Diversity and inclusion are instrumental for any organization that seeks innovation, creativity, and engaged employees. We don't need to make the business case for it; it is well accepted that a diverse workforce is essential to staying competitive in the global marketplace. In today's world, problems are complex, communication is...

The reason Volkswagen's Darth Vader ad scored such a hit at the Superbowl is our popular longing for powerful, heroic action. In the ad, the six-year-old, dressed as Darth Vader from "Star Wars," wants to be heroic and do something big. Even dressed as a villain, he is the hero...

A wise lawyer friend introduced me to the term "The Heckler's Veto". There is a strict legal meaning to this phrase and there is also its use outside of the legal context.

Briefly, the legal framework is based on a court case Hill v. Colorado 530 US 703, 735...

In any specific industry, disaster is predictable. It can happen and comes with the territory. Airplanes fall out of the sky, oil wells spring leaks, financial markets are volatile. If you are in one of those industries you should have developed specific, detailed, anticipatory disaster detection, continuity and damage reduction...

In a January 6, 2010, speech at the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at length about the importance of development in the US long-term goals of global peace, security and equitable life. She called development "transformative," and "an essential leg in...

Have you ever wondered why:

• So few women run companies around the world
• Even fewer American companies are run by Japanese men
• There are more tall male leaders than short male leaders
• Pakistani leadership is filled with cricket fans but not racquetball players

On April 4, 2009, the Washington Post had a front page article with a headline of "Blacks at Odds Over Scrutiny of President."

The article stated that for many African Americans there was now a division between those who want to continue to praise Obama and...

There may not appear to be any immediate value in studying the failure of the capital markets to help us understand why gender equity seems so long in coming to pass, but ironically, the attributes of one look similar to the attributes of the other. Iris Bohnet, an economist and...

In the New York Times on July 27, 2008, columnist Patrick Healey talked about the presidential race: "An Exclusive Club Gets Included." The premise is that senators are now being seen as attractive, viable presidential candidates, unlike in previous runs when the pool of presidential candidates was almost exclusively drawn...

The United States and the world have been focused on the US election. We have all been fascinated by the prospect of a woman president or a black president. This powerful country of over 300 million came close to being led by a woman.

Ironically, there is another political campaign...

Last January, I was invited to speak on a panel at the World Economic Forum at Davos for their 2008 Annual Meeting. Much of the Forum is focused on economics, finance, and business. I was voted "most likely to fall asleep in finance class" at my business school, so these...

Much will be said about Benazir Bhutto in these days that follow her tragic assassination. Surely many will focus on what this means for Pakistan, for the United States, for stability in the region, and even for those campaigning for the U.S. presidency.

For me, it's more personal and it...

Another woman has won the presidential election in her country. On October 28, 2007 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina won a decisive victory over her opponents -- one of whom was a woman.

It is still not business as usual. A woman president is still the 'dancing dog' phenomenon,...

Remember the song by Aretha Franklin, "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves"? Well, sisters are still doing "it" but now "it" means holding meetings of powerful leaders, shaping the world's agenda, critically evaluating and demanding better leadership, and becoming high-level leaders themselves. Why? Because now, like men, women have both...