Marketing

Is Now the Time to Transition to Personalized Marketing?

Budgets are strapped. There are a million other things to do. But the risk of ignoring AI-powered modern marketing is dire.

Entrepreneurship

Podcast: “This Is a Time for Management Teams to Earn Their Stripes.”

On this special episode of The Insightful Leader, veteran venture capitalist Woody Marshall discusses the investment landscape and the importance of leadership through the pandemic.

Organizations

How to Do Design Thinking Better

Experts from Kellogg and IDEO explain the psychology behind this creative approach to problem solving.

Entrepreneurship

Amid the Pandemic, Entrepreneurs Can Still Find Opportunity

The crisis provides fertile ground for startups in spaces like telehealth and touchless payment. Other startups will need to get creative.

Strategy

Podcast: Wayfair Has Seen a Spike in New Customers. Here’s How It Plans to Keep Them.

On this special episode of The Insightful Leader, a conversation with the company’s chief merchandising officer about adapting for an unprecedented future.

Finance & Accounting

How to Secure Credit During a Financial Crisis

The key? Don’t tap your best collateral in good times.

Economics

Why the Next Round of COVID-19 Aid Should Target Industries That Can’t Work from Home

A new study pinpoints which sectors—and which workers in those sectors—suffered the most. Congress should take note.

As the Crisis Drags On, Here’s How Leaders Can Maintain Momentum

The adrenaline has faded. All-nighters are not sustainable. A retired Navy admiral explains what needs to happen now.

Policy

How Is the Pandemic Affecting Antitrust Enforcement?

Deals will be ramping up again soon. Companies shouldn’t expect a free pass from regulators.

Social Impact

“This Is What It Means to Be Black in America and Black in Corporate America”

As the nation reckons with structural racism, a Kellogg professor and a Google diversity recruiter discuss what credible leadership looks like for business leaders.

Social Impact

Podcast: “I’m Looking for Systemic, Permanent Change Right Now”

Anti-Black racism is deeply embedded in corporate culture. On this special episode of The Insightful Leader, Professor Nicholas Pearce and Google’s Ginny Clarke discuss the moral responsibility of leaders to finally address that.

Marketing

How Have Top Marketers Responded to the Pandemic? With Rapid Innovation.

Leaders in industries from healthcare to casual dining are fast-tracking changes to the customer experience. Here are four of their stories.

Social Impact

What Will It Take to Alleviate Global Poverty?

We asked Kellogg experts what they wish NGOs and policymakers knew about poverty reduction. Their answers touched on everything from climate change to local bankruptcy laws.

Social Impact

Some Companies Actually Do See Financial Returns on Their Social Investments. Here’s What They Have in Common.

A new study finds that ESG investments—when paired with high employee satisfaction—boost stock performance.

Careers

Exhausted by Working from Home? Anxious about Going Back?

Tips from a clinical health psychologist on managing the work-related stressors that may be affecting your mental health.

Careers

How to Coach Your Sales Team through the Pandemic (and Beyond)

The founder of the Kellogg Sales Institute offers tips for adapting to this high-stakes moment.

Innovation

Want Your Employees to Innovate? Trust Them.

R&D teams take more risks—and do better work—when their CEOs have faith in them.

Strategy

Tired of People Invading Your Six-Foot Bubble? Game Theory Has a Solution.

Well, not exactly. But it does offer a new way of thinking about the problem.

Careers

Your Professional Development Doesn’t Need to Be Put on Hold

You can still seek out ways to stretch yourself or test out a new career path—even during a pandemic.

Careers

Younger Workers Lose Out When Their Coworkers Delay Retirement

But at fast-growing companies, the outlook is more promising.

Marketing

A New System for Getting Your Kids to Eat Healthier Foods

They tend to prefer variety. Here’s how to use that instinct to get more fruits and veggies on their plates.

Policy

The Wrong Way to Ramp Up COVID-19 Testing

Robust testing is key to safely reopening the economy. But a new model shows that if testing is not paired with “smart containment,” it could backfire.

Leadership

Podcast: Now’s the Time to Hone Your Moral Decision-Making Skills

Dilemmas are rarely black-and-white. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we hear what fictional characters can teach us about today’s real-world quandaries.

Leadership

Easy Hacks to Improve Your Virtual Meetings

From “speed-storming” to building a team charter, these ideas boost creativity and comfort on video calls.

Operations

Having a Far-Flung Supply Chain May Lead to More Product Defects

When firms have to collaborate over long distances, the final product suffers.

Innovation

3 Strategies to Transform Your Business for the Pandemic Economy

You know you need to adapt. But how?

Organizations

Too Much Cross Talk. Too Little Creativity. How to Fix the Worst Parts of a Virtual Meeting.

Six tools from an unlikely place—improv comedy—to use on your next Zoom call.

Economics

The Treasury’s Former Chief Economist Takes Stock of the Pandemic’s Economic Impact

Kellogg’s Janice Eberly zeroes in on a few data points that demonstrate the massive challenge policymakers face.

Innovation

The U.S. Is Full of Innovative Thinkers. The Government Needs to Marshal All of Them to Fight Covid-19.

Here’s how we can accelerate efforts to reduce the spread, develop treatments, and find a vaccine.

Policy

What Can the Federal Government Do to Get the Economy Back on Track?

A former White House economist weighs the pros and cons of job-retraining programs, aid for states, and universal basic income.

Finance & Accounting

Taking on Debt Can Help a Company Grow—Until a Crisis Hits

A new study shows how highly leveraged companies have less flexibility to innovate in a downturn.

Economics

Here’s How Americans Are Spending Their Stimulus Checks

Real-time data pinpoints what we’re buying, and who’s spending the fastest.

Organizations

This Isn’t Their First Crisis: Many Family Businesses Are Uniquely Prepared for the Looming Recession

Even so, one of their core strengths could become a liability.

Healthcare

How to Craft Public-Health Messages That Work

The key? Understanding how fear and confidence shape healthy choices.

Finance & Accounting

What Happens When Private-Equity Firms Start Making Deals Again?

There will be more buyout opportunities, but fewer on-site visits will make due diligence more difficult.

Leadership

Podcast: You Can Lead through a Crisis. But Can You Coach through One?

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: three ways to help your employees arrive at their own answers to difficult questions.

Careers

Under Quarantine, It’s Not Marriage-as-Usual

A relationship researcher offers advice for cooped-up couples. Plus, how to preserve your work friendships.

Finance & Accounting

What the Current Crisis Means for Private Equity

Access to capital will likely buoy some PE firms and the companies they back. Others will be less lucky.

Leadership

A Pastor (and Management Professor) on Taking Care of Your Team during the COVID-19 Crisis

Share in their sacrifice. Don’t preach. And ask these three questions.

Social Impact

Uncertainty. Loss of Control. Why COVID-19 Is a Perfect Storm for Conspiracy Theories.

And how policymakers can help make them less appealing.

Finance & Accounting

The COVID-19 Crisis Reveals How Short-Term, Shareholder-First Thinking Still Rules the Day

From questionable buybacks to overly restrictive M&A clauses, a recent pledge to consider other stakeholders is ringing hollow.

Leadership

Podcast: Sure, Take That Zoom Call in Your Sweatpants. It Might Make You a Better Person.

When we stop compartmentalizing our home and work selves, we tend to act more ethically. Find out why on this episode of The Insightful Leader.

Economics

Companies Need to Prepare Today to Survive the Next 18 Months

An economist explains how leaders can try to lower fixed costs, retain workers, and mind their brands.

Leadership

How to Lead Your (Suddenly Virtual) Team through a Crisis

It’s going to require a shift in management style—and a healthy dose of overcommunication.

Economics

A Closer Look at Consumer Stockpiling During the Coronavirus Crisis

Researchers examined how households responded to shelter-in-place orders. They uncovered some surprises.

Marketing

Four Steps Marketers Can Take to Navigate the Pandemic

Step one: Press pause. Step two: Rethink everything.

Organizations

How Infectious-Disease Testing Can Improve Employee Performance

A new study on malaria prevention shows that employees who know their health status become more productive at work.

Leadership

Your Organization Needs a Coronavirus “War Room”

And other advice on making tough choices during a pandemic.

Marketing

When Building Your Brand, First Find Your Purpose

A conversation with the CMO of online bank Ally about staying committed to your company’s purpose as the organization grows.

Leadership

What Strong Crisis Leadership Looks Like during the Pandemic

COVID-19 is providing a crash course in crisis management. Leaders who display empathy, transparency, and aspiration will stand out.

The Latest: Our Faculty on the Coronavirus, Business, and the Economy

Finding a job during a pandemic. Plus, the fate of the 1918 “flu babies.”

Innovation

A New Product Release Often Sets Off a Customer Frenzy. But How Long Does It Last?

When consumers replace the old with the new, surprising trends emerge. A new mathematical model can better predict long-term sales.

Economics

The Unprecedented Stock-Market Reaction to COVID-19

A new analysis explains why this pandemic really is different.

Social Impact

Podcast: Designing Social Impact Programs That (Really) Work

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: if a business is to survive in the long run, it’s no longer enough to make small changes to address inequality and climate change.

Policy

Containing COVID-19 Will Devastate the Economy. Here’s the Economic Case for Why It’s Still Our Best Option.

The death toll from failing to contain the virus will be far more costly to society.

Policy

How to Shore Up State and Local Budgets during a Coronavirus Recession

State governments are responsible for implementing much of the social safety net. They’ll be looking to the federal government for extra help.

Economics

Take 5: What Previous Recessions Can Teach Us about the Coronavirus Crisis

From stimulus strategies to how businesses will fare, research on past downturns can help inform our outlook today.

Operations

The Coronavirus Has Upended Supply Chains. Here’s How Companies Can Prepare for the Next Disruption.

There are strategies that both large and small companies can implement to make their manufacturing more agile.

Social Impact

What Your Business Can Do to Help the Community during the Coronavirus Crisis

Want to take action but don’t know how? Answering these three questions can get you started.

Leadership

Two Principles for Leading Your Organization Through the COVID-19 Crisis

A former Fortune 500 CEO offers a way forward during this time of unprecedented uncertainty.

Finance & Accounting

Many Funds Have Committed to Socially Responsible Investing—But Few Are Following Through

As money flows into ESG funds, new evidence shows that most asset managers aren’t actually changing their investment behaviors.

Leadership

Podcast: Is Management Training Worth It?

And which managers stand to benefit most? Find out on this episode of The Insightful Leader.

Social Impact

How a “Hypocrisy Intervention” Could Reduce Hostility toward Muslims

People are often hypocritical in how they assign blame for terrorist attacks. Highlighting this could help change attitudes.

Policy

When Do Open Borders Make Economic Sense?

A new study provides a window into the logic behind various immigration policies.

Marketing

When Do We Identify with the Bad Guy?

What started as research into consumer psychology led to deeper questions about human nature.

Leadership

Take 5: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the World of Sports

Specialists and scrappy underdogs can be just as indispensable in the office as they are on the playing field.

Organizations

Is Your Company’s Code of Conduct Encouraging … Misconduct?

Using words like “we” and “us” can signal to employees that they won’t be severely punished.

Finance & Accounting

Yes, Investors Care About Gender Diversity

By recruiting more women, tech and finance companies stand to add millions to their stock value.

Finance & Accounting

How to Pick a Loser

A hedge-fund manager explains what most traders get wrong about short selling and when to go long on a diamond in the rough.

Finance & Accounting

Why Financial-Market Pioneer Richard Sandor Is Building “the Most Boring Benchmark in America”

A conversation with the creator of AMERIBOR about interest-rate benchmarks in a post-LIBOR world.

Entrepreneurship

Is Your Company Culture on Autopilot?

Three tips for guiding your business through rapid growth.

Innovation

Podcast: When AI Leaves the Lab

AI is now being used to serve customers. On this episode of The Insightful leader, we discuss trends and potential pitfalls that should be on companies’ radars.

Operations

Podcast: The (Surprisingly Muddy) Case for Transparency

Economists prize sharing information. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we ask if that’s always the right move.

Organizations

Why Anger Gets in the Way of Employee Activism

Moral outrage can be a powerful recruiting tool for social causes. But a different tactic is needed to motivate insiders.

Careers

Take 5: The Upside of Failure

A look at the surprising benefits of striking out, and how to make the most of your mistakes.

Organizations

Are You Giving All of Your Employees an Equal Chance to Succeed?

Make sure your organization is truly inclusive by following these three steps.

Operations

As Supply Chains Move Faster, Businesses Have an Opportunity to Cut Shipping Costs

How companies can make the most out of information gleaned during the delivery window.

Strategy

How to Design Financial Incentives in Professions That Are Highly Territorial

A study of doctors shows that the best incentive schemes harness a desire to expand and protect professional turf.

Marketing

How B2B Companies Can Up Their Customer Experience Game

Most companies focus on their own sales targets. They should be focusing on their clients’.

Organizations

Why Companies Shouldn’t Necessarily Fear Higher Employee Turnover

In private equity, team stability has long been prized. But new research shows that higher turnover leads to better performance.

Organizations

Do Manager Training Programs Boost Companies’ Productivity?

The answer has been surprisingly elusive. A new study tackles the question, and highlights the outsized value of HR training.

Leadership

Podcast: How to Give Feedback That’s Actually Helpful

Forget the “feedback sandwich.” On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we’ll tell you how to up your game.

Leadership

Podcast: Do Bosses Who Trust Their Employees Deliver More Innovation?

On this episode of The Insightful Leader, learn when you should—and shouldn’t—give your team room to fail.

Entrepreneurship

5 Tips for Pitching Your Startup to Investors

“Make your first 30 seconds count,” and other advice from a seasoned venture capitalist.

Careers

Take 5: How to Start Off Strong

Tips for plotting your first move, whether you’re negotiating a deal, paying off debt, or starting your workday.

Organizations

The Psychology Behind Conflict—and When It Can Be Harnessed for Good

A conversation about the role conflict plays in organizations and communities.

Organizations

Your Work Friends and Enemies Are Affecting Your Performance

A look at social triangles among day traders shows that profits increased under certain combinations of friend and foe.

Healthcare

Do Doctors Who Supervise Residents Spend Less Time with Patients?

Data from two ERs suggest that patients at teaching hospitals aren’t losing out on face time with senior physicians.

Finance & Accounting

Predicting Exchange Rates Is Hard. Could Dusting Off an Old Technique Help?

Investors take note: the “real exchange rate” may be a more accurate long-term forecaster than economists thought.

Finance & Accounting

How a Cash Crunch in India Led to the Widespread Adoption of E-Pay Technology

The rapid spread of a fintech app offers lessons for companies and policymakers.

Operations

How a Change to Food Inspectors’ Schedules Can Make Our Food Safer

Yes, they try to be objective. But seemingly small quirks in their schedules can affect their judgment.

Careers

Podcast: When Teams Mess Up, Who Takes the Fall?

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: how to make sure you’re not blaming the wrong person.

Organizations

How One Colorado Tech Firm Is Helping to Shape the Cannabis Industry

The key has been serving growers and retailers—as well as regulators.

Marketing

Take 5: How to Be a Savvy Holiday Shopper

Kellogg researchers explain the psychology of consumer decision-making.

Organizations

Podcast: How You Should Divvy Up Work between People and Machines

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: strategies for building a happier, more productive workplace.

Social Impact

Which Charity Will Do the Most Good with Your Donation? This Simple Tool Can Tell You.

Step one: choose a cause you care about. Step two: find out who’s having the most impact per dollar. Step three: donate with confidence.

Data Analytics

How Companies Can Mine Online Reviews for Product-Development Gold

The right techniques can uncover valuable insights in user-generated content.

Economics

Two Ways the Economy Could Have Recovered Faster after the Great Recession

Doubling down on these monetary policies could help combat future financial crises.

Operations

A Simple Way to Make Your Customers More Satisfied with Their Deliveries

Hint: It comes down to when you send status updates.

Economics

What’s Causing Wage Stagnation in America?

Previous explanations pointed to globalization and automation. But research shows that employer concentration is also to blame.