Trends
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Leadership Links #14
This week’s edition spotlights leadership choices made under pressure from cyber risk, succession planning, shifting client demand, and profit headwinds. You will see how M&S responds to a costly cyberattack […]
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Purpose Over Profit: Rethinking What Makes a Business Truly Productive
For years, productivity has been measured by traditional financial outcomes. Revenue growth, profit margins, and return on investment are the benchmarks that dominate boardroom conversations. These metrics are useful and necessary, but they do not tell the whole story. When organizations focus only on profitability, they often miss what makes their success sustainable. Efficiency and earnings can rise in the short term even as employee morale, customer trust, and long-term resilience begin to decline.
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Leadership Links #13
This week’s edition examines how leaders navigate political risk, culture scrutiny, unconventional talent bets, and the fast rise of AI inside decision making. France’s confidence vote is rattling boardrooms that […]
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Tech Won’t Save You: Why Human-Centered Workflows Still Matter Most
Modern organizations are flooded with tools designed to make work faster, smarter, and more efficient. Project management platforms, AI-driven analytics, workflow automation, and communication apps are now staples of daily operations. These technologies promise to streamline tasks, reduce human error, and unlock productivity gains across the board. While some of these promises are fulfilled, others fall short. The assumption that better tools automatically create better results often leads companies to overinvest in technology while underinvesting in the people who use it.
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Flattening Corporate Layers Is Changing How Work Gets Led
Many large companies are removing layers to move faster and spend less. Across Corporate America, the average manager to employee ratio has stretched from roughly 1 to 5 in 2017 to about 1 to 15 by 2023. Google, Amazon, Intel, and Estée Lauder are among the firms that cut middle management in pursuit of speed, clearer accountability, and lower cost structures. The intent is simple. Fewer layers should mean quicker decisions and less bureaucracy. The reality is more nuanced.
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Leadership Links #12
This week’s edition looks at how leadership teams are reshaping strategy and structure under pressure from markets, politics, and talent dynamics. You will see why Renault tapped an experienced operator to steer Dacia through a competitive cycle, how BlackRock is pressing state officials to keep pension investing focused on fiduciary duty, and why Milan is pulling finance leaders with tax incentives even as global fundraising cools. We also cover a surge in asset management dealmaking that points to a scale and capability race, plus a rapid flattening of corporate org charts that is changing how managers lead.
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Ditch the Carrots and Sticks: Building Cultures That Actually Motivate
In many organizations, motivation is still treated as something external. Employees are pushed to perform through performance bonuses, public recognition, and the threat of poor evaluations or job loss. These methods are rooted in the idea that people will only do their best when they are given a strong enough reason to care. For decades, companies have leaned heavily on reward systems and disciplinary policies to drive results. This model may yield short-term gains, but it often fails to create lasting engagement. Once the reward is earned or the threat removed, motivation tends to fade.
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Citi’s Leadership Dilemma: How to Balance Performance, Culture, and Governance
Citigroup finds itself in a classic leadership bind. The bank recruited Andy Sieg in 2023 to accelerate its wealth strategy and simplify a sprawling organization. Since then, Citi has pointed […]
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Leadership Links #11
This week’s roundup tracks how leaders handle scrutiny, culture, retention, and risk in a volatile environment. You will see why Citi is backing a top executive during an ongoing investigation, how psychological safety drives innovation, and what happens when a firm tightens non-compete rules during a rough market patch. We also highlight new research on crisis readiness and a governance probe into alleged diversity data manipulation.
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Frontline Intelligence: The Untapped Engine of Innovation
In many organizations, leadership is expected to have all the answers. Managers create strategies, set expectations, and issue instructions that employees are tasked with executing. This top-down approach has long been the standard model, especially in traditional corporate settings. It reinforces the idea that leadership is about control and decision-making, while frontline workers are there to follow direction. While this structure can create a clear chain of command, it also produces blind spots. The people making decisions are often several steps removed from the work itself and may not have the context needed to solve problems effectively.
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Paramount Skydance bets on UFC to anchor streaming growth
Paramount Skydance is moving fast to translate a complex merger into a simple operating thesis. The company will lean on a reliable drumbeat of live events, a clearer release cadence for films and series, and a heavier use of artificial intelligence to improve development and personalization. The centerpiece is a seven year, multibillion dollar agreement that shifts UFC from a pay per view habit toward a streaming habit inside Paramount+.
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Leadership Links #10
This week’s edition tracks how leaders are reshaping strategy through media rights, governance reforms, board appointments, workplace policy, and geopolitics. Paramount’s UFC deal signals a bolder streaming play tied to film output and live sports. McKinsey’s new leadership model aims to cool succession drama. BP’s chair pick links governance directly to execution. Starbucks tightens in-office expectations to reinforce culture. Intel faces Washington scrutiny that blends national security with executive accountability.
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Beyond the Numbers: Why Chasing Metrics Can Derail Performance
In today’s data-rich workplaces, performance metrics are everywhere. Managers track revenue per employee, cost per unit, customer satisfaction scores, and dozens of other indicators meant to guide decisions. These numbers provide clarity and structure in environments that are often fast-paced and uncertain. They offer a snapshot of how things are going and make it easier to set goals and evaluate outcomes. But when numbers begin to dominate the conversation, they can create a false sense of control. Organizations may start optimizing for what is easiest to measure rather than what actually drives long-term success. As a result, what was meant to support performance begins to distort it.
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AT&T and the End of Workplace Loyalty: Rebuilding the Employment Contract
AT&T CEO John Stankey recently shook the corporate world by declaring the end of traditional workplace loyalty. In a memo responding to employee survey results, he suggested that long term job security, tenure based promotions, and expectations about remote work must change. He framed the employment relationship as increasingly transactional and guided by market realities. The message landed during a period when many companies are rethinking roles because of AI, automation, and shifting customer needs.
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Leadership Links #9
This week’s roundup looks at how leadership choices shape culture, capability, and confidence during a period of rapid change. You will see why a Bitcoin miner moved quickly to restore continuity, how a telecom’s blunt message about loyalty is stirring debate, and what one enterprise software chief says about the role of human judgment in an AI heavy future. We also highlight a senior leadership program focused on sustainability and strategy, and new research that finds most executives feel unprepared for overlapping crises.
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The Hidden Cost of Silos: Why High-Performing Teams Work Across Boundaries
In many organizations, productivity is measured by how well each department performs within its own scope. Sales pushes to meet quotas, operations focuses on throughput, and finance keeps a close eye on spending. This seems like an efficient way to run a business. Each unit has defined responsibilities and is held accountable for specific results. The structure creates clarity, and the metrics provide guidance. However, when you take a step back and examine how the business operates as a whole, it becomes clear that success within departments does not always add up to organizational progress. Often, the parts function well individually but poorly in combination.
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Mastering Hybrid Work: A Manager’s Guide to Flexibility, Culture, and Performance
Managers face a pivotal moment as the boundaries between office and home continue to blur. In this guide, you’ll discover how to craft hybrid work models that balance flexibility with fairness, nurture a cohesive team culture across any distance, and lead with empathy and outcome-focused performance strategies. Dive in to learn actionable steps for turning hybrid work into your organization’s competitive advantage.
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Leadership Links #8
This week’s digest spotlights five executive moves that reflect shifting priorities across automotive, advertising, consumer goods, financial services, and manufacturing sectors. You’ll discover why Renault opted for an internal promotion to guide its new strategic plan, how WPP is breaking barriers with its first female CEO, and what P&G’s choice of a global brand veteran signals for its future. We also cover S&P Global’s mission-driven leadership appointment and Harley-Davidson’s next step toward innovation under a new chief.
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The Power of Proximity: Why Smart Leaders Curate Their Circle
Leadership is rarely a solo act. Every decision, reaction, and insight is influenced by the people closest to you. Your inner circle shapes how you think, how you lead, and how you show up. Proximity has power, and smart leaders know that the people they spend time with can either fuel growth or slowly drain it. This applies to peer groups, direct reports, mentors, and even professional contacts. Leadership is not only about who you lead. It is also about who surrounds you while you lead. Curating that circle with intention is one of the most underrated strategies for long-term effectiveness.
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Diageo’s Leadership Shift Marks a Pivotal Turn in Crisis Management
Diageo, the world’s largest spirits maker known for icons such as Johnnie Walker and Guinness, announced on July 16, 2025, that CEO Debra Crew has stepped down after two challenging years in the top role. Crew’s departure comes by mutual agreement and follows a 44 percent drop in Diageo’s share price during her tenure. Stepping into the breach on an interim basis is CFO Nik Jhangiani, a seasoned finance executive with more than three decades of global experience.
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Leadership Links #7
This week’s roundup covers five major leadership changes shaping strategy across global consumer goods, technology, energy, insurance, and quick-service restaurants. You’ll read why Diageo’s CEO departure signals a push for cost discipline, how Snowflake is aligning its growth roadmap around AI and efficiency, and what Tamboran’s leadership shake-up means for stakeholder oversight. We also explore Munich Re’s carefully managed CEO succession and Subway’s choice of a franchise veteran to drive its modernization efforts.
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Evolve Away: When High-Performers Must Rethink the Roles They Outgrew
For many high-performing managers, success becomes part of their identity. It creates a sense of stability, earns recognition, and builds trust with others. Over time, though, the role that once […]
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AIG Appoints John Neal as President to Drive Integration and Digital Innovation
AIG has appointed John Neal as President to unite its reinsurance and property-casualty operations under a single leader and drive synergies across underwriting, claims, and distribution. Neal’s background at Lloyd’s of London and his focus on AI-driven risk assessment and claims automation aim to boost operational efficiency and enhance profitability. His leadership will accelerate AIG’s digital transformation and position the company for sustainable growth.
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Leadership Links #6
Discover five CEO appointments reshaping strategy across key industries from life sciences to automotive and get insights to guide your boardroom decisions.
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Swallow the Minnow: Start Small to Spark Big Change
Managers often believe progress starts with tackling their biggest, most complex task. But in reality, the fastest path to momentum often begins with the smallest possible action. The phrase “swallow the minnow” captures this idea by encouraging leaders to begin their day or initiative with something quick, clear, and manageable. It may not be impressive at first glance, but it creates a fast psychological shift. By finishing a task early, you engage your focus and send a message to yourself that progress is already happening. That momentum can carry you into larger challenges with renewed energy and clarity. When small wins come first, they prepare the mind to handle bigger work more effectively.