The European Business Review July/August 2021

The "bottom line" is a long-standing measure of a business’s success (or otherwise) in financial terms. But is it now time to revise that concept to take into account companies’ responsibilities to society? Should we be thinking about not one "bottom line", but three? Mickael Naulleau of the Audencia business school explains the philosophy that underlies their Chief Value Officer Executive MBA programme. Q Good day to you, Mr Naulleau. Thank you so much for sharing your time with us. First, can you tell us a bit about yourself? You have a PhD in organisational behaviour studies. How does your specialisation and expertise in this field help you in leading Audencia’s MBA & DBA community? A Thanks for the invitation. In a few words, I’ve been working for Audencia for 10 years…

Even before the advent of the global pandemic necessitated a rethink of leadership models, the world of work managed by old Newtonian paradigm which views people and organisations like machines (a collection of discrete parts) capable of operating with stability, controllable certainty and predictability was seen as unfit for purpose. This paradigm is largely responsible for many problems in organisations including low levels of engagement, productivity, performance, innovation, and bottom-line profit. The inadequacy of this old approach to managing and leading organisations has been augmented by the pandemic, where we have been propelled to a quantum age, requiring resilience, agility, adaptability and courage to make bold decisions to survive and thrive in this new volatile, complex and unpredictable world. In the quantum age, this complex and chaotic world is around us,…

Vlatka Ariaana Hlupic is a Professor of Leadership and Management at Hult Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School. She is the founder and CEO of the training, coaching and consultancy firm Management Shift Solutions Limited as well as the author of The Management Shift and Humane Capital. Vlatka Ariaana Hlupic is a Professor of Leadership and Management at Hult Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School. She is the founder and CEO of the training, coaching and consultancy firm Management Shift Solutions Limited as well as the author of The Management Shift and Humane Capital.…

The new era of leadership is asking for authentic leaders, which are purpose-driven and compassionate. Agne Nainyte leads with a purpose and has a thoughtful vision. I spoke with Agne about her leadership path and about how she experienced what she calls the ‘Millennial Crisis’1 leaving her corporate job to volunteer in rural Uganda and then coming back to discover her purpose. While many people still unconsciously relate leadership to a masculine behavioral style2 , this trend is slowly changing. The new era of leadership is asking for more leaders who also use feminine behavioral attributes, such as compassion, flexibility and sense of individual responsibility and impact on the community. Authentic leaders are purpose- and mission-driven3 and going beyond a simplistic understanding of what authenticity is4 . Millennials are currently, in 2021,…

Time is finite. We cannot produce more time for ourselves. We can only improve what we do with our time. This is the essence of business technology… helping us become more efficient during our workday. Becoming more efficient is a primary objective for companies when it comes to managing the plethora of data they possess and will gather in future years. But lots of companies really struggle and lose precious time trying to figure out the best course of action to manage their data volume. As the old saying goes, “time is money,” and this business maxim has never been more true than when it comes to the management of corporate data. As the old saying goes, “time is money,” and this business maxim has never been more true than when it comes…

Accenture’s recent survey of 700 C-suite executives of large businesses in Europe reveals confidence that new global leaders can emerge from this region. They also identify the primary barriers to that end—and the ingredients needed to succeed. Europe’s large companies need much more than a return to pre-pandemic strategies to be competitive in the coming years. That’s not a negative statement, though. It’s a challenge, which, if accepted, could lead to significant market wins over the long term, in addition to an estimated net job creation of 5.7 million across Europe by 2030. But there’s not a lot of running room. Large companies in Europe are recovering more slowly from the pandemic than their peers in the US and China. In a best-case scenario, according to Accenture’s new global survey, European companies…