Strengthening communications networks will require many thousands of satellites

About 11,000 satellites have been launched since the Sputnik went in to orbit in the 1950s, but less than a third of them are currently active. The coming years will see a proliferation, with an estimated 70,000 satellites going in to orbit – largely to bolster communications networks, writes Desautels Prof. Karl Moore in an article for Forbes.com.

Solfium app makes it easier to understand the costs and benefits of installing solar panels

Solar energy has a great deal of potential – but the areas where it is produced are not always the same places the energy is needed most. That’s a barrier to widespread adoption, and Canadian-Mexican startup Solfium wants to accelerate solar’s adoption by making it easier to understand the economics of installing solar panels. The company’s mobile application is a one-stop shop for a quick estimate of the benefits and costs associated with installing solar energy.

GSoft’s new onboarding platform aims to improve employee retention

Competition for top talent is fierce, and effective onboarding is key to employee retention. It is especially challenging to get this right in a digital-first environment. “If you miss your onboarding, there's a good chance that the person will leave much earlier than expected,” says Simon De Baene in an interview with Prof. Karl Moore for Forbes.

Negotiators can leverage shared interests to the mutual benefit of all parties

Barry Nalebuff has advised the National Basketball Association in negotiations with the league’s players union, and provided consulting advice to over 50 multinational companies. But the professor at the Yale School of Management doesn’t advise negotiators to project aggressiveness. “You don't have to be a jerk to succeed,” Nalebuff told Prof. Karl Moore for an article in Forbes.com.

To stay ahead of the game elite athletes and business leaders must embrace change

When Tim Murdoch played lacrosse at Princeton in the 1980s, his coaches were prone to yelling and screaming. And Murdoch brought that coaching style to McGill’s lacrosse team, but when he had a group of underperforming athletes, he found it just wasn’t working. So, Murdoch re-evaluated, and began focusing on the positive. It paid off. Over the next decade, McGill won most of its games and two national championships. “I focused on strengths instead of weaknesses,” Murdoch told Prof.

Rio Tinto Aluminium hopes new smelting process can reduce emissions from smelting process

To generate and store low-carbon energy, we will need large quantities of minerals and metals. Aluminum is among the most important. Its production accounts for 2% of human-produced emissions, and demand for the lightweight metal is predicted to increase. New technologies could help, said Ivan Vella, the Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Aluminium in a Forbes.com article written by Prof. Karl Moore.

GM plans to use dealerships to upgrade charging infrastructure, accelerate EV adoption

GM plans to eliminate all tailpipe emissions from light-duty vehicles by 2035 – but right now, we don’t have the electrical grid we need to power all the electric vehicles (EVs) that we would need to replace the existing petroleum-powered ones. That’s a big barrier to EV adoption, especially in rural and remote areas. But GM has a plan to overcome this.

At-work interactions can help build trust that transfers to remote work environments

Nearly 90 per cent of Americans would choose to work remotely, and the trend holds true among different occupational categories, demographic groups, and geographical locations. But there are still advantages to in-person contact, according to Kira Newman the editor of Greater Good Magazine. When Newman got the job, she moved to California to develop relationships in person. “It makes it easier to work together and cooperate remotely once you know someone better,” Newman told Prof.

Indigenous women are fastest growing group of entrepreneurs

There are about 60,000 Indigenous entrepreneurs in Canada, and Indigenous women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs. “They are outpacing all other segments” says Monica James, a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and the regional manager for client diversity at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Indigenous women have been in business for many years, said James in an interview with Prof.

Shopify’s work-from anywhere model unlocks a globe-spanning talent pool

Some might see the model of hybrid work as a half-measure, but Shopify is using it to transcend geography – and as a work-around for the skilled worker shortage that’s plaguing the tech sector.

"We're trying to be more decisive to say, ‘work from anywhere, but make sure you and your team are getting together,’” said Shopify President Harley Finkelstein in an interview with Prof. Karl Moore for Forbes.com.

New SEC reporting requirements will be a challenge for companies without strong CSR strategies

With the specter of climate change looming large, the Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to standardize environmental and social governance reporting.

Many companies aren’t prepared for it. “This is coming fast and companies that have not really started on their corporate social responsibility journey need to get organized,” said Hélène V. Gagnon (LLB’93), the chief sustainability officer for CAE, a provider of flight training and simulation solutions.

Luxembourg is investing in innovation to power its future

Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in the world. At 2,586km2, it’s less than half the size of Prince Edward Island.

Kalina Newmark brings an Indigenous lens to management in a Fortune 500 company

As a brand manager for Starbucks’ Instant packaged coffee business, Kalina Newmark seeks to make each team member feel that their contribution is valued at the same level. It’s just one of the ways that Newmark seeks to incorporate Indigenous teachings into her work. For Newmark, who is Shúhtagot’ı̨nę and Métis from the Tulita Dene First Nation, the idea of valuing each person’s contribution at the same level is really important, writes Prof.

Canada is experiencing major air travel headaches, but isn’t the only one

After more than two years of intermittent lockdowns and travel restrictions, summer 2022 was the season that many Canadians decided they were ready to travel again. Our return to the skies hasn’t gone so smoothly, to say the least. Extended delays at the country’s airports have made headlines across the country, and with Air Canada’s announcement that it will cancel 154 flights per day for the rest of the summer, it could get even worse for air travellers, according to Prof.

Family-owned firms outperform over the long term: National Bank of Canada report

Publicly traded Canadian family businesses provide superior long-term performance, according to a new report by the National Bank of Canada. To better understand what makes these firms distinctive, the Bank analyzed 44 Canadian corporations under family or founder control.