All Briefs

Despite not understanding how Silicon Valley works, hundreds of corporations have started Silicon Valley innovation labs because they know that digitization is rapidly changing everything, and their corporate cultures are too siloed, insular, slow to accept, slow to use, and slow to commercialize the innovation they desperately need to survive.

Findings from a global study of corporate sustainability reporting reveals that companies in Japan have the highest overall sustainability disclosure rate. The findings raise the fundamental question of why companies report and whether reporting regulations are incentivizing compliance over substance.

The unemployment rate may be overestimating current labor market tightness. An exercise on monthly employment changes shows that 63 percent of all newly employed people aged 25 to 54 in October 2018 were not actively looking for a job in the previous month. If employers are looking for slack in the labor market, they should find better ways to source and recruit the people who are not looking for work and allegedly not willing to work.

Leading businesses are turning to purpose to articulate their mission, power growth, unite and motivate the organization, and become future-ready in a world of non-stop change. Companies can and should use purpose intentionally to figure out how to run their businesses.

This Q&A with Daniel Sunderland discusses the job of the corporate director from his perspective as Chief Auditor at Deloitte. He touches on topics like the influence of the external auditor in the job of the corporate director and the definition of tone at the top.

As strategic consultants to senior leaders, communicators play a critical role in driving outcomes, which makes it important for communications teams to develop robust employee development plans that suit the needs of the organization. Mayo Clinic begins with identifying accountabilities, establishes required competencies at each level, and tracks career progression tailored to individual employees’ own goals.

How do you make life insurance fun and engaging for consumers? Brooks Tingle, President and CEO of John Hancock Insurance, spoke at the recent Customer Experience Conference on how John Hancock uses technology and consumer insights to enhance and innovate the customer experience in life insurance.

An organization’s culture of innovation can be a robust predictor of financial performance, which highlights the importance to companies of measuring intangible assets. With intangible assets growing exponentially as a component of enterprise value, it is unproductive to allow them to go unmanaged.

Corporate volunteering is now a global practice that was boosted by President George H.W. Bush's founding of Points of Light and the National Council on Workplace Volunteering. As the country remembers the 41st President, reflecting on his work to encourage employees to use their expertise in service to their communities can help motivate companies and their employees to continue his legacy.