4 Ways to do Good Business
The term “breaking down the silos,” is commonly used in business to illustrate how a task can avoid or reduce duplication of effort. By taking two teams, for example, that might compete on a project and instead get them to work together and collaborate, the hope is that you’ll get a better output; one that […]
Google’s Eight Pillars of Innovation
How does a company like Google continue to grow exponentially while still staying innovative? Susan Wojcicki, Google’s Senior Vice President of Advertising, discusses some of the processes and principles in place to make sure that the company doesn’t get bogged down in the past as it keeps moving forward. The greatest innovations are the ones […]
Is This the End of the Billion-dollar Megaproject Disaster?
The number and costs of megaprojects are so large, and the penalties of failure so catastrophic, that there are signs that governments and private companies may at last be beginning to insist on better governance of these billion-dollar ventures, and to use academic research into the failures of megaproject management to improve practice, believes major […]
Western Governance Models May Not Work in Asia
Governance expert and Oxford academic, Professor Colin Mayer says Japan’s experiences in the 20th century are a warning against importing institutional structures and regulations. As Japan tries once again to reform corporate ownership, and as China and other Asian nations start to establish the institutions that they will need for the promotion of their stock […]
The $24 Million Disability Staffing Business
The United States has a large minority population that is its most overlooked and under-leveraged workforce: people with disabilities. People with disabilities have an unemployment rate twice that of people without disabilities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and just one-third of people with disabilities participate in the workforce, as compared to three-quarters of people […]
The Power of the Collective: Co-location & the Social Economy
The socio-political and economic conditions in North America have been undergoing a considerable shift over the last several decades. The end of the post-WWII “golden age” heralded a gradual erosion of the Keynesian welfare state social safety-net and as a result, state funding has been continuously withdrawn from social services. The reason for this shift […]
Occupy Hollywood: How Films With A Conscience Are Invading Your Screen
What do these blockbuster films have in common?: Lincoln, The Help, Contagion, Waiting for Superman, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Kite Runner, North Country, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night and Good Luck, Syriana. Participant Media of course. And they’re expanding our thinking while entertaining us. The challenge founder Jeff Skoll presented to CEO Jim Berk (pictured […]
Injecting Shared Value Into The World
Can a family business grow into a multi-national public company without losing its values? You decide. While the world is becoming increasingly connected through technology and mobile devices, there’s one company that is going out of its way to ensure we stay untouched. For 117 years, medical technology company BD (Becton Dickinson and Company) has […]
Don’t Work For A Jerk
Work should be a source of joy. Okay, if that’s too strong, it should at least be a source of well-being. Gallup’s research confirms that work is the second most important factor in promoting our life satisfaction. (The first is the quality of our relationships.) We spend half our waking hours working. It is a […]
Unexpected Workforce Excels in Recycling Industry
My name is Bill Morris and in 2008 I was recycled. After a 25-year career in the telecom industry, there didn’t seem to be much demand for my experience and technical expertise, which had become mostly obsolete. After trying to start my own for-profit business (which failed) and working for other businesses (which I could […]
