Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Vanguard Group, an asset management company with a mere $11 trillion or so in assets under management, is a rather successful organization. It’s been in business for 50 years as of this year, but its growth over time has been propelled by an unusual combination of factors for a…
Otto Dettmer/Ikon Images As geopolitical shocks, civil unrest, and viral news cycles unfold in real time, the boundaries between the outside world and the workplace are increasingly porous. Political protests, public demonstrations, and national crises don’t just dominate headlines — they influence the conversations, emotions, and the daily lives of employees. For leaders, this presents…
Joey Guidone/theispot.com Between three and five years into their tenure, the best CEOs typically take what they’ve learned and, thinking like an outsider, create the next performance S-curve for their company. The concept of the S-curve is that for any strategy, there’s a period of slow initial progress as the strategy is formed and initiatives…
Fabien Gilbert/Ikon Images Every year, timed to coincide with the UN General Assembly meeting — apparently to ensure maximum traffic jams — thousands of people descend on New York City to talk climate. A series of over 1,000 events all across Manhattan, under the banner of Climate Week, gives a snapshot of where we are…
Doval/Ikon Images In November 2022, Meta laid off 13% of its workforce — 11,000 employees. Among the hardest hit: the design and user experience teams. Just months later, Twitter’s new ownership eliminated most of its design staff. Amazon, Netflix, and dozens of other tech giants followed suit. Executives are questioning whether design is still delivering…
Regardless of where you are in your career, it can be challenging to figure out the next move. Whether you’re looking for a big swerve or just feel stalled in your current role, the choices you make may very well dictate your trajectory for years to come. So, it’s often well worth your while to…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images A CEO recently posed a question to me that’s been keeping executives awake: “If my junior analyst can get the same AI-generated insights as my senior strategist, why am I paying for expertise?” It’s not hyperbole to say that we’re witnessing an unprecedented democratization of knowledge. Information that was…
Zoom etiquette. Inclusion practices. Vacation policies. Politics. These are the types of workplace conversations that can ignite heated arguments among employees, says Steven L. Franconeri, a professor of management and organizations (courtesy) at the Kellogg School who studies how people can have smarter and calmer disagreements. He has a theory about why emotionally charged disagreements…
Return-to-office mandates are often touted as the best way to rebuild corporate culture, but they are frequently a top-down directive that in practice can have the opposite effect. Bringing teams together in person in tactical ways, though, is still important. When done right, in-office time together can strengthen team bonds and boost morale. In this…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Corporations are rushing to invest in artificial intelligence. But corporatewide AI policies alone can’t transform work, according to our recent research. For AI efforts to pay off, executives must set clear guardrails while enabling teams to write the rules that make tool adoption real. Only then will AI deliver…