The Next Big Breakthrough in AI Will Be Around Language

The Next Big Breakthrough in AI Will Be Around Language

September 25, 2020

Most companies recognise that aggressive adoption of digital technologies is increasingly critical to being competitive. Our research shows that the top 10% of early adopters of digital technologies have grown at twice the rate of the bottom 25%, and that they are using cloud systems — not legacy systems — to enable adoption, a trend we expect to accelerate among industry leaders over the coming five years.

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How to thrive in the next normal of distributed work

How to thrive in the next normal of distributed work

September 18, 2020

Some companies are struggling to keep up with our new normal. Research from Asana reveals nearly half of employees surveyed globally said company-wide goals had been deprioritised since remote working began, with 47 per cent saying those goals have changed at least once during that time – and 60 per cent haven’t increased communication on such issues. 

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Will the Pandemic Push Knowledge Work into the Gig Economy?

Will the Pandemic Push Knowledge Work into the Gig Economy?

September 04, 2020

The term “gig economy” was coined by the former New Yorker editor Tina Brown in 2009. It described how workers in the knowledge economy increasingly were pursuing “a bunch of free-floating projects, consultancies, and part-time bits and pieces while they transacted in a digital marketplace.

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Use Data to Revolutionise Project Planning

Use Data to Revolutionise Project Planning

August 28, 2020

The California bullet train between San Diego and San Francisco. Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter program. Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport. Apple’s AirPower wireless charging pad. These are just a few examples of projects that suffered severe schedule delays and cost overruns, or that were unable to deliver on their promised scope.

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The most fundamental skill: Intentional learning and the career advantage

The most fundamental skill: Intentional learning and the career advantage

August 21, 2020

The call for individuals and organizations alike to invest in learning and development has never been more insistent. The World Economic Forum recently declared a reskilling emergency as the world faces more than one billion jobs transformed by technology.

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Remote Managers Are Having Trust Issues

Remote Managers Are Having Trust Issues

July 31, 2020

Covid-19 has thrust many leaders into remote management which requires a different skill set than face-to-face management. They have been forced to make this transition quickly, and for the most part, without training. While some jobs have proven adaptable, many sectors are not well-suited for the remote environment and many workers have home lives that present overwhelming challenges.

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Does Your Company Have a Long-Term Plan for Remote Work?

Does Your Company Have a Long-Term Plan for Remote Work?

July 24, 2020

Mark Zuckerberg recently shared his plans for the future of remote work at Facebook. By 2030, he promised, at least half of Facebook’s 50,000 employees would be working from home. “We are going to be the most forward-leaning company on remote work at our scale,” he declared in a follow-up interview. A few days before...

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To emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, companies should start reskilling their workforces now

To emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, companies should start reskilling their workforces now

June 12, 2020

Imagine a crisis that forces your company’s employees to change the way they work almost overnight. Despite initial fears that the pressure would be too great, you discover that this new way of working could be a blueprint for the long term.

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The Downside of Flex Time

The Downside of Flex Time

May 15, 2020

Remote work, especially in a world affected by Covid-19, naturally leads to “flex time.” Employees with small children might be getting the majority of their work done at night after the kids are in bed. Others are working early and hoping to quit early. Still, others are starting late and working late.

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To emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, companies should start reskilling their workforces now

To emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, companies should start reskilling their workforces now

May 08, 2020

Imagine a crisis that forces your company’s employees to change the way they work almost overnight. Despite initial fears that the pressure would be too great, you discover that this new way of working could be a blueprint for the long term. 

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How to Combat Zoom Fatigue

How to Combat Zoom Fatigue

May 01, 2020

If you’re finding that you’re more exhausted at the end of your workday than you used to be, you’re not alone. Over the past few weeks, mentions of “Zoom fatigue” have popped up more and more on social media, and Google searches for the same phrase have steadily increased since early March.

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Best Practices for Instant Messaging at Work

Best Practices for Instant Messaging at Work

April 04, 2020

“I’ll Slack you.” In workplaces around the world, the name of the popular online messaging system has become a verb, just like Google. Slack has been enthusiastically integrated into the day-to-day functions of legacy corporations and burgeoning startups: The company claims that, in 2019, it hosted 10+ million daily users.

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Virtual Meetings Don’t Have to Be a Bore

Virtual Meetings Don’t Have to Be a Bore

March 27, 2020

Those of us who present, facilitate, and teach for a living understand the importance of developing a personal connection with an audience. It’s critical to be and feel natural; to make people laugh, feel at ease, and fully engage — and perhaps even lose themselves — in the content you’re delivering. 

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A Guide to Managing Your (Newly) Remote Workers

A Guide to Managing Your (Newly) Remote Workers

March 20, 2020

In response to the uncertainties presented by Covid-19, many companies and universities have asked their employees to work remotely. While Millions of people report that they work remotely around the world, the new policies leave many employees — and their managers — working out of the office and separated from each other for the first time.

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What’s Your Company’s Emergency Remote-Work Plan?

What’s Your Company’s Emergency Remote-Work Plan?

March 06, 2020

At the end of February, early March 2020, the coronavirus (or Covid-19) took a more serious turn in Korea, Italy, Spain, UK and the U.S. with warnings that it could very well impact how, when, and where we work.

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Create a Productivity Workflow That Works for You

Create a Productivity Workflow That Works for You

February 07, 2020

In the past fifteen years, I’ve tried scores of task managers like Todoist and Wunderlist, a couple dozen project management platforms like Asana and Basecamp, and hundreds of other productivity apps that promise to make better use of my time or enhance collaboration with my colleagues or my team. 

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Social Media’s Productivity Payoff

Social Media’s Productivity Payoff

November 29, 2019

Social technologies are not just giant time sinks that keep your employees from getting their work done. On the contrary, they may become the most powerful tools yet developed to raise the productivity of high-skill knowledge workers.

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Mapping the value of employee collaboration

Mapping the value of employee collaboration

November 08, 2019

Although collaboration is at the heart of modern business processes, most companies are still in the dark about how to manage it. Linear, process-based tools such as activity-based costing, business process reengineering, and total quality management have long been effective at measuring and improving the efficiency of people and organisations in accomplishing individual tasks. But ...

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7 Questions to Ask Before Your Next Digital Transformation

7 Questions to Ask Before Your Next Digital Transformation

October 04, 2019

Although digital investment is almost unquestionably the right course of action for most firms, organisations still struggle to create the desired results. Estimates of digital transformation failures range from 66% to 84%. Such a high failure rate isn’t surprising, as leaders are trying to create entirely new competencies and wedge them into an organisation with strong legacy cultures and operating models.

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Protecting Company Culture Means Having Rules for Email

Protecting Company Culture Means Having Rules for Email

August 30, 2019

A study out of Virginia Tech University confirms something that just about every knowledge worker already knows: Dealing with after-hours emails produces anxiety which is damaging not only to the worker but to their family, too.

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5 tips to Help Employees Navigate Digital Transformation

5 tips to Help Employees Navigate Digital Transformation

August 09, 2019

The consumer packaged goods (CPG) landscape has been going through a significant shake-up. Coca-Cola reshuffled its leadership team to focus on growth, innovation, and digital. Unilever acquired Dollar Shave Club, a young startup, for $1 billion in a move to introduce a new...

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