What happens when you deploy AI tools to enhance workers’ capabilities instead of replacing people? At Cascade Engineering, a $400 million plastics manufacturer, “physical AI” — the use of intelligent machinery alongside human problem solvers — is giving people more time to innovate. That workforce management tactic dovetails with CEO Christina Keller’s distributed leadership approach,…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images The idea of meritocracy is under attack: It has been called a “myth,” a “sham,” a “trap,” a “tyranny,” and an “alibi for plutocracy.” While meritocracy, as historically and currently practiced, is clearly in need of reform, it is hard to accept the notion that it is so flawed…
Chris Gash/theispot.com Creativity is widely recognized as a cornerstone of long-term business success, yet many leaders find it frustratingly elusive. Research confirms the paradox: Nearly all executives view creativity as essential, but few are able to consistently generate and implement new and relevant ideas. How, then, can leaders spark fresh thinking in themselves and their…
Getty Images In January, MIT SMR columnists Thomas H. Davenport and Randy Bean predicted that agentic AI would be “a sure bet for 2025’s ‘most trending AI trend.’ ” They called that one correctly. “Agentic AI seems to be on an inevitable rise: Everybody in the tech vendor and analyst worlds is excited about the prospect…
Vishal Gupta, engineering manager, machine learning at Reddit, joins the Me, Myself, and AI podcast with host Sam Ransbotham to explain how the social media community uses artificial intelligence to improve user experience and ad relevance. Much of the advertising work relies on increasingly sophisticated recommender systems that have evolved from simple collaborative filtering to…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images The second Trump administration’s rapid dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and uncertainty regarding the new U.S. foreign aid architecture create a significant shift for U.S. businesses operating in challenging global markets. While these changes provoke profound humanitarian concerns, they also have practical implications for businesses…
Consider a few types of furniture companies: There’s the small artisan firm, where a carpenter builds one-of-a-kind armoires and cabinets. There’s the medium-sized chain like Crate & Barrel, with about 100 stores in North America and a sprinkling of international locations. And then there’s IKEA. Since its founding in 1943, the Swedish furniture behemoth has…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Colin McPherson/Corbis Premium historical via Getty Images When Jane Goodall died in October, the world lost more than a scientist. It lost a moral compass: a woman whose quiet persistence taught humanity to see connection where it once saw hierarchy. Her decades of observing chimpanzees in Tanzania reframed our understanding of…
We tend to free-associate the word “negotiate” with salary and home buying, but for Kellogg’s Leigh Thompson, the list should be much longer. “If you can’t achieve your goals without the cooperation of somebody else, you’re negotiating,” says Thompson, a professor of management and organizations. All relationships involve this push and pull, she says, and…
Neil Webb/theispot.com Not long ago, business leaders were under constant pressure to speak up on climate, diversity, or social justice. Making bold commitments and pledges was not only encouraged but demanded and, for a time, seen as a hallmark of good leadership. Today, the mood has shifted dramatically. In the United States, a wave of…