Harvard Business

JANUARY 9, 2025

In 2021, researchers at MIT and McKinsey teamed up to ask more than 100 companies how they were using AI in their operations and to learn what separated the highest-performing companies from the rest. They conducted a similar survey in 2023 to see what had changed. They found that the gap between leading companies and the rest had widened; that the payback-period for AI investments was much shorter; and that leading companies were better at identifying and implementing use cases that delivered p

Company 243

Company McKinsey Survey Operations 243

Effective Managers

JANUARY 27, 2025

Introduction Leadership style significantly influences how accountability is perceived and enforced within teams. Different styles can foster varying levels of transparency, empowerment, and commitment to organizational goals. This blog explores various leadership styles and their impact on enforcing accountability among team members, drawing insights from concepts discussed on www.effectivemanagers.com.

Leadership 255

Leadership Culture System Operations 255

Consulting Success

JUNE 3, 2025

Choosing the right name for your consulting business isn’t just about picking something that sounds professional. In today’s hypercompetitive landscape where AI-powered search results and economic uncertainty have fundamentally changed how clients discover and evaluate consultants your firm’s name has become a critical component of your overall brand strategy.

Consulting 246

Consulting How To Strategy Strategy 246

David A Fields

JUNE 3, 2025

Some task or goal has claimed permanent residence on your to-do list. For instance, tracking consulting project profitability, writing a book, or winning a consulting project from the Danish royal family. Youre stuck. Or your consulting firm is stuck. Alternatively, perhaps some Godzilla task smashed its way to the forefront and the rest of your … Continued The post How to Conquer the Consulting Firm Task You Secretly Dread appeared first on David A.

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Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker

Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.

Financial

Epicflow

JUNE 10, 2025

When projects compete for limited resources and investments, and you need to align them with your company’s business strategy and strategic objectives, traditional PMO functions may not be enough. This is where a portfolio management office comes into play. It helps distribute available resources effectively , improve decision-making , and ensure that a company implements the right projects at the right time.

Management 200

Management Resources Software Tools 200

Consulting Matters

JUNE 18, 2025

If you're a consultant or coach who's ready for bigger impact, better clients, and more strategic work , you’re in the right place. Because let’s be honest, referrals, great credentials, or even decades of experience aren’t enough to take you where you want to go. In this post, I’m breaking down the five essential steps to position your business strategically , so you can attract ideal clients, command premium fees, and build a brand that reflects the transformational res

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Consulting ROI Organizational Development Methodologies 156

Clarity Consultants

FEBRUARY 9, 2025

Companies rely on Learning & Development (L&D) programs – especially eLearning – to stay competitive as industries change. However, the actual value of these learning and development programs lies not just in their immediate impact but in their long-term effects on business performance driven by employee learning. This article provides a comprehensive framework for measuring the long-term impact of L&D initiatives and tracking the ROI of learning programs over extended pe

Metrics 147

Metrics ROI Training Training 147

Tom Spencer

JUNE 20, 2025

Tracking and reporting performance metrics can enable in-house strategy teams to assess their effectiveness and ability to contribute meaningfully to the business. The challenge is that identifying the right metrics can be challenging. While there are numerous ways to measure performance, not all metrics accurately capture strategy’s contribution or resonate with stakeholders.

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Metrics Development Strategy Strategy 88

Leadership Planning with Liz Weber CMC

MARCH 25, 2025

Ugh. You just received the results of the latest employee engagement survey, and its not good. In fact, its worse than you expected. You know morale is low and turnover is high, but jeez, you didnt think your team was this unhappy. What do you do now? Is there a way out of this? What […] The post What Do You Do When Employee Engagement Sucks? appeared first on Weber Business Services, LLC.

Survey 99

Survey Development Leadership 99

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

Sales

Halo Psych

JANUARY 13, 2025

12 minute read Whether youve already set some goals for 2025, or youre still thinking about it give yourself the best chance of success by tapping into what psychology and behavioural science tells us. Create an action plan and make it as vivid and concrete as possible Research suggests that vowing to achieve a goal doesnt work. What works is making a vivid, concrete plan.

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Journal Exercises Research Study 103

Harvard Business

JUNE 16, 2025

SKIP TO CONTENT Harvard Business Review Logo Harvard Business Review Logo AI and machine learning | How Private Equity Firms Are Creating Value with AI Subscribe Sign In Latest Magazine Topics Podcasts Store The Big Idea Data & Visuals Case Selections HBR Executive Subscribe Latest Podcasts The Magazine Store Webinars Newsletters All Topics The Big Idea Data & Visuals Case Selections HBR Executive My Library Account Settings Sign In Explore HBR Latest The Magazine Podcasts Store Webinars

Emotional Intelligence 209

Emotional Intelligence Guidelines Advertising Data 209

Effective Managers

JANUARY 23, 2025

Introduction Cross-functional projects and teams are important mechanisms for success, but also create challenges many organizations face. Properly understanding and implementing cross-functional authority is essential for ensuring smooth operations and effective collaboration. This blog delves into the six types of cross-functional authority defined in my framework, The Effective Point of Accountability, and explores how they enhance workflow and project success.

Policies 265

Policies Operations Culture Leadership 265

Consulting Success

MAY 27, 2025

As a consultant, your expertise is your livelihood, and getting paid on time is non-negotiable for maintaining a thriving business. Yet, many consultants face the challenge of delayed payments, which can strain cash flow and create unnecessary stress. Whether you’re just starting or already have an established practice, having a solid strategy to ensure timely.

Cash Flow 242

Cash Flow Strategy Strategy Strategy& 242

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Data

David A Fields

JUNE 10, 2025

Huckleberry (a.k.a. Huck), the Assistant Deputy Vice President of FruitSpread, Co. asks whether you can help him out of a jam. “Yes I can,” you reply, already tasting a sweet new consulting project. The discovery process with Huck is smooth, and you anticipate this will be a plum engagement. You submit an irresistible proposal (which … Continued The post How to Always Reveal the REAL Decision Maker on Consulting Engagements appeared first on David A.

Consulting 243

Consulting How To Groups 243

Epicflow

MAY 23, 2025

The way you manage team workloads can make or break your project success, especially when juggling multiple projects at the same time. Its the key to seamless workflows, fewer bottlenecks, and high team performance. But in a multi-project environment, keeping workloads balanced is easier said than done. What are the effective workload management strategies you need to implement to ensure balanced workloads and high productivity?

Efficiency 130

Efficiency Strategy Strategy Strategy& 130

Successful Independent Consulting

MARCH 28, 2025

This article was written by Gabrielle Fontaine , PB, ASBC, and the founder of BookkeepingDirect, an accounting and business consulting firm for small businesses. Founded in 2003, BookkeepingDirect helps small consulting firms achieve freedom from financial stress so they can do their best work. As a solopreneur, youre undoubtedly familiar with the feast-or-famine cash flow rollercoaster that most small businesses face.

Cash Flow 195

Cash Flow Consulting Banking Software 195

Consulting Matters

MAY 27, 2025

If you're like me—a purpose-driven consultant or business owner—chances are you've poured years into building your reputation, business, and body of work. But what happens when your drive starts to feel like a drain? When clarity fades, joy wanes, and no amount of productivity gets you back to feeling aligned? For me, the answer wasn’t pushing through.

ROI 156

ROI Financial Energy Organizational Development 156

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Consulting

Clarity Consultants

MAY 23, 2025

Attracting top talent is only part of the equation. The real differentiator lies in keeping employees engaged, motivated, and committed over the long term. Learning and Development (L&D) plays a critical role in shaping an organization’s future through intentional career development, strategic upskilling, and a clear focus on employee retention.

Talent 130

Talent Development Organizational Development Metrics 130

Tom Spencer

APRIL 25, 2025

Imagine spending months crafting a detailed, data-driven strategy , only to watch it gather dust on a shelf. This scenario plays out far too often in the corporate world. In a rapidly shifting business landscape, with advances like AI, quantum computing, advanced robotics, blockchain, and gene editing, spending valuable time and resources developing a strategically useless plan may be more damaging than having no strategy at all.

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Resources Strategy Strategy Strategy& 88

Harvard Business

JANUARY 6, 2025

AI is merely one facet of a sweeping technological change underway, and companies that fail to recognize the importance of other converging technologies risk being left behind. Two other technologies advanced sensors and biotechnology are less visible, though no less important, and have been quietly advancing. Soon, the convergence of these three technologies is going to underpin a new reality that will shape the future decisions of every leader across industries.

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Biotechnology Industry System Marketing 251

Harvard Business

JANUARY 16, 2025

Companies often undertake investments or make decisions that slowly erode their original unique strategy or dilute the sharp boundaries that gave the firm its original clear identity. This happens because its not always clear to decision makers that the decision will dilute the core differentiation, there are many decisions that combine to dilute the differentiation, and managers are often motivated by short-term incentives to look for growth and profit opportunities.

Strategy 218

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Operations 218

This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

Methodologies

Harvard Business

JANUARY 15, 2025

AI agent autonomy is a conundrum. In many cases, supervision is needed in the form of a human in the loop to avoid disaster. Yet, you lose productivity gains if you impose excessive supervision on your agent. Too little latitude, and the agents capabilities are constrained to answering simple questions. Too much autonomy, and brand, reputation, customer relationships, and even financial stability are at risk.

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Harvard Business

JANUARY 10, 2025

Despite advances in cybersecurity solutions, the number and impact of cyber incidents continue to grow, with the average cost of a data breach in 2024 reaching $4.88 million and the number of confirmed data breaches hitting a record high. The July 2024 CrowdStrike incident demonstrates the need to develop capabilities to assess the downstream business impact of cyber events, establish appropriate cyber resiliency objectives, and ensure effective communication for better cyber risk management dec

Data 211

Data Development Management 211

Harvard Business

JANUARY 16, 2025

What are the right things to do or say when your colleague loses a home in a disaster? You may worry about having the right words, but staying silent leaves a void. While theres no perfect answer every time, the authors, both of whom have experienced catastrophic damage and home loss, offer four recommendations: 1) Do reach out but dont expect a response; 2) Do offer direct help and expertise; 3) Do you research on ways to donate; and 4) Dont forget them in a month or even a year.

Research 215

Research Management 215

Harvard Business

JANUARY 3, 2025

Corporate executives often use war metaphors like declaring war on the competition to project strength and confidence in their strategies. Research reveals that these aggressive metaphors may provoke negative reactions from a critical audience: financial analysts. After analyzing nearly 1,000 acquisition announcements, the authors find that war-related language tends to trigger negative reactions from analysts, who see it as a sign of excessive risk.

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Research Financial Study Company 224

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Case studies are proof of successful client relations and a verifiable product or service. They persuade buyers by highlighting your customers' experiences with your company and its solution. In sales, case studies are crucial pieces of content that can be tailored to prospects' pain points and used throughout the buyer's journey. In marketing, case studies are versatile assets for generating business, providing reusable elements for ad and social media content, website material, and marketing c

Case Study

Harvard Business

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

Rather than understanding DeepSeeks R1 as a watershed moment, leaders should think of it as a signal of where the AI landscape is right now and a harbinger of whats to come. They should consider five lessons: 1) were moving from models that recognize patterns to those that can reason, 2) the economics of AI are at an inflection point, 3) the current moment shows how propriety and open source models can coexist, 4) silicon scarcity drives innovation, and 5) in spite of the splash DeepSeek made w

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Harvard Business

MAY 23, 2025

Always ask “What is the denominator?

Data 221

Data 221

Harvard Business

JANUARY 7, 2025

Confronting direct reports about performance issues can feel overwhelming, especially for first-time managers, who may worry that sharing critical feedback could damage their relationship with the employee. But performance conversations, especially where you need to give critical feedback, dont have to be scary. There are a few common mistakes to avoid when giving critical feedback.

Management 248

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