Whenever someone makes a decision that affects other human beings, their inherent biases and motivations are invisible. Whether it's an HR manager deciding which candidates to interview or a bank loan officer deciding who should receive a loan, chances are, people are not being treated equally. That might be about to change. The authors of Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence argue that if artificial intelligence (AI) can be placed at the heart of such decisions, objective benchmarks can be achieved, because AI cannot have explicit motivations to treat people differently. The authors see the potential for AIs to reduce discrimination in all sorts of decisions, from education to healthcare, banking and policing.

As the pandemic recedes, we face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a future where we are not only more productive in our work, but more fulfilled as human beings. That according to one of the world's foremost authorities on the future of work. In a wide-ranging interview, she describes how COVID-19 has changed the workplace forever, and now that working norms have been 'unfrozen,' it is time to reimagine traditional working models. She presents a four-stage framework for redesigning work, which begins with 'Understanding what matters' for each particular role and to each individual. In the end, she shows that increasing flexibility around time and place and having more time for ourselves, our families and our communities is really about one thing: getting back to being more human.

With a growing range of virtual interfaces continuously evolving around us, reality isn't what it used to be. The author argues that leaders across sectors and industries must familiarize themselves with the emerging 'metaverse' and be able to draw distinctions between the various digitally mediated formats that span the virtual reality spectrum. These include augmented reality (AR), virtual reality VR), mixed reality (MR) and diminished reality (DR). Understanding how these technologies can-and will-affect your business model is a first step towards being prepared for what lies ahead.

Not convinced that ESG matters to investors? Think again: The authors share research from McKinsey & Company, showing that 86 percent of institutional investors believe companies with strong ESG performance (environmental, social, governance) will feel a direct impact on analyst recommendations. And 90 per cent cite that since the pandemic started, they attach even greater importance to ESG performance when it comes to their investment strategy and decision-making. They present three principles that all organizations must embrace going forward and argue for a new approach to disclosure - one that shines a greater light on the kind of prosperity investors now value most of all.

The pandemic blew up everything we thought we knew about work, and the author encourages readers to use it as a catalyst to evolve their leadership mindset. He says many people still treat leadership like a thermostat: They believe the leader must carefully monitor everything their subordinates do, and when there is a deviation, take corrective action. The problem is, this approach to leadership creates an illusion of control - the idea that we can control our subordinates' every action while they're at work. The truth: We can't. The author provides three principles for building a culture of trust between workers and managers-and provides tips for giving employees more meaning, autonomy and freedom at work, which will improve productivity across the board.

The world's banks play a critical role in the pace of decarbonizing our planet. But despite acknowledging this and expressing support for the Paris Agreement - even setting their own targets for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, in some cases - many are moving too slowly. The authors share research indicating that the majority of banks lag behind the pace of change necessary to hit 2050 targets. They make a plea for bank leaders globally to shift the mix of their loan portfolios and other financing activities away from heavy emitters and towards more sustainable actors across industries.

On social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, value is created by individuals who are only loosely bound to the platform-and as a result, this type of organization requires very thoughtful oversight by its leaders. In this article, the authors present three governance mechanisms that should be thought-through and addressed in order to regulate user behaviour on social media. These include content moderation and user identification. They then present some of the key challenges and opportunities for platform leaders within each mechanism.

In the 1990s most coffee beans were still commodity products, cheaply priced, undifferentiated by quality, often blended, and sold through an exchange. Suppliers were underpaid not only because they sat at the bottom of the value chain but also because margins were very thin. Francesco Illy founded his eponymous coffee company in 1933 with higher ambitions, intending to create an institution respected for both its products and its contributions to society. His son, Ernesto, and grandson, Andrea, pressed on in that tradition--first by implementing better quality-management systems and pioneering direct trade with growers, and then by adopting their new production model at scale. The idea was to incentivize farmers to cultivate more-flavorful beans, thereby generating bigger profits to be shared among all stakeholders and reinvested in further improvement and growth: a virtuous circle of increasing returns. Over the past two decades illy has been accomplishing what it set out to do. Its annual revenue is currently €500 million, with earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation of nearly €60 million and a compound annual growth rate of 10%. And it pays its growers an average of 30% more than market price for coffee beans and is consistently recognized as one of the world's most socially responsible companies.

In the traditional strategic-planning model, managers attempt to forecast how markets will evolve and competitors will respond, and then define a multiyear plan to position their company to win in this future state. That worked well when markets were more stable and the primary factors influencing future growth and profitability were easier to forecast. But the world is now changing so quickly that no business can plan for every eventuality. And fewer than a quarter of large organizations employ the most notable tools and frameworks for strategy development under uncertainty: scenario planning, Monte Carlo simulation, and real options analysis. Executives say that those tools require data that is impractical to gather and analysis that is too expensive to execute routinely and that their output can be counterintuitive and complicated to explain to senior leadership and the board. In this article the authors offer a new approach and mindset for making strategic decisions, along with a new model for managing strategy development and performance monitoring. They describe what it takes to produce great results in uncertain times and propose a practical model for strategy development that they have seen succeed at several leading companies.

Some company cultures are marked by mistrust and paranoia, which leads to a slew of negative outcomes: poor performance, burnout, turnover, and cheating. People who worry about the behavior of others spread gossip and are prone to backstabbing. That brings out the worst in their colleagues, leading cynics' suspicion and distrust to become self-fulfilling prophecies. The good news is that cynicism has antidotes, according to the author, who shares research findings--his and those of others--to help leaders understand how people fall into a "cynicism trap," how their organizations' policies and practices may be pushing them into it, and what they can do to escape it. Tactics include redirecting the organizational culture toward collaboration and trust and making sure that all managers--not just those at the top--are modeling trusting behaviors and combating cynicism in their interactions.

#MeToo and Black Lives Matter have inspired many companies to announce commitments to combating discrimination and racism. Commitments alone won't dismantle systemic inequities, however. In this article two professors who have studied that problem present their solution: the Shared Sisterhood framework. It's based on a set of practices they call Dig, Bridge, and Collectively Act, and though it initially was designed to help Black and white women connect and overcome their mutual challenges by working together, it can help strengthen relationships between other identity groups as well. The first practice, dig, entails identifying your social identities (which might include, say, "woman" or "man" or "nonbinary" and "Hispanic" or "Black" or "Chinese") and researching the power dynamics associated with each one. Some identities are imbued with social power; some have been historically marginalized. You need to recognize your blind spots about those dynamics in order to succeed at the second practice: bridging, or building authentic, trusting connections with others across your differences. In the third practice, collectively act, you and the people who share your values turn those bridges into channels for positive change, mobilizing to make organizations more welcoming and equitable.

Companies have traditionally emphasized leadership competencies, not team competencies. But the transformation of an organization must begin with the transformation of its teams; team leaders and members must commit to new behaviors to escape mediocre or even merely good performance, accelerate innovation, and unleash growth. Drawing on more than a thousand assessments of teams conducted over two decades of research and coaching, the author presents a simple diagnostic that enables leaders to evaluate their teams on critical dimensions that relate to performance. He describes several practices designed to move members away from outdated behaviors and facilitate lasting, positive change: collaborative problem solving, "bulletproofing," candor breaks, red-flag replays, safe words, and open 360s. Although the examples often involve leadership teams, the practices outlined can be used at any level. They can be implemented in any context but are especially effective in virtual environments, where tools permit a broader range of collaborative practices than strictly in-person formats allow.

To succeed, almost every employee needs work/life support at some point. Women and people of color need it the most, research shows, because they face greater challenges and have fewer resources available to them. They are also the least likely to receive it, however, and as a result often are forced to change or leave jobs and lose out on opportunities for advancement. Given that situation, the authors decided to examine what effects various corporate work/life programs had on the management workforce. Analyzing data from more than 800 U.S. companies over 30 years, they found that when companies offered flexible work schedules, family leave, and childcare support to all employees, the percentage of women and people of color in management rose significantly. In fact, those work/life benefits had a larger impact than the most popular racial--equity programs did. Companies have long known that programs promoting work/life balance boost productivity, reduce turnover, and improve employees' mental and physical health. And now it's clear that they are also a powerful way to increase organizational diversity.

Companies can reap great benefits from digitalizing their sales organizations--that is, using technology, data, and analytics to improve the sales process. Done well, digitalization increases customer engagement, boosts the skills and performance of salespeople, and supports a more customer-focused business model. But digitalization initiatives are often plagued by slow progress, poor adoption, or low sustained impact. This article discusses why that happens and recommends five actions to increase the odds of success: (1) Put a "boundary spanner"--someone with both sales and technical experience--in charge, and secure an executive sponsor; (2) build in accountability by establishing the business case, setting key performance indicators, and creating a governance framework; (3) deploy a functionally diverse team; (4) implement an agile approach; and (5) foster change in salespeople's mindsets as well as in the sales process.

Companies today need cross-silo collaboration to survive a volatile competitive environment and grow revenue. But often their performance management systems discourage it. Indeed, in research involving more than 8,000 senior managers in biotech, banking, consumer products, energy, law, and other sectors, the authors found that a siloed approach to performance targets is a huge barrier to collaboration. Too many companies incentivize employees to take an overly narrow, short-term view, which makes them scramble to hit their numbers and lose sight of their organizations' bigger objectives. This article offers a better approach and outlines specific ways companies can retool their performance management systems to boost collaboration. It starts with implementing a four-part performance scorecard for every employee that establishes shared goals for tackling big challenges while still holding people accountable for delivering individual results. Each component--cross-silo goals, team goals, individual goals, and long-range programs--is weighted according to its importance in helping the company achieve its strategic aims.

Despite heightened attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, surprisingly few companies are making meaningful progress in delivering on their commitments. Most firms are not integrating ESG factors into internal strategy and operational decisions and are giving investors little to no explanation of the impact of ESG performance on corporate earnings. To integrate ESG efforts into their core business models, firms should take these steps: (1) Identify the ESG issues material to the business; (2) factor in ESG effects when making strategic, financial, and operational decisions; (3) collaborate with stakeholders; (4) redesign organizational roles; and (5) communicate with investors.

Interpersonal conflicts are common in the workplace, and it's easy to get caught up in them. But that can lead to reduced creativity, slower and worse decision-making, and even fatal mistakes. So how can we return to our best selves? Having studied conflict management and resolution over the past several years, the author outlines seven principles to help you work more effectively with difficult colleagues: (1) Understand that your perspective is not the only one possible. (2) Be aware of and question any unconscious biases you may be harboring. (3) View the conflict not as me-versus-them but as a problem to be jointly solved. (4) Understand what outcome you're aiming for. (5) Be very judicious in discussing the issue with others. (6) Experiment with behavior change to find out what will improve the situation. (7) Make sure to stay curious about the other person and how you can more effectively work together.

A fitness executive contemplates her next move. This fictional case study by Jon M. Jachimowicz, Francesca Gino features expert commentary by Sarah Robb O'Hagan and Lan Phan.

Five new books explore the threats and opportunities of China's tech rise: Influence Empire, by Lulu Chen; The Cashless Revolution, by Martin Chorzempa; When AI Rules the World, by Handel Jones; Chip War, by Chris Miller; and The Power of Crisis, by Ian Bremmer.

The former professional wide receiver talks about how he got good at football so quickly, how he proved himself with the NFL as a first-round draft pick for the San Francisco 49ers, how he later mentored younger players, and more.