The Insightful Leader
A Weekly Newsletter
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How to be memorable
Sent to subscribers on July 3, 2024
“What do you do?”
You probably get this question so frequently that you have a boilerplate response. “I’m in sales.” “I design enterprise software.” “I work in a hospital.”
In other words: yaaaawn. “That’s just boring,” says Craig Wortmann, a clinical professor of marketing at Kellogg. And why be... more
Permission to splurge?
Sent to subscribers on June 26, 2024
Americans receive more than $743 billion in refunds from returned retail purchases—more than double the $335 billion they get in tax refunds. So what happens to all this money? Do customers spend it as they ordinarily would, cash being fungible and all? Or does something a little … different... more
The stereotypes that lurk in our language
Sent to subscribers on June 19, 2024
Happy Juneteenth.
As the newest federal holiday on the block, Juneteenth isn’t (yet) in the lexicon of many Americans, particularly those who are not Black. As more states and companies celebrate, that should change. This got me thinking about how language evolves and what its evolution might tell... more
Where is your team working?
Sent to subscribers on June 12, 2024
More than four years since the initial Covid-19 lockdowns, it appears that for many knowledge workers the five-day commute is a thing of the past. Hybrid is here to stay.
“We’ve moved to a new status quo that is hard to change,” says Benjamin Friedrich, an associate professor of strategy at the... more
When bad behavior gets a pass
Sent to subscribers on June 5, 2024
You’ve probably heard that inequality is rising in much of the world. This has a bunch of consequences, including negative impacts on life expectancy, infant mortality, and even happiness for those on the lower end of the economic spectrum. At the societal level, increased inequality hurts economic... more
The end of noncompetes?
Sent to subscribers on May 29, 2024
For people who think a lot about competition, and particularly how organizations can and can’t legally circumvent it, it’s been a busy stretch.
Just last week, the Justice Department sued Live Nation, asking the court to (at a minimum) order the divestiture of Ticketmaster. This follows on the... more
Failure happens. What can we learn from it?
Sent to subscribers on May 22, 2024
Failure stings. It puts a dent in our egos, exposes us to criticism, and leaves us feeling vulnerable. But according to Kellogg’s Sanjay Khosla, having the courage to acknowledge failures—and the humility to learn from them—is essential for top executives.
Never fear. Kellogg Insight’s very first... more
Who takes a risk on new tech?
Sent to subscribers on May 15, 2024
Okay, this may sound obvious, but bear with me here: companies are made of people. Which means that, when we talk about companies deciding to enter a market or launch a product or integrate AI into their workflow, what we’re really talking about is people deciding to do these things.
This makes the... more
Beware of intellectual isolation on your team
Sent to subscribers on May 8, 2024
With the rise of remote work, many knowledge workers today have come to expect more autonomy. Fewer meetings. Less chitchat around the water cooler. Plenty of time to concentrate on projects at their own pace.
And yeah, I’ll be honest: that sounds pretty good to me, too. But this way of working can... more
Making a decision? Mind your mindset.
Sent to subscribers on May 1, 2024
When do you know you have enough information to make a decision?
So much depends, of course, on the nature of that decision. Ordering lunch? That’s fairly low stakes, and a few quick questions of your waiter will suffice. Choosing the CEO of your next organization? Yeah, that’s going to take more... more
Can you lead through climate change?
Sent to subscribers on April 24, 2024
You’re probably getting bombarded with climate-related articles. Which makes sense, with Earth Day falling on Monday of this week. I personally celebrated by spending an extra hour in my garden and binging Ancient Earth on PBS. (Nothing like taking the 4-billion-year view to help this sink in: the... more
So you want to join a board …
Sent to subscribers on April 17, 2024
What do you know about getting on a corporate board?
Maybe you know a lot. Maybe you already sit on multiple boards. If that’s the case, you can probably skim the first half of today’s email.
But if you don’t know much, here’s your chance to learn a few things. Because this week, Kellogg professor... more
When AI calls the shots
Sent to subscribers on April 10, 2024
It’s become increasingly clear that AI is going to shape workplaces in ways that we can scarcely anticipate.
Still, when we think about ensuring that the output of any human–machine collaboration is accurate, it’s easy to assume that humans will be the ones double-checking machines, with the... more
Make it stick with a story
Sent to subscribers on April 3, 2024
Picture this: You’re about to give a presentation on your firm’s Q4 performance. And you’ve got a graph up your sleeve that you’re certain will knock people’s socks off. The moment comes and … crickets.
If this sounds familiar, today’s advice is for you—because data alone doesn’t always land the... more
The allure of consensus
Sent to subscribers on March 27, 2024
Imagine you’re out with a group of friends and trying to decide where to eat dinner. If you’re craving pasta, you can take one of two general approaches to getting your way: you can try to build low-level support among a larger number of people (“Spaghetti could be nice, right?”) or you can work to... more
Don’t be afraid to be an ally
Sent to subscribers on March 20, 2024
We know that allies can play an important role in making organizations more inclusive. But are potential allies staying mum out of fear of misstepping or appearing insensitive?This week, we’ll discuss new research that explores just how warranted this fear is. Plus: what really gives activist-led... more
Don’t run from conflict
Sent to subscribers on March 13, 2024
At work, as in life, conflict is inevitable (though not much fun). Sometimes we disagree over how to handle a particular project or client. Sometimes we just don’t vibe with a colleague.But what matters, as professor of management and organizations Leigh Thompson explained in the Financial Times,... more
New tech’s winners and losers
Sent to subscribers on March 6, 2024
The release of ChatGPT in 2022 brought to a boil a conversation that had been simmering for years: How and how much will new technology change the labor market?While generative AI like ChatGPT represents a major advancement, it is certainly not the first time a new tool has sat poised to change (or... more
Hate change? Here’s how to adapt.
Sent to subscribers on February 28, 2024
Once, at a previous job, a colleague suggested our email-centric team try using chat software. Even though I’d been raised in the glory days of AOL Instant Messenger, I balked. All day long, my email was chirping at me, demanding my attention. I was supposed to pay attention to another thing—while... more
The upside of in-person work
Sent to subscribers on February 21, 2024
It’s been about four years since COVID-19 began spreading across the world—and with it, the popularity of remote work.
Here in the U.S., most remote-capable jobs (60 percent) used to be done exclusively on-site. But in a few short years, those numbers have been flipped on their head. Now that... more