Content by Knowledge at Wharton
Responding to the Tide Pod ChallengeThe double-edged potential of social media
Thu, 02/15/2018 - 12:02
When Tide and other detergent manufacturers developed colorful, convenient pods designed to be tossed into washing machines and dishwashers, they never expected teenagers would try to eat them. But what was dubbed the “Tide pod challenge” quickly…
Too Much Togetherness?The downside of workplace collaboration
Tue, 11/28/2017 - 12:03
The mere mention of keeping up with overflowing email, constant meetings, and time-sucking conference calls makes many of us groan and roll our eyes. How did we all get so busy? A major culprit is the sharp rise in cross-functional collaboration…
Why Luck Is the Silent Partner of SuccessIn hindsight we tend to attribute only talent and hard work to successful careers
Thu, 11/09/2017 - 12:02
As the essayist E.B. White once wrote, “Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.” Some people are of course quick to acknowledge the good fortune they’ve enjoyed along their paths to the top. But White was surely…
What NASA’s Chief Astronaut Learned From Near DisasterAvoid group-think. Pay attention to facts, not desires.
Thu, 10/05/2017 - 12:02
NASA Chief Astronaut Chris Cassidy has lived for months on the International Space Station and has performed six spacewalks. “Imagine hanging out with a glass bubble on your head, one hand on a hunk of metal, Earth going beneath your feet at five…
The Democratization of Machine LearningNo longer exclusive to big companies, machine learning is accelerating and taking business with it
Thu, 05/11/2017 - 12:01
The world of high-tech innovation can change the destiny of industries seemingly overnight. Now we are on the cusp of a new grand leap, thanks to the democratization of machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence that enables computers to…
Lessons From Mismanaged Crises at Yahoo, Cuisinart, and Wells FargoFive critical steps of crisis preparedness
Wed, 04/19/2017 - 12:03
The mismanagement of bet-the-company business crises has become pandemic. Consider just the most recent examples. In December 2016, Yahoo disclosed that three years earlier hackers had stolen confidential information from more than 1 billion…
Teamwork, the Everest WayShared goal was central to team’s success
Tue, 11/22/2016 - 16:50
There were no Olympic medals up for grabs when Sim Yi Hui and Jane Lee, the co-founders of the Singapore Women’s Everest Team, set out to recruit team members to climb the world’s tallest mountain in 2004. “When we first formed the team my goal was…
How Millennial Consumers Will Transform HealthcareA growing trend is to choose doctors for their ability to communicate and heal
Tue, 09/27/2016 - 14:15
Steve Klasko, president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health, is the co-author of We Can Fix Healthcare (Mary Ann Lieber Inc., 2016) with Wharton adjunct professor Gregory P. Shea and Michael Hoad. In the book, the authors…
The Multiple Boss Dilemma Is it possible to please more than one?
Tue, 09/20/2016 - 09:56
Nearly everyone finds it tough keeping the boss happy sometimes. But what if you had a steady stream of conflicting requests and competing deadlines coming simultaneously from two bosses or more? An increasing number of workers are finding…
How Industrial Firms Can Pivot to Digital Business ModelsFast-tracking a new way to operate for the manufacturing industry
Tue, 08/09/2016 - 14:03
Have you seen the recent commercial where a young son tells his parents that he’s going to work for GE—as a software developer? Their response was one of bewilderment. In their minds, GE is a manufacturer. The commercial exemplifies the idea that…