MIT Sloan Management Review Summer 2025

Hey there!

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

So grab a cup of coffee, and let’s dive into some interesting insights!

And what are we reading today?

Today, we will talk about the MIT Sloan Management Review magazine edition, Summer 2025.

This issue really hits on something I’ve been thinking about a lot, the pressure to lead in a smarter, more human way. Not just running faster, launching more, or chasing growth for the sake of it.

But stopping to ask better questions. Questions like: Are we leading with clarity? Are we creating space to think? Are we building teams that truly work together?

The articles in this edition of MIT Sloan Management Review look at that tension up close. They explore what happens when companies rethink growth, when they flatten their org charts, or when they bring in leaders from different cultures.

There’s a strong focus on inclusion, time, and decision-making, not as buzzwords, but as real challenges with practical steps.

Here are the eight articles we’ve explored in this Reading Insights post:

Will AI Disrupt Your Business? – Julian Birkinshaw
Time Well Spent: A New Way to Value Time Could Transform Your Life – Leslie Perlow; Salvatore Affinito
Take CEO Succession Planning Off the Back Burner – J. Yo-Jud Cheng; Paul Healy
Rethink the Growth Imperative – Andrew J. Hoffman
People Follow Structure: How Less Hierarchy Changes the Workforce – Markus Reitzig; Kathrin Heiss
How Neuroinclusion Builds Organizational Capabilities – Robert D. Austin; Neil Barnett; Chloe R. Cameron; Hiren Shukla; Thorkil Sonne; Jose Velasco
How Companies Profit From an International C-Suite – Niccolò Pisani; Ivy Buche
Create Mental Space to Be a Wiser Leader – Megan Reitz; John Higgins

Each one brings something different. Some challenge old habits. Others give you tools you can apply right away.

Will AI Disrupt Your Business?

By Julian Birkinshaw

👉 The Big Idea:
Not every business will be crushed by AI. Many leaders are scared of being the next Blockbuster, but most industries will not disappear. The key is to ask the right questions and understand how AI might affect your business.

📌 The Summary:
This article helps leaders stop guessing and start thinking clearly about AI. It shows that AI can hit your company in three ways. It can change how you work inside the company (the supply side). It can change how your customers behave (the demand side). And it can bring new rules from the outside (like the government or regulators).

In most cases, AI helps improve how things are done inside. That’s not disruption, that’s improvement. The real danger is when your customers no longer need you because AI can do the job better, cheaper, or faster.

The author gives ten smart questions that help you figure out how exposed you are. The goal is not to panic or move too fast. The goal is to understand what is really changing and where to act. Most of the time, slow and smart wins.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Most companies will see AI as a tool, not a threat
✔ The biggest risk is when AI changes customer behavior
✔ Physical products are safer than virtual services
✔ You should look at how AI affects your business, not just the tech itself
✔ Don’t rush. Stay alert, experiment in small ways, and partner when needed
✔ Use your existing strengths to adapt, not fight back blindly

Time Well Spent: A New Way to Value Time Could Transform Your Life

By Leslie Perlow and Salvatore Affinito

👉 The Big Idea:
We manage our time to be productive, but we rarely stop to ask if our time is actually valuable to us. This article shows a new way to look at your week and figure out which activities make you feel fulfilled, and which ones don’t.

📌 The Summary:
Instead of treating time like money, the authors suggest we treat time like meaning. They introduce the concept of “subjective value of time”, how much joy, achievement, and meaningfulness (JAM) we get from the things we do.

They studied thousands of people and found that those who spend more time on high-value activities feel more satisfied with life. But most of us spend way too much time on things that don’t matter, simply out of habit.

The solution is a tool called the Life Matrix. It helps you see which activities give you value and which ones drain you. Then you make small changes, like spending one more hour on something that brings you joy, and the impact adds up fast.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Joy, achievement, and meaning are the three things that make time feel valuable
✔ Most people don’t get enough of all three in their weekly routines
✔ Small shifts in how you spend time can lead to big increases in life satisfaction
✔ High-value time outside work makes your work feel better, too
✔ You can use the Life Matrix to help your team improve their well-being and collaboration
✔ The goal is not to be more efficient, but to feel more fulfilled

Take CEO Succession Planning Off the Back Burner

By J. Yo-Jud Cheng and Paul Healy

👉 The Big Idea:
Boards know CEO transitions are high-stakes moments, but many still avoid the planning. The problem isn’t awareness. It’s an action. This article shows how to turn succession planning into a real and ongoing process, not a one-time event.

📌 The Summary:
Most directors agree that CEO succession planning is important. But they delay it anyway. They wait because the current CEO is young, or they’re worried about hurting someone’s feelings, or they just feel like it’s not urgent. But when the moment comes, unprepared boards often regret waiting.

This article gives a clear message. Succession is not something you do when a CEO is about to leave. It’s something you should be doing all the time. Boards need to treat it like any other serious governance issue. That means putting it on the agenda, tracking internal candidates, and having honest conversations early.

Good planning also means being ready for the unexpected. A CEO might leave suddenly. A crisis might force a change. Boards that plan ahead are not just protecting themselves; they’re setting up the next CEO, and the whole company, for success.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ CEO succession is a process, not an event
✔ Start early, even if your current CEO is young or doing well
✔ Avoid letting emotions or relationships delay the planning
✔ Be open to nontraditional candidates and think about future needs
✔ A new CEO often triggers changes across the whole leadership team
✔ The board’s role is to guide, not just react, and the time to act is now

Rethink the Growth Imperative

By Andrew J. Hoffman

👉 The Big Idea:
We act like never-ending growth is the only way forward. But what if that belief is actually part of the problem? This article questions the obsession with growth and explores other paths that could make businesses and the planet more sustainable.

📌 The Summary:
For decades, business leaders have been taught that companies must grow or die. But the truth is, infinite growth on a finite planet doesn’t work. We are already consuming more resources than Earth can handle, and climate risks are getting worse. Growth brings jobs and money, but it also brings waste, pollution, and deeper inequality.

The article doesn’t say stop everything. Instead, it invites leaders to think differently. There are other models, like slower growth, green growth, post-growth, and even degrowth. Each one questions what success really means. Is it more money? Or is it better lives, better health, and a stable planet?

The key is not to pick one answer, but to challenge the idea that more is always better. If we don’t rethink what growth means, we risk chasing numbers that lead us straight into long-term failure.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Constant growth is not sustainable on a finite planet
✔ Business and economic models must include environmental limits
✔ There are alternatives: slow growth, green growth, post-growth, degrowth
✔ Success can mean better quality of life, not just more consumption
✔ Companies should ask what kind of growth aligns with their values and long-term goals
✔ Leaders must rethink growth before the environment forces change on us

People Follow Structure: How Less Hierarchy Changes the Workforce

By Markus Reitzig and Kathrin Heiss

👉 The Big Idea:
When companies flatten their hierarchy, they don’t just change how work gets done, they change who stays and who leaves. Some people thrive with more autonomy. Others don’t. This article shows how structure shapes the workforce itself.

📌 The Summary:
Many companies are moving toward flatter structures. Fewer layers, more autonomy, agile teams. But we rarely stop to ask: how does that shift affect the actual people inside?

The authors studied over 5,500 companies and found a clear pattern. When firms reduce hierarchy, people with certain traits are more likely to stay. These employees tend to be more conscientious, more open to new ideas, and more agreeable. The ones who leave? Often, those who struggle without clear top-down control.

It’s not that flat is better for everyone. It just works better for certain kinds of people. This is important because leaders often make structural changes without thinking about the people side of the shift.

The lesson is simple. If you’re changing how your company is organized, don’t forget that people follow structure. Some will lean in. Others will check out. HR and leadership need to work together to guide that transition and make sure people are ready for the new shape of work.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Flatter structures attract more open, agreeable, and achievement-driven people
✔ The change is driven more by who leaves than by who joins
✔ One structure won’t fit everyone, people sort themselves over time
✔ Structural change alone doesn’t improve skill levels, unless hiring also changes
✔ HR must play a bigger role in restructuring, not just follow after the fact
✔ Leaders need to stop micromanaging and start designing systems that let people thrive

How Neuroinclusion Builds Organizational Capabilities

By Robert D. Austin, Neil Barnett, Chloe R. Cameron, Hiren Shukla, Thorkil Sonne, and Jose Velasco

👉 The Big Idea:
Hiring people who think differently isn’t just about being inclusive. It’s about making your company stronger. Neuroinclusion helps businesses grow real capabilities, from innovation to leadership, and unlocks talent that would otherwise be ignored.

📌 The Summary:
The article shares what SAP, Microsoft, and EY learned after building programs to hire neurodistinct talent, people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurological differences. These programs didn’t just help fill jobs. They helped reshape how the companies work.

Neuroinclusion improves products, makes teams more innovative, and even forces managers to become better leaders. These employees often see problems others miss, speak with unusual candor, and bring in new ways of thinking that help the whole company move forward.

This isn’t a charity program. It’s a smart way to build a competitive advantage. But it only works if the changes go beyond small pilot programs. The challenge now is to scale these practices across the organization, not just leave them in side projects.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ Neurodistinct talent helps improve hiring, innovation, and user experience
✔ Companies like SAP and EY saw big business value, not just inclusion goals
✔ Better managers are often born from supervising neurodistinct employees
✔ Inclusion leads to more honesty, faster problem-solving, and better design
✔ Psychological safety increases when companies show acceptance and support
✔ The real win comes when inclusion becomes the norm, not the exception

How Companies Profit From an International C-Suite

By Niccolò Pisani and Ivy Buche

👉 The Big Idea:
When top leadership teams include people from different countries, companies do better. It’s not just about representation. International C-suites help businesses see risks more clearly, respond faster, and grow more sustainably.

📌 The Summary:
The authors studied global companies and found a strong link between international leadership and higher profits. Companies with more foreign-born executives didn’t just survive global shocks; they made smarter decisions and built trust in new markets.

The article gives real stories from companies like Schneider Electric, Nestlé, P&G, AstraZeneca, and Rio Tinto. These firms showed how diverse leadership helped them react better during conflicts, serve communities with real needs, and unlock innovation in unexpected places. For example, AstraZeneca used insights from China’s team to expand new diagnostics. Schneider created energy programs for underserved regions based on local knowledge.

It’s not always easy. International teams can have friction. But if managed well, they bring stronger ideas, better stakeholder alignment, and smarter long-term growth.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ More international leaders in the C-suite lead to higher profits
✔ These leaders help companies understand local needs and global risks
✔ They build stronger trust with governments and communities
✔ Real innovation often comes from listening to teams in local markets
✔ The benefits grow over time and go beyond financial results
✔ Companies need to be intentional about building and supporting global leadership teams

Create Mental Space to Be a Wiser Leader

By Megan Reitz and John Higgins

👉 The Big Idea:
We reward people for being busy. But busy leaders make worse decisions. To lead wisely, we need more than speed and productivity. We need mental space. This article helps us see the difference between doing and thinking, and why both are necessary.

📌 The Summary:
Most leaders are stuck in what the authors call the doing mode. That means reacting fast, chasing targets, filling calendars, and constantly executing. It sounds efficient, but it comes at a cost. Teams burn out. Decisions lack depth. Meetings feel rushed. And meaningful reflection disappears.

The authors propose a second mindset, the spacious mode. It’s about slowing down just enough to notice what’s happening around you. It’s not lazy. It’s thoughtful. It’s the space where real creativity, clarity, and wise leadership emerge.

The two modes need to work together. But in most workplaces, the doing mode dominates. Leaders set that tone without realizing it. The way they act, the things they measure, and even how they start meetings send a message that doing matters more than thinking. This traps everyone in shallow action.

To break free, leaders need to model spaciousness. That means pausing before responding. Making space for complexity. Paying attention to what others might be too afraid to say. The article offers a simple tool, the SPACE framework, that helps leaders create the right conditions for this kind of attention to thrive.

💡 Key Takeaways:
✔ There are two modes of attention: doing and spacious
✔ Most leaders overuse doing and neglect spaciousness
✔ Spacious mode helps with wise decisions, collaboration, and reflection
✔ Leaders must be intentional about how they focus and what they reward
✔ The SPACE framework helps: Safety, People, Attention, Conflict, Environment
✔ The best leadership happens when both modes work together, not one replacing the other

This MIT Sloan Management Review edition feels like a small reset button. It reminds us that leadership isn’t about being in control all the time. It’s about paying attention. Creating space. Letting go of the myth that more is always better.

Instead of giving tips to go faster, it asks us to slow down and look at what actually matters. From how we handle time, to how we plan for the future, to who we bring into our teams, every article points to the same idea. Clarity comes when we stop trying to do everything and start doing the right things.

In the end, this issue of MIT Sloan Management Review doesn’t give you a shiny new playbook. It gives you something better, the chance to think. And in today’s noise, that might be the most useful tool we have.

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