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For professional services firms, the only way to address clients' most complex issues is for specialists to work together across the boundaries of their expertise. When they do, their firms earn higher margins, inspire greater client loyalty, and gain a competitive edge. The author's research shows that the more practice groups involved in a client engagement, the greater the average annual revenue the client generates. And the more cross-specialty work professionals engage in, the more work they will subsequently get and the more they'll be able to charge for it. But although the financial benefits to the firm of multidisciplinary collaboration are clear, the benefits to individuals accrue slowly--and the downsides are immediate. The organizational structure, compensation systems, and cultures in many firms favor "rock stars, not the whole band." Moreover, learning to collaborate effectively is difficult. Both individuals and firms can encourage the kind of collaboration that lands high-value client work. Professionals, for instance, can reap the benefits sooner by establishing themselves with an influential colleague who can help them build connections to specialists across the firm. And leaders can take steps to lower the cultural and structural barriers to cross-disciplinary work.

When executed well, annual gatherings of an organization's high-level leaders are worth the effort and expense. But for many companies, the leadership summit is a numbing series of presentations and sessions in which information flows only from the top--and not all that coherently. By applying the appropriate techniques before, during, and after the summit, C-level leaders can seize this rare opportunity to harness the collective knowledge of their frontline executives. Before the summit, it's crucial to clarify roles and responsibilities (a director, who oversees planning and owns the agenda; a design team; a content editor; and so on), define a clear set of objectives for the summit, design the event around those objectives, and prepare attendees for productive conversations by giving them reading material in advance. During the event, a variety of low- and high-tech approaches, from color-coded 3 x 5 index cards to instant polls, can capture the thinking of attendees and communicate it upward. And various exercises can help attendees connect in ways that lead to genuine collaboration after the event. After the summit, organizers should track commitments made during the event and equip attendees with talking points and pithy presentations that help them discuss with their employees what happened at the summit and how to turn the results into action.

Achieving best practices in corporate governance has been hindered, the author writes, by a patchwork system of regulation, a mix of public and private policy makers, and no accepted metric for determining what constitutes success. He proposes Corporate Governance 2.0: not quite a clean-sheet redesign, but a back-to-basics reconceptualization built on three core principles. They are: (1) Boards should have the right to manage the company for the long term. This would mean an end to earnings guidance, a variation on the staggered board, and exclusive forum provisions. (2) Boards should install mechanisms to ensure the best possible people in the boardroom. This would require meaningful director evaluations and a consideration of shareholder proxy access. (3) Boards should give shareholders an orderly voice. Instead of defending the corporate bastion at all costs, directors should guarantee a reasonable process whereby shareholders get to decide.

Sales reps have long been taught to seek out a senior executive who can single-handedly approve a deal, but unilateral decision makers are now rare. Today most purchases are made by groups of individuals, all with different roles and priorities, and all with veto power. As a result, getting deals done has become an increasingly painful and protracted process. But innovative suppliers are finding ways to drive consensus in diverse buying groups, say three authors from CEB, which has been researching the impact of this buying shift. Those suppliers prime group members to find common ground by creating shared language and perspectives around problems and solutions. They identify internal champions for their offerings at the customers' companies; motivate those individuals to become active advocates; and arm them with the skills and materials needed to win over fellow decision makers. Accomplishing all this requires some novel approaches, such as social-media mining, customer "learning tours," and inventive diagnostic tools. It also calls for a new level of collaboration between sales and marketing. But given today's pressure to drive consensus, suppliers that don't align the two functions as a single team will be trounced by those who do.

Four types of psychological distance can separate you from your goals: (1) social (between yourself and other people); (2) temporal (between the present and the future); (3) spatial (between your physical location and faraway places); and (4) experiential (between imagining something and experiencing it). Success depends on bridging those gaps. For example, skillful negotiation requires considering the interests of other parties as well as your own (which narrows social distance). Effective time management means accurately predicting which commitments will be most pressing in the future (temporal distance). Inspired leadership involves not only appreciating and incorporating different people's goals, but also anticipating how they will change over time (social distance and temporal distance). And profitable product management means using imperfect information to figure out how to meet distant customers' changing needs (social, temporal, spatial, and experiential distance). None of this is easy to do. But, relying on more than 15 years of academic research and her own work with students and executives, the author has found that leaders who recognize and understand the effects of psychological distance and then use two specific strategies to reduce (or sometimes increase) it can improve their outcomes in many professional scenarios.

The actor, producer, director, and mother talks about adjusting to fame at a young age, developing rapport with other actors, how her industry has changed, and the foundation she has established to teach resilience and mindfulness to children.

The past year has brought a rush of interest among academics in how sensory inputs influence consumers on deep, non-conscious levels--and companies are starting to put these findings to use. One example is Dunkin' Donuts: In a highly successful campaign in Korea, an atomizer released a coffee aroma in public buses whenever the company jingle was played, increasing visits and sales in nearby stores. Another is BMW, which mikes engine sounds through a car's audio system in order to enhance the sporty feel. Every consumer company, experts say, should be thinking about how to use the senses to create and intensify brand personalities. This reprint contains two additional Idea Watch articles. "Not As Global As We Think" provides visual depictions of "connectedness" on individual country and aggregate levels, revealing that the world is not flat after all. "Why a Dutiful Spouse Can Boost Your Career" describes a new study showing that employment outcomes--income, number of promotions, and job satisfaction--are boosted by having a conscientious spouse.

A new series of experiments reveals that empathy tends to make marketers more egocentric.

Today we use far fewer materials to get the same things done--manufacture a PC, for instance, or produce a ton of steel. But with that efficiency has come an exponential increase in overall demand for resources.

In helping to liberate one-fifth of the world’s population from colonial rule, Gandhi became a paragon of visionary leadership. Yet despite hundreds of biographies, the man remains an enigma. In fact, his greatest achievements as a leader might be waiting to be discovered. This article looks to dispel myths about Gandhi in order to reclaim him as a human being and draw leadership lessons from his successes and failures. It shows how Gandhi’s life offers many great leadership lessons. For example, not all people share the same values, so leaders must understand their own and others’ values and intentions. It is not always wise to be good to a fault; discretion can be the better part of valor. Moderation is a hallmark of wisdom. Leaders do not do what they like to do; they do what needs to be done. Ultimately, while Gandhi was indeed great, his greatness lies not only in what he accomplished, but in what he did despite his human failings.

No challenge derails managers from the goal of sustainability more than trying to understand what it means for an organization to be sustainable. Some people think sustainability is all about environmental issues. Others see it in terms of the bottom line. Still others use the term synonymously with corporate social responsibility and shared value. This article explains why business sustainability is none of these things — rather, it is about time. Sustainability is about balancing resource usage and supplies over time and assuring intergenerational equity. There is no question that many CSR initiatives are effective at balancing competing demands made by shareholders and other stakeholders. To do this, however, many firms borrow resources and capital from the future, which can magnify the imbalance in the distribution of resources between the short and long term. Securing short-term success should never risk long-term survival. As this article states, business sustainability is the ability of firms to respond to their short-term needs without compromising their ability to meet future needs.

Achieving desirable shifts in workplace habits and routines can be extremely tricky, even baffling. Part of the problem involves a lack of understanding of what makes some good ideas and innovations catch on, while others struggle to gain traction. This article addresses a specific barrier to achieving returns on investments aimed at changing behaviour in the workplace, where a leadership blind spot has too many organizations attempting to improve performance via long-term behavioural changes while neglecting what it takes to really make behaviour change happen. Importing new behaviours into an organization can prove more useful for achieving an energized work environment than any strategy or process. Applied behaviour analysis offers tools to improve the performance of leaders, organizations and employees. The disciplined use of these tools is called behavioural leadership, which underpins a reliable, replicable technology for managing behaviour and implementing change.

Character has often been described as the difference-maker in sports, business and life. The importance of character in the workplace, especially leader character, has proved all too easy to forget in recent years. Events in 2014 involving Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, radio broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi and NFL running back Ray Rice helped demonstrate the important role that character plays in the success and failure of organizations. As this article states, effective performance requires competencies and commitment. But without the support of good character, the strengths that come from having competencies and commitment can be seriously undermined, as shown by the 2008 financial crisis. While anyone can cross the line of acceptable behaviour, leaders cannot expect forgiveness. Ensuring good character in leaders and top performers is not about reputational risk, as ignoring bad behaviour is always bad business in the long run, especially when the business in question involves role models. The long-term benefits of a healthy work environment with happy, productive employees are far greater than anything a star talent with questionable judgement can provide.

As Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Victor Frankl noted, the space between stimulus and response creates an opportunity to engage the moment in a way that can be transformative. However, engaging the moment is difficult because attention on the task at hand can be drawn away by past experiences, as well as expectations for the future. The ability to engage the moment is developed over time and anchored in competence, character and commitment, which are only developed in everyday moments. These three qualities work together to deliver strong performance, which is realized through the string of present moments. Indeed, for great athletes, the ability to engage the moment is not reserved for grand competitive occasions — it is a habit. Being fully present during everyday moments provides the foundation for tackling the big moments. As this article explains, great athletes and leaders alike understand that fear of failure is a distraction that can cripple performance, which is why they focus on process rather than outcome. It is easy to get rattled under pressure, but trusting one’s preparation helps to ensure commitment to the moment.

The $20 billion nanotechnology sector is a disruptive force that is expanding rapidly. Deploying materials from the atomic and molecular scale spawns innovations across applications and manufacturing processes and allows industries to add unique properties and immense added value to commercial and consumer products. Unfortunately, awareness of how to best manage the risks associated with nanotechnology is not expanding as rapidly as the industry. Nanoscale particles may cause toxicity in a different manner than traditional particulates. As this article explains, the industry must ensure the safe usage of nanomaterials throughout the supply chain. To do this, all industry stakeholders (ranging from risk managers to regulators and investors) must understand that the novel nature of nanoscale properties has fundamentally shifted the manner in which we must approach toxicity assessment. Indeed, given the dynamic formats of nanoparticles at various points in their lifecycles, proper industry risk assessment requires a specific expertise that is currently in limited supply. Although the nanotechnology sector offers significant promise across a range of industries, it is time for stakeholders to take more proactive measures to avoid adverse human, environmental and economic consequences.

Nine meetings involving 786 directors and would-be directors were held at the Institute of Corporate Directors with the objective of facilitating a discussion on leader character with people experienced in the practice of corporate governance as well as with individuals interested in becoming directors. Following the sessions, a survey of attendees was conducted. This article presents what the authors learned and offers six recommendations for improving the director search, evaluation, performance review and renewal processes: 1. Be explicit about search criteria and include the character dimensions along with competencies. 2. Ensure that whoever does interviewing is, in fact, a good interviewer. 3. When multiple interviews are done sequentially, ensure that each interviewer has a set of questions so that the sessions are comprehensive but not repetitive. Furthermore, schedule a session of all involved in the process to share their observations. 4. Task the search consultant, if one is used, with developing a comprehensive list of referees who actually know the potential nominee. 5. When asking a referee whether they “know” someone, care must be taken to understand the context of this knowledge. 6. If a candidate resists or resents discussion about character, then you should resist the candidate.

Speculation that a move toward normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States might be imminent has been a recurring theme for decades. While the actual move toward normalization took many years longer than expected, President Raúl Castro has reformed Cuba’s moribund economy more along market lines. And on December 17, 2014, Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama jointly announced a historic agreement to begin normalizing relations between their nations. This paper examines whether or not the related anticipation of new business opportunities is warranted, while taking a fresh look at the investment and trade potential and risks that a more market-friendly, post-embargo Cuba presents to foreign investors and traders. Existing business partners must be prepared to modify or change their strategies to fit with an open and more competitive Cuban market. Even if the long-awaited market opening happens as announced, it will be done “a la Cubana,” which means existing and potential business partners must have patience and nerves of steel — in addition to capital.

A vast literature seeks to explain the barrier to female advancement widely known as the “glass ceiling,” which is regarded as “an egregious denial of social justice” by the U.S. Department of Labor. But the two primary strands of this literature — one using experimental methods and the other using data gleaned from sports events — offer very different conclusions. Three key findings from the experimental literature are that women respond less positively than men to the incentives associated with competitive settings; are more easily discouraged than men by random adversities; and are more likely than men to avoid competitive settings. Recently, however, economists have turned their attention to whether male and female athletes respond differently to tournament incentives. And the findings of this literature generally contradict experimental results. This essay examines what these studies have added to our understanding of the glass ceiling and points out the limits of the methods that they employ.

Doctors have the Hippocratic Oath and lawyers have the Bar, yet bankers have nothing but their word. And that just isn’t enough anymore. The economic costs and fines related to irresponsible banking activity between 2008 and 2015 total almost US$8 trillion. In this article, the former president of BMO Capital Markets offers recommendations on how the industry can earn back public trust. First, bankers need to realize the importance of their actions. They have responsibilities as leaders within an industry that is the lifeblood of both the global economy and society. Second, consistency and a demand for high standards across all asset classes and markets must be expected at a bare minimum. Third, bankers need to remember that larger forces continually shape their industry and should help more to deal with the contagion caused by volatile markets. Fourth, while bankers must be transparent about the industry’s challenges, they should also highlight its successes. Finally, bankers should make sure to leave the industry in a better condition than they found it.

In early 2015, Target announced that its Canadian operation would seek bankruptcy protection and abandon all the retail locations that it had acquired from the Zellers discount chain less than two years before, a move that would eliminate 17,000 jobs. This article examines how management strayed from the company’s founding principles when planning the expansion, which led Target to enter Canada with mutated brand DNA. <br><br> In the 20th century, Target staked out a niche for itself in the United States by catering to value-oriented shoppers seeking a high-quality experience. At that time, it carefully selected locations that fit its business plan and practiced industry-leading inventory management. When Target Canada first opened its doors, inventory control issues cooled the excitement of many Canadian consumers. Pricing was problematic, especially for cross-border shoppers who did not find the same deals that Target offered in the United States. The plan to open so many stores in a short period stemmed from an opportunistic, aggressive takeover of Zellers. In Canada, Target lost the ability to take things slow while compromising the ability to get locations right. As a result, management gave up control over the Target experience that had won the company so much goodwill.