articles 1 to 10 of 422
Beth Comstock and GE: Imagining the Future
Beth Comstock, a senior vice president and chief marketing officer at General Electric, thinks everyone should embrace change, accept challenges and never fear failure. It is advice that has helped her continue to grow in her career at NBC, CBS and now GE, where, among other things, she convinced the CEO to support a new slogan for the company: "imagination at work." Comstock offered her thoughts during a Wharton Leadership Lecture.
From: May 08, 2013
Using Community Libraries to Create Social Change in Rural South Asia
READ Global, an international non-profit that uses community libraries as a platform for creating social change in rural villages throughout India, Bhutan and Nepal, is the winner of the second annual Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize awarded to an organization that is creating social impact through leadership and innovation. Wharton administers the prize on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania. Michael Useem, director of Wharton's Center for Leadership and Change Management, recently interviewed Tina Sciabica, executive director of READ Global. (Video with transcript)
From: May 08, 2013
GE's Jeff Immelt on Leadership, Global Risk and Growth
GE CEO Jeff Immelt runs a $240-billion company that operates in 160 countries. He recently sat down for a candid discussion about leadership with Wharton management professor Michael Useem at the Wharton Economic Summit 2013 in New York City. Their conversation covered themes such as competitive advantage, global risk management, public policy, mentorship, growth strategies and even the toughest decision of Immelt’s professional career.
From: April 30, 2013
The New Philanthropists: More Sophisticated, More Demanding -- and Younger
Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie once said that he who dies leaving behind many millions will "pass away unwept, unhonored and unsung." That philosophy took root in much of the last century, with major philanthropists giving vast fortunes in their later years to institutions devoted to the public good. But donors today aren't taking any chances. They are integrating the practice of philanthropy into their education and flexing philanthropic muscle at a younger age than their predecessors.
From: April 24, 2013
The Cleveland Indians, Sports Agents and the Art of Negotiation
Mark Shapiro got plenty of lessons in negotiation while growing up in Baltimore, thanks to his father, Ron, a sports agent. During a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture, the elder Shapiro and his son, now president of the Cleveland Indians, talked about the qualities important for successful negotiations -- listening, learning, loyalty, respect and the willingness to give a little to get what you want. (Article with video)
From: April 10, 2013
Why Mindfulness and Meditation Are Good for Business
In a world focused on increased productivity and instant gratification, it's hard to imagine that businesspeople have much time for meditation. But huge corporations -- including Google, Monsanto, Hearst and National Grid --have discovered the benefits of meditation at work, including improved teamwork, more effective decision-making and lower levels of employee stress. In this interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Mirabai Bush, co-founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, spoke with Katherine Klein, vice dean of Wharton's Social Impact Initiative, about the benefits of contemplative thinking. (Podcast with transcript)
From: March 27, 2013
To Close the Gender Gap, What Needs to Change -- Women or the System?
The current debate over why too few women have achieved leadership positions in business and government focuses on two alleged culprits -- women who don't try hard enough to promote themselves, and organizations that don't provide workplaces supportive enough of women's needs. But the issue, say men and women alike, is not that black and white.
From: March 27, 2013
Steven Ujifusa on William Francis Gibbs and His Ships
Named one of The Wall Street Journal's top 10 nonfiction books of 2012, Steven Ujifusa's A Man and His Ship: America's Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the SS United States brings William Francis Gibbs' story to life. Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell recently sat down with Ujifusa to learn more about what inspired the author to tell Gibbs' story, what led Gibbs to build ships and how the builder's firm became responsible for 70% of all ships built during World War II. (Video with transcript)
From: March 06, 2013
Talking It Out: The New Conversation-centered Leadership
Every year, hundreds of thousands of new graduates enter the business world, eager to climb the corporate ladder. Their progress on the early rungs of that journey will often be determined by qualities like hard work, determination, knowledge and technical proficiency. But Alan S. Berson and Richard G. Stieglitz, authors of Leadership Conversations: Challenging High-Potential Managers to Become Great Leaders, argue that those same qualities prove less helpful at higher rungs on the ladder, and may even be one's downfall if they are not balanced by a very different set of leadership skills.
From: March 06, 2013
Book Report: Spring Reading for a Fresh Start
With spring and, for some, the final quarter of the fiscal year just around the corner, many of us are looking ahead to new personal and organizational growth opportunities. This book report features a mix of author interviews and book reviews that will help to reinvigorate how you approach work. In addition, we cover a series of books that offer insight into the fascinating business of food.
From: March 06, 2013
