A recent MIT/Sloan survey of senior corporate executives showed they see artificial intelligence (AI) as the single most disruptive new technology, and nearly 70 percent said they already have AI investments underway. Looking at these results, you might feel insecure. You might worry that you’re falling behind, and that your business will lose its competitive edge if you don’t get with the program (literally)...

Just before the 2016 presidential elections, the Pew Research Center published the results of a survey that pretty much confirms what I suspect most of us think about political content on social media. It found, for instance, that only 20 percent of social media users said they “like seeing lots of political posts and discussions,” while 37 percent said they were “worn out” by such posts and discu...

In every organization, we can spot those individuals with stellar performance who seem to be rocketing to the top, untouched by the usual obstacles and bureaucratic red tape. But, take it from me, things aren’t always as they seem from the outside. I’ve spent twenty years working with these high achievers and success-oriented individuals, and they definitely face their own set of challenges. The truth is, I&r...

The man in front of me in the breakfast order line at the food court, in one of the busiest airports in the country, wanted a “full” cup of coffee. He kept raising his voice, yelling at the woman to “fill his cup to the top.” His words peppered with angry comments about her not giving him his “money’s worth.” His voice was loud; his attitude hostile; his words caustic. Despite ho...

Global design firm IDEO is known for its innovation. In fact, many clients approach the firm specifically because they want to learn its secrets. In a research initiative meant to get at the heart at what makes innovative companies tick, IDEO studied its 26-year archive of projects that focused on clients’ internal team dynamics, as well as external sources focused on innovation (including Fast Company‘s annual...

I book my haircuts three months in advance because Jason Holloway, my hairdresser, has a full calendar and a long waitlist. Jason sometimes works just 4 days a week, and he sees clients only 6 to 8 hours a day. Unlike other studio owners I've known, he never double books in order to squeeze in a second client for a quick cut while the first in that time block waits for her color to take. I love that, once I reach...

It seems simple enough. Someone asks you to do something that you don’t want to do, or can’t take on at the moment. You should say no. But you don’t. All too often, we waffle. This is especially true of women, who have been socialized to be helpful and agreeable, often to the detriment of our own best interests. It doesn’t help that in today’s workplace, we are constantly challenged to do more...

I still have the email. It's been years since a highly placed corporate boss, who had the reputation and approach that things were never quite good enough, sent it to me. He was long on critique and revisions; short on acknowledgement and appreciation. Anyone else reading his message would deem it ordinary. No flowery words, no glowing adjectives, no verbose flattery or deliberate feel-good rhetoric. It was written i...

There is a lot of buzz right now about millennials’ desire for “purpose” in their work. The truth, however, is that a desire for meaning is remarkably intergenerational. Strikingly, the 2016 Global Purpose Index found that 48 percent of Baby Boomers and 38 percent of Gen Xers were purpose-driven, compared to 30 percent of millennials. The importance of purpose is also, not surprisingly, a shared desi...

Are you a millennial between ages 18 to 34? Are wondering what to do with your life? If so, you may be experiencing the Age-30 transition. This transition from late adolescence to adulthood, is extending in length due to changing economic, technological and societal uncertainties. During this critical period, you assess who you are and what you want to do. You can now think in abstract terms, look at reality from ma...