The Insightful Leader
A Weekly Newsletter
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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
Love at first cite
Sent to subscribers on February 14, 2024
Happy Valentine’s Day! Here at Kellogg Insight, we may not have candy or roses to offer you, but we do have the next best thing: academic studies about marriage. And if this particular holiday is not your thing, never fear! We’ll also share some highlights from the 20th annual Kellogg School Super... more
Skip the script—but don’t wing it either
Sent to subscribers on February 7, 2024
Good morning,... more
Scared of AI? Here’s an optimistic take.
Sent to subscribers on January 31, 2024
Quick: guess how many of the 270 jobs listed in the 1950 census have since been eliminated by automation. Are you thinking a quarter? A third?“Just one,” says Kellogg’s Hatim Rahman, an assistant professor of management and organizations. “And in case you are wondering, that job was an elevator... more
Be yourself! No, not like that.
Sent to subscribers on January 24, 2024
Early in her career, Ellen Taaffe got some advice she didn’t like. Taaffe, who enjoys wearing bright colors, was told by her boss that her red blazers were making her stand out in the wrong way. She should wear a navy blazer, like the rest of her team.Taaffe, a clinical associate professor of... more
The recession that wasn't
Sent to subscribers on January 17, 2024
For much of 2023, the word on (nearly) every U.S. economist’s lips was “recession.” But here we are in 2024, and the widely prognosticated downturn has yet to materialize. What happened? Are we really in the clear?This week, we’ll hear from Kellogg’s Janice Eberly on the recession that wasn’t and... more
The virtue of having fewer opinions
Sent to subscribers on January 10, 2024
Pineapple on pizza: innovation or abomination? Coffee or tea? Bears or Packers? Heck, I don’t even follow football, and I kind of have an opinion on that last one (which I will not share, because I’m not out here trying to lose half my readers in the first paragraph).
Point is, modern life forces... more
When perks come with a price
Sent to subscribers on January 3, 2024
I did some traveling over the holidays. Naturally, the minute I got back, I started thinking about my next vacation. Destination: anywhere warmer and sunnier than Chicago right now. And like a lot of us, I wondered whether I could somehow game my credit-card rewards to snag a free trip. But new... more
It’s OK to talk about your charitable donations
Sent to subscribers on December 20, 2023
It’s the season of giving, so you’ve probably gotten lots of appeals from charitable organizations hoping for that year-end donation—or perhaps you’re the one trying to raise funds for a cause you care about. If so, you know that getting people to open their hearts (and wallets) is no small feat.... more
Your customer’s mindset
Sent to subscribers on December 13, 2023
If you’re a marketer worth your salt, you’ve probably thought deeply about your customers’ needs and desires. But when’s the last time you considered their mindset?
A mindset is a mental state that affects how we interpret and respond to things in our environment. In a recent The Insightful Leader... more
Inside the mind of a VC
Sent to subscribers on December 6, 2023
Over the last decade, clinical professor of strategy and venture capitalist Carter Cast has met with hundreds of entrepreneurs, listening to their pitches and reading their business plans. His aim: decide whether to invest.
So what, in Cast’s eyes, makes a company stand out? This week, we’ll hear... more
Managing a worrier
Sent to subscribers on November 29, 2023
It’s natural for employees to wonder whether they’re doing a good job and seek occasional feedback. But what should you do if you’re supervising someone who needs constant reassurance?
That’s one of the tricky management questions Harry Kraemer, a clinical professor of management and organizations,... more
AI comes with a big trade-off
Sent to subscribers on November 15, 2023
Have you started to incorporate ChatGPT or other generative AI tools into your daily life?
If so, you know the trade-off well: either accept the AI-generated output as “good enough” or put time—sometimes a lot of time—into personalizing it so that it faithfully reflects your unique style or... more
On purpose
Sent to subscribers on November 8, 2023
What’s your purpose?
It’s a question companies should ask employees more often, according to a Harvard Business Review piece by Maryam Kouchaki, a professor of management and organizations at Kellogg, and Isaac H. Smith of Brigham Young University.
Sure, companies have their own missions, Kouchaki... more
You’re the boss! Now what?
Sent to subscribers on November 1, 2023
Getting promoted is great. But having to manage your former peers? Not always so fun.
Over at The Insightful Leader podcast, Harry Kraemer had some advice for how to navigate that sticky situation.
If you don’t already know Kraemer, you’re in for a treat: He was chairman and CEO of a... more
What your portfolio says about you
Sent to subscribers on October 25, 2023
What’s in your portfolio? Are you betting big on lots of high-risk, high-reward stocks, or are you mostly playing it safe with U.S. treasury bonds?
How you answer this question likely reveals something important about your personality, according to some interesting new research by Kellogg associate... more
How to overhaul bad meetings
Sent to subscribers on October 18, 2023
Be honest. Do you know how to run a really good meeting?
Most people don’t, says Sanjay Khosla, a senior fellow and adjunct professor of marketing at Kellogg. The majority of meetings spend too much time rehashing the past—which immediately puts teams in a defensive posture—and not enough time... more