Companies with a higher number of women in senior roles are significantly more likely to dismiss male perpetrators of abuse against female colleagues, according to recent analysis.
Costa's then-manager told him that ServiceNow would not pay this commission because the Sales Compensation Department had concluded that Costa had 'overachieved to a degree that was outside normal' in relation to his sales quota. In other words, ServiceNow believed Costa had made too much money, notwithstanding that his commission was only a small percentage of the revenue recognized and received by ServiceNow.
To successfully repair after a mistake, you need to acknowledge and name the mistake, validate the other person's feelings and viewpoint, and create a plan for the specific actions you will take to prevent this mistake from occurring again.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took the unprecedented step of designating a U.S. firm-Anthropic-as a supply chain risk. Anthropic's crime? It refused to violate industry-wide protocols against using AI for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. Hegseth's designation, which has until now been reserved for foreign firms, bars U.S. military contractors from doing business with the company.
Research finds that relying on regulations to determine your policies and procedures can result in ethical blindspots, or situations where people might think if there is not a rule for something, that it's permissible. After years of shifting towards values and culture-based compliance, leadership might be heading the opposite direction.
If your partner in Munich mishandles customer data, or your reseller in Paris uses a "black box" AI tool to generate deceptive ads, it isn't just their reputation on the line. It's yours. With the EU AI Act now in full swing and GDPR entering its "mature enforcement" era, the distance between a partner's mistake and your company's $20 million fine has never been shorter.
A leader who has ascended to the level of CEO contender is likely a high performer with broad institutional knowledge and deep relationships, both inside and outside the firm. Such a star walking out the door can scramble organizational operations, ruin team morale, and dent a company's bottom line. Top executive turnover typically costs many multiples of the person's annual salary.
U.S. worker engagement has stagnated for decades, with more than two-thirds of workers feeling detached or disengaged. To reverse the trend, many executives have strived to build an "ownership culture," hoping personal responsibility will drive productivity. Yet most omit the most vital ingredient, actual ownership. We spent the past four years studying companies that committed to this missing piece, extending equity to all employees.
New analysis published today (6 February 2026) reveals a structural issue that is eroding valuations, limiting exits, and trapping founders in their businesses, with around 80% of UK private companies failing to sell. The White Paper, The Owner Dependence Problem in UK SME Businesses, published by Exit Factor, highlights how excessive reliance on founders is undermining business value across the UK SME sector. The White Paper analyses businesses with annual revenues between £3m and £30m and demonstrates how owner dependence materially restricts strategic options for owners.
As we kick off 2026, activist investor campaigns are no longer just prevalent; they are global, sophisticated, and have increasingly become an acute threat to corporate leadership. The escalating pressure is undeniable: Barclays data shows that activist investor campaigns hit a high last year - surpassing 2024 by 5% - with 32 CEOs resigning as a result (a record) - and showing no signs of slowing down.