Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series Patrick George/Ikon Images Purposeful play is a critical behavior for executives facing disruptive change. In good old-fashioned play, the goal isn’t to win or lose. It isn’t to achieve…
Topics AI in Action This column series looks at the biggest data and analytics challenges facing modern companies and dives deep into successful use cases that can help other organizations accelerate their AI progress. More in this series Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images USAA, a 102-year-old financial services company…
Jing Jing Tsong/theispot.com It’s been said that we hire for competence and fire for character. Consider Boeing, which has been brought low by poor leadership decisions that have severely compromised its planes’ quality and safety, and hence public trust, forcing its CEO to announce a year-end departure. And yet the…
1. K.E. Brink and R.D. Costigan, “Oral Communication Skills: Are the Priorities of the Workplace and AACSB-Accredited Business Programs Aligned?” Academy of Management Learning & Education 14, no. 2 (June 2015): 205-221. 2. K.E. Brink and R.D. Costigan, “Development of Listening Competence in Business Education,” Current Opinion in Psychology 50…
The retailer is using immersive commerce — a form of online shopping that combines VR with 3D visualizations and gamification — to connect with the next generation of shoppers. Mary Lacity and Remko Van Hoek October 17, 2024 Reading Time: 9 min Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Retailers must…
Sam Falconer/theispot.com Nowadays, deploying artificial intelligence no longer guarantees a competitive edge. What truly sets companies apart is access to diverse, extensive, high-quality data that enhances their AI system’s performance compared with that of their competitors. But concerns over data privacy can limit the use of unique, relevant data for…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Here are some things I bet you can’t say at work, no matter how much you believe them and how…
Human resources needs to rethink its role as an agent of management and become a passionate advocate for employees and their interests. Ashley Goodall October 10, 2024 Reading Time: 9 min subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images For the human resources profession, this has been the best…
Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Matt Herring/Ikon Images When decision makers include individuals from varied economic backgrounds, generations, genders, races and ethnicities, sexual orientations, physical abilities, and religions, everyone is better off — employees, customers, suppliers,…
Topics Leadership Talent Management Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Selecting the right candidate for an executive role ranks high on the list of the most consequential organizational decisions. But despite employing the common tools of due diligence when assessing whether someone will perform well in the role, most companies’…
Leaders can help more employees upskill, reskill, and adapt to change by applying four key strategies. Wendy Tan and Joo-Seng Tan October 07, 2024 Reading Time: 7 min Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Amid the ever-increasing frequency and complexity of job changes and career transitions people experience, the notion…
Research Highlight Banning GenAI tools won’t work. Leaders should set guidelines that let employees experiment: This mitigates risks while opening the door to organizational gains, research shows. Nick van der Meulen and Barbara H. Wixom October 03, 2024 Reading Time: 10 min Matt Harrison Clough / Ikon Images The Research…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Just how much do employees resent it when leaders cross work-life boundaries? Our research found that employees consider being contacted during off-hours an unwelcome intrusion into their personal lives 76% of the time.1 Additionally, 83% of people reported experiencing interruptions at least twice a…
Topics Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy The Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy initiative explores the growing use of artificial intelligence in the business landscape. The exploration looks specifically at how AI is affecting the development and execution of strategy in organizations. In collaboration with More in this series Get updates…
Annalisa Grassano Dual dangers are threatening the national workforce: a child care crisis and a mental health crisis. The connection between the United States’ inadequate child care system and parents’ mental health struggles is so significant that the U.S. Surgeon General highlighted it in an advisory released in August on…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images You call your team into a meeting to discuss a looming decision. As the meeting begins, you notice that your questions are being met with little response. Most people seem uninterested while a few dominate the conversation. You’re not making progress on reaching a…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Many of us try to avoid workplace discussions about electoral politics — along with conversations about topics such as guns,…
Topics Responsible AI The Responsible AI initiative looks at how organizations define and approach responsible AI practices, policies, and standards. Drawing on global executive surveys and smaller, curated expert panels, the program gathers perspectives from diverse sectors and geographies with the aim of delivering actionable insights on this nascent yet…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Slower promotions and a weaker job market have led to a lot of folks feeling stuck in a rut. The solution might be…
1. L. Bourton. “Shades of Intelligence: 83% of Creatives Are Already Using Machine Learning Tools — Is Now the Time to Get on Side With AI?” It’s Nice That, Nov. 15, 2023, www.itsnicethat.com; and K. Whiting, “This Is How AI Is Impacting — and Shaping — the Creative Industries, According…
Topics Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy The Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy initiative explores the growing use of artificial intelligence in the business landscape. The exploration looks specifically at how AI is affecting the development and execution of strategy in organizations. In collaboration with More in this series Get updates…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images The transition to an economy with radically lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is not a matter of if but of when and how. Discussions with executive teams about how they are navigating sustainability issues, however, too often remain framed around the question of “Should…
Leaders building cyber resilience often overlook the need to develop a crisis communications plan. Here’s how to construct and practice a strong response before a hack. Kelly Miller and Keri Pearlson September 16, 2024 Reading Time: 18 min Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Business and IT leaders have made…
Magazine Fall 2024 Issue Research Feature Large organizations can move as fast as startups if leaders empower employees to act autonomously via well-defined constraints. Nick van der Meulen September 10, 2024 Reading Time: 17 min Anuj Shrestha What does it take for a large, established business to be as responsive…
Anuj Shrestha Leading organizational change according to the conventional management playbook is difficult and often frustrating, and such efforts rarely stay on track. Executives set out with the sound ambition to transform traditionally hierarchical and siloed organizations into more agile, collaborative, and innovative ones: They formulate a compelling vision, communicate…
Anuj Shrestha The Research Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo conducted a 10-year research program that examined how new CEOs and executives succeed, including how they build strong leadership teams. They studied the appointment of over 100 CEOs and executives in Europe and the United States through interviews with these leaders,…
Anuj Shrestha The Research The authors first studied openly accessible documents concerning the COVAX initiative to understand the organization’s functions, vaccine procurement process, and allocation framework. They then conducted semi-structured interviews online with representatives of COVAX stakeholders, including pharma companies, public health organizations, NGOs, and grant-making organizations. Informants were selected…
The Four Guardrails That Enable Agility Nick van der Meulen Key Insight: Defining constraints can help large companies foster employee autonomy and agility while maintaining organizational and strategic alignment. Top Takeaways: Organizational agility requires that employees be empowered to make fast decisions, take risks, and consider new ideas, but companies…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Business doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Sometimes external conditions exert a much larger force than usual. That is certainly the case today, with political and environmental…
Radar Research finds that companies have been slow to adopt generative AI and that the technology’s labor impacts have not been widely felt. Kaushik Viswanath September 09, 2024 Reading Time: 2 min Topics Data, AI, & Machine Learning AI & Machine Learning Radar Brief insights on emerging trends in management…
Topics Radar Brief insights on emerging trends in management from the opening pages of MIT Sloan Management Review’s quarterly print magazine. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Courtesy of Mathematica Akira Bell is senior vice president and CIO at Mathematica, a research and data analytics consultancy. Bell was a…
Topics Data, AI, & Machine Learning AI & Machine Learning Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images A Waste Connections garbage truck driver was making his rounds in…
Research Feature To capitalize on emerging technologies while mitigating unanticipated consequences, innovation managers need to establish a systematic review process. Tania Bucic and Gina Colarelli O’Connor September 04, 2024 Reading Time: 20 min Jedi Noordegraaf/Ikon Images The Research The authors interviewed five ethics and compliance executives about their companies’ ethical…
Do your marketing metrics truly support your company’s strategic goals? If you’re puzzling over the right set of metrics, focus on continuous improvement. Rob Angell, Adam Sharp, and Tom Chapman September 03, 2024 Reading Time: 8 min Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Successful marketers routinely capture key performance indicators,…
Frontiers The intimate surveillance afforded by biometric technologies requires managers to consider negative impacts on privacy and human dignity. Andrew Park, Jayson Killoran, and Jan Kietzmann August 29, 2024 Reading Time: 9 min Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in…
David Senior Every business experiences a life cycle, transitioning from a startup through growth and maturity, and eventually decline. While no leader wants to see their business in decline, the best response to aging as a business is to accept that it’s happening and run the company to reflect its…
Frontiers OSHA’s longest-serving administrator identifies safety approaches that work — and those that don’t. David Michaels August 28, 2024 Reading Time: 10 min Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Neil Webb/theispot.com Chasing lower labor costs, most of…
A hybrid approach that combines human knowledge and machine learning delivers better results for mission-critical simulations. Pushkar P. Apte and Costas J. Spanos August 27, 2024 Reading Time: 7 min Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images “OK, Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” said astronaut John Swigert in 1970, after…
Nick Lowndes/Ikon Images Many organizations around the world recognize psychological safety (PS) as being crucial for innovation, collaboration, and transformation. Briefly put, psychological safety describes an environment in which candor is expected and won’t be penalized. Although it’s often covered in leadership training, most organizations struggle to convert a theoretical…
Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Kotryna Zukauskaite/theispot.com In today’s business environment, firms must navigate labor shortages, market shifts, geopolitical tensions that strain supply chains and manufacturing, and mandates to adopt sustainable practices. Meeting these demands will…
