Weekly Business Insights – Week 212

Extractive summaries of the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision making | Week 212 |October 1-7, 2021

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Shaping Section : Ideas and forces shaping economies and industries

New ways to make food are coming—but will consumers bite?

The Economist | October 2, 2021

Globally, food prices have risen in 13 of the past 15 months and are close to their peak of 2011, owing to poor weather, pandemic-related disruption, and fallout from a swine-flu outbreak in China in 2018. In the longer term, the food system faces pressure from climate change, population growth and a shift towards more Westernised, meat-heavy diets.

Fortunately, technologies are emerging that promise to produce food in new ways, in large volumes with less inhumane factory farming and a lower environmental footprint. These range from bioreactors that grow meat to indoor “vertical” farms and new ways of producing fish. Such techniques could make a huge difference. Three-quarters of agricultural land is used for livestock, for example, so it is easy to see how steaks made from plant-based protein, or grown in vats from cells, could greatly reduce factory farming and land and water use, and produce fewer emissions.

Just because it is possible to make food in new ways does not mean people will be willing to eat it, however. Given food’s cultural importance, and the fact that it is ingested into the body, conservatism and scepticism are common reactions to new foodstuffs and production processes.  At the same time as novel foods are shunned, traditional foods and farming lore are venerated. Many Western consumers are willing to pay extra for food produced by organic farming, in effect a historical re-enactment of pre-20th-century agriculture, because it avoids “chemicals”.  Yet supposedly timeless food traditions are often shallower than they seem.

The new foods and processes on offer today present opportunities to create delicious and sustainable new traditions. Western consumers should put aside their reservations about eating crickets and give plant-based burgers, 3d-printed steaks, and vat-grown artificial tuna a try. Regulators, especially in Europe and America, should streamline their processes for approving cultured meat, be more open to gene-editing crops (as Britain said it would be this week), and speed up approval of edible insects for animal feed and human consumption. A wholesale reimagining of the food system is needed. But that will be possible only if both consumers and regulators are prepared to be more daring about what to eat for dinner.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. In the longer term, the food system faces pressure from climate change, population growth, and a shift towards more Westernised, meat-heavy diets.
2. Fortunately, technologies are emerging that promise to produce food in new ways, in large volumes with less inhumane factory farming and a lower environmental footprint. 
3. The new foods and processes on offer today present opportunities to create delicious and sustainable new traditions. But that will be possible only if both consumers and regulators are prepared to be more daring about what to eat for dinner.

Full Article

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Topics:  Food, Technology, Farming

Europe’s Energy Crisis Is Coming for the Rest of the World, Too

By Stephen Stapcznisky | Bloomberg Businessweek | September 26, 2021

This winter, the world will be fighting over something that’s invisible, yet rarely so vital—and in alarmingly shorter supply.  Nations are more reliant than ever on natural gas to heat homes and power industries amid efforts to quit coal and increase the use of cleaner energy sources. But there isn’t enough gas to fuel the post-pandemic recovery and refill depleted stocks before the cold months. Countries are trying to outbid one another for supplies as exporters such as Russia move to keep more natural gas home. The crunch will get a lot worse when temperatures drop.

The crisis in Europe presages trouble for the rest of the planet as the continent’s energy shortage has governments warning of blackouts and factories being forced to shut.  Inventories at European storage facilities are at historically low levels for this time of year. Pipeline flows from Russia and Norway have been limited. That’s worrying as calmer weather has reduced output from wind turbines while Europe’s aging nuclear plants are being phased out or are more prone to outages—making gas even more necessary. No wonder European gas prices surged by almost 500% in the past year and are trading near record.  The spike has forced some fertilizer producers in Europe to reduce output, with more expected to follow, threatening to increase costs for farmers and potentially adding to global food inflation. In the U.K., high energy prices have forced several suppliers out of business.

Even a normally cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere is expected to drive up natural gas prices further across much of the world. In China, industrial users including makers of ceramics, glass, and cement may respond by raising prices; households in Brazil will face expensive power bills. Economies that can’t afford the fuel—such as Pakistan or Bangladesh—could simply grind to a halt.

Utilities and policymakers are praying for mild temperatures because it’s already too late to boost supplies.  The stage is set for an all-out scramble among Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America for shipments of LNG from exporters such as Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Nations are more reliant than ever on natural gas to heat homes and power industries amid efforts to quit coal and increase the use of cleaner energy sources. 
2. But there isn’t enough gas to fuel the post-pandemic recovery and refill depleted stocks before the cold months. Countries are trying to outbid one another for supplies as exporters such as Russia move to keep more natural gas home. The crunch will get a lot worse when temperatures drop.
3. The crisis in Europe presages trouble for the rest of the planet as the continent’s energy shortage has governments warning of blackouts and factories being forced to shut.

Full Article

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Topics: Energy, Global Economy, Europe

Space policy is finally moving into the 21st century

By Tatyana Woodall | MIT Technology Review | September 29, 2021

There’s never been more happening in space than there is today. Commercial activity has exploded over the past five years as private space companies have launched rockets, put satellites into orbit, and bid on missions to the moon.  But some experts worry this surge of activity is getting too far ahead of international agreements governing who can do what in space. Most such policies were written and adopted long before the commercial space sector heated up.  Now, countries are realizing that they need to update those agreements. And that’s what they tried to do at a recent United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research for Outer Space Security Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.  3 most significant takeaways from this august congregation are:

1. An arms race could be brewing.  Some experts are worried that space could turn into the next battlefield. The use of counter-space technologies has been on the rise. For example, Russia and China have recently performed anti-satellite missile tests, and the US has long possessed similar capabilities. According to one of the analysts instead of deterrence, new policies should focus on mitigating the negative consequences of this arms race. 
2. Treaties must be updated.  As of this year, 111 nations have signed the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans military activities on celestial bodies. The first international document committed to preserving the peacefulness of space.  Today, space commerce relies heavily on the law of due regard, or the principle that states should respect and take into account other states’ interests. But with the proliferation of commercial and non-governmental entities in space, some nations agree it’s time to change the rules.
3. The right technology can help.  Experts say it’s possible to use technology to help regulate space traffic and defense, but doing so will require developing better “space situational awareness,” a term that refers to keeping track of objects in orbit and predicting where they will be at any given time. As several panelists pointed out, though, the future of space security depends in part on how well these and other advances can help countries and companies understand each other’s plans and motives. But before we can come to any agreements that potentially solve our space challenges, we should try to work out our differences on the ground first.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. There’s never been more happening in space than there is today. Activity is getting too far ahead of international agreements governing who can do what in space. 
2. Countries are realizing that they need to update those agreements. And that’s what they tried to do at a recent United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research for Outer Space Security Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
3. 3 most significant takeaways from this august congregation are:  an arms race could be brewing, treaties must be updated, and the right technology can help but.

Full Article

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Topics:  Space Technology, Defense, Arms Race

Industry Insights Section: Trends and anomalies shaping an industry

Built to last: Making sustainability a priority in transport infrastructure

By Emma Loxton et al., | McKinsey & Company | October 1, 2021

Worldwide, according to the Global Infrastructure Outlook, more than $2 trillion of transport infrastructure investments will be needed each year until 2040 to fuel economic development. Rapid urbanization, surging demand for freight services, and not to mention the COVID-19 response stimulus plans in many countries are putting pressure on stakeholders to step up the pace of infrastructure development. Also, although the pandemic temporarily pushed people out of cities in Europe and the United States into more rural areas, signs point to people going back to urban areas, where many students and professionals are returning to schools and offices in person.

Before contractors start improving current infrastructure, or break ground and build airports and ports, lay fresh railway tracks, and pave new roads, it’s critical that stakeholders work together to devise ways to transform infrastructure building to become more sustainable. The transport sector is the largest contributor of greenhouse-gas emissions (GHG) within e.g., the European Union.  If significant steps are not undertaken to reverse this trend, achieving the climate goals set by global institutions would be nearly impossible. Furthermore, regulators and consumers alike are demanding greater sustainability across all industries, including infrastructure.  How can we transform infrastructure to be more sustainable, ultimately improving the level of service and infrastructure durability without compromising on speed of design and construction?

According to the authors, sustainable infrastructure should be resilient to climate change, socially inclusive, technologically advanced, productive, and flexible. Proper organizational design, digital tools, performance indicators and a joint approach among all stakeholders are essential to effectively transform infrastructures and ensure long-lasting development. Stakeholders need to collaborate to apply sustainability concepts and metrics across all stages: planning, design, tender, procurement, construction, and operational excellence.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Worldwide, according to the Global Infrastructure Outlook, more than $2 trillion of transport infrastructure investments will be needed each year until 2040 to fuel economic development.
2. Before contractors start improving current infrastructure, or break ground and build airports and ports, lay fresh railway tracks, and pave new roads, it’s critical that stakeholders work together to devise ways to transform infrastructure building to become more sustainable.
3. Sustainable infrastructure should be resilient to climate change, socially inclusive, technologically advanced, productive, and flexible. Proper organizational design, digital tools, performance indicators, and a joint approach among all stakeholders are essential to effectively transform infrastructures and ensure long-lasting development.

Full Article

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Topics:  Infrastructure, Sustainability, Efficiency

Leading & Managing Section

5 Techniques to Build Rapport with Your Colleagues

By Christina Hillsberg | Harvard Business Review | September 30, 2021

Before one could accomplish his/her goals, he/she first needs to build rapport with others to gain their trust and respect.  Five techniques to genuinely connect and build trust with their colleagues are:

1. Find ways to make yourself well-rounded.  In order to have topics that you can connect with others on, you need to have your own interests and hobbies. Finding time for interests outside of work can become difficult when we find ourselves overwhelmed with careers and responsibilities at home. Consider blocking time off on your calendar each week for your new skill or hobby. Remember, you don’t need to become an expert in everything you try. Having any amount of experience, even small amounts, in a variety of topics can give you material to draw from when you’re meeting and connecting with others.
2. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.  Our efforts to connect with someone often fails, if we are not authentic. Try to find a shared topic about which you’re genuinely interested. If you can’t find a way to connect with someone, consider learning more about one of their interests — but only if it’s something you actually want to learn about. In hopes of passing yourself off as a fellow expert, consider expressing your interest in learning more. Placing yourself in the role of student and the other person in the role of teacher can be a great way to build trust in a much more genuine way.
3. Listen.  When you’re building rapport with someone, remember that by and large, people like to talk about themselves and their own interests. It’s okay to talk about you too but do it in a way that keeps the conversation moving and encourages them to share more. While sharing a similar story can create a bond, keep in mind that sometimes it’s more important to play the role of listener.
4. Give to get.  In order to get people talking, sometimes you need to give some information about yourself first in order to make them comfortable to share details about themselves. 
5. Take notes.  Consider taking notes on the things you’ve learned about someone after your encounter so that you can remember to follow up in your next conversation. The small details about their life that you may not remember once the busyness of your own takes over. For example, if any colleague shares with you how many kids he/she has and their names, write those down too. People feel special when you remember details they’ve told you about their life and even more so when you follow up.

2 key takeaways from the article

1. Before one could accomplish his/her goals, he/she first needs to build rapport with others to gain their trust and respect.  
2. Five techniques to genuinely connect and build trust with their colleagues are:  find ways to make yourself well rounded, don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, listen, give to get, and take notes.

Full Article

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Topics:  Interpersonal Skills, Communication, Trust, Teams

The Digital Superpowers You Need to Thrive

By Gerald C. Kane et al., | MIT Sloan Management Review | September 28, 2021

For all its grim — and ongoing — consequences, the COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many fundamental breaks in the business environment that have challenged leaders over the past 30 years or so. These disruptions come in two forms.  Acute disruption such as COVID-19 pandemic and chronic disruptions that build slowly e.g., rise of China.  While the two phenomena present differently, they both represent a departure from business as usual to which companies must respond. In studying corporate responses to the pandemic from March through December 2020, the authors found that companies with existing playbooks for responding to chronic digital disruptions were also responding more quickly and effectively to the acute pandemic disruption.

These companies’ ability to manage the pandemic offers a dramatic illustration of what the authors have come to call the transformation myth. The myth is the idea that a transformation is an event with a start and an end during which organizations migrate from one steady-state to another, as opposed to a continuous process of adapting to a highly volatile, ambiguous, and uncertain environment shaped by multiple, overlapping disruptions.

More and more executives are coming to view disruption and transformation as continuous processes.  The research authors conducted during the pandemic suggests that the companies that are most successful at meeting the challenge of continuous transformation are those that innovate through disruption. They achieve this by developing four key organizational capabilities that overlap and operate in concert. The authors think of them as digital innovation superpowers.  These capabilities are:

1. Nimbleness: The ability to quickly pivot and move.
2. Scalability: The ability to rapidly shift capacity and service levels.
3. Stability: The ability to maintain operational excellence under pressure.
4. Optionality: The ability to acquire new capabilities through external collaboration.

Each of these superpowers is supported by digital technologies — cloud computing, data analytics, machine learning, cybersecurity, and others — but they extend beyond the adoption of technology per se. More important is how companies wield the technologies to transform themselves in response to disruption.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. For all its grim — and ongoing — consequences, the COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many fundamental breaks in the business environment that have challenged leaders over the past 30 years or so. These disruptions come in two forms an acute disruption such as COVID-19 pandemic and chronic disruptions which build slowly e.g., rise of China.
2. While the two phenomena present differently, they both represent a departure from business as usual to which companies must respond.
3. During the pandemic the companies that are most successful at meeting the challenge of continuous transformation are those that innovate through disruption.  They exhibited four capabilities: nimbleness, scaleability, stability and optionality.

Full Article

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Topics:  Adaptation, Collaboration, Digital Innovation, Innovation Management, Technology Innovation

How To Confidently Say No In A Business Environment

By Emilia D’Anzica | Forbes | October 04, 2021

In his book The Art of Saying NO, Damon Zahariades writes that saying no is one of the most powerful skills you can develop as a business leader. So then why is it so hard to put into action? Vanessa Bohns, a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, explains that our need to connect with others is instinctive, you could even say primal. We know that we need each other to thrive in life and the idea of a disapproving tribe can be a terrifying prospect. What else makes it hard to say no, and how can we ultimately overcome this fear in order to become stronger business leaders? 

Two reasons are first, we grow up with stories which are often about the consequences of speaking up and taking a stand for what we want. Often, the story ends with losing a friend or a job.  Second, we are wired to have a negativity bias about the consequences of saying no.  Few tips on how to have more confidence with saying no:

1. Normalize no. Make it an everyday part of life and just as normal as saying yes. This makes it less scary, unfamiliar or overwhelming. 
2. Realize people want to hear the truth. Have you ever had someone say yes to you only to find out later they really wanted to say no? Likely, it felt pretty horrible. Knowing that, in general, people want the truth, helps to see no as a win for both parties.
3. It helps you move on to the next thing. Often what we dread happening never really happens. So if we can quickly get to the point and have a clear no, everyone involved can have the clarity to move on to something else. Like the truth, people appreciate the clarity.
4. Practice being honest with yourself. A big reason behind we aren’t always completely honest with someone is that we aren’t being honest with ourselves. So how can we be transparent when we aren’t even honest with ourselves? It makes a situation where we need to say no even harder. 

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Saying no is one of the most powerful skills you can develop as a business leader. So then why is it so hard to put into action?
2. Two reasons are we grow up with stories that are often about the bad consequences of speaking up and taking a stand for what we want. Second, we are wired to have a negativity bias about the consequences of saying no.  
3. Few tips on how to have more confidence with saying no are: normalize no, realize people want to hear the truth, it helps you move on to the next thing, and practice being honest with yourself.

Full Article

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Topics:  Personal Development, Communication, Teams

Entrepreneurship Section

Express Gratitude More: New Research Shows It’s Easier and More Impactful Than You Think

By Jessica Stillman | Inc | September 28, 2021

Study after study shows counting your blessings makes you happier, more resilient, and can even help you sleep better. Actually expressing your gratitude to others amplifies these benefits. And when leaders show gratitude to their teams, employees are more satisfied, motivated, and likely to stick around.   This raises an important question: If saying thank you is so good for both the thanker and the thankee, why don’t we express appreciation more? Science has looked into that question as well, and it seems most of the worries that cause us to hold back on expressing thanks are misguided. Two of these misconveived worries are:

People like to be thanked more than you think.  The first reason many of us hold off on thanking those we are genuinely grateful to is a very human fear that the whole conversation will be totally awkward. Won’t the other party just be embarrassed? Perhaps they already know how you feel? Or maybe you’ll stumble over your words or strike the wrong tone?   Scientists have actually tested whether these worries are valid, and the answer is clearly no. People like being thanked way more than we expect and don’t find the interactions very awkward at all.

How you say thanks matters. Those concerns aren’t the only ones that might stop someone from expressing gratitude though. Managers, for instance, might worry about the right way to deliver their message. Should they hold off until they can say thanks in person? Is a Zoom call OK? Could you even express your gratitude by text, or would that come off as lazy and rude?  Again, helpful scientists are on the case. As you might guess, people found saying thanks in person more rewarding than expressing gratitude over text, but not by as much as you probably expected. Texting didn’t make people feel more connected to each other, but it still boosted other positive emotions.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Study after study shows counting your blessings makes you happier, more resilient, and can even help you sleep better. Actually expressing your gratitude to others amplifies these benefits.
2. If saying thank you is so good for both the thanker and the thankee, why don’t we express appreciation more? Science has looked into that question as well, and it seems most of the worries that cause us to hold back on expressing thanks are misguided. 
3. Two of these misconceived worries are:  people don’t like to be thanked more than you think and how you say thanks matters.

Full Article

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Topics:  Gratitude, Personal Development, Organizational Communication

Business Leadership Changed: The New Skills You Must Master

By Daniel Marcos | Entrepreneur | October 4, 2021

Businesses have changed and leadership must also do so to not be left behind.  In this new environment, leadership must focus more on results, responsibility, and freedom, rather than where and how your team does its work.  To pursue these four suggestions, based on research and experience, are

1. Agility: less hierarchical structures.  Strategic plans are important to achieving your vision, but they can’t be set in stone either. The pandemic was an unforeseen situation that took all companies in the world by surprise. Consequently, it is important to be ready to turn, change course quickly, and try to affect the entire organization as little as possible.  To have an agile company you must get rid of hierarchical structures and have multidisciplinary and autonomous teams that can operate without micromanagement. Rather than leading a group of people, management responsibilities should be distributed throughout the organization. Large teams are not as agile as a network of small teams that can be distributed and focused on new projects.
2. Foster strong and healthy human connections.  People are inherently social creatures. It should come as no surprise then that we long to feel connected to the people we spend most of our time with. So how can we, as business leaders, help these connections occur between employees?  3 things that people need at work to feel completely fulfilled are recognition, respect, and relationships.
3. The best leaders play chess, not Chinese checkers.  When you see your team as a “game of checkers,” each piece is a uniform piece, so you view all the pieces the same way. When you view your team as a game of chess, you recognize that each piece has different strengths and weaknesses, so the way you strategize changes dramatically.  You must lead your team in a way that increases their strengths and, at the same time, encourages teamwork that compensates for the weakness of one person with the strength of another.
4. Build a great and memorable culture.  Happy and productive workplaces don’t just happen. They are the direct result of the leader’s efforts to create a vision that motivates everyone, with goals that motivate and challenge his people. Your company culture is part of your legacy; If you allow it to be “default,” neither you nor your employees will be very comfortable with the results.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Businesses have changed and leadership must also do so to not be left behind.
2. In the new environment, leadership must focus more on results, responsibility, and freedom, rather than where and how your team does its work.
3. Four suggestions to pursue this changed leadership style are: create less hierarchical structures; foster strong and healthy human connections; the best leaders play chess; not Chinese checkers; and build a great and memorable culture.

Full Article

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Topics:  Leadership, Business Performance, Teams, Agile organizations