, a new phase in the COVID-19 pandemic is upon us. It is a time for hope but also for caution. The end of the lockdown will not spell a return to the old “normal”, nor will it be universal. The opening will take different shapes, […]
COVID-19 and reskilling the workforce
21/07/2020
Imagine a crisis that forces your company’s employees to change the way they work almost overnight. Despite initial fears that the pressure would be too great, you discover that this new way of working could be a blueprint for the long term. That’s what leaders of many companies around the globe are finding as they […]
Stepping into a Leadership Role? Be Ready to Tell Your Story.
20/07/2020
Stepping into a role as a leader — whether as a seasoned executive or a neophyte supervisor — is both challenging and exciting. How you handle this transition can have a huge impact on your career. You need to hit the ground running not only with your bosses and key stakeholders but also with your […]
Does working from home cut or increase energy use?
05/07/2020
The study’s authors reviewed existing research into the impact of home-working.They found of the 39 studies analyzed, 26 suggested that home-working cuts energy use through reduced travel to work and office energy consumption. Only eight studies suggest the impact was neutral or negative. But once a wider range of impacts are included, such as non-work […]
These countries top the sustainability rankings
04/07/2020
Climate change poses an urgent threat demanding decisive action. Communities around the world are already experiencing increased climate impacts, from droughts to floods to rising seas. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report continues to rank these environmental threats at the top of the list. To limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C and […]
The telltale signs of successful Digital M&A
03/07/2020
The old saw that the best deals are the ones you don’t make doesn’t apply when it comes to digital acquisitions—you’ve got to make them, research has consistently shown. You also need to do them well, and that can be challenging, because buying in the digital, analytics, and technology space—what we call “digital deals”—is different […]
Encourage Your Team to Take Time Off
02/07/2020
David Zaitz/Getty Images “I’m going nowhere fast.” This was the concern one of my clients recently. Her complaint wasn’t about working in quarantine per se, but about her frantic pace and static productivity. With the initial adrenaline rush of the crisis passed, vast numbers of my clients are reporting that they and their teams feel […]
Product simplicity for CPG companies
01/07/2020
Even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, complexity in consumer goods was increasing at an accelerated rate. The evidence can be seen all around: in grocery stores alone, new product launches have risen dramatically, from around 20,000 in 1996 to 39,000 two decades later. The evolving retail landscape has created new and different ways […]
How business leaders can plan for the next normal
30/06/2020
Dealing with the coronavirus crisis and its aftermath could be the imperative of our times. Indeed, we have argued that it augurs the “imminent restructuring of the global economic order.” As Ian Davis, one of our previous managing partners, wrote in 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis: “For some organizations, near-term survival is […]
Confronting Racism at Work: A Reading List
29/06/2020
Lyubov Ivanova/Getty Images Companies must confront racism at a systemic level — addressing everything from the structural and social mechanics of their own organizations to the role they play in the economy at large. We know that diversity programs have historically failed, but there are proven ways to improve hiring programs, interrupt bias at the […]
How global food safety protects the planet and begins on the farm
27/06/2020
This annual toll touches every part of the world, though the worst impacts are felt in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where there is less access to refrigeration and other modern food-preservation technologies. While major improvements have been achieved in some regions since the 1980s, the problem is still vast and urgent. Dangers […]