In this fictional case, the CEO of a global pharmaceutical company based in Belgium with operations in Moscow is contemplating what to do in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The company is experiencing pressure from shareholders, Ukrainian and Belgium government officials, and the public to follow in the footsteps of many multinational corporations and cease operations in Russia. However, since the firm provides medically necessary products, the decision isn't straightforward. How can the CEO navigate the complicated political waters of this decision and make the most humanitarian decision? Should the company exit Russia completely, or should it continue to operate but on a smaller scale? Expert commentators respond.
The void beyond Earth has become an exciting frontier for entrepreneurial ventures. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and scads of other companies are pursuing commercial activities in outer space-launching rockets to send tourists to new heights, deploying satellites to collect data and improve terrestrial telecommunications and logistics, and developing novel space-driven products and services. This article reviews three new books that will captivate readers who are curious about the booming industry growing up around space exploitation: When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach, by Ashlee Vance; The Space Economy: Capitalize on the Greatest Business Opportunity of Our Lifetime, by Chad Anderson; and A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. The article identifies useful digital resources as well, including the podcast TerraWatch Space.
The renowned chef and cookbook author, who is also a painter, talks about his career arc. His interest in food began as early as the age of seven, when he assisted his mother in the kitchen of the family's small restaurant.
In this fictional case, the CEO of a global pharmaceutical company based in Belgium with operations in Moscow is contemplating what to do in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The company is experiencing pressure from shareholders, Ukrainian and Belgium government officials, and the public to follow in the footsteps of many multinational corporations and cease operations in Russia. However, since the firm provides medically necessary products, the decision isn't straightforward. How can the CEO navigate the complicated political waters of this decision and make the most humanitarian decision? Should the company exit Russia completely, or should it continue to operate but on a smaller scale? Expert commentators respond.
In this fictional case, the CEO of a global pharmaceutical company based in Belgium with operations in Moscow is contemplating what to do in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The company is experiencing pressure from shareholders, Ukrainian and Belgium government officials, and the public to follow in the footsteps of many multinational corporations and cease operations in Russia. However, since the firm provides medically necessary products, the decision isn't straightforward. How can the CEO navigate the complicated political waters of this decision and make the most humanitarian decision? Should the company exit Russia completely, or should it continue to operate but on a smaller scale? Expert commentators respond.
Historically speaking, working together in the same space-what is known as 'co-located' work-has been fundamental to maintaining managerial authority and control. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged this assumption head-on. Organizations the world overturned to remote work out of necessity; and for many, it went remarkably well. So well, in fact, that we now find ourselves in an era of hybrid work, The author presents three tactics for driving effective management and employee engagement in a hybrid work environment: providing employees with greater autonomy, building authentic intergroup relationships and harnessing the power of shared identity. All three enhance 'voluntary compliance'-which will always be required of employees, whether they are co-located or remote.
What distinguishes people who consistently make smart, data-driven decisions? It's not just exceptional analytic skills. These decision-makers balance data, experience and intuition. The authors call this approach to decision-making Quantitative Intuition. 'QI' breaks the allure that an abundance of data is a crystal ball that leads to perfect decisions. They provide a set of tools to enable people to quickly interrogate and integrate data to make effective decisions.
Imagine a shadowy future, hovering at the edges of the present state of things; a map of all the various ways in which the present can reinvent itself. This, say the authors, is the ever-present state known as 'the adjacent possible'. In this excerpt from their book (The Upside of Uncertainty), they explain how to tap into this expansive field of opportunity. Their six principles for achieving this include questioning assumptions, considering the worst-case scenario and purposely recombining things. They argue that the adjacent possible is always expanding, both in terms of our own personal creativity and in terms of global innovation. In the end, they show that discovering adjacent possibles requires two things: a willingness to look for them and the courage to pursue them.
Today's emerging markets bear limited resemblance to the markets of decades ago. The boom-busts of the 20th century have been replaced with more sophisticated central bank policies and diversified industry bases. Everywhere from China to India to Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates, a growing consumer class has driven domestics and fueled these markets, replacing the dependence on commodities that we saw two decades ago. Emerging markets expert Asha Mehta describes three mega-themes that are transforming the world's emerging markets, creating a new investing paradigm. As these markets mature, she argues, the flow of capital will benefit the investors who invest in them early.
In the realm of business, many people have come to view disruption as a near-synonym for innovation. But is disruption the only way to innovate and grow? And is it the best way? In an excerpt from their latest book, the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy suggest the answer is No. They argue and that the overriding focus on disruption has led us to largely overlook another avenue of innovation and growth-one that is at least as important. 'Non-disruptive creation' involves creating new markets without disrupting or displacing other companies. Presenting examples including Sesame Street, the men's cosmeceutical industry and smartphone accessories, they show that this approach has immense potential to create brand new markets where none existed before.
Today's organizations have very little in common with those of the past few decades. Rather than focusing on progressing from point A to point B, successful companies have become complex adaptive systems that rely on the underlying dynamic of emergence-calling for a whole new set of priorities. The author presents five new 'first principles' for successfully adapting and transforming your business in a complex and uncertain world: scenarios over predictions; ambitions over masterplans; the wisdom of the many over the expertise of the few; homemade solutions over store-bought; and exploration over optimization. By embracing these principles, leaders can transition to a state of continuous transformation - and an understanding of what true adaptation entails.
As our world becomes increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA), leaders are facing never-before-seen challenges without an established toolkit to rely on. Deliberate calm is about recognizing what an external situation is demanding of you and being intentional about how you respond to it. The author of Deliberate Calm argues that, at its core, achieving this demands a synthesis of four skills: awareness, adaptability, learning agility and emotional self-regulation. He shows that as we face situations from day to day, we oscillate between two very different 'zones': the Familiar Zone and the Adaptive Zone. And what is required to thrive in each zone is markedly different. By adopting 'dual awareness', leaders can perform optimally in difficult circumstances. The dual aspect is about simultaneously being aware of the external situation you are facing and your own internal emotional state as you enter it. In the end, he shows that there are an endless number of situations in our lives where we can more effectively navigate life and work from a state of Deliberate Calm.
Leaders at all levels are now being asked to achieve a common goal: to make sure that everyone on their team feels like they belong. There is widespread recognition that, if they don't, employees will walk. On the other hand, if people do feel like they belong, they will not only stay and feel valued, they will perform better. The author, a Chair in Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Toronto, shows that belonging relates to many personal characteristics: racial and gender representation and sensitivity, sexual orientation, physical appearance and disability, to name a few. Going forward, she shows that senior leaders need to empower managers to address belonging by celebrating employees, creating space to let people show their whole selves and making time to hear about their negative experiences. Together, such actions can remove the burden of 'code switching' - of people feeling like they have to adjust the way they speak, dress, act, etc. in order to be accepted at work.
It was July 2022, and Isaac Morgado, one of the founders of MVMT Strength Inc., wanted to create a comprehensive marketing plan for the fall season. The gym had recently moved to a new location and Morgado wanted to continue growth through promotional campaigns.
This case explores the founding story of German enterprise software company Celonis and its early attempts to globally scale and expand into the complex U.S. enterprise software market. After achieving success co-selling with a single ERP partner with dominant market share in Europe, Celonis' founders and sales teams must learn to test and adopt different go-to-market motions and forms of incentive alignment in the larger and more strategically complex North American software market.
Even as companies devote increasing shares of their marketing budgets to paying social media influencers to tout their products, researchers know little about the tactic's effectiveness or its overall impact on influencers, their followers, and their partner brands. So, a team of researchers decided to investigate. HBS assistant professor Shunyuan Zhang and doctoral student Magie Cheng analyzed more than 85,000 influencer videos posted on YouTube from August 2019 to August 2020. Comparing similar posts with and without paid promotions, they found that putting out a sponsored video caused significant numbers of followers to doubt the influencers' authenticity and drop off. The study's findings suggest several ways for influencers and brands, along with the platforms hosting their content, to minimize the damage.
A new body of research shows that shoppers who lean to the right politically are more likely to buy goods with obvious flaws than shoppers who lean to the left. But it could be that the conservatives believe hidden positives will compensate for the items' drawbacks.
It might seem that success at an initial creative endeavor should give someone the confidence to pursue their next project, but that isn't necessarily so. New research indicates that first-time innovators who receive high praise often see the potential failure of follow-up projects as threats to their creative identity, leading to creative inertia. The authors explain the psychology behind this mindset and suggest strategies to help creative professionals sustain their innovative drive.