Harvard Business Review

How Global Companies Use AI to Prevent Supply Chain Disruptions

Summary. As they strive to make their supply chains more resilient, global companies are grappling with two challenges: the difficulty in discerning potential sources and the extended time required to find, vet, and onboard new suppliers. Companies such as Walmart, Tyson Foods, Koch Industries, Maersk, Siemens, and Unilever are using AI tools to swiftly find…

Harvard Business Review

Leading in a World Where AI Wields Power of Its Own

New systems can learn autonomously and make complex judgments. Leaders need to understand these “autosapient” agents and how to work with them. Summary. AI has been subtly influencing us for years, but a new generation of vastly more capable technology is now emerging. These systems, the authors write, aren’t just tools. They’re actors that increasingly…

Harvard Business Review

How to Avoid the Ethical Nightmares of Emerging Technology

A framework for navigating the worst of what AI, quantum computing, and other new technologies could create. Summary: Next-generation technologies are poised to cause society-shaking shifts at unprecedented speed and scale. Generative AI, quantum computing, blockchain, and other technologies present novel ethical problems that “business as usual” just can’t handle. To meet these challenges, leaders…

Harvard Business Review

Project Managers, Unlock the Power of Timeboxing

Summary.   Modern work is inherently project-based and collaborative. We are all project managers to some extent. From film directors and restaurant owners to lawyers and accountants, many professions involve managing projects. For everyone, not just project managers, mastering timeboxing can be a gateway to bridging the gap between intention and execution. You’re probably already timeboxing, at…

Harvard Business Review

How to Find Your Purpose

Do you feel like you have a strong sense of purpose guiding your career aspirations? Purpose can be defined as an overarching intention that is personally meaningful to you and of consequence to the world beyond yourself. Your purpose can help you organize your life, give you a clear direction, and motivate you — especially when you encounter life’s inevitable…

Harvard Business Review

Should You Let Employees Break the Rules to Make Customers Happy?

Summary.   Some customer service experiences are simple and can be automated. But others, particularly those that involve challenging and complex customer needs, often require creative solutions by frontline employees. In these situations, should employees be empowered to break rules and protocols in order to come to a satisfactory conclusion? Research suggests that certain situations can benefit…