5 Harvard Business Review articles that will resonate with CIOs right now

Through our partnership with Harvard Business Review, we regularly refresh our resource library with five new HBR articles we believe CIOs and IT leaders will value highly. Check out the curated pieces below, available to readers now.

The rise in artificial intelligence brings with it ethical risks: From issues with bias, privacy concerns, and more, the impact when a problem occurs can be monumental. Consider the data used to train AI – it may reflect historical bias. In some cases, it undersamples specific subpopulations. What if you’ve set the wrong goal? These are not easy issues to address and aren’t as easy to combat as a quick technical fix. Businesses should bring in a committee – comprising ethicists, lawyers, technologists, business strategists, and bias scouts – to review any AI your company develops or buys to identify the ethical risks it presents and address how to mitigate them. Download this article from author and chief ethics officer Reid Blackman to find out how to set up such a committee effectively.

Download: Why You Need an AI Ethics Committee

Uncertainty is nerve-wracking for most of us. But uncertainty leaves the door open to possibility. Your biggest personal transformations or achievements likely evolved during a period of uncertainty. Pushing through that stress to improve on the other side is a huge accomplishment. Don’t let uncertainty paralyze you. The authors of this article studied innovators and changemakers who showed resilience and found opportunity within ambiguity and have identified four principles that can help. (1) Reframe your situation by focusing on the potential upside. (2) Prime yourself by taking small risks and reducing uncertainty in other areas of your life. (3) Take a series of modest actions instead of making bet-the-farm moves. And (4) sustain yourself by recasting setbacks and focusing on things that have true meaning. Read this report to get excellent advice for transforming your relationship with change (and inspire others to do the same).

Download: How to Overcome Your Fear of the Unknown

Digital transformation looks different for each company. Successful businesses understand the nuances of transformations and know how to manage each. Can your company navigate a complex landscape of interconnected and interdependent issues, each with multiple stakeholders and agendas? To determine the right approach, ask yourself two questions: 1) Is your transformation driven by internal needs or external forces? 2) Does it need to happen quickly, or do you have more time to transform? Download this report to discover the four different types of business transformations and understand how they connect so you can tackle the complex challenges ahead.

Download: 4 Types of Business Transformation

Most leaders agree that creating a psychologically safe culture is important. However, subtle leadership behaviors can unintentionally discourage people from speaking up. In this article, executive coach Dina Smith shares 6 tips for leaders to guard against the strategic disadvantages of being stuck in an echo chamber. For example, practice “yes, and,” demonstrate curiosity, listen, and seed different perspectives. Download this report to learn how to avoid behavior that shuts down dissenting perspectives and what to do instead.

Download: How leaders can escape their echo chambers

New digital technologies present threats and opportunities for companies. Some companies fail to recognize what their customers are drawn to because they’re too narrowly focused on products and services. Five traps contribute to this lack of foresight: the product trap, the value-chain trap, the operational-efficiency trap, the customer trap, and the competitor trap. Focus on the bigger picture: What do consumers want? Read this article from digital transformation professor Mohan Subramaniam to recognize these traps and learn ways to overcome them. 

Download: Is your company squandering digital opportunities?

Also read:

CIOs have led the acceleration of digital transformation at a pace that was unthinkable pre-pandemic. Now, IT leaders have a powerful role to play in rethinking the nature of work, enabling hybrid teams to thrive, and setting a new precedent for digital innovation across their organizations. This new research from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services identifies four focus areas for CIOs and IT leaders as they work toward enabling greater flexibility, resilience, and momentum for digital transformation. From reimagining work to building digital acumen across the enterprise to creating more agile operating models, discover what leading CIOs say they’re prioritizing. Download this report to learn what’s required for leading IT in the year ahead. 

Download: Maintaining momentum on digital transformation