We tend to think of leaders in terms of personality types or set ways of behaving. But can you learn to be a better leader? And can you choose when to act like a leader? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Linda Ginzel, who presents two ideas: first, that we can become better leaders by being diligent about how we learn from our experiences; and second, that we should think of leadership and management as verbs, rather than nouns.
In some countries, fines change according to income, but so far US cities have been reluctant to try it out. Chicago Booth’s Jean Pierre Dube thinks that’s a mistake. He says uniform fines are regressive, don’t act as a deterrent, and that personalized fines could bring in more revenue for cities. So why are US cities so reluctant to do it?
Private equity has a PR problem. If you heard that your company was being taken over by a private-equity firm, you might well start worrying that job cuts would be coming soon and the quality of work would be sacrificed in order to squeeze out more profit. But is that accurate? Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan, an expert on private equity, says that private-equity firms frequently invest and grow companies more effectively than other owners. But does that justify their big fees? And could companies take the same actions without being taken over by private equity?
Is the customer always right? In a world in which all sales are final, some buyers are bound to get duped. But if the customer’s always right, what can retailers do about unreasonable customers? In this episode we hear from Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert looks for a balance between honoring customers and indulging them.
Would you accept a promotion without a pay increase? This episode is part of Business Practice series, where we asked people to script what they would say in a challenging workplace scenario. Chicago Booth’s George Wu analyzes the results.
The US federal government is suing Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, in part over what it says are excessive or junk fees. One feature of these fees is that they’re hidden – you only find out at the end what the true price is. There’s an irony in the case, says Chicago Booth’s Jean Pierre Dube, since government itself is a keen user of hidden fees. In this episode, we talk to Dube about how retailers use hidden fees to obfuscate prices and avoid transparency. Why do hidden fees work? And what’s the solution?
The US spends a lot more on healthcare than most other high-income countries. But the US doesn’t have universal health coverage, and performs poorly on life expectancy, death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, and maternal and infant mortality. Financial incentives shape the kind of healthcare that patients are offered, from the drugs they’re prescribed to the procedures they receive. So what would it take to fix US healthcare? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Matt Notowidigdo, in the second of two podcasts about his new book, Better Health Economics: An Introduction for Everyone, co-written with Boston University’s Tal Gross.
In 2022, the number of displaced people in the world surpassed 100 million, according to the UN, meaning that over 1.2 percent of the global population have been forced to leave their homes. The numbers are only likely to grow, as climate change prompts further migration and displacement. In this episode, we bring you the second of two podcasts featuring Chicago Booth Adjunct Assistant Professor Andrew Leon Hanna, author of 25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs, in a discussion about how policymakers should respond to the refugee crisis.
If you found out that a coworker at the same level as you earned significantly more than you, what would you do? This episode is part of Business Practice series, where we asked people to script what they would say in a challenging workplace scenario. Chicago Booth’s George Wu analyzes the results.
Why is being frugal a virtue? And where exactly do we draw the line between being “frugal” and being “cheap”? In this episode, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert traces the history of frugality from the 18th century to today, explaining why it continues to be relevant as a moral yardstick.
Many of us face snap decisions in which two of our core values come into conflict. We could get promoted, but only by spending less time with family, or be successful in the short term, but at the expense of long-term sustainability. Chicago Booth’s Lucia Annunzio calls these difficult decisions leadership “moments of truth,” and she advises executives that if they don’t have a plan on how they will make such decisions ahead of time, they might ending up regretting their choices.
In the US, 13 percent of refugees become entrepreneurs, compared to 9 percent of Americans born in the US. In this episode we hear from Andrew Leon Hanna, a Chicago Booth Adjunct Assistant Professor whose book 25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs tells the stories of some refugees who started their own ventures. In the first of two podcasts about the book, he explained why he thinks refugees are so much more likely to become entrepreneurs.
Many of us think that our workplaces are not fair. Managers favor some employees over others, or give some people credit that’s due to someone else. Chicago Booth’s Lucia Annunzio warns that that can lead to resentment and even acts of sabotage. So how important is fairness, and how can you create an environment where people respect and understand decisions, even if they don’t like or agree with them?
Nearly 20 percent of Americans have medical debt. A hospital stay in the US on average leads to about $6,000 in unpaid medical bills for the uninsured, and more than $18,000 for about one in ten uninsured patients. Why is US healthcare so expensive? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Matt Notowidigdo, in the first of two podcasts about his new book, Better Health Economics: An Introduction for Everyone, co-written with Boston University’s Tal Gross.
If you are married, you are statistically much more likely to report being happy than if you’re unmarried. In fact, Chicago Booth’s Sam Peltzman notes that the difference in terms of happiness is the same as either being in the top 10 percent of earners, or the bottom 10 percent. Having said that, his research also shows that the richer you are, the happier you are. In this episode, we talk with him about his research.
Companies in the US have faced a new kind of pressure in recent years from ‘stakeholder capitalism’ or ‘woke capitalism.’ How should corporations respond? In this episode, we bring you a conversation between Alison Taylor, a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and the author of the author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World, and Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert. The conversation was recorded at an event co-sponsored by Chicago Booth Review, Booth’s Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, and the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
AI promises to make us all be more productive, so what role does old-fashioned management play? Chicago Booth’s Chad Syverson says management still matters, and even the best technology won’t necessarily improve productivity if the right managers aren’t in place. But what does good management even mean in the age of hybrid work and remote teams?
The market for services is global, and many of us are used to having our issues fielded by someone in India. For decades, big companies in the US and Europe have set up global capability centers in India to handle back-office operations. In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan, who sees the future of India’s economy as moving from the back office to the front-of-house. This is the second of our two conversations with Rajan about his new book, Breaking the Mold: India’s Untraveled Path to Prosperity.
New York Times columnist David Brooks’ latest book, How to Know a Person is about our ability to know others, and to make them feel valued and understood. In this episode, Brooks talks to Chicago Booth’s Nick Epley about how seemingly small, everyday interactions can significantly shape our lives. Their conversation was part of the Think Better series, organized by Chicago Booth’s Roman Family Center for Decision Research.
Most US companies have a toxic culture, according to Lucia Annunzio, Adjunct Associate Professor of Executive Education at Chicago Booth. The hallmarks are a lack of transparency, short-termism, and top-down leadership. As a result, employees feel micromanaged, stressed, and disengaged. So what can managers do to stop the toxicity and create a healthy work culture?