Netflix’s Major HR Innovation: Treating Humans Like People

NETFLIX’S MAJOR HR INNOVATION: TREATING HUMANS LIKE PEOPLE

WHAT IF INSTEAD OF BUREAUCRACY, A BOOMING COMPANY RELIED ON COMMON SENSE?

BY DRAKE BAER

Back in 1997, before it was streaming a billion hours of Internet television a month, Netflix was a startup. They had a fairly standard vacation policy: 10 vacation days, 10 holidays, and a handful of sick days per person. Rather than formally tracking these days, they opted for an honor system, with employees tracking their own off days and informing their managers when appropriate. Read more of this post

Ed Catmull On Why Things Will Always Go Wrong–Even At Pixar

ED CATMULL ON WHY THINGS WILL ALWAYS GO WRONG—EVEN AT PIXAR

IN A WIDE-RANGING CONVERSATION WITH FAST COMPANY, CATMULL–THE PRESIDENT OF PIXAR, WHO HAS LED THE ANIMATION POWERHOUSE TO 14 NO. 1 HITS–SHARES HIS MANAGEMENT SECRETS.

BY ED CATMULL

Right now, since Disney Animation has Frozen, which has a shot at becoming a billion-dollar movie, they’re elated. Meanwhile, at Pixar, after a lot of work we’ve had to say, “You know, Good Dinosaur doesn’t meet our standards, so we’re going to restart. It’s a promising idea, but we need to rethink the team.” That’s painful, but it’s a pain we own. Every time we make a mistake there is pain, and I’m acutely aware that some people bear more pain than others [some 50 people were recently laid off]. But our core belief is that we’ve got to do the right thing for the movies. The ongoing value here is that everything we do is in service of that final story we deliver to the world. Read more of this post

College dropouts strike it big in the business world

College dropouts strike it big in the business world

Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel (L), Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell (Bottom Right) and Larry Ellison, founder of software giant Oracle (top Right)

By Mykolas Rambus
Wealth-X
Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014

Whilst some ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals patiently wait decades to amass their fortunes, others strike gold early on, even dropping out of college to pursue their lucrative careers. By 2020, this is predicted to be an ever-increasing trend, especially with individuals making in-roads into social media and software. Read more of this post

Autopsy report on Julius Caesar’s death gave rise to the term “forensic” in Latin which means “before the forum”

Updated: Thursday March 13, 2014 MYT 12:22:28 PM

Tech takes on autopsies

BY LIM WING HOOI

(From left) Mathavan and iGene Forensic Scientist Dr Nor Amira Ismail look on as iGene Medical Research Scientist Dr Hemanth S. Naik demonstrates how a digital autopsy is done. Read more of this post

Soong Ching Ling, the woman behind Sun Yat Sen

Soong Ching Ling, the woman behind Sun Yat Sen

Thursday, March 13, 2014 – 06:30

Lisabel Ting

The Straits Times

Behind every successful man is a strong woman, and founding father of the Republic of China, Sun Yat Sen was no exception. Read more of this post

How to Boost Efficiency in Asset-Intensive Industries: Flex in Operations

How to Boost Efficiency in Asset-Intensive Industries: Flex in Operations

by Christian Greiser, Roland Haslehner, Alexander Wachtmeister, and Tobias Streicher

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

Continued sluggishness in the global economy is putting special pressure on companies in asset-intensive industries. These companies are operating well below capacity, and the weak demand has prevented them from passing on the full costs of raw materials and energy, for which prices remain stubbornly high. Read more of this post

New CEOs are particularly vulnerable during their second year. Their survival may depend more on their credibility-and on making a number of bold strategic moves-than on results

Surviving the Sophomore Slump: The Moves That Matter Most

A Leadership Study from The Boston Consulting Group and Spencer Stuart

by Roselinde Torres, Judy Johnson, James M. Citrin, and Susan S. Hart

MARCH 10, 2014

Leadership churn in large companies has intensified over the past decade¹. CEOs are particularly vulnerable during their second year of tenure. The proportion of CEOs who leave office for “year 2 performance reasons” is strikingly high. It’s a time that could be called “the sophomore slump,” when stakeholders lower their threshold of tolerance and when CEOs themselves might feel their ambitious vision being thwarted and may grow dejected at the slow pace of change in the organization. Read more of this post

The Jacobs group said it is to sell a 16% stake in Adecco, the world’s largest staffing agency, as members of the Jacobs family seek to diversify by cutting their holdings in the company they helped found

Switzerland’s Jacobs family cuts Adecco holding

2:37pm EDT

By Freya Berry

LONDON (Reuters) – The Jacobs group said it is to sell a 16 percent stake in Adecco (ADEN.VX: Quote, Profile,Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest staffing agency, as members of the Jacobs family seek to diversify by cutting their holdings in the company they helped found. Read more of this post

Anil Agarwal on Simplicity and Determination at Vedanta Resources

Anil Agarwal on Simplicity and Determination at Vedanta Resources

An Interview with the Executive Chairman

MARCH 06, 2014

Anil Agarwal left his home in Bihar in northern India to seek his fortune in Mumbai in the 1970s. Armed with a high school education and boundless determination, Agarwal started out as a scrap-metal dealer. Today his Vedanta Resources is a global mining and metals company, the largest producer of zinc, the second-largest producer of cooper, and an active competitor in oil and gas and power generation. Read more of this post

Natura’s Alessandro Carlucci on Countering Complexity with Culture

Natura’s Alessandro Carlucci on Countering Complexity with Culture

An Interview with the CEO

MARCH 06, 2014

Chief executive Alessandro Carlucci joined Natura nearly a quarter century ago, when the Brazilian cosmetics company was small, entrepreneurial, and still run by its founders. Today, the company has nearly 7,000 employees, a direct sales force of 1.5 million beauty consultants, a strong presence throughout cosmetics-crazy Latin America, and annual sales approaching $3 billion. Read more of this post

Standard Chartered’s Jaspal Bindra on the Human Face of Complexity

Standard Chartered’s Jaspal Bindra on the Human Face of Complexity

An Interview with the Asia Group Executive Director

MARCH 06, 2014

Asia is a complex region, home to more than 4 billion people, dozens of countries ranging from among the wealthiest to the poorest in the world, and myriad languages and ethnic groups. Banking is an equally complex undertaking, especially with the regulatory and public scrutiny brought on by the global financial crisis more than five years ago. Read more of this post

Agco’s Martin Richenhagen on Cutting Through Clutter

Agco’s Martin Richenhagen on Cutting Through Clutter

An Interview with the Chairman, CEO, and President

MARCH 06, 2014

Agco was a study in complexity in 2004, when Martin Richenhagen joined the global agricultural-equipment manufacturer as chief executive. The result of multiple acquisitions, the company was officially created in a 1990 management buyout of Deutz Allis Corporation from its German parent. Read more of this post

The Opportunities – and Pitfalls – for Non-resident Indian Entrepreneurs

The Opportunities — and Pitfalls — for Non-resident Indian Entrepreneurs

Mar 07, 2014

Some 25 million people of Indian origin do not live in India, according to the country’s ministry of overseas affairs. The Indian government recognizes them as People of Indian Origin (PIO). A high-profile subset of this group (though, strictly speaking, it is a classification for tax status) is the Non-resident Indian (NRI), which is loosely considered to mean Indians who have emigrated in recent times. Their ranks include many highly successful scientists, entrepreneurs and corporate executives, including PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit and Google chief business officer Nikesh Arora. Read more of this post

The Prime Minister of Malaysia on Balancing People and Performance

The Prime Minister of Malaysia on Balancing People and Performance

An Interview with Najib Razak

MARCH 06, 2014

Malaysia is a diverse nation with ambitious economic aspirations. Najib Razak, the country’s prime minister since 2009 and a public servant since the mid-1970s, has been working both to move and to advance Malaysia. Najib sees the two goals as inseparable: progress must benefit all slices of Malaysian society and all regions, he contends, if it is to be sustainable. Read more of this post

Using Incentives to Calibrate a CEO’s ‘Risk Appetite’

Using Incentives to Calibrate a CEO’s ‘Risk Appetite’

Mar 10, 2014

The issue of CEO pay and how to compensate managers in a way that encourages the “right” amount — and type — of risk to grow a company and protect stakeholder interests has garnered a significant amount of debate. Many executive pay packages include incentives that tie compensation to a firm’s performance, often through the use of stock options. But a number of research studies have found that if a manager’s wealth is tied to share price, he or she may be more likely to misreport financial data. Read more of this post

Conversations with Leaders About Thriving amid Uncertainty

Conversations with Leaders About Thriving amid Uncertainty

Leading in a Complex World

by Christian Orglmeister, Grant Freeland, and Roselinde Torres

MARCH 11, 2014

Globalization, technology, and rapid change are creating a more complex world. Corporate leaders are operating in more markets than ever before. Their companies are generating and dealing with more data than ever. Social media are amplifying the effects of customer complaints and internal discussions, creating a greater need for open, honest, and multichannel communications. Executives are interacting with a widening array of stakeholders and addressing an expanding set of business, political, and social issues. Public leaders are facing analogous pressures. Read more of this post

Ten tips for leading companies out of crisis: Even good managers can miss the early signs of distress, says McKinsey’s Doug Yakola, who’s been running recovery programs for 20 years. The first step is to acknowledge there’s a problem

Ten tips for leading companies out of crisis

Even good managers can miss the early signs of distress, says McKinsey’s Doug Yakola, who’s been running recovery programs for 20 years. The first step is to acknowledge there’s a problem.

March 2014 | byDoug Yakola

“I’ve seen my share of boiled frogs,” says Doug Yakola, comparing companies in crisis with the metaphorical frog that doesn’t notice the water it’s in is warming up until it’s too late. As the chief restructuring officer or CFO of more than a dozen turnaround situations over nearly two decades, Yakola has witnessed firsthand how managers back right into a crisis without recognizing that their situation is worsening. “They’re not bad managers, but they’re often working under a set of paradigms that no longer apply and letting the power of inertia carry them along.” And if they don’t realize they’re facing a crisis, they won’t know that they need to undertake a turnaround, either. Read more of this post

How to take your business global; All from the comfort of your home, by an entrepreneur now turning over $3 million a year.

How to take your business global

March 10, 2014

Jellaine Ross

All from the comfort of your home, by an entrepreneur now turning over $3 million a year. Read more of this post

Kumar Mangalam Birla on the Principles and Practices of the Aditya Birla Group

Kumar Mangalam Birla on the Principles and Practices of the Aditya Birla Group

by Sourav Majumdar | Mar 12, 2014

No other business group spells Marwari enterprise and success as much as the Aditya Birla group. The man at the helm, Kumar Mangalam Birla, explains the principles and practices that have shaped its success Read more of this post

Using Nostalgia for an improved brand communication strategy; Brands use nostalgic theme to expand their target market and create a link between generations

Using Nostalgia for an improved brand communication strategy

by Aurelie Kessous | Mar 12, 2014

Brands use nostalgic theme to expand their target market and create a link between generations

Today, many brands are jumping on the nostalgia bandwagon. This retro trend has become an international phenomenon and is affecting the entire marketing mix. Some brands have developed products evoking nostalgic flavor of childhood memories. In the food industry, for example, Chuao chocolatier has recently introduced a Rocky Road bar that contains salted almonds and vegan marshmallows. Other brands have chosen to re-run their best historical ads, such as the detergent brand Persil, for its 100th anniversary to capitalize on its longevity accompanying consumers in their lives from the “good old days” until now, thus enhancing brand credibility and authenticity. Finally, a nostalgic atmosphere can be achieved through the interior design. Jack Daniel’s whiskey has come up with a classic cool with a special edition to mark Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday. Launched last December at Las Vegas’ airport with interactive stations for tasting, viewing and listening to all things Frank Sinatra did, the initiative expanded to 200 airports, coinciding with the evocative “Legend” campaign. Read more of this post

Scientists Have Discovered Genghis Khan’s Secret Weapon

Scientists Have Discovered Genghis Khan’s Secret Weapon

LESLIE BAEHR SCIENCE  MAR. 12, 2014, 12:37 AM

In 2010, two scientists researching wildfires in Mongolia’s Khangai Mountains stumbled upon the secret that led to the largest connected land empire in history: the Mongolian Empire. Read more of this post

Can You See the Opportunity Right in Front of You?

Can You See the Opportunity Right in Front of You?

by Warren Berger  |   12:00 PM March 12, 2014

Do you find your household thermostat to be endlessly fascinating? How about that smoke alarm installed in your basement — spend much time gazing at it with wonder? Tony Fadell did. The founder of Nest has had a lifelong penchant for looking at mundane everyday household devices and wondering Why hasn’t somebody improved this thing? That tendency led him to reinvent the aforementioned gadgets — and recently resulted in a $3 billion payday, when Nest was acquired earlier this year by Google. Read more of this post

Surviving a Start-Up’s Transition from Projects to Processes

Surviving a Start-Up’s Transition from Projects to Processes

by Derek Lidow  |   11:00 AM March 12, 2014

“Why change my leadership style? It got us to this point, where we’ve established a real beachhead in our market.”

These are the famous last words of many an entrepreneur. Failing to realize that critical transition points in the growth of an enterprise require leaders to shift emphasis, they blindly stick with what has been working up to that point. The company stalls. Confusion grows among key team members, investors, customers and suppliers.  And, ultimately, the failure to understand the demands of the transition lead to the failure of the company itself. Read more of this post

Let Your Team Help You Manage Your Time

Let Your Team Help You Manage Your Time

by John Beeson  |   8:00 AM March 11, 2014

Good managers study time management techniques. They analyze their calendars and prioritize their to-do lists in an effort to eke out a few percentage points of extra personal productivity — which is all to the good. Great managers, by contrast, realize a fundamental fact: their time, not budget or staffing levels, is their scarcest resource and their team must be staffed and organized in a way that will maximize their own, personal impact. Read more of this post

The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool

The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool

by Harrison Monarth  |   9:00 AM March 11, 2014

It’s not often that you hear Budweiser and Shakespeare mentioned in the same breath. But according to new research from Johns Hopkins University, the Bard’s deft application of storytelling techniques featured prominently in the beer company’s Super Bowl commercial. Read more of this post

Should Big Companies Give Up on Innovation?

Should Big Companies Give Up on Innovation?

by Scott Anthony  |   10:00 AM March 11, 2014

“Why bother?”

It’s a common question thrown at me by entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, or the more cynically minded corporate leaders. Read more of this post

How to Have a Eureka Moment

How to Have a Eureka Moment

by David Burkus  |   1:00 PM March 11, 2014

In the ancient world, the Greeks believed that all great insights came from one of nine muses, divine sisters who brought inspiration to mere mortals. In the modern world, few people still believe in the muses, but we all still love to hear stories of sudden inspiration. Like Newton and the apple, or Archimedes and the bathtub (both another type of myth), we’re eager to hear and to share stories about flashes of insight. Read more of this post

Assess Your CEO’s Strategic Fit Over Time

Assess Your CEO’s Strategic Fit Over Time

by Marc Effron and Miriam Ort  |   9:00 AM March 12, 2014

Roger Federer can arguably be considered the greatest tennis player of all time, having won 16 Grand Slam titles—and yet he lost every French Open Championship he played against Rafael Nadal.  Few would suggest that Nadal was a better overall tennis player. But on the clay courts of Paris’ Roland Garros stadium, he was the best player. And even though no one would deny Roger Federer’s overall tennis prowess, no one expects that he would win in every conceivable situation. So why do we assume that our CEOs will? Read more of this post

Bill Gross’ $200m pay ‘not appropriate’, says PIMCO trustee; William Popejoy blasts boss of world’s largest bond fund, saying Bill Gross’ salary could pay for 2,000 teachers

Bill Gross’ $200m pay ‘not appropriate’, says PIMCO trustee

William Popejoy blasts boss of world’s largest bond fund, saying Bill Gross’ salary could pay for 2,000 teachers

By Katherine Rushton

4:50PM GMT 11 Mar 2014

Bill Gross is under pressure on a new front, after one of the trustees of his Pacific Investment Management Company said he is overpaid. Read more of this post

TARTUP CEO: The Secret To Success Is Never Telling A Lie

STARTUP CEO: The Secret To Success Is Never Telling A Lie

JENNA GOUDREAU CAREERS  MAR. 12, 2014, 11:36 PM

Rebekah Campbell, founder and CEO of Posse

How many lies do you tell a day? Perhaps white lies to save an employee’s feelings, exaggerations to make yourself look better in front of your boss, or cherry picking the truth when dealing with clients? How many lies a day do you tell yourself? Read more of this post