The United Nations has published the 17th report submitted by KAILASA addressing the critical issue of the killing of LGBTIQ+ persons, a grievous breach of international human rights

David Sedgwick Lobel-Mandrake and Dr. Lana Lubimoff appointed to leadership roles at the International Society of Diplomats, advancing global diplomacy.

Glad to see your post Nima. I was wondering about you. Season's greetings to you

Sometimes the best way to structure your day doesn’t spring immediately to mind—a “workflow,” or a planned series of activities that help you complete a task, is needed. You may need a way to organize your thoughts and tasks in order to maximize efficiency for both yourself and your clients’ benefit. To become a go-to…

The post Creating a Workflow to Streamline Your Daily Tasks and Improve Client Communications appeared first on RISMedia.

Consumers reported significantly greater optimism about the future direction of mortgage rates, despite showing little change in overall home buying sentiment, according to Fannie Mae data.  Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) for August increased 0.6 points to 72.1, up 5.2 points year over year. Fannie Mae added that a high of 39% of…

The post Fannie Mae: Most Consumers Remain ‘Apprehensive’ About Housing Market appeared first on RISMedia.

Coats Digital has announced that Thailand's Pilot Knit Garment has adopted its FastReactPlan solution to transform manual planning processes, improve efficiencies, and reduce lead times. This integration enhances visibility, streamlines production, and supports future growth for the sportswear manufacturer, part of the Yong Udom Textile Group.

Ralph Lauren Corporation reported Q2 FY25 earnings per diluted share of $2.31, up 5 per cent YoY on a reported basis, and $2.54 adjusted, a 21 per cent increase. Net revenue rose 6 per cent to $1.7 billion, while gross profit reached $1.2 billion with a margin of 67.0 per cent. Regional revenues grew, driven by strong results in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Curious about LLM agents? Here’s a list of free courses, guides, and blogs that make it easy to start learning and stay updated.

Continue reading to learn about some beginner-friendly courses to kickstart your coding career.

Dining is just one more adventure for visitors to the International Drive Resort Area! With a surprisingly diverse array of epicurean delights, culinary choices include American, Brazilian, Caribbean, Chinese, Greek, Ethiopian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Mexican, Italian and Thai.

Reconnect. Celebrate cherished family memories. Enjoy being together. Make some new memories. Have fun. Laugh until you cry. This is what family reunions are all about.

Connected Smart Buildings Form Communities of Clean Power cbeaty Fri, 11/18/2022 - 15:18

Changes in Communications Technologies Affecting Final Acceptance by AHJs cbeaty Tue, 11/22/2022 - 10:27

Ella Washington, an organizational psychologist at Georgetown University, argues that private sector American organizations have a big role to play in sustaining the fight for racial justice that has gained such momentum in recent weeks. She says that widespread protests should mark a shift in how companies and their leaders push for government policy change, think about diversity and inclusion in their own workplaces, and strive to combat bias and inequality in U.S. society. It not enough for CEOs to release statements and continue on with business as usual. To promote real change, they need to work on these issues each and every day. Washington is the coauthor of the HBR article "U.S. Businesses Must Take Meaningful Action Against Racism."

Peter Scoblic, cofounder and principal of the consultancy Event Horizon Strategies, says that too many companies are short-sighted in their strategy-making and don't effectively plan for different potential futures. Using examples from the U.S. Coast Guard, he explains how thoughtful and ongoing scenario planning exercises can help organizations decide which investments will allow them to thrive in varying circumstances and navigate many types of crisis. Scoblic is the author of the HBR article "Learning from the Future."

Suzanne Peterson, associate professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management, says many talented professionals get held back from leadership roles because of relatively intangible reasons. She argues aspiring managers can intentionally alter their everyday interactions in small ways to have a large influence on their professional reputation. She explains how to adopt markers of different leadership styles to be seen as both influential and likable. Peterson is a coauthor of the HBR article “How to Develop Your Leadership Style: Concrete Advice for a Squishy Challenge.”

Sunil Gupta, Harvard Business School professor, has spent years studying successful digital strategies, companies, and leaders, and he's made Amazon and its legendary CEO Jeff Bezos a particular areas of focus. Drawing on his own in-depth research and other sources, including a new collection of Bezos' own writing, "Invent and Wander," Gupta explains how Amazon has upended traditional corporate strategy by diversifying into multiple products serving many end users instead of focusing more narrowly. He says that Bezos's obsession with the customer and insistence on long-term thinking are approaches that other companies and senior executives should emulate.

Joseph Fuller, professor at Harvard Business School, and Allison Bailey, senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, say that the Covid-19 pandemic is only accelerating a recent trend of companies turning to digital talent platforms for highly skilled workers. The need for agility and specialized skills has more firms seeking help with projects. Meanwhile, more workers are joining these online marketplaces for the promise of greater flexibility and agency. Fuller and Bailey explain how organizations can strategically employ this on-demand workforce to unlock value. With HBS researcher Manjari Raman and BCG partner Nithya Vaduganathan, they wrote the HBR article "Rethinking the On-Demand Workforce."

Muriel Wilkins, cofounder of the executive coaching firm Paravis Partners, says that starting a leadership role at a new company or via internal promotion is demanding. Doing so remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic is even more challenging. She says that new senior leaders must focus on two things: connectivity and credibility. And she explains how to build those attributes when much of the job is performed virtually. Wilkins is the host of the new HBR Presents podcast “Coaching Real Leaders.”

Felix Oberholzer-Gee, professor at Harvard Business School, says many organizations spend so much energy on strategy that it overwhelms with conflicting priorities. Instead, he argues companies should simplify and focus on two value drivers: customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. By aligning strategic initiatives on these alone, leaders make their workers’ jobs less complicated and also improve customer experiences. Oberholzer-Gee is the author of the HBR article “Eliminate Strategic Overload” as well as the new book "Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance."

Leslie John, associate professor at Harvard Business School, has done some deep research into the ways that people self-promote in their professional lives and identified what works and what doesn't. She says it is possible tout your own accomplishments without annoying your colleagues, if you do it at the right time or enlist others to boast on your behalf. She notes that many common workarounds -- such as humblebragging -- are highly ineffective and advises people to not only look for more natural opportunities to self-promote but also try to present balanced views of themselves. She's full of tips you can put to work, even in virtual settings. John is the author of the HBR article "Savvy Self-Promotion."

Carol Fishman Cohen, human resource consultant and CEO of iRelaunch, says that extended career breaks have always been common. Now the pandemic has made them even more widespread. So, companies are increasingly considering formal back-to-work programs and “returnships.” That’s where employers set up special training and support mechanisms to ease people back into work. Cohen speaks about the best practices for organizations and returning workers alike. She's the author of the HBR article "Return-to-Work Programs Come of Age."

Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, led a dazzling career in consumer goods, from Procter & Gamble to Nestlé to the British multinational. His experience fending off a hostile takeover bid taught him that the doctrine of shareholder capitalism is wrong. He believes there’s a better way of doing business, one that embraces all stakeholders — not just stockholders — and improves the environment. He cofounded the consultancy IMAGINE to further sustainable goals, and he shares his advice for the next generation of leaders. With Andrew Winston, Polman wrote the new book “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take”.

Rob Cross, management professor at Babson College, says people are changing jobs more than ever and too often falling short when they do. Surveys show nearly half of people promoted within their own companies are underperforming 18 months later. And up to half of executives in new roles are seen as eventual disappointments. Cross says research shows that’s because today’s hyper-collaborative workplaces demand new skills. He shares evidence-based practices to improve a role transition. Those include developing strategic networks and expanding the scope and impact of one’s projects. Cross is a coauthor of the HBR article "How to Succeed Quickly in a New Role."

Sarah Federman, assistant professor at the University of Baltimore, studies how companies handle their historical misdeeds and what that means for employees and customers. From insurance firms that backed slave owners to railroad companies that transported victims of the Holocaust, many legacy companies can find they played a role in past transgressions. Federman makes a moral and practical argument for uncovering and addressing these misdeeds, even though there may no longer be legal repercussions. And she shares how some leaders have been transparent, apologized, and found meaningful ways to make up for their organization's difficult history. Federman wrote the HBR article “How Companies Can Address Their Historical Transgressions: Lessons from the Slave Trade and the Holocaust.”

A decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court changed the rules on how businesses could donate to political campaigns. Since then, hundreds of millions of corporate dollars have been spent on local, state, and federal elections, often without transparency. Many CEOs and boards feel this is the only way they can curry favor with policymakers. Dorothy Lund, an associate professor of law at the University of Southern California, and Leo Strine Jr., counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, and Katz and a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware, say this isn't just bad for democracy. It's bad for business because it distracts companies from innovation and growth and risks serious backlash from consumers, employees, and shareholders. They suggest ways to dial back corporate political spending and improve the economy for all. They are the authors of the HBR article "Corporate Political Spending is Bad Business: How to Minimize the Risks and Focus on What Counts.”

Purpose has become a corporate buzzword over the past decade. Leaders are embracing the idea that companies can’t just do well financially; they also have to do good for society. But how many organizations are really walking the talk? Ranjay Gulati, professor at Harvard Business School, has studied how dozens of purpose-driven companies -- from Etsy in the United States to Recruit in Japan -- simultaneously pursue profits. He argues that while we all want a win-win, leaders must also sometimes learn to make thoughtful tradeoffs. Gulati is the author of the book "Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies” and the HBR article “The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose.”

Keith Ferrazzi, founder of the consulting firm Ferrazzi Greenlight, led a survey of more than 2,000 executives to study how they reengineered operations during the pandemic. The research identified a kind of extreme adaptability at the team and organizational levels that helped some companies come out on top. Ferrazzi argues that after months of ruthlessly adapting, leaders should continue on a path of resilience and agility to stay competitive in the post-Covid-19 world. And he offers concrete steps to take. Ferrazzi is a coauthor of the new book "Competing in the New World of Work: How Radical Adaptability Separates the Best from the Rest."

"No regrets" might be a popular modern-day mantra, but it's virtually impossible to live your life without wishing you could do certain things over. Some people try to ignore these feelings; others wallow in them. But author Dan Pink, who recently conducted large U.S. and global surveys on this phenomenon, says the right approach is to instead carefully consider what we regret and why so that we can either reverse course or make better decisions in the future, as well as putting them behind us. Whether you're frustrated by bad career moves you've made, business ideas you didn't pursue, or relationships you've let falter, these regrets can be useful tools for personal growth. Pink's new book is “The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward.”

Over the past few years in the United States, we’ve seen some horrific examples of racism seize the public consciousness. Amid all these tragedies – and the protests that followed – U.S. business leaders promised they would do their part to fight the problem, making workplaces more diverse, equitable and inclusive. But now it's time to go a step further, say James White and Krista White, father-and-daughter authors of the new book, “Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World”. They share their own experiences as Black Americans in the workplace and lessons from James' time as CEO of Jamba Juice. And they offer advice on how corporate leaders can promote lasting change in their own organizations and society at large.

For years, union membership has been shrinking in the United States and many other countries. But recently we've seen a resurgence, with employees in sectors like retail, hospitality, and media organizing to collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, and job flexibility. Thomas Kochan, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has long studied how unions affect individual, team, and corporate performance. He explains why some fears about them are overblown, how workers form successful ones, and how leaders can partner with these groups to ensure the best outcomes for everyone.

Around the world, we've become increasingly cynical about other people, public institutions, and corporations. In Edelman's 2022 Trust Barometer, nearly 60% of respondents across 27 countries reported that their default is to distrust. And that's very bad for business, says Stanford University associate professor of psychology Jamil Zaki. He says that cynics perform and feel worse, and in workplaces, they breed toxicity and lead to poor outcomes . He explains how to identify and change this kind of behavior at your organization. Zaki wrote the HBR article, “Don't Let Cynicism Undermine Your Workplace."

It's a dilemma facing more and more brands: should you sell your goods on Amazon? It's the most visited e-commerce platform in the U.S. and the dominant retailer in 28 other countries. But that reach comes at a price. There are downsides like costs, competition, and lack of data. Ayelet Israeli is an associate professor at Harvard Business School and a coauthor of the HBR article "Should Your Company Sell on Amazon?" She talks through step-by-step how businesses can decide whether Amazon is right for them.

Work-life support programs have long been known to lower turnover and raise employee loyalty. But new research shows they also have a positive effect on promoting diversity among managers at those firms, an effect that’s even stronger than that of some popular racial-equity programs. Alexandra Kalev chairs the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University, and she explains why having strong, thoughtful policies around flexibility, time off, and dependent care pay off for companies. With Harvard sociologist Frank Dobbin, Kalev wrote the HBR article “The Surprising Benefits of Work/Life Support.”

From Microsoft to Google to Meta, many of the world's biggest tech companies have been announcing layoffs recently. Their explanation is usually that they overhired and need to cut costs. But Harvard Business School professor Sandra Sucher, who has been studying layoffs for years, says companies often underestimate the downsides. Layoffs don’t just come with bad publicity, she explains. They also lead to loss of institutional knowledge, weakened engagement, higher turnover, and lower innovation as remaining employees fear risk-taking. And she says it can take years for companies to catch up. Sucher is a coauthor of the HBR article "What Companies Still Get Wrong About Layoffs."

For years, employers have used university degrees as a major requirement for hiring. But, for many jobs, success depends more on skills -- and the ability to adapt and learn -- than on piece-of-paper credentials. Ginni Rometty, former chairman and CEO of IBM, realized this early on -- first by watching her mother and other female relatives support their families and later by seeing what it took to rise to the top in her own career. At the helm of IBM from 2012 to 2020, she pushed the company to adopt skills-first recruitment and development practices, and now she's encouraging other organizations to do the same through her work at the non-profit OneTen. Rometty is coauthor of the HBR article “The New-Collar Workforce,” and the book Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World.

From Theranos to Enron, we can't get enough of corporate scandals. We also can't get enough of the intriguing people who perpetrate them. But instigators of fraud are not all Disneyesque villains chasing money and power at any cost, says DePaul University accounting professor Kelly Richmond Pope. She studies white-collar crime and finds that besides intentional perpetrators, there are also accidental and righteous ones. And she shares real stories of these long-overlooked employees and explains exactly which behaviors and incentives should raise red flags for managers and leaders. Pope is the author of the new book Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry.

Read just about any business history and you realize just how much a firm’s success depends on its culture. Without the right culture, you can't have successful innovation. You can't compete successfully. You can't thrive over the long term. So, if you want to lead your organization into a future that features generative artificial intelligence, you need to build the right culture for it. In this episode, How Generative AI Changes Organizational Culture, HBR editor Amy Bernstein speaks to two experts, Nitin Mittal and Tsedal Neeley, about how to adopt generative AI effectively and ethically within your organization. Mittal leads Deloitte’s global AI business and cowrote the book All-in On AI: How Smart Companies Win Big with Artificial Intelligence. Neeley is a professor at Harvard Business School and wrote the HBR article “8 Questions About Using AI Responsibly, Answered.” They discuss the risks, challenges, and emerging best practices of adapting organizational culture to generative AI. How Generative AI Changes Everything is a special series from HBR IdeaCast. Each week, HBR editor in chief Adi Ignatius and HBR editor Amy Bernstein host conversations with experts and business leaders about the impact of generative AI on productivity, creativity and innovation, organizational culture, and strategy. The episodes publish in the IdeaCast feed each Thursday in May, after the regular Tuesday episode. And for more on ethics in the age of AI, check out HBR’s Big Idea on implementing the new technology responsibly.

Sabbaticals have long been thought of as an academic privilege, but a growing number of companies offer them, especially since the pandemic. DJ DiDonna, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and founder of The Sabbatical Project, has interviewed hundreds of workers who’ve taken them and studied organizations that offer them. From his research and his own experience on a sabbatical, DiDonna shares the surprising impacts that extended time off—paid or unpaid—can have on workers, teams, and the overall organization. And he explains how organizations can make sabbaticals work both financially and culturally.

After decades of industrial policy that favored globalization and free trade, we are entering a new era. Prompted by the pandemic, climate change, rising geopolitical tensions and economic concerns, countries and groups of countries are once again using the power they have to intervene in the private sector, whether it's investing in drug development, offering clean energy tax breaks, or incentivizing domestic manufacturing. Harvard Business School professor Willy Shih wants to help corporate leaders navigate these changes in a way that protects their businesses, workers, and customers. He explains the new challenges - as well as opportunities. Shih wrote the HBR article, "The New Era of Industrial Policy is Here."

Companies plan for crises and aim to be resilient and adaptive in the face of all kinds of risks, but it’s always easier said than done. And perhaps none of these threats is as serious as war. That’s what Roman Rodomansky had to prepare his company for. He’s the cofounder and COO at Ralabs, a Ukrainian software development company. As Russia prepared to invade his home country, Rodomansky and his leadership team crafted a plan to survive and keep serving clients. He shares how his firm put people first, communicated with customers, and managed to become resilient. Rodomansky wrote the HBR article “A Cofounder of Ralabs on Leading a Ukrainian Start-Up Through a Year of War.”

After the summer of 2020 in the United States, many organizations made a big push to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in their ranks and operations. But now, many fear that that momentum is slipping, especially in the face of economic headwinds. Laura Morgan Roberts, organizational psychologist and professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, says it is time to recommit to these efforts by creating the conditions for all workers to flourish. She explains four freedoms that organizations can foster to allow employees to become their best selves — and even be able to fade into the background when they choose. Roberts wrote the HBR Big Idea article “Where Does DEI Go From Here?”

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technology is creating, destroying, and changing jobs. And Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun has been studying how leading companies are training and reskilling employees for this new paradigm. She says many firms underestimate how quickly and significantly workers will need to be reskilled and leave this effort to the HR department. Instead, she explains leaders and middle managers across the company are essential to manage this change. With Jorge Tamayo and Leila Doumi of HBS and Sagar Goel and Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic of the BCG Henderson Institute, Sadun wrote the HBR article “Reskilling in the Age of AI.”

The restaurant business is notoriously competitive and often propelled by passing fads. But, first at the helm of Au Bon Pain, and then as the founder of Panera Bread, Ron Shaich managed to create an entirely new category of dining between fast food and table service and then dominate that market in the United States. He says the strategies that brought him success can be applied in any type of organization:  listen to and observe customers so you know what they want, create a truly differentiated offering, execute with excellence, and find the right opportunities to grow. He’s employed this playbook as an investor in newer ventures like Cava and Tatte, as well. Shaich wrote the book Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.

For a long time, conventional wisdom ruled that companies should avoid reselling their own products in used condition. There’s the threat of cannibalization, marketing confusion, and tricky logistics that can erase margins. But more name-brand retailers are jumping into resale, says Wharton marketing professor Tom Robertson. Thanks in part to Gen Z with its zeal for sustainability, he says consumer demand is rising fast for reused goods. He sees a revolution where brands cash in on resale, knowing that if they don’t own those customer relationships and sales, others will. Robertson wrote the HBR article “The Resale Revolution.”