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
Effective Leadership in Government Demands Fostering Trust
While some aspects of leadership transcend the public and private sectors, others are unique to government — in particular, the preservation of public trust. In the U.S., where trust between the public and government is at an all-time low, it is crucial for government agency leaders to help unify and build trust by fostering a culture of integrity and ethics.
The Long-Term Effects of a ‘Shecession’
The term “shecession” — an economic downturn where job and income losses are affecting women more than men — was coined by C. Nicole Mason, president and chief executive of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. In an interview with The Guardian, Mason discusses the changes necessary for an equitable economic recovery.
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Approaching Tech Regulation in a New Era
The Biden administration is inheriting a crisis in the regulation of technology, and its response to Silicon Valley’s disruptive tendencies could, in the long term, determine the ultimate course of several key industries. In a column for MIT SMR, Larry Downes, author of Unleashing the Killer App, offers five basic principles for regulating without overreaching.
How Social Platforms’ Business Models Accelerate Disinformation
The Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol illustrated the power of a networked conspiracy amplified through social media — and demonstrated social media companies’ inability to control the weaponization of their products. How did social media become a disinformation machine, and how do companies’ business models explain how that happened?
What Else We’re Reading This Week
- Cloud-based services are offering remote employees digital offices, happy-hour locales, and TED-style auditoriums in a virtual 2D environment
- A straightforward way to make giving constructive feedback easier
- Reusable packaging, easier recycling, refurbished products: A greener “circular economy” is growing
- The world needs an “Operation Warp Speed” for climate change
Quote of the Week:
“I think we can learn from the pandemic. We’ve just had kind of a natural experiment in how tech can be used in a crisis. And a lot of things we learned, both good and bad, about that should influence how we want to regulate tech in the next decade.”
— Larry Downes, a bestselling author, on developing business strategies in an age of accelerating technological disruption, in this week’s Three Big Points episode “Should the U.S. Government Slow Its Roll in Technology Regulation?”