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How to Use Games to Build Relationships with Your Customers
Organizations are still learning how to think about games as media for marketing. Games aren’t typically covered in marketing classes in business schools, and they are often still seen as fundamentally different from other media. Modern-day games offer companies varied opportunities to connect with new and hard-to-reach customers, drive brand awareness and loyalty, and acquire and retain new customers. Beyond the more immediate marketing goals of brand building and customer acquisition and retention, games can help companies build important capabilities.
To Mitigate Gen AI’s Risks, Draw on Your Team’s Collective Judgment
Organizations today face the challenge of using generative AI without falling prey to its drawbacks. Many companies have employed two basic layers of risk management strategies: policies on how to use the technology, and critical thinking about gen AI’s outputs. Companies should also adopt a novel third layer of risk management: team-based judgment. There are three aspects: collective judgment, in which teams engage in discussions to evaluate output and ensure accuracy; domain judgment, in which teams should delegate decision-making authority to those with the highest expertise or those closest to the work; and reflective judgment, in which teams should meet regularly to share and reflect on their experiences and on those of others using AI. When organizations develop team-based judgment at scale, they will be better equipped to adapt to the fast-evolving AI landscape and face unknown future risks.
Leaders Can’t Make Up for Bad Behavior by Being Nice Later
Although both prevailing wisdom and existing research have often supported the idea that managers can “make up” for abusive behavior by subsequently acting ethically, a recent study reveals a much different story. When leaders oscillate between abusive and ethical behaviors, it has a more detrimental impact on employees’ performance than abuse alone. This “Jekyll and Hyde” leadership style leads to greater uncertainty and emotional exhaustion among employees, damaging their ability to perform their duties effectively, reducing their willingness to engage in important organizational citizenship behaviors (e.g., helping a colleague), and increasing the likelihood that they will engage in counterproductive work behavior (e.g., stealing office supplies). To be effective managers, leaders must therefore commit to being consistently ethical, fair, and just, knowing that only those who embody this steadiness of behavior will truly be successful as leaders, and build a team of high-performing followers, in the long run.
8 Questions to Ask About Your Globalization Strategy Right Now
In a new era of globalization marked by geopolitical rivalries, supply chain vulnerabilities, and nationalist politics, Western companies must rethink their strategies. Answering eight questions will help managers address vulnerabilities and consider how their companies should regionalize production, reduce the scale necessary to achieve efficient production, hone their core differentiation strategies, and more. Despite the challenges, maintaining a presence in China will remain crucial.
Reframe the Value Proposition of Diversity
The word diversity appears to trigger a wide variety of emotions from its equally wide array of definitions. And in our current moment of political polarization, it appears to be getting worse. What if we could frame a value proposition for diversity that emphasizes the return on investment for the organization, benefits every individual and team, and is rooted in science and backed by empirical research? We have this at our fingertips: Diverse teams outperform consistently. This model is better suited to our current social tensions and avoids some of the pitfalls of the common value propositions we’ve discussed.
What Sets AI-Driven Companies Apart
Companies that are driven by generative AI operate differently in the following three ways: they prioritize using AI to address customer problems, they break down functional silos and involve employees in problem solving, and they use AI to improve customer experiences rather than just boosting efficiency.
Generative AI Is Still Just a Prediction Machine
To understand the strategic implications of AI’s new capabilities, managers need a framework for when AI will be helpful and when it might fail. Under the hood, generative AI tools are still prediction engines, enabled by improvements in computational statistics and large amounts of data. Using AI well requires understanding that today’s AI uses data to make statistical predictions and it’s up to humans to provide judgment about when and how AI should be used. This has not changed with generative AI. Its applications depend on data. Also, judgment is integral to the selection of data, the training of models, and the overall implementation.
Green Innovation Shows New Markets Don’t Have to Be Disruptive
Contrary to popular belief, companies can create innovative solutions that address environmental challenges for society while delivering immediate economic benefits for themselves — it doesn’t have to be either or. Nondisruptive creation, an approach to innovation that is comfortably familiar without being fully familiar, could open up a profitable path for industries while you address environmental concerns , allowing you to achieve positive-sum outcomes for your company, your industry , and society without compromising either or.
Research: The Stigma Disabled People Face During Negotiations
The prototypical image of a successful negotiator is someone who is competent, confident, and in control — characteristics that are not always readily applied to disabled people. Two researchers wanted to understand if disabled people are more stigmatized in an intense job task, such as a potentially contentious, price-based negotiation. And if so, is this stigma more pronounced for women and/or those with an invisible disability? They had 2,000 people complete an online experiment where they read a transcript of a negotiation involving an employee named “Alex,” who they rated on integrity and competence. The experiment varied the presentation of Alex as a male or female, as well as with no disability, a visible disability (seated in a wheelchair), an invisible disability (described as episodic epilepsy), or an invisible disability (described as bipolar disorder). They found that those who saw Alex as male with a visible disability rated him as having more integrity and competence than any of the other versions — an effect that disappeared when Alex was a woman. When Alex was described as living with bipolar disorder, the male version was seen to have less integrity, while the female version was perceived as both having less integrity and seeming less competent. Their results speak to the extra burden of discrimination faced by those with mental health disabilities, especially for women who seem to face the “double bind” of the intersection of stigmatized categories.
A New Corporate Playbook for Navigating Political Uncertainty in Latin America
Companies operating in Latin America and the Caribbean are facing a dynamic and increasingly complex political landscape. They can no longer rely on alliances with national government leaders in power or costly arbitration when things go awry. Instead, they need better strategies to manage risk. These include proactive social media listening to identify and head off or more quickly respond to looming challenges; a community-centric approach, including investments in projects that provide long-term benefits to ensure local support; partnerships with longstanding local businesses that intimately understand their market dynamics; and more robust contingency planning to ensure business continuity amid political unrest.
How 3 Companies Are Using AI to Mimic Expert Judgement
Advanced AI is facilitating the transfer of expertise from humans to machines and back to humans like never before. This article examines three cases of where this has occurred and suggests how these advances in technology could boost the effectiveness of your decision making to improve competitiveness. The companies include a venture capital firm looking to improve initial vetting of investment opportunities, a satellite data analytics company looking to assess the credit risks of small-holder farmers, and the R&D unit of an Australian company looking to upskill its employees’ problem-solving skills.
’Tis the Season to Reflect on Your Professional Relationships
Whether you’re looking to advance your career, grow your business, or develop more meaningful connections with others for your mental and emotional well-being, strengthening your relationships can be a powerful way to achieve those goals. It’s often through our networks that unexpected job offers, partnerships, or collaborations arise, making it crucial — and worthwhile — to invest in these relationships. Leveraging the mood of the holiday season to reestablish ties and rekindle connections can create a foundation for lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Here are three easy steps to take advantage of the momentum of the holidays to foster deeper connections that carry into the new year.
How AI Can Help Your Company Set a Budget
AI has been heralded — and put to use — as a groundbreaking new tool that companies can use in the budgeting process. But even companies that have embraced AI are still struggling with aspects of the budgeting process in today’s complex and rapidly changing business environment. Why is that? When does it make sense to rely on AI, and when does it not? In this article, the authors describe experiments they have conducted on the use of AI in the budgeting process — and conclude that AI can and should replace human managers in tactical tasks, where data-driven decision-making leads to faster and more efficient outcomes, but that in the strategic realm, where long-term planning, market adaptability, and business foresight are critical, human involvement and insight remain indispensable.
When Your Manager Is Ineffective — and You Feel Stuck
Navigating a relationship with a manager you perceive as ineffective or unqualified can be daunting, but it can also be a catalyst for growth. Rather than allowing frustration to erode your engagement and productivity, shift your focus to what you can control. You may not have control over who you report to, but you can control the beliefs, assumptions, and narratives you create about the situation, as well as the impact of your behavior on those around you. A series of six steps can help you change the dynamic: 1) Reflect on what’s really bothering you; 2) Own your part; 3) Connect to your values: 4) Reframe the story you’re telling yourself; 5) Open a dialogue with your manager; and 6) Be part of the solution. If, after having a honest conversation with yourself and your manager, you still believe they’re the core issue, it might be time to move on.
What Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for DEI
Proponents of DEI face an enormous struggle over the next four years. The incoming Trump administration has signaled it will escalate the already virulent anti-DEI backlash in the workplace. Leaders who want to build just and inclusive organizations amid these challenging conditions can look to a framework developed eight years ago to help multinational corporations support LGBTQ+ inclusion in countries that are hostile to LGBTQ+ rights. Companies can follow: 1) the “When in Rome” model, in which they adhere to local norms and laws, even if that means diluting some of their DEI commitments; 2) the “Embassy” model, in which they adopt DEI policies internally but do not push for larger societal change; or 3) the “Advocate” model, in which they seek to shift local laws and social norms in a pro-DEI direction.
Why the U.S. Healthcare System Is So Much Worse Than Its Peers
Given its collective wealth, technologic sophistication, and spending, the United States should lead, not lag, the world in its healthcare performance. But based on 70 performance measures across five domains — access to care, health outcomes, administrative efficiency, care process, and equity — the United States came in last overall and last or next to last in four of these five broad areas of performance when compared to nine other high-income countries. Significant, but doable, changes — including closing remaining gaps in insurance coverage, limiting crippling out-of-pocket-expenditures, and reviving its failing primary care capabilities — would help close the gap.
Let’s End Toxic Productivity
Toxic productivity is an unhealthy compulsion to be productive at all times, often at the expense of our mental and physical well-being, relationships, and overall quality of life. It’s a common sentiment in today’s work culture, where the drive to be constantly productive is often celebrated, if not expected. But this mindset isn’t just harmful; it’s dangerous. People are already struggling to meet their core job requirements, but when you factor in a staggering 192% increase in weekly meetings post-pandemic, it becomes significantly more challenging. We are over-meeting, over-looping, and over-collaborating — one of the worst work habits brought on by the crisis. Despite the longstanding perception that more hours worked means higher productivity, data and research are finding otherwise. Leaders play a crucial role in either perpetuating or breaking this cycle of toxic productivity.
Your Employees Are Also Caregivers. Here’s How to Support Them.
Research shows that 73% of people surveyed in the U.S. have some type of caregiving responsibility. So, how can you better recognize this important role in your employees’ lives, understand how it impacts their work, and better support them? Articles and podcasts from HBR’s archive suggests five key strategies: gather better data, understand that caregiving includes — and goes beyond — childcare, work to adapt your company’s caregiving policies and culture, recognize that caregivers make great employees, and advocate for better public policy.
Research: The Risks of Founding a Startup Near Big Companies
When startups are deciding where to locate, many consider setting up shop in “tech clusters” that have developed labor markets for the specialized staff that startups need to grow. Yet these areas are dense with talent for a reason: It’s often due to the presence of large firms with whom these fledgling companies must compete. In a new study, researchers found that when large firms increase their hiring, startups in the same location are forced to offer 10% higher salaries, while reducing their expected growth by 36%. While talent-rich communities may be alluring, they can stifle startups ability to scale — a finding which should be incorporated into startups’ landscape analyses.
4 Research-Backed Ways to Help Your Team Collaborate Better
With five generations working side-by-side, growing political polarization, and the challenges of global and hybrid work, companies need better strategies to foster cooperation, increase engagement, and solve complex problems. Academic findings and real-world experience has identified four things successful team leaders can do differently to get superior results. First, regularly remind your team of your shared, superordinate goals. Offer rewards for collective success and show how individual and departmental efforts contribute to the bigger picture. Second, pay attention to the language used in your organization. Encourage the use of collective pronouns and address any disparaging language promptly. Third, review your resource allocation processes. Do they promote collaboration or competition? Does each team have the resources it needs to succeed? Consider implementing profit-sharing or other collective incentive structures. Finally, foster an environment where constructive criticism is encouraged and valued. Leaders should model this behavior by seeking feedback and responding positively to suggestions.
3 Ways to Make Sure High Performers Feel Valued
Many leaders use their limited attention to develop underperformers or to try to reengage disengaged employees. As a result, they can unintentionally overlook high-performing employees. Studies show many high performers leave because they feel unnoticed and undervalued. There’s a word for the experience of feeling unseen and undervalued: Psychologists call it “anti-mattering.” When people experience anti-mattering, they withdraw, languish, and often leave. On the other hand,mattering is the experience of feeling significant to those around you, which comes from feeling valued and adding value. Experiencing mattering drives well-being, engagement, and performance. Research shows the experience of mattering happens through everyday interactions with leaders, not through programs or perks. There are three primary ways to optimize interactions so high performers see how they matter: notice them, affirm them, show them how they’re needed.
Research: How Gen AI Is Already Impacting the Labor Market
Many have wondered about — and feared — the impact that gen AI will have on labor markets. Some compare it to past innovations, like robots, whose effects have been relatively modest, while others have forecasted that its impacts will be more long-ranging, given gen AI’s fundamental ability to improve itself over time. New research analyzed over a million job posts for online gig workers to see what affect the introduction of tools like ChatGPT and image-generating AI have already had on the quantity of posts, job requirements, and pay of online workers — and which fields and professions have been the most impacted. The researchers offer insight into the challenges and potential opportunities of these shifting markets.
Navigating the New Geopolitics of Tech
Right now, businesses need to navigate two converging trends: 1) breakthroughs in critical and emerging technologies are redefining global power dynamics, economics, and security frameworks, and 2) geopolitical instability is disrupting supply chains, shifting alliances, and fueling competition over critical resources and technologies.
To Become a Better Presenter, Look Inward
It’s much easier to change and improve how we communicate when we understand why we speak and behave the way we do. That’s why the most effective presenters and communicators often have a strong sense of their identities and a level of self-awareness acquired through reflecting on their beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral patterns. To become more aware of our own communication styles, and how they change due to context, you can do some inner work. This includes identifying any “hidden commitments” that may be stopping you from reaching your goals, tapping into your “portfolio of selves,” and debunking any negative stories you may be telling yourself about how you come across in front of a crowd.
The Case for Taking a Gap Year Before College
For many, heading straight to college and then into the working world is seen as the best way forward. But what if a break during this time — in particular, a gap year before college — can help reduce stress and burnout, improve your academics and leadership down the road, and help you find your true purpose? Research and interviews with people who have taken gap years demonstrate its promise, and practical advice about the logistics of taking a gap year can help you decide if it’s the right path for you.
Research: How WFH Can Actually Strengthen Bonds Between Coworkers
Recent return-to-office mandates have been partially predicated on the belief that employees are able to form richer relationships in person than they can working remotely. New research, however, found that remote work can actually make coworkers feel closer by giving them authentic glimpses into each others nonwork lives through video calls. The researchers analyze their findings to offer suggestions for managers considering the benefits — and costs — of calling employees back in.
How to Answer “Why Should We Hire You?” in an Interview
How do you tell a potential employer that you’re right for the job they are interviewing you for? If you make it all about yourself, you might come across too self-absorbed or boastful. If you make it all about the company, they don’t get a chance to learn why you might be the right fit. In this article, the author outlines clear steps for how to tell an interviewer why you’re the best candidate for this position and why they should hire you, along with sample language to use as a guide.