Business Archives

The Microsoft & OpenAI Partnership: What the Future Holds

Why are Microsoft and OpenAI working together? What is generative AI? What are the pair’s plans for this year? Last month, Microsoft announced it would be investing $10 billion in OpenAI, which began as a nonprofit research lab in 2015 and now predicts it will produce $200 million in revenue this year. Even as Microsoft and OpenAI race to cash in on generative AI, they still face potential roadblocks moving forward. Read on to learn more about Microsoft, OpenAI, and the generative AI gold rush.

Democracy in the Workplace: Giving Everyone a Voice

Why is democracy in the workplace important? How do you distribute authority at work? In Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan emphasizes the importance of giving power to everyone in the workplace. Doing this ensures equality at work and encourages employees to speak up and carry out the organization’s purpose. Let’s look at how you can enforce democracy in the workplace to create an environment of equality.

Problem-Solving in Communication: 3 Skills to Master

How does problem-solving in communication work? What skills do you need for conversational problem-solving? According to leadership expert Michael Bungay Stanier, problem-solving in communication is all about adopting a questions-first approach, which results in more productive solutions. By learning to think like a coach, you can let your curiosity lead the way when faced with a problem, says Stanier. Read on to learn Stanier’s three essential skills for problem-solving in communication.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Business Philosophy Explained

What kind of company is Berkshire Hathaway? What is Berkshire Hathaway’s business philosophy? Berkshire Hathaway is a multinational holding company run by Warren Buffett. Buffett takes the time to explain the reasoning and philosophies behind everything he does as Berkshire’s CEO so that his shareholders can fully understand the company that they own. Keep reading to learn about Berkshire Hathaway’s business philosophy.

Team Topologies: Book Overview & Key Takeaways

What are team topologies? How do you know how much work to assign to a team? How can you set teams up for success? Team Topologies, by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, is a manual for restructuring your organization’s approach to software design. The authors recommend four types of teams and discuss various modes of interaction among teams that help them function effectively. Keep reading for our Team Topologies book overview, including an exercise to help you put the principles into action.

Inverse Conway Maneuver: A Focus on Tech Team Design

What’s Conway’s Law? What’s an inverse Conway maneuver, and how can it help your teams succeed? Conway’s Law states that a piece of software’s architecture mimics the structure of the team that produced it. Based on this, software engineers Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais advocate an approach to software development that they call an inverse Conway maneuver. Continue reading to learn about designing tech teams according to Conway’s Law.

Team Workload Management: 2 Strategies for Tech Teams

How can you keep teams from getting overwhelmed? What’s the “right” amount of work? In Team Topologies, Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais show you how to set up software development teams to work as efficiently as possible. Basing their approach on Conway’s Law, they recommend that you assign teams the right amount of work. Continue reading to learn two strategies for team workload management.

Warren Buffett’s Wall Street Criticisms

How to Invest Wisely in the Stock Market

Why does Warren Buffett criticize the Wall Street approach? What are some ways in which Wall Street investment firms mishandle investors’ money? According to Warren Buffett, Wall Street’s business-as-usual practices highlight many areas in which most investment companies don’t serve the interests of the people whose money they steward. Specifically, Buffett highlights the failings of CEO culture, shady accounting, overpriced acquisitions, and the systemic dangers of financial derivatives. Keep reading to learn about Warren Buffett’s criticisms of Wall Street’s practices.

Stream-Aligned Teams: The Primary Team Topology

How much authority should a stream-aligned team have? What makes these teams so efficient? When you think of “stream,” think of “flow.” That’s a key aspect of stream-aligned teams. It’s the primary of four team topologies discussed by software engineers and authors Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais. Continue reading for an overview of what stream-aligned teams are designed to do.

Team Topologies: Enabling Teams Are Here to Help

Does your organization have enabling teams? What difference do they—or could they—make? In Team Topologies, enabling teams function as helpers that come alongside other teams to keep them running with efficiency and relevance. They stay up to date on the latest technologies and skills, and then they share this knowledge with the teams that need it. Read on to understand the purpose and function of enabling teams.