While it is increasingly clear that the contact center of the future is likely to be an AI-led environment, the pace at which companies will arrive at this future state is far less certain. Today’s leaders are faced with the difficult choice of just how far to go with their automation plans to retain the right balance between humans and AI as they build toward this AI future. There is…
subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Summary: Do your organization’s meetings continually drain people’s energy? Many leaders don’t know how to end the grind — and drive actual collaboration and results. Whether you’re looking to sharpen decision-making, spark real dialogue, or hold fewer (but better) meetings, use this expert advice to start down a more productive path. Meetings should be where work happens, not where productivity goes…
SEC Staff Provides Much-Needed Clarity on Meme Coins, but Litigation and Regulatory Pitfalls Remain | Gadgets, Gigabytes & Goodwill Blog Skip to content
Quick Hits The April 2025 final action dates in the EB-1 categories are unchanged for all countries except India, which has moved ahead by two weeks. The April 2025 final action dates in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories for all countries have moved forward. USCIS has confirmed it will accept adjustment of status applications based on the final action dates chart in April 2025. Source: US Department of State, April…
Michael Omari Owuo Junior, better known as Stormzy, will receive a Doctorate in Law in recognition of his philanthropic work and impact in a number of fields, including education, music, sport and literature. He launched his Scholarship programme at the University of Cambridge in 2018 funding two Black British students per year covering both their tuition fees and maintenance costs. Three years later, the programme was expanded after HSBC UK…
This early data release showcases the amazing images that we will receive from the Euclid telescope. Even in this tiny area (less than 0.5% of the Euclid survey), Euclid has revealed millions of galaxies in exquisite detail.Dr Aprajita Verma (Department of Physics, University of Oxford)The release of the first survey data from the European Space Agency’s pioneering Euclid satellite – made public this week – has led to a flurry…
Each party at the negotiating table holds a strong position in its own regard, and neither approaches the dialogue from a place of weakness. Each understands its interests and is ready to engage in discussions about them. It appears to be the first time in a very long while that Russia and the US are entering negotiations with such a mindset, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Ivan Timofeev. The negotiations…
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Topics Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy The Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy initiative explores the growing use of artificial intelligence in the business landscape. The exploration looks specifically at how AI is affecting the development and execution of strategy in organizations. In collaboration with More in this series Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun’s research has historically focused on digital reskilling. Now, rapid technological changes — like AI — are…
Quick Hits The Department of Education announced a RIF for nearly 50 percent of its workforce. Impacted staff will be placed on administrative leave starting March 21, 2025. Affected employees will receive full pay and benefits until June 9, 2025. Employees are not expected to work during the deferred resignation, voluntary buyout, or RIF periods. The impact of the RIF on the overall operations and responsibilities of the department is…
In a conference room at its leafy campus in Seattle, Microsoft's board members engage in what might appear to onlookers as intellectual combat. Directors challenge assumptions, disagree openly with the CEO and occasionally upend conventional wisdom. Beneath this seeming friction lies something revolutionary: carefully cultivated psychological safety that transformed Microsoft from a tech giant losing its edge into a trillion-dollar innovator. Under the stewardship of CEO and board chair Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s board abandoned…
The findings of the Banque de France Monthly Business Survey – Start of March show that industrial activity continued to grow in February, contrary to last month’s expectations. Conversely, there was little growth in market services and construction. Business leaders expect modest growth in market services in March but little growth in industry and construction. There is some good news: after rising the previous month, the monthly uncertainty indicator has…
Both Russia and Pakistan are significant in terms of their population size, but their social and economic profiles diverge sharply. Fortunately, in 2023 and 2024, the economic partnership between Pakistan and Russia moved beyond rhetoric into tangible progress. In October 2024, Moscow hosted the inaugural Pakistan-Russia Trade and Investment Forum, an event that drew over 70 Pakistani business leaders as well as representatives from more than 100 Russian companies. The…
Today sees the launch of the POrtal for Patient and Public Engagement in Dementia Research (POPPED) website, where anyone can give their feedback on dementia research projects.Dementia affects 50 million people worldwide and 1 million people in the UK. Current treatments are limited, but research has led to some significant recent advances. For example, the first drugs which slow down the disease are now licensed in the UK and potential…
subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR Summary: In traditional market segmentation, unique populations of customers are segmented and targeted using differentiated products and services — be it a soup that is thicker or a bank that is friendlier. But in this article, drawn from the book Customer Portfolio Management: Creating Value with a Large Leaky Bucket of Customers, the authors make the case that the best way to start understanding…
On October 29, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeals of California decided against the County of Santa Barbara (“the county”) in JCCRandall LLC v. County of Santa Barbara. The Court held, contrary to popular belief, that marijuana is still illegal in California because it is illegal federally. Thus, the Court sided with a private landowner (“plaintiff”) who objected to the county issuing a conditional use permit (“CUP”) for the…
Quick Hits The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry issued proposed rules stating that employees anticipated to work over 50 percent in Minnesota in an accrual year would accrue earned sick and safe time leave (ESST) for all hours worked despite location. The proposed rules would allow employers to “advance” ESST hours. The proposed rules also clarify that employees have a choice to use paid ESST or take unpaid and…
Translating fashion’s decarbonization targets into action has proved difficult, as we wrote in our March 2024 article. At the time, we outlined six actions fashion brands could take to become more sustainable. Among those, one stands out as having the highest potential impact: working with Tier 2 suppliers to reduce emissions. Tier 2 production—the stage in which fabrics are produced and treated before being assembled by Tier 1 suppliers—typically accounts…
Oxford EARTH is the University tackling the critical challenges of our time through our world-leading, interdisciplinary research. Sustainable resource use is fundamental to long term prosperity, and this programme brings together expertise from across the sciences, engineering, and social sciences to pioneer innovative solutions. By fostering collaboration between academia, industry, policymakers, and communities, Oxford EARTH will help shape a more prosperous and sustainable future.Professor Jim Naismith, Head of Mathematical, Physical,…
Hosted by Blake Eskin A few weeks ago, I got a message from my bank. Hello, this is Fraud Prevention Services. You know the kind. More than $1,000 charged in three different states in less than an hour. And I am not a sneakerhead. It is important that you call us back at your earliest convenience. Thank you and goodbye. I canceled my debit card, and the bank promised to…
Ben Jealous was born into the Sierra Club. His parents were members of the organization’s Ventana chapter in central California and he grew up with the coastal redwoods as his playground. He organized his first protest – to stop the clear-cutting of an old-growth redwood forest – as a teenager. But today’s organization is not the Sierra Club of his youth, Jealous told students, staff, faculty, and community members at…
Quick Hits Employers considering hosting NCAA bracket pools should be aware of state gambling laws, as the structure of these pools could potentially classify them as illegal gambling. Sweepstakes, as free-to-enter contests, may face fewer legal concerns, but businesses must still comply with specific state regulations that govern such promotional activities. Millions of Americans will fill out brackets for the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s college basketball tournaments, often…
As the world's sustainability concerns increasingly become corporate concerns, boards are often left wondering where their responsibility begins and how far it should extend. While we may not be personally responsible for the climate crisis, we are all part of the system that created it. Anyone advising boards and sitting on them has contributed to the machinery that got us here.Regulations that hold companies accountable for climate change, like the…
Using advanced analysis based on full genome sequences, researchers from the University of Cambridge have found evidence that modern humans are the result of a genetic mixing event between two ancient populations that diverged around 1.5 million years ago. About 300,000 years ago, these groups came back together, with one group contributing 80% of the genetic makeup of modern humans and the other contributing 20%.For the last two decades, the…
18 March 2025By Claudia Buch and Isabel SchnabelAs the normalisation of the Eurosystem balance sheet progresses, the aggregate amount of central bank liquidity available to banks in the euro area will fall over the coming years. This blog explains the role played by the Eurosystem’s refinancing operations within the operational framework for monetary policy implementation. The ECB, both as a monetary policy authority and as a supervisor, expects that banks…
The ongoing negotiations between Russia and the United States on the Ukrainian issue have rekindled hopes for a return to constructive dialogue on other fronts, particularly in the realm of strategic stability and nuclear arms control. To what extent are Moscow and Washington prepared for such dialogue? What political preconditions exist, and what parameters might it take? Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director of the Valdai Club, delves into these pressing questions.…
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has served as a global standard against corruption for almost half a century. Suspending its enforcement harms both business and the rule of law. Michael H. Posner March 17, 2025 Reading Time: 7 min Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images In February, the Trump administration announced that it was suspending enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), pending a six-month review. It is fair…
Quick Hits The new NLRB acting general counsel tapped by President Donald Trump rescinded twenty-nine prior general counsel memoranda, most of which were issued by his predecessor who served during the Biden administration. The rescinded memoranda included guidance on major labor issues, such as remedies, the legality of noncompete agreements and other restrictive covenants, mandatory employer meetings, and the status of college athletes. In Memorandum GC 25-05, issued on February…
Spain is well-positioned to boost its sustainable fuel production and become a major producer as Europe accelerates its net-zero transition. The European Union has set a target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to the 1990 levels. To achieve this target, major changes are required in Spain’s energy consumption and efficiency, shifting from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources by embracing…
As the planet warms, Antarctica’s ice sheet is melting and contributing to sea-level rise around the globe. Antarctica holds enough frozen water to raise global sea levels by 190 feet, so precisely predicting how it will move and melt now and in the future is vital for protecting coastal areas. But most climate models struggle to accurately simulate the movement of Antarctic ice due to sparse data and the complexity…
“Many thousands of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are missing out on school in India,” said Dr Abhimanyu Sharma, from Cambridge’s Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages & Linguistics, the study’s author. “This has a huge impact on their wellbeing and life chances.”“One of the main reasons for this very high dropout rate is that their schools do not offer education in sign language.” Dr Sharma’s study, published today…
On March 31 – April 1, 2025, the Valdai Discussion Club, in partnership with the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University, will host a Russian-Chinese conference in Shanghai titled “Space of Joint Development: Global and Eurasian Dimensions.” The event will bring together over 60 experts from Russia and China, many of whom are regular participants not only in bilateral expert meetings but also in regional conferences and…
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 14, 2025, the Fourth Circuit reversed a lower court's nationwide injunction that blocked key portions of President Trump's January 2025 Executive Orders on DEI programs. While the appeal is pending, federal agencies can now resume presenting federal contractors and grantees with the certifications required under the Executive Orders, including certifications that contractors do not operate DEI programs violating federal anti-discrimination laws, opening the door to potential…
A bite of food is about more than calories. Food production involves energy, water, and other resources and is shaped by economics, policies, and international relations. What we eat affects our health, expresses our cultures, and shapes communities."}">svg]:su-mt-3 md:[&>svg]:su--mt-2 lg:[&>svg]:su-mt-4 [&>svg]:su-w-41 [&>svg]:su-h-43 md:[&>svg]:su-w-[97px] md:[&>svg]:su-h-[102px] su-mr-8 lg:su-mr-19">A bite of food is about more than calories. Food production involves energy, water, and other resources and is shaped by economics, policies, and international…
China Says It Has ‘Ample’ Policy Tools to Spur Growthvia Wall Street Journal on March 6, 2025 China Is Secretly Worried Trump Will Win on Tradeby Lingling Wei and Alex Learyvia Wall Street Journal on March 5, 2025 9 takeaways from the economic briefing at China’s ‘two sessions’by Mandy Zuovia South China Morning Post on March 6, 2025 As China’s ‘employment problems’ mount, Premier Li vows to create jobs, ward off povertyby…
Life may not have begun with a dramatic lightning strike into the ocean but from many smaller “microlightning” exchanges among water droplets from crashing waterfalls or breaking waves. New research from Stanford University shows that water sprayed into a mixture of gases thought to be present in Earth’s early atmosphere can lead to the formation of organic molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds, including uracil, one of the components of DNA and RNA. The…
Quick Hits Florida employers are facing a complex landscape of evolving workplace policies and legal requirements in 2025, including updates in discrimination prevention, leave laws, and medical marijuana protections. Employers may want to regularly review and update their workplace policies to ensure compliance with changing laws, particularly in areas like discrimination, harassment, leave policies, and wage disputes. Key updates for Florida employee handbooks in 2025 include removing references to outdated…
Imagine you are the quality control manager at a large electronics manufacturer. You have received reports of a serious, recurring component issue for a newly released product, which unfortunately has led to a recall. Historically, the only solution would be to issue a full recall, which has significant financial, operational, and reputational consequences. However, as part of an industrial transformation strategy, your organization has implemented a digital thread framework to…
Despite widespread anticipation of possible changes in US-Russia relations in the wake of Trump’s return to power, the shift has been more drastic and rapid than anyone could have imagined, writes Zhao Huasheng in the first installment of his two-part series analyzing the seismic changes in US foreign policy. Since the Ukrainian crisis, and especially since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022, US-Russia relations have been on a downward spiral, a trajectory…
What if the challenges you’re facing aren’t obstacles—but invitations to grow? In this episode, Heidi Brooks and leadership expert Jennifer Garvey Berger explore how we grow through uncertainty, not just survive it. They also discuss why change is essential for leaders, how to turn everyday challenges into opportunities for growth and why embracing imperfection might be the key to thriving in an anxious world. Sharing insights from her book Changing…