REPORT

Countdown to 2030: Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. Are you ready?

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is 10 years away. While more and more firms are embracing the agenda, the business community needs to act with more urgency for the goals to be met. Here, we look at the new responsibilities of business for people, the planet and our future prosperity.

One word: plastics

With the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive coming into force, know where your business stands.

Lise Kingo: “It’s time for everyone to step up”

The CEO and Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact urges companies to adopt a principles-based approach to doing business in support of achieving the SDGs by 2030.

7 leadership qualities for the goals

Making progress on the SDGs requires these special qualities in a leader. Ask yourself these questions and make necessary improvements in any areas where you see yourself lacking.

Juvencio Maeztu: “We’ll always do things because we believe they’re right”

The Deputy CEO and CFO of Ingka Group, which manages IKEA operations, shares what he has learned in applying the SDGs to his business.

Goals made EASIER

Collaborations between the public and private sectors can help turn the SDGs into achievements. Joan E. Ricart and Pascual Berrone present a model called EASIER to assess projects in terms of their contributions to the goals.

THE BIG PICTURE

The Big Picture: Handling Feedback

Tips for giving and receiving feedback better.

HACK

5 golden rules to avoid M&A disaster

Most mergers destroy value for shareholders. So, what is it about bad M&A deals that seem to blindside management teams time and again?

Collectivists or individuals? How relational mobility affects worldview

Is it easy to make new friends where you live and work? The answer to this question has implications for how you and your colleagues think.

For leaders, ethics trumps fairness in employee opinions

Principled and moral leaders are perceived to treat employees better when dispensing justice — even when they don’t.

+IESE

“The more you learn, the greater your impact”

Cristina Ventura, the Chief Catalyst Officer at The Lane Crawford Joyce Group in Hong Kong, discusses the human side of doing business.

“It’s important to have a purpose that you’re able to communicate clearly”

Gaby-Luise Wüst, President of Audi China, discusses the evolution of the auto market in Asia and the four pillars of her management philosophy.

“Success can be measured by how much you learned”

From running the North Pole Marathon to starting a transatlantic tech company, Luis Pallares likes to push his limits.

A coffee a day keeps the poachers away

Walking with rangers in Kenya inspired Steffen Sauer to set up a business that supports rangers and reforestation to protect African wildlife.

SMART PICKS

8 keys to happiness, according to experts

This roundup of books, videos and websites — along with a reflection by IESE’s Santiago Álvarez de Mon — will give you plenty of food for thought as you contemplate your life and set goals for the year ahead.

KNOW

When morals meet models: ethics in banking
By Daniel Beunza

Has our reliance on financial models gone too far? In the post-crisis order, more and more people are taking ethics in banking seriously. Here is how managers can take back control.

Don’t be deceived: 6 key misconceptions that can harm your business
By Pedro Nueno

In business, as in life, fooling yourself often costs more than facing the truth. Here are six ways self-deception happens — and how to root it out.

How to make wonderful decisions
By Roberto García-Castro and Miguel Angel Ariño

To make wonderful decisions, companies need to strike the right balance between effectiveness, attractiveness and unity, and then hone their strategic, executive and leadership abilities. These diagnostic tools may help.

FULL STOP

Innovative spirit: lessons in leadership from the Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia by the architect Antoni Gaudí is proof of how to turn vision into reality. By taking a cue from Gaudí, executives may be inspired to realize their own visions in ways they never thought possible before.