Reading Insights: MIT Sloan Management Review - Spring 2025

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Welcome to my ‘Reading Insights‘ series. Here, is where I share simple takeaways and personal thoughts from articles, papers, and other readings that called my attention.

Together, we’ll explore ideas beyond the “Book Notes” series that help us to improve how we think about management, leadership, and personal growth.

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And what are we reading today?

Today we will talk about the: MIT Sloan Management Review magazine edition Spring 2025.

This edition of MIT Sloan Management Review dives into something we all feel in our work: the constant tension between innovation and keeping things running smoothly. It’s easy to talk about embracing change, using AI, or improving how we measure success, but the real challenge?

Making all of this work in actual teams, with real people, under real business pressure. That’s what this issue of the MIT Sloan Management Review is all about—how companies are navigating these shifts and what leaders can do to keep up.

One big theme here in MIT Sloan Management Review issue is decision-making in a world where AI plays a bigger role. Machine learning is getting better at helping leaders make sense of complex situations, but the key is knowing when to trust the numbers and when to trust your gut.

The MIT Sloan Management Review issue also touches on some everyday leadership struggles: How do you keep employees truly motivated (hint: it’s not just bonuses)? How do you protect ideas in partnerships without losing opportunities? And how do you build a learning culture that actually sticks? These aren’t abstract concepts; they’re the kinds of problems that show up in meetings, project plans, and tough conversations. If you’re leading in today’s world, these insights will hit home.

Lessons Learned From Outside Innovators – Simone Ferriani; Gino Cattani
How Remote Work Changes Design Thinking – Daniel Wentzel; Alice Minet; Stefan Raff-Heinen; Janina Garbas
Leaders’ Critical Role in Building a Learning Culture – Henrik Saabye and Thomas Borup Kristensen
The Hidden Battle for IP Protection in Alliances – Jens-Christian Friedmann; Dovev Lavie; Linda Rademaker; Andrew Shipilov
What Leaders Get Wrong About Employee Motivation – Marylène Gagné; Rebecca Hewett
Who’s Making Your Talent Decisions? – Sharna Wiblen
Building One KPI to Rule Them All – Omri Morgenshtern; Tarik Fadil
The Way to Net Zero: Reducing Emissions Takes Teamwork – Martin Glaum; Alexander Gerybadze; Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum; Ralph Schweens
How to Embed Purpose at Every Level – Stuart L. Hart
A New Machine Learning Approach Answers What-If Questions – Stefan Feuerriegel; Yash Raj Shrestha; Georg von Krogh

Lessons Learned From Outside Innovators

By Simone Ferriani & Gino Cattani – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: Some of the best innovations don’t come from industry insiders—they come from outsiders who challenge the status quo. But according to MIT Sloan Management Review, these fresh ideas often face resistance, making it hard for them to get traction.

📌 The Summary: Outsiders—people without deep industry experience—have a history of coming up with breakthrough innovations. The problem? Their ideas are often dismissed because they don’t fit the established way of doing things. The article highlights how companies that embrace fresh perspectives (instead of shutting them down) gain a competitive edge.

The key is to create an environment where unconventional thinkers have a chance to prove their value. That means leaders need to act as sponsors, helping these innovators integrate their ideas into the organization instead of letting bureaucracy kill them before they get started.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Outsiders often come up with the most disruptive innovations.
✔ Companies that support non-traditional thinkers gain a competitive edge.
✔ Leaders should actively help outsiders integrate their ideas into the organization.

How Remote Work Changes Design Thinking

By Daniel Wentzel, Alice Minet, Stefan Raff-Heinen & Janina Garbas – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: Design thinking has always been about collaboration, but remote work changes how teams brainstorm, prototype, and innovate. Virtual tools help, but they also create new challenges.

📌 The Summary: Design thinking works best when teams can collaborate in real time, bouncing ideas off each other. With remote work, that spontaneous creativity is harder to achieve. The authors interviewed 41 experts and found that while digital whiteboards and virtual meetings help, they don’t fully replace the energy of in-person sessions.

Hybrid models seem to work best—teams brainstorm online but meet in person for key stages like prototyping. Companies that adapt their design thinking process to balance digital efficiency with real-world interaction see better results.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Remote work affects collaboration and creativity in design thinking.
✔ Digital tools help but don’t fully replace in-person brainstorming.
✔ Hybrid models—mixing virtual and face-to-face sessions—work best.

Leaders’ Critical Role in Building a Learning Culture

By Henrik Saabye and Thomas Borup Kristensen – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: A company’s success depends on how well its people learn and adapt. Leaders play a huge role in shaping a culture where continuous learning isn’t just encouraged—it’s the norm.

📌 The Summary: Many companies say they value learning, but in reality, employees don’t always feel supported to take risks or develop new skills. The key is leadership. Leaders who model curiosity, recognize learning efforts, and embed development into daily work create environments where people grow.

The article stresses that learning cultures aren’t built overnight. They require consistency, clear incentives, and leadership that prioritizes growth over just short-term results.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Leaders must actively promote learning, not just talk about it.
✔ Recognizing and rewarding curiosity helps build a strong learning culture.
✔ A real learning culture is built over time, not through one-off training programs.

The Hidden Battle for IP Protection in Alliances

By Jens-Christian Friedmann, Dovev Lavie, Linda Rademaker & Andrew Shipilov – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: Strategic partnerships can drive innovation, but they also come with a big risk—intellectual property theft. Companies need to protect their knowledge without shutting down collaboration.

📌 The Summary: Companies form alliances to share expertise, but some partners take advantage of these relationships to steal valuable ideas and technology. This happened to American Superconductor, which lost critical IP to a partner and faced financial collapse.

The article highlights the importance of multi-layered defenses—contracts, digital safeguards, and selective knowledge-sharing. The best strategy? Only give partners the information they truly need, and always monitor for red flags.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Partnerships are valuable but come with IP theft risks.
✔ Companies need strong contracts and security measures to protect their knowledge.
✔ The best approach is to share just enough—without exposing everything.

What Leaders Get Wrong About Employee Motivation

By Marylène Gagné & Rebecca Hewett – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: According to MIT Sloan Management Review, Many leaders think motivation is all about rewards and punishments, but real engagement comes from autonomy, mastery, and connection.

📌 The Summary: Leaders often assume employees are motivated by bonuses, promotions, or avoiding consequences. But research shows that true motivation comes from feeling ownership over work, developing new skills, and working with a great team.

Instead of micromanaging or relying on incentives, leaders should focus on creating an environment where employees feel valued, challenged, and supported. That’s what drives long-term engagement.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Autonomy, mastery, and connection drive real motivation.
✔ Over-monitoring and excessive rewards can actually hurt engagement.
✔ Leaders should focus on creating meaningful work experiences.

Who’s Making Your Talent Decisions?

By Sharna Wiblen – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: Companies are using AI to make hiring and promotion decisions, but without human oversight, these systems can create biases and misaligned strategies.

📌 The Summary: AI is increasingly shaping talent management, deciding who gets promoted, hired, or let go. The problem? These systems often rely on rigid algorithms that don’t consider company culture or strategic needs.

Organizations need to ensure that AI is a tool, not the decision-maker. Human oversight is essential to balance efficiency with fair and strategic talent decisions.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ AI can help manage talent, but it shouldn’t replace human judgment.
✔ Blindly following algorithms can lead to bias and misalignment.
✔ Leaders must ensure that hiring and promotion decisions align with company values.

Building One KPI to Rule Them All

By Omri Morgenshtern & Tarik Fadil – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: Companies track too many KPIs, leading to confusion and inefficiency. A single, strategic KPI can improve alignment and focus.

📌 The Summary: Many businesses are drowning in KPIs—some useful, many redundant. Agoda tackled this by creating a single performance metric that integrates financial, customer, and operational data.

The result? A clearer, more actionable view of success that helps teams make better decisions.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Too many KPIs create confusion—simplify where possible.
✔ A single, well-designed metric can improve decision-making.
✔ KPIs should align with strategic business goals, not just measure activity.

The Way to Net Zero: Reducing Emissions Takes Teamwork

By Martin Glaum, Alexander Gerybadze, Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum & Ralph Schweens – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: According to this article from MIT Sloan Management Review, companies can’t reach net-zero emissions alone—it takes collaboration across entire supply chains to make real progress.

📌 The Summary: Many businesses are setting ambitious net-zero targets, but most are only focusing on their own emissions. The problem? The biggest environmental impact often comes from suppliers, logistics, and product use—areas outside their direct control.

The article highlights how leading companies are engaging suppliers, customers, and industry partners to reduce emissions together. Instead of competing, they’re sharing best practices, aligning incentives, and working toward common sustainability goals.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Net-zero success depends on collaboration beyond your own company.
✔ Supply chain emissions often make up the largest footprint—engage partners early.
✔ Industry-wide partnerships can accelerate real climate impact.

How to Embed Purpose at Every Level

By Stuart L. Hart – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: A strong company purpose isn’t just a slogan—it has to be embedded in daily decisions, from leadership to frontline employees.

📌 The Summary: Many organizations talk about having a higher purpose, but according to MIT Sloan Management Review few successfully integrate it into their business operations. The key is making purpose part of how teams work, hire, and measure success—not just a feel-good message from leadership.

The article breaks down how companies can embed purpose at every level by aligning incentives, making it a core part of decision-making, and ensuring employees feel connected to it in their roles.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ A company’s purpose should guide everyday decisions, not just branding.
✔ Hiring, performance reviews, and rewards should align with the company’s mission.
✔ Employees are more engaged when they see how their work contributes to a bigger goal.

A New Machine Learning Approach Answers What-If Questions

By Stefan Feuerriegel, Yash Raj Shrestha & Georg von Krogh – Full article

👉 The Big Idea: According to the MIT Sloan Management Review, traditional machine learning models predict outcomes, but a new approach—Causal ML—helps companies understand why things happen and how decisions will change future results.

📌 The Summary: Most AI tools are great at spotting patterns, but they struggle to explain cause and effect. That’s where Causal Machine Learning (Causal ML) comes in. Instead of just predicting what might happen, it helps businesses simulate different decisions and their likely outcomes.

Companies in industries like finance, healthcare, and retail are already using Causal ML to improve pricing, customer retention, and supply chain decisions by answering critical “what-if” questions before making big moves.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Traditional AI predicts outcomes, but Causal ML explains why things happen.
✔ This approach helps businesses simulate decisions before taking action.
✔ Causal ML is already improving strategy in industries like finance and retail.

So, what’s the big takeaway from this MIT Sloan Management Review issue? Keep learning, stay adaptable, and don’t get caught up in complexity for the sake of it.

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