Rafael Ben-Ari/Getty Images Steve Jobs’s vision for Apple was rooted in the belief that the arts and sciences do not live in isolation. They complement and enhance each other. John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar, echoed this sentiment stating, “Technology inspires art, and art challenges the technology.” But even though integrating these areas can Read More
Michael Steffen / EyeEm/Getty Images Since at least the time of Frederick Taylor, the father of “scientific management,” control has been central to corporate organization: Control of costs, of prices, of investment and—not least—of people. Control, even a perception of it, can be comforting. Moreover, it feels like what a manager should be doing: Setting Read More
Jens Magnusson/Getty Images As an executive coach, I speak regularly at corporate leadership development programs. During discussions, participants often confess the real reason they’re in the room, and it’s rarely “to grow and learn.” Time and again, the reasons include: they are checking a box on their development plan, their manager told them to come, Read More
cintascotch/Getty Images U.S. companies are expected to spend more than $37 billion dollars on social media promotion annually each year by 2020, representing 24% of the economy’s total digital advertising spend. It’s an astounding number, given that the vast majority of social media managers charged with getting customers to click on posts and through to Read More
Jon Feingersh/Getty Images Planning has long been one of the cornerstones of management. Early in the twentieth century Henri Fayol identified the job of managers as to plan, organize, command, coordinate, and control. The capacity and willingness of managers to plan developed throughout the century. Management by Objectives (MBO) became the height of corporate fashion in Read More
Katie Edwards/Getty Images We tend to romanticize leadership. When friends are promoted to managerial positions, we slap them on the back, tell them that they finally made it, and congratulate them for their hard work. Our reactions are understandable. Occupying a leadership role often comes with more prestige, financial resources, flexibility, and future employment opportunities. Read More
HIDEKI KUWAJIMA/Getty Images A friend recently returned to his parked car to find it had been sideswiped. Now, every time he calls the insurance company, he hears a message saying: “Can’t take your call right now. Leave a message. All calls will be returned by the end of the day.” So far, he’s called over Read More
Fanatic Studio/Getty Images Many people have suggested moving away from quarterly earnings reporting as a way to reduce short-termism. But such a change would probably not change how resources are allocated or businesses operate. Rather than requiring less short-term information, we believe the key to combating short-termism is to encourage companies to share more information Read More
KAZUHIRO NOGI/Getty Images Businesses are constantly vying to capture the attention of potential customers. It’s not easy to do. People are inundated with different brands as they stroll through the streets, scan through their social media newsfeeds, and binge television. The average American is exposed to more than 4,000 ads every day. A simple concept Read More
Simon McGill/Getty Images A new study out of Virginia Tech University confirms something that just about every knowledge worker already knows: Dealing with after-hours emails produces anxiety that is damaging not only to the worker, but to their family. One particularly striking finding of this study is that it’s not just the amount of time Read More
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