The Best of This Week
The week’s must-reads for managing in the digital age, curated by the MIT SMR editors.
Topics
Weekly Recap
Six Strategies for Success in Data Science Projects
In order to reap the benefits of AI, companies need to foster good working relationships between data teams and business units. AI projects typically are led by a company’s data science group, which is tasked with both executing the projects and taking responsibility for their achievements. Guide that team toward greater success in those cross-unit projects with these six strategies.
How ‘No-Code’ Solutions Can Empower Your Teams
Nontechnical employees can use no-code software development platforms to be their own app developers, enabling technological progress without having to invest in more technology hires or write a single line of code.
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Mental Wellness Apps Are Booming — but Are Largely Unvetted
Mental health apps can provide many things that traditional therapy often cannot, and they can be good options during a widespread shortage of mental health providers. While some studies suggest that select applications can be effective treatments for mental illness, just a small fraction of available apps have been scientifically vetted — and it’s nearly impossible to distinguish which ones are legit and which might actually be harmful.
Independent Contractors’ Outsider Status Can Boost Success
You might assume that independent contractors hired to tackle core management tasks would be hobbled by their lack of history and relationships in the client organization, but research shows that they often succeed because of their outsider status. These findings expand our notion of what it means to be an effective manager, and they have practical value for organizations seeking flexibility.
What Else We’re Reading This Week
- In new research from the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, a majority of survey respondents said the pandemic increased their companies’ commitments to supply chain sustainability (Source: MIT News)
- Visibility of diversity, equity, and inclusion is undoubtedly important during the recruiting process, but it’s also a crucial element of employee retention (Source: Fast Company)
- Check-in meetings are multiplying — and crushing already burned-out remote and hybrid workers (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
Quote of the Week:
“One of the ways I look at culture is what people do within the company when no one is watching. Throughout the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen that companies that had a healthy culture continued to thrive and adapt versus companies where culture was more of a work in progress.”
— Urvashi Tyagi, ADP’s CTO, in the latest interview in MIT Sloan Management Review’s Leading With Impact series, “Culture’s Role in Successful Technology Transformation”