Good Morning
intelligence briefing
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Workplace news you didn’t know you needed.
M
McKinsey yesterday

The CEO’s singular impact on the success—or failure—of AI in organizations

McKinsey finds the CEO's personal engagement with AI is the single biggest factor in whether it succeeds organizationally.

F
Fortune 10h ago

Americans are growing tired of CEOs lecturing them on social issues

Americans are increasingly turned off by CEO activism, signaling real reputational risk for opinionated executives.

FC
Fast Company 9h ago

The engagement survey is dying. Here’s what’s replacing it

Engagement surveys are losing credibility as organizations shift to more continuous listening tools.

F
Fortune 9h ago

McKinsey senior partner: Why AI’s easiest wins are misleading CEOs

McKinsey warns CEOs that AI's early wins are creating false confidence about deeper transformation readiness.

H
Harvard Business Review yesterday

How Leaders Talk About AI Predicts Adoption

How leaders talk about AI publicly and internally directly predicts whether employees actually adopt it.

M
McKinsey yesterday

Leading when change feels threatening

McKinsey examines how leaders maintain credibility and calm when their teams feel most threatened by change.

WSJ
The Wall Street Journal yesterday

The Surprises That New CEOs Face

New CEOs consistently underestimate the same hidden pressures, and WSJ documents what catches them off guard.

FT
Financial Times 15 min ago

KPMG general counsel exits after Australia whistleblower scandal

KPMG's general counsel exit following a whistleblower scandal shows how internal ethics failures become public crises.

FT
Financial Times 4d ago

The executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance

Senior executives are increasingly choosing fractional roles over freelance, reshaping how expertise enters organizations.

FC
Fast Company 29d ago

Your greatest strengths as a leader may be holding you back

Overused leadership strengths become blind spots that stall executive effectiveness and team growth.

H
Harvard Business Review 10d ago

Research: The True Cost of Corporate Scandals? Talent.

HBR research finds corporate scandals' most lasting damage is talent loss, not fines or press coverage.

i
Inc. 20d ago

Workers Are 17 Times More Likely to Ask a Chatbot Than Their Boss. That’s a Trust Problem

Employees 17x more likely to ask chatbots than bosses signals a serious leadership trust deficit.

i
Inc. 21d ago

Low Employee Engagement Costs the Global Economy $10 Trillion. A New Study Says RTO Isn’t Helping

New data shows RTO mandates are failing to lift engagement, costing organizations real money.

WSJ
The Wall Street Journal 28d ago

Corporate America Is Axing the ‘Micro-Team’ Boss

Companies are eliminating small-team middle managers, reshaping how leadership layers actually function.

A
Ask a Manager 29d ago

how can I encourage my staff to bring me complaints?

Ask a Manager offers concrete tactics for creating the psychological safety employees need to surface complaints.

SR
MIT Sloan Mgmt Review 31d ago

A Compelling Story Can Disarm Even a Skeptical Negotiator

MIT Sloan research finds a well-constructed story can shift even resistant negotiators, a tool every executive communicator needs.

HR
theHRDIRECTOR 41d ago

5 Ways to Make Office Days More Meaningful for Employees

Research-backed strategies help executives make in-office days genuinely worthwhile rather than obligatory and resented.

PR
PRWeek 44d ago

How QVC kept its cool after a live TV mishap

QVC's live TV mishap response offers a replicable model for calm, credible crisis communications in real time.

A
Ask a Manager 57d ago

telling two employees they didn’t get a promotion but their coworker did

Handling promotion denials well requires specific messaging discipline that most managers underestimate.

SR
MIT Sloan Mgmt Review 71d ago

A New Way to Address Troubled Team Dynamics

MIT Sloan introduces a fresh framework for diagnosing and repairing dysfunctional team dynamics.