Business

How Your Brand Should Use NFTs

Suddenly, NFTs are everywhere. For brands, wading into a new space can be daunting, but there’s also risk in not engaging at all. So how should they proceed here? First, recognize that releasing collectables is a good place to start, but it’s also just a first step, like registering a domain name way back in…

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What Makes a Company Successful at Using AI?

Companies in a wide range of industries are trying to integrate analytics and data to improve their operations, with decidedly mixed results. What are top performers doing differently — and better — than others? In general, leading companies did an honest assessment of where they were, formed a vision of where they wanted to be…

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Why Starting a New Job Feels So Awkward

When you’re first starting out in a new job, it can feel awkward. Even if you have effective onboarding, you might not be sure what to say, who to talk to, or how to figure out what you need to know. And you’re not alone. Most people struggle with discomfort in the first few days,…

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Private equity is buying up America’s newspapers

It may be helping more than it’s hurtingAMERICA’S LOCAL newspapers have been struggling to stay afloat for years. Since 2005 roughly 2,200 of them have folded. Private-equity firms, which often swoop on businesses in distress, have descended on the industry. The share of American newspapers owned by private-equity groups increased from 5% to 23% between…

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What is Carl Icahn’s beef with McDonald’s?

It isn’t about shareholder valueFOR MOST of his life Carl Icahn was vilified for his abrasive personality and his activism as an investor. His mother said he had the spirit of Genghis Khan. Oliver Stone based Gordon Gekko, a fictional predator-in-chief of the junk-bond boom, in part on Mr Icahn. Bill Ackman, no softie, called…

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Porsche and Volkswagen are set to uncouple—at last

A flotation will end an uneasy relationshipPURCHASING A NEW Porsche often involves a long wait. If limited production and aloof dealers weren’t enough of a bottleneck, some buyers face further delays after a fire that broke out last week mid-Atlantic on a ship carrying 4,000 vehicles, including Porsches, from the stable of brands owned by…

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The unseen costs of dirty work

Work confers dignity. But some jobs are also a source of stigmaTHE TERM “dirty work” was coined by Everett Hughes, an American sociologist, to capture the attitudes of ordinary Germans to the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Hughes used it to convey the idea of something immoral but conveniently distant, activities that were tacitly endorsed…

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Why Flexible Work Is Essential to Your DEI Strategy

A new survey shows that 81% of U.S. Black knowledge workers prefer a hybrid blend of in-office and remote work going forward. To make good on recent public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, organizations must  invest in initiatives that actively support their employees of color, and they can start by making pandemic-era flexibility a…

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Using a Mantra to Be a More Inclusive Leader

One of the greatest challenges facing leaders today is creating a culture of inclusiveness, where all members are treated equitably and feel equally valued. To develop truly inclusive behaviors, leaders must start by understanding the psychological mechanisms that are holding them back. Then, they can take actions — including using the “mantra” technique — to…

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Why Becoming a Data-Driven Organization Is So Hard

Being data-driven has been a priority for companies for decades — but many have seen mixed results. Why? According to a new survey of executives, company culture is a harder hurdle to clear than any technical problem. On top of that, the continuing explosion of the amount of data and growing concerns over privacy and…

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