Why Year-End Gratitude Emails Often Backfire
Most year-end “thank you” emails don’t motivate. They reveal something else entirely. Business school research shows that generic gratitude often backfires because people don’t feel appreciated unless they feel noticed. Why saying “thank you” is easy, and why doing it well is much harder:
Fear In The Corner Office: How Insecure Managers Silence Talent And Sabotage Progress
Many organisations have encountered their own version of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott in The Office: managers whose authority depends less on enabling others and more on making sure no one outshines them. The result is a culture where people learn to hold back, where speaking up feels risky, and where initiative is carefully rationed.
Flattery Works… Until It Doesn’t – Why Being Candid With Leaders Matters
Despite being vocal in his disagreement with the US President, Zohran Mamdani's meeting with Donald Trump last month was unexpectedly friendly. We explore why endless flattery may leave a greater sour taste than critique...
The Influencers: James Clear on Small Changes, Big Results and the Quiet Power of Habit
The Influencers explores author James Clear’s core ideas - how habits are formed, why identity matters more than goals, and how small changes can transform careers, organisations, and lives. It also offers practical guidance on how to apply his thinking at work and at home, without relying on willpower or dramatic reinvention.
Once Upon a Time in the Job Market: How Business Schools Are Teaching the Art of Storytelling
In today's environment, storytelling is no longer a “soft” skill. It is a survival skill - the ability to frame decisions, explain trade-offs, humanise strategy and make people care. Business schools, once accused of teaching managers to speak in spreadsheets, are now quietly becoming finishing schools for corporate narrators.
Are We Running Out Of Time To Trust AI? Watching The Architects Take Risks We Can’t Undo
When TIME named the “Computer” its Person of the Year in the early 1980s, the mood was unambiguously optimistic. The personal computer promised productivity, creativity and empowerment. Four decades later, the architects of artificial intelligence inherit that legacy - but without its most convenient excuse. The Computer Pioneers Didn’t Know What They Were Unleashing. The Architects of AI Do.
Where Did The CEOs Of The 50 Best-Managed Companies in America Go To School?
BlueSky Thinking reviews the educational and professional backgrounds of the CEOs leading the top 50 companies in the 2025 Drucker Institute Company Ranking. These leaders represent a highly global, highly technical cohort, but with very few women.
What McLaren’s 2025 F1 Championship Victory Teaches Us About Strategy, Trust and Teamwork At Extreme Speed
Does claiming an F1 title come down to a great car and a quick driver? McLaren's sweep of the 2025 season is a success story made of perseverance, vision and playing the long-game.