Darden Ideas to Action

How AI and Machine Learning Are Driving a Planning Revolution and Helping Business Manage Uncertainty

Planning and project management are very old business functions, but they are undergoing a rapid change thanks to how advances in data science enable organizations to effectively manage uncertainty. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Yael Grushka-Cockayne and the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr discuss how new tools in data science, AI, machine learning and harnessing the wisdom of the crowd have revolutionized how people and organizations plan. Could “over budget and past due” become a concept of the past for those able to harness uncertainty and flexibility in data-enabled ways?

The Secrets of CEO Performance and Integrity Hidden in Accounting Data

Accounting measures can help boards and investors answer some very important questions about the performance, integrity and compensation of CEOs in surprising ways. Professor Shane Dikolli at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business has used analytical modeling and empirical analysis to evaluate CEOs for much of his career, and he and the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr discuss why the insights hidden in plain sight within accounting disclosures have important implications for business managers at every level.

Marketing Meets AI: How the Next Marketing Revolution Will Unfold and What Marketers Can Do to Prepare

Our lives have become an open book to the companies collecting our data, and marketers are becoming increasingly sophisticated at using that data to compel us to buy their products and services. But we’re entering a new phase of the digital marketing revolution. The artificial intelligence age. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Raj Venkatesan discusses his book, The AI Marketing Canvas: A Five Stage Roadmap to Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Marketing, with the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr to examine where the industry is headed and how marketers can responsibly manage AI-powered marketing in the rapidly evolving media landscape.

What Theranos Can Teach Us About Ethical Challenges in Murky High Tech Waters

The world has been captivated by the stunning collapse of Theranos and its supposedly wunderkind founder Elizabeth Holmes, who now faces trial for fraud. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Jared Harris worked with Theranos whistleblower Tyler Shultz to develop a series of cases that reveal how the advanced nature of the technology allowed the ruse to go on so long and the high cost Shultz paid for his part bringing down the house of cards. Harris speaks with the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr about what it took to make an ethical stand and how increasingly complex technology will present challenges for ethical leaders.

How Barriers Faced by Female Entrepreneurs Impact Us All and Stifle the Global Economy

The glass ceiling exists around the world. From the U.S. to India, women work harder to get a foot in the door, a seat at the table or a place at the top of established businesses. But what about women who want to start their own businesses? As University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Gaurav Chiplunkar discusses in this Ideas to Action podcast with the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr, the barriers they face might be even greater. To examine the challenge, Chiplunkar shared his new research on the barriers faced by female entrepreneurs in developing countries, how their challenges harm the entire economy, and what business leaders and policymakers can do about it.

The Decarbonization Imperative: How the Entire Economy Can Meet the Climate Moment

Electric vehicles are everywhere. Renewable energy like solar and wind, too. The U.S. is back in the Paris Climate Accord. Progress to stop climate change has come so far, yet still has a long way to go and the road from here only gets harder. Professor Mike Lenox and Senior Researcher Becky Duff at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business talk with the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr about their new book on what it will take to decarbonize the economy. Not just one sector. Every sector. And their insights have big implications for every business leader, investor and policymaker.

The Future of Work Is Changing. Here’s How You Prepare for What’s Next.

The future of work is changing, whether you’re ready or not. But getting ready is no simple task. Who can you trust to teach the new skills you’ll need? How much should you pay? What’s more important: credentials or knowledge? University of Virginia Darden School of Business Dean Scott Beardsley has spent the last six years honing the School’s strategy to serve the needs of the next generation of business leaders, and he joins Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning’s Anne Trumbore to dissect the landscape of lifelong learning, how it is evolving to meet the needs of the modern workplace and how professionals can best tap the power of education to advance their purpose.

Struggling With Change? How Individuals (and Businesses) Can Learn Adaptability

New year, new you? Flipping the calendar has become a cliché for goals, resolutions, intentions and self-improvement. Those good intentions fail all too often, not out of desire but out of an inability to change or adapt. Humans struggle with change, and the stakes of that limitation are getting higher as the world enters an era of massive technological disruption and the coronavirus pandemic challenges our way of life. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Ed Hess is an expert in high individual and organizational performance. His latest book, Hyper-Learning, offers practical pathways to develop “a new way of being” for individual success and “a new way of working” for business success. The Batten Institute’s Sean Carr speaks with Ed to share how we can all simply be better at changing.

What’s Next for the Fed Amid White House Transition, New COVID Restrictions?

The Trump Administration is on the way out. The Biden Administration is on the way in. And amid the transition, the largest wave yet of the coronavirus pandemic is resulting in new restrictions in the United States and around the world. It’s a pivotal moment for the U.S. and global economies, and the U.S. Federal Reserve holds a key position of influence. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Frank Warnock, a former Fed economist and current research adviser with the Fed, discusses the tools available and possible next steps for the Fed with the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr.

The Guide to Getting in the Room Where It Happens

Have you ever shown up to a meeting thinking you’ve got great ideas, piercing insights and the motivation to make a positive impact, only to discover the decisions you thought were still on the table have already been made? You’re left wondering if you were the only person who didn’t know. How did that happen? The play Hamilton popularized the phrase “the room where it happens,” which speaks to a very real unwritten playbook for power and influence in organizations that continues today in much the same way it did in the 18th century. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor of Practice Toni Irving brought her decades of experience in finance, health care, consulting, government and nonprofit management to the table in a discussion with the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr on the practicalities of getting in “the room where it happens.”

Diagnosing Discrimination in Your Company’s Customer Service

Eliminating discrimination from customer service has been historically difficult, even for organizations with stellar service reputations. Is there a way for companies to better identify their breakdowns and eliminate discrimination from the fast food drive through to the hotel lobby? University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Tami Kim joins the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr to discuss how her research proved discrimination pervades the customer service landscape. She shares what she’s learned about how companies can identify the issues unique to their service and take a better approach to solving the problems.

Entrepreneurs’ Secrets to Surviving COVID-19 Business Disruption

No event in modern history has driven so much change, so fast, as the coronavirus pandemic. In a world beset by the challenges presented by COVID-19, can we look into the minds of entrepreneurs to discover how businesses and individuals might start to rebuild? University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Saras Sarasvathy, a world-renowned thought leader in the field of entrepreneurship, discusses the logic of thinking used by expert entrepreneurs with the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr to uncover how the entrepreneurial approach can help us all through the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Black Lives Matter and Business: A Defining Moment?

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and national protests for racial justice, businesses and leaders are working to embrace a defining moment for racial equality. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Laura Morgan Roberts joins the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr to discuss the movement for racial justice and what leaders can learn and do to be allies to the Black community in business and society.  

Seeking Trust and Meaning: Consumers and Brands During (and After) COVID-19

Panic-buying toilet paper. Baking bonanzas. Home hair-dye kits. The coronavirus pandemic is changing our routines, our social interactions and our relationships with companies and brands. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Lalin Anik joins the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr to explore the evolution of consumer behavior in response to COVID-19, how brands are reacting, and what the future may hold as people look to them for trust and meaning amidst the uncertainty.

Small Business and the Fight to Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic

Businesses large and small are in a fight for survival as the coronavirus pandemic brings economic activity to a near complete standstill. Professor Greg Fairchild joins the Batten Institute’s Sean Carr to provide insights on what small businesses can do to survive months of lost revenues amid mounting costs and what they can do now to thrive in whatever the “new normal” for commerce might be when the immediate crisis ends.

Leading Through Crisis: Lessons From Past US Presidents

The coronavirus pandemic is a crisis of unprecedented scale and scope. In response, the world looks to its leaders for clarity, direction, and the reassurance that their actions will mitigate — not exacerbate — the pandemic’s dire humanitarian and economic consequences. While no U.S. president has faced a challenge quite like the current one, what do past commanders-in-chief have to teach us about leading through a crisis? University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Bob Bruner shares findings from his examination of the leadership styles of past U.S. presidents that could inform the current moment for leaders at all levels as we navigate the difficult path ahead.

Why You’re Probably Hiring the Wrong People

Americans cherish the idea of the truly self-made man or woman. So why does an elite pedigree often win the day when it comes to hiring for the top jobs? What prevents managers from rewarding those who make the leap from one social class to another, and more importantly, what are we missing when we favor the well born? Professor Sean Martin, an expert in social class and leadership, discusses why the lack of opportunities for social class transitioners means businesses are missing opportunities to hire employees with incredibly valuable skills for the workplace.

Disruptive Technologies and the Fight Against Climate Change

Business has the tools to solve the global climate crisis, but will business leaders have the will to drive the changes necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change? Professor Mike Lenox argues that disruptive new technologies can redirect global society’s unsustainable path, but radical innovation will rock the boat of many local communities and today’s top businesses.

What Makes a Fortune 100 CEO?

Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Warren Buffett — you know the names. But how did they come to helm the world’s largest companies? And is there anything we can learn from their stories that might suggest lessons about how they made it to the top? Professor Kimberly Whitler looked into the education and career choices of every Fortune 100 CEO and made some surprising discoveries.

The CEO’s New Public Face

Not so long ago, CEOs were not the public face of their companies. But in the age of always-on media and the rise of superstar chief executives, CEOs must constantly give voice to the organizations they lead. Professor June West and Steve Soltis share what it takes for a CEO to succeed as a communicator.