Trust is the lifeblood of well-functioning teams

Trust is the lifeblood of well-functioning teams, but a lack of trust might be inhibiting teams from truly excelling within hybrid work environments. Additional layoffs at Facebook parent Meta recently filled the headlines, but in the memo to employees, Mark Zuckerberg revealed new insights on the future of work, the importance of relationships, and how […]

Trends Impacting the Future of Payments and Finance

Earlier this week I joined US Bank’s Elavon for their latest masterclass. I discussed the disruptive trends impacting businesses and what it means for the future of payments and finance. These are some of the trends we explored: #1 shift from digitization to ‘data’fication #2 new faces of commerce that are emerging #3 new paths […]

Three Mindsets to Help Leaders Build Corporate Culture in a Work-from-Anywhere World

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes about the conflict brewing between management and workers over the future of work-from-anywhere policies. VandeHei notes he is worried about two big risks: “younger workers benefit more than they realize from being in the trenches, in person, grappling with tough, teaching moments. There is a magic in human interaction [and] it […]

National math and reading scores declined sharply during the pandemic

We have more data on the impact the pandemic has had on our kids and their education and the results are disheartening. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) ran a special administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend (LTT) reading and mathematics assessments for students who are 9 years old. […]

Travel Costs are Rising for Business Travelers

Last week I took the stage at Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention 2022 to highlight the results of CWT and GBTA’s 8th annual global business travel forecast. I worked with GBTA and CWT to craft forecasts for average room rates, airfares and car rental hires for each of the major regions of the world. […]

The Future of Community Banking

Last week I joined the Massachusetts Bankers Association to discuss the future of community banking and the future of finance. Some of the oldest institutions in the United States today are members of this storied association. Eastern Bank was established in 1818 as Salem Savings Bank, Dedham Institution for Savings was started in 1831, and […]

Professional Sports Teams are entering the Metaverse

Man U recently announced it is partnering with Sony to build the first professional football stadium in the metaverse. The Atlanta Braves became the first MLB team to announce it was also joining the metaverse. A plethora of interesting consumer-facing opportunities including ultimately bypassing traditional media distribution networks to deliver live matches, game highlights, and […]

Show me the money might not hold for Gen Z

A basic tenet of economics suggests that when the supply of labor shifts down or the demand for labor shifts up, it creates a shortage of workers at the current wage rate. If this imbalance persists, eventually wages rise, attracting workers into the workforce, resulting in a new equilibrium level of employment with a corresponding […]

Cameras are the new Keyboard

BMW owners are now able to get real-time video support from certified technicians through interactive video calls. The service is being powered by startup Blitzz. Here’s a description from a recent release: Instead of downloading an app, BMW Genius or Roadside Assistance customers can get a support link via text and be immediately connected with […]