All Briefs

You’ve read the management books. You’ve heard more than enough about engagement, empowerment, teamwork, and so forth. But there’s just one problem: In the day-to-day rush of running your business, keeping your staff motivated takes a backseat to your daily work, management crises and making your numbers.

Why don't CEOs and communicators agree on the role and future of the function? The 2019 Global Communications Report from USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism highlights at least three disconnects between company leaders and the communicators who work for them: the purpose of communications, the point of communications, and how tech will contribute to the field.

Corporations are critical to disaster philanthropy, not just because of the dollars they provide. They are often more nimble than governments in reacting to disasters, providing dollars and services minus the red tape. The Ryder Charitable Foundation, a Disaster Responder member of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program, is taking the lessons of 25 years in disaster philanthropy and applying them to recent challenges.

Given that shareholder voting carries with it fiduciary duties, it is somewhat surprising to find that proxy advisors have yet to be designated investment advice fiduciaries.

There are certain basic concepts, such as intangible assets, that as a manager you should know well. Why? Because intangibles are meaningful and material to your business at many different levels, and yet you cannot rely on accounting to help manage them because intangibles are not on your company’s balance sheet unless they have been acquired.

What does the Director of Communications at Microsoft Digital, Services, and Success think of internal communications? Tom Murphy says there's no longer one way to approach communications. Companies, he says, must measure the effectiveness of programs and combine that with insights into the organization.

Become a funder and suddenly you're the funniest, smartest, and best-looking person in the room. But what if a simple joke like this reveals an underlying truth about inherent power dynamics that exist between funders, nonprofits, and constituents? Funders need to realize that the perspectives of individuals and communities who are directly affected by issues can be quite different that those of nonprofits.

The new SEC no-action letter policy could lead to further Rule 14a-8 changes as companies will be forced to engage with shareholder proposal proponents.

Monthly reports on the number of new jobs and the unemployment rate can drown out important trends like these two: After four decades of worsening, wage inequality has started shrinking. And in a twist, America’s blue-collar workers are playing the biggest role in driving that reversal.

Are you acting like Amazon? B2B companies need to evolve with their customers' expectations and that means you must improve your digital customer experience–just like Amazon does.