Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

How Ventas used machine learning and AI to create a net-zero plan

Ventas, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) and S&P 500 company that occupies an essential role in the longevity economy. With roughly 1,400 properties in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the company’s portfolio serves a large and growing aging population. Among its assets are senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, research centers, and healthcare facilities. In 2022, Ventas took a bold step toward its sustainability…

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:9 mins read
Continue ReadingHow Ventas used machine learning and AI to create a net-zero plan

We and Atomic Bombs

The presence of colossal stockpiles of nuclear weapons in two or three great military powers reduces the likelihood of a general war in its traditional sense. However, the state of “a world that will not be at peace” promised by George Orwell also looks like it is balancing on the edge of something that would render any theoretical constructions meaningless, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Timofei Bordachev. In the year…

Continue ReadingWe and Atomic Bombs

100 Years of IFA and Samsung’s AI

Internationale Funkausstellung Berline (IFA) — Europe’s largest consumer electronics trade show held annually in Berlin, Germany — is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Launched in 1924 as a radio exhibition, IFA has transformed over a century into a stunning display of cutting-edge technology that shares a special bond with Samsung Electronics. Home appliances and electronics have followed this evolution. What were once large, bulky machines have since become highly…

Continue Reading100 Years of IFA and Samsung’s AI

A data leader’s operating guide to scaling gen AI

After almost two years of infatuation with generative AI (gen AI), companies are moving past the honeymoon phase to embrace the work that matters most: creating value from this tantalizing technology. Expectations are high. A recent McKinsey Global Survey found that 65 percent of companies across sizes, geographies, and industries now use gen AI regularly, twice as many as last year. Investment in gen AI continues to rise amid the belief…

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:15 mins read
Continue ReadingA data leader’s operating guide to scaling gen AI

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Franchisee vs. Employee Classification

Quick Hits In answering a question certified from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that under Massachusetts law, certain business-to-business relationships in which franchisees have chosen to operate their independent businesses using a business format franchise, the franchisees are not employees of the franchisor. In so holding, the court determined that the plaintiff franchisees at issue were not employees because they…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read
Continue ReadingMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Franchisee vs. Employee Classification

Introducing o1: OpenAI’s new reasoning model series for developers and enterprises on Azure

We are excited to add OpenAI’s newest models o1-preview and o1-mini to Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Studio and GitHub Models. We are excited to add OpenAI’s newest models o1-preview and o1-mini to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Studio, and GitHub Models. The o1 series enables complex coding, math reasoning, brainstorming, and comparative analysis capabilities, setting a new benchmark for AI-powered solutions.  The o1-preview and o1-mini models are now…

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:6 mins read
Continue ReadingIntroducing o1: OpenAI’s new reasoning model series for developers and enterprises on Azure

Five fundamental truths: How B2B winners keep growing

Amid today’s economic uncertainty, the B2B landscape is undergoing significant transformation. Fueled by rapid integration of digital technologies, sellers continue to invest, innovate, and experiment with how they present their offerings. Their B2B customers are shifting toward consumer-like purchasing behavior. They’re also demanding a much more sophisticated buying experience and are willing to walk away if they don’t get it. In this ever-evolving environment, B2B decision makers are asking how…

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:16 mins read
Continue ReadingFive fundamental truths: How B2B winners keep growing

Margaret McGovern: Building an Integrated Health System

Harlan Krumholz: Howie, we’re back. Welcome to Health & Veritas. I’m Harlan Krumholz. Howard Forman: And I’m Howie Forman. We’re physicians and professors at Yale University, and we’re trying to get closer to the truth about health and healthcare. Our guest today is Dr. Margaret, or Peg, McGovern, but first we like to check in on current or hot topics in health and healthcare. And for our listeners, it’s worth…

Continue ReadingMargaret McGovern: Building an Integrated Health System

Build the Right C-Suite Team for Your Strategy

Anuj Shrestha The Research Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo conducted a 10-year research program that examined how new CEOs and executives succeed, including how they build strong leadership teams. They studied the appointment of over 100 CEOs and executives in Europe and the United States through interviews with these leaders, board members, subordinates, and executive recruiters who supported their hiring. Benedetto Vigna drew on insights from his experience as a…

Continue ReadingBuild the Right C-Suite Team for Your Strategy

The Science of Successful Start-Ups

In the competitive world of business, entrepreneurs have long sought novel formulas such as the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Start-Up Method in their quest for success. The most potent tool, however, might be one that's centuries old: the scientific approach.From a series of experiments involving 759 start-ups across industries in Milan, Turin and London, my colleagues* and I found that companies that embraced the practice of rigorously formulating…

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingThe Science of Successful Start-Ups

Personal carbon footprint of the rich is vastly underestimated by rich and poor alike, study finds

An international group of researchers, led by the Copenhagen Business School, the University of Basel and the University of Cambridge, surveyed 4,000 people from Denmark, India, Nigeria and the United States about inequality in personal carbon footprints – the total amount of greenhouse gases produced by a person’s activities – within their own country.Although it is well-known that there is a large gap between the carbon footprint of the richest…

Continue ReadingPersonal carbon footprint of the rich is vastly underestimated by rich and poor alike, study finds

A new dawn for the technology officer

A new era of technological change is ushering the technology officer to the center stage, and expectations are high. Companies want their chief information officers (CIOs), chief technology officers (CTOs), and chief digital and information officers (CDIOs) to deliver on the often-elusive goal of turning the promise of tech into real value. To meet this goal, tech officers are adjusting to ensure that their organizations benefit from the trends that…

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:21 mins read
Continue ReadingA new dawn for the technology officer

New study aims to catch cancer earlier than ever before

Currently cancer is usually diagnosed when tumours are already developed requiring, often significant, treatment to remove them and prevent further growth. However, a research team at the University of Cambridge will receive over £1.5m from Cancer Research UK over the next six years to investigate how the immune system evolves, targets and kills cancer cells as tumours are developing.  They hope by detecting the trigger point when our own body starts to…

Continue ReadingNew study aims to catch cancer earlier than ever before

Indonesia – Russia: From the Past to the Future, History and Prospects

Russian-Indonesian seminar of the Valdai Discussion Club, the National Archives of Indonesia and the Federal Archival Agency of the Russian Federation  On September 24, the Valdai Discussion Club, together with the National Archives of Indonesia and the Federal Archival Agency of the Russian Federation, will hold a Russian-Indonesian seminar titled “Indonesia – Russia: From the Past to the Future, History and Prospects”. The event will be held in Jakarta (Indonesia). …

Continue ReadingIndonesia – Russia: From the Past to the Future, History and Prospects

Five steps to take before the new tax year

The current tax year ends on 5 April 2024 with the 2024/25 tax year kicking off a day later. With the end of the tax year approaching, it’s a good idea to begin to plan what you need to do to ensure your taxes are in good shape. Peter Webb, our Head of Tax Advisory, shares his top tips. Before considering what you might need to do before 6 April…

  • Post category:The Fry Group - UK
  • Reading time:5 mins read
Continue ReadingFive steps to take before the new tax year

The beauty boom and beyond: Can the industry maintain its growth?

In 2023, global beauty market retail sales grew to $446 billion, up 10 percent from 2022. In the year since the release of our inaugural state of beauty report, published in collaboration with The Business of Fashion in May 2023, the industry—comprising fragrance, makeup, skin care, and hair care—beat expectations and outperformed other consumer sectors, such as apparel. But these headline growth figures only tell part of the story. While…

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:12 mins read
Continue ReadingThe beauty boom and beyond: Can the industry maintain its growth?

What Makes Companies Do the Right Thing?

Anuj Shrestha The Research The authors first studied openly accessible documents concerning the COVAX initiative to understand the organization’s functions, vaccine procurement process, and allocation framework. They then conducted semi-structured interviews online with representatives of COVAX stakeholders, including pharma companies, public health organizations, NGOs, and grant-making organizations. Informants were selected to mirror the diversity of stakeholder perspectives. Their media analysis used the Factiva database to better understand the timing of…

Continue ReadingWhat Makes Companies Do the Right Thing?

Honor Hispanic Heritage Month with Minecraft Education and Microsoft Copilot

Engage students with interactive Hispanic Heritage Month lessons that highlight the rich heritage and impactful leadership of Hispanic figures. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in the US from September 15 to October 15 each year, Microsoft is committed to honoring and amplifying the voices and contributions of the Hispanic and Latinx community. Through innovative tools like Minecraft Education and the power of AI with Microsoft Copilot, you have a…

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:7 mins read
Continue ReadingHonor Hispanic Heritage Month with Minecraft Education and Microsoft Copilot

Is the Era of Shareholder Primacy Over?

For decades, the Business Roundtable, a professional association and lobbying organization formed by CEOs from many of the largest companies in the United States, asserted that companies exist to create value for shareholders. So, it was noteworthy when, in 2019, the leaders of 181 companies signed onto the organization’s revised “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” that committed to creating value for all stakeholders. Recently, leaders of the Yale…

Continue ReadingIs the Era of Shareholder Primacy Over?

Innovation hubs: How GCCs are shaping the future of business

Enterprises are looking to Global capability centers (GCCs) as critical innovation hubs to stay ahead in the competitive landscape, but the difficulty lies in aligning strategic priorities with the capabilities of GCCs to maximize their impact. In this episode of McKinsey Talks Operations, host Daphne Luchtenberg is joined by McKinsey partners Abhilash Sridharan and Malcolm Gomes, Debasis Panda of TransUnion, and Pravin Goel of BlackRock to discuss how GCCs are evolving…

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:17 mins read
Continue ReadingInnovation hubs: How GCCs are shaping the future of business

NVIDIA = Three Ways to Ride the Flywheel of Cybersecurity AI

The business transformations that generative AI brings come with risks that AI itself can help secure in a kind of flywheel of progress. Companies who were quick to embrace the open internet more than 20 years ago were among the first to reap its benefits and become proficient in modern network security. Enterprise AI is following a similar pattern today. Organizations pursuing its advances — especially with powerful generative AI…

  • Post category:NVIDIA
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingNVIDIA = Three Ways to Ride the Flywheel of Cybersecurity AI

Patents can help us understand wildlife trade trends, new study shows

The tools we now have to identify trends and shifts in such data are allowing us to develop crucial insights into the effects that human activity is having, and will have, on the natural world. Professor Joss Wright, Oxford Internet Institute and Oxford Martin Programme on Wildlife Trade If companies continue to file patents for products made from animals banned from commercial trade, such as rhinos, this can suggest a…

Continue ReadingPatents can help us understand wildlife trade trends, new study shows

Toxic Lenders are Responding to SEC Investigations and Enforcement Actions

As many of you already know, and for those CEOs of small public companies that do not know, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been investigating the convertible toxic note industry for a few years and has recently filed several high profile enforcement actions against several of these “lenders” for violations of certain federal securities laws, particularly failure to register as a “dealer”, as is required by…

Continue ReadingToxic Lenders are Responding to SEC Investigations and Enforcement Actions

Our Guide to the Fall 2024 Issue

The Four Guardrails That Enable Agility Nick van der Meulen Key Insight: Defining constraints can help large companies foster employee autonomy and agility while maintaining organizational and strategic alignment. Top Takeaways: Organizational agility requires that employees be empowered to make fast decisions, take risks, and consider new ideas, but companies also need a certain level of coordination to reach their strategic goals. Creating an environment in which employees are empowered…

Continue ReadingOur Guide to the Fall 2024 Issue

Legal Aspects of Dilution – What a Founder Needs to Know

Understanding dilution is crucial for founders, particularly as they seek investment and scale their businesses. When high-growth companies attract investor capital, some level of dilution is expected. So here are five essential points every founder should know about dilution. 1. Definition and Impact What is Dilution: Dilution occurs when a company issues new shares, thereby reducing the ownership percentage of existing shareholders. Impact on Ownership: As more shares are issued,…

  • Post category:Logan & Partners
  • Reading time:3 mins read
Continue ReadingLegal Aspects of Dilution – What a Founder Needs to Know

UK organisations release statistics for use of animals in research in 2023

The statistics for the University of Cambridge are available on the website as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.This coincides with the publication of the Home Office’s report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2023. The ten organisations carried out 1,435,009 procedures, 54% (over half) of the 2,681,686 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain…

Continue ReadingUK organisations release statistics for use of animals in research in 2023

Business, Politics, and Cultivating Resilience

Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Business doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Sometimes external conditions exert a much larger force than usual. That is certainly the case today, with political and environmental change, economic uncertainty, regional conflicts, and population displacement happening around the world. As I write this, it’s just a few…

Continue ReadingBusiness, Politics, and Cultivating Resilience

New York Joins States Permitting Dealers To Claim Warranty Reimbursement Using Third Party Labor Time Guides

On September 4, 2024, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to New York’s warranty reimbursement statute, N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 465, requiring manufacturers to compensate dealers for labor using the “reasonable” time allowances contained in third-party labor time guides “reasonably utilized” by dealers for customer-pay repairs. In so doing, New York is the second state to adopt such a statutory provision this year and joins…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingNew York Joins States Permitting Dealers To Claim Warranty Reimbursement Using Third Party Labor Time Guides

NLRB Will No Longer Approve Consent Orders

Quick Hits A recent decision from the NLRB found that consent orders undermine the NLRB general counsel’s prosecutorial authority and fail to facilitate a mutual resolution of labor disputes. For now, the NLRB will no longer accept consent orders, which are settlement terms unilaterally proposed by a respondent (typically an employer) without the consent of the general counsel or the charging party. Moving forward, only bilateral settlement agreements may be…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read
Continue ReadingNLRB Will No Longer Approve Consent Orders

Data and AI integration enhance Oracle Database@Azure

Together with Oracle, we’re announcing upgrades to Oracle Database@Azure, giving customers the ability to run or build new cloud applications that combine Oracle Database services with native Microsoft Azure services and benefit from extremely low latency and high performance. This blog is co-authored by Kambiz Aghili, Vice President, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Multicloud, Oracle. One year ago, Microsoft and Oracle built upon our multi-year partnership by announcing a first of its kind…

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:6 mins read
Continue ReadingData and AI integration enhance Oracle Database@Azure

What Happens When Business Owners Turn to ChatBots for Advice

AI can help you become a better writer, coder, and researcher. But can the powerful technology boost business acumen and economic performance?Sort of, says a recent study. An experimental artificial intelligence (AI) mentor designed to answer business questions from Kenyan entrepreneurs helped some become more successful—but led others down the wrong path, says Rembrand Koning, the Mary V. and Mark A. Stevens Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business…

Continue ReadingWhat Happens When Business Owners Turn to ChatBots for Advice

Indonesia: the fraught road from Jakarta to Nusantara

A decision driven by pragmatic considerations… The problems afflicting Jakarta include overpopulation, pollution, subsidence and flooding. With 12 million people living there – 30 million if you include the entire metropolitan area – Jakarta is overpopulated. It’s one of the world’s most densely populated cities, with more than 16,000 people per square kilometre. Its residents suffer the effects of chronic traffic congestion and the air pollution that goes with it. Above…

  • Post category:Credit Agricole
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingIndonesia: the fraught road from Jakarta to Nusantara

Talking about Child Sexual Abuse Can Help End Child Sexual Abuse

Joan Tabachnick ’86 has worked in the field of child sexual abuse prevention for more than 30 years and developed widely used educational tools and programs. She serves on the advisory council of Stop It Now, and recently retired as the executive director of MASOC—the Massachusetts Society for a World Free of Sexual Harm by Youth. Q: What do people need to understand about child sexual abuse? For many years,…

Continue ReadingTalking about Child Sexual Abuse Can Help End Child Sexual Abuse

Reality Check: Generative AI’s Impact on Work

Radar Research finds that companies have been slow to adopt generative AI and that the technology’s labor impacts have not been widely felt. Kaushik Viswanath September 09, 2024 Reading Time: 2 min  Topics Data, AI, & Machine Learning AI & Machine Learning Radar Brief insights on emerging trends in management from the opening pages of MIT Sloan Management Review’s quarterly print magazine. More in this series Getty Images Since the…

Continue ReadingReality Check: Generative AI’s Impact on Work

UK Labour Government Proposes the Right to ‘Switch Off’

Quick Hits The right to switch off would give workers the right to not have to engage with work correspondence (including emails, phone calls, and work-based messaging services) outside their contracted working hours. This right is intended to give “workers and employers the opportunity to have constructive conversations and work together on bespoke workplace policies or contractual terms that benefit both parties.” How will the right to “switch off” operate?…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingUK Labour Government Proposes the Right to ‘Switch Off’

Is Financial Abuse a Crime?

With stricter domestic violence laws being introduced, a common question being asked is whether financial abuse is a crime. While this has previously been seen in the context of family law proceedings, the introduction of coercive control as a criminal offence has expanded the consequences of financial abuse. This is because control of finances is specifically set out in legislation as a facet of coercive control. A further consequence of…

  • Post category:Astor Legal
  • Reading time:5 mins read
Continue ReadingIs Financial Abuse a Crime?

How to Fight Sanctions: The Iranian Experience

On September 9, the Valdai Discussion Club presented the report “Neither East, Nor West: How Iran’s Economy Copes With Sanctions”. The discussion was moderated by Ivan Timofeev, the Club’s programme director, who noted that Iran remains one of the key cases for those studying the use of sanctions, and that Iran’s experience is extremely important for Russia. Timofeev emphasised that, while this experience cannot be copied literally, it requires careful,…

Continue ReadingHow to Fight Sanctions: The Iranian Experience

Tackling Challenges With Data Governance

Topics Radar Brief insights on emerging trends in management from the opening pages of MIT Sloan Management Review’s quarterly print magazine. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Courtesy of Mathematica Akira Bell is senior vice president and CIO at Mathematica, a research and data analytics consultancy. Bell was a finalist for this year’s MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award in recognition of her work at Mathematica to spearhead the launch…

Continue ReadingTackling Challenges With Data Governance

McDonald’s and the Post #MeToo Rules of Sex In the Workplace

It was a brief dalliance, just a few weeks in length, over text and video only.The end of the affair was nonetheless just the beginning for Stephen Easterbrook, the McDonald’s CEO who went from being hailed as the company’s “savior” by doubling its share price in less than five years to losing his job and getting banned from serving as an executive or director at any other company for five…

Continue ReadingMcDonald’s and the Post #MeToo Rules of Sex In the Workplace

The health impacts of climate change

With climate change increasing seasonal temperatures and causing more frequent heatwaves, understanding these effects has become more crucial than ever. Hormones play a role in nearly all biological functions, yet the influence of environmental factors on hormone release and action is not well characterised. Researchers from the University of Oxford, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London, and…

Continue ReadingThe health impacts of climate change