Technology & Innovation — April 15, 2011

Leadership Lessons in a Globalized World

Companies are still feeling their way forward on “globalization”. Should they develop leadership centrally or try to source talent locally? How best to manage a diverse workforce?

bigthinkeditor

What’s the Latest Development?

There are now hundreds of books on globalization but still lots of confusion on how best to develop leadership in a globalized world. IESE Business School surveyed a range of corporate leaders and found no clear-cut answers but some broad agreement: nurture homegrown talent, embrace diversity, move with the times, build partnerships with business schools, be prepared to change your model.

What’s the Big Idea?

A “one size fits all” strategy is untenable. Some firms rely on sending their most prized, homegrown executives off to emerging markets but there are limits to how far you can simply parachute in expatriate talent. Being able to adapt to local customs is key to developing local talent. Bertelsmann opts for developing local managers as entrepreneurs, rather than relying too much on expatriates. Nestlé has 90 nationalities working in its head office.

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

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