Hide your phone. Seriously.

Founded in 2018 by Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson, Cann sold "social tonics," or cannabis-infused beverages. By 2022, the company had several notable celebrity investors and talent partners, had sold over 10 million beverages to consumers, was distributing in six states and two Canadian provinces, and had closed on a $27 million Series A funding round. Moreover, Anderson and Bullock had their eyes set on expanding into New York and New Jersey, .....more

This note explores the emerging multi-billion dollars commerce trend of livestream commerce. Livestream commerce is the sale of goods or services directly to consumers via live shows on digital platforms (such as social media or e-commerce platforms). It is a form of social commerce in which consumers engage with real-time videos to complete transactions. Livestream commerce was especially popular in China, where gross merchandise value through this .....more

Harvard Business Review published its first issue 100 years ago with a mission to help leaders put the best management thinking into practice. To mark our centennial, we asked eight current and former CEOs from some of the world''s top companies to describe the ideas that have propelled their own careers and organizations. Stephane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna, on planning from the future back; Anish Shah, CEO of Mahindra, on purpose-driven .....more

Mentoring programs operate under the promise that matching seasoned executives with up-and-coming professionals will produce all sorts of benefits. Unfortunately, relationships often remain superficial and transactional. These problems have only gotten worse with remote and hybrid work, which makes meaningful personal interaction difficult. To reap the full benefits of developmental relationships and create "authentic sponsorship," companies .....more

The authors conducted dozens of studies designed to determine how a clear view of one''s values can affect decision-making, motivation, relationships, well-being, leadership, and performance. They discovered that when a company''s official values match those of its employees--a situation they call values alignment--the benefits include higher job satisfaction, less turnover, better teamwork, more- effective communication, bigger contributions .....more

Don''t underestimate the power of dormant ties.

In 2022, Sophie Desormi re arrived at French roboshuttle producer Navya, tasked with charting a new course in a challenging sector. The company, which had recently listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, was burning through cash reserves and needed to transform the promise of its technology into a credible business with a solid revenue stream. In the short term, Desormi re had to decide whether, and if so under what pricing terms, to accept an opportunity .....more