Artificial Intelligence is both appreciated and feared: appreciated for the benefits it offers in terms of speed, accuracy and consistency; feared because many believe those benefits can render many human employees obsolete—a fear summarized in the familiar phrase, “Machines will take our jobs.” Studies show that such fears, leading to employee resistance and suspicion, will […]
Read More… from Onboarding AI to Gain Employee Trust and Acceptance
Any merger between two companies is a long, detailed, often-frustrating process in which, one hopes, the hard-earned result is a new company that represents a synergistic melding of the partners’ complementary strengths and resources. Yet, despite the due diligence and careful assessment of what each side brings to the partnership, some mergers will almost undoubtedly […]
In the 21st century interconnected, global, cross-functional, flat-hierarchy, silo-busted world of business, collaboration and teamwork are viewed as one of the foundational pillars of success, at both the organizational level and individual level. Such is the generally accepted wisdom. Even collaboration, however, is not immune to the dangers of ‘too much of a good thing.’ […]
Read More… from Too Much of a Good Thing: Collaborative Overload
When it comes to business – and most areas of life – we tend to think in straight lines. For example, if one shelf holds 50 books, two shelves will hold 100 books and three shelves will hold 150 books. Graph the number of shelves on an x-axis and number of books on a y-axis […]
Read More… from How Linear Thinking in a Non-Linear World Leads to Wrong Decisions
Companies struggle with two apparently contradictory goals. They want their brands to be central in their category — in other words, the brand of record, similar to the position held by Coca-Cola in the soda category or McDonald’s in fast food. At the same time, however, they want their brands to be distinctive, standing out […]
Read More… from Mapping Brand Strategy: Balancing Centrality Vs Distinctiveness
Family-controlled companies are associated with tradition and continuity, but that doesn’t mean they’re ‘behind the curve’. A recent study suggests that when it comes to sustainable performance, they can beat other companies hands down. The study compared 149 large listed family businesses with similar non-family companies in seven countries — the US, Canada, France, Spain, […]
Read More… from Surviving a Recession: Seven Lessons from Family Businesses
The profile of leaders has changed over the decades, with a significant shift away from the notion of lifetime employment. The employee of the mid-twentieth century who climbed the ladder of progression to reach the top is a rare beast nowadays. Recent research shows how over the last 30 years the executive profile has evolved […]
Read More… from The Speed of the Ascent: Which Leaders Get the Top Jobs?
What drives customers’ attitudes and behaviours? This is the golden question for marketing executives, who often rely on data from surveys, focus groups, interviews, etc., in the hopes of trying to understand how to better influence their customers. But according to Emma Macdonald, Hugh Wilson and Umut Konu?, these types of data suffer from a […]
Perhaps at one time, ‘corporate burnout’ was attributed to few, mostly C-suite executives. Now, it is much more commonly experienced by employees at all levels of an organization. Increased competition and market pressures means organizations frequently take on more in terms of activities, goals, technologies, etc. than they can handle for a sustained period of […]
"One-half of all employees reported being on the receiving end of rudeness at least once a week — compared to only one-quarter 1998." Christine Pearson of Thunderbird and Christine Porath of Georgetown have been researching rudeness and incivility in the workplace for many years, and in 2009 published a book about their research called The […]
