Big Think+ Blog
5 Leadership Training Ideas for Your Organization
Organizations at every level seek to have the best possible leadership within their ranks. They often are willing to spend extra time, money, and effort to train their employees. Having […]
Navigating the fifth trimester: Why working parents need better support
A textbook pregnancy consists of three trimesters. The baby develops at a relatively predictable rate during this time, from pomegranate seed to avocado to watermelon. And mom’s body adapts accordingly […]
Generate brilliant ideas by relaxing your cognitive filters
Your brain is bursting with ideas, and most of them are … weird. You only have to recall the wonderfully bonkers notions of your childhood. Like the time you wanted […]
The Four A’s of visual intelligence
Looking probably isn’t something you need to practice. People believe they can apprehend a painting at a glance. They read coworkers’ messages and assume they understand a situation. Or they […]
Need to take your time back? Try these four open-thinking strategies.
Everyone has pondered what they would do with an extra hour a day. Would they get more sleep or spend more time with family? Spend time on a side project […]
Want to boost your problem-solving skills? Tune out to hone in.
Problem-solving skills are in demand. Every job posting lists them under must-have qualifications, and every job candidate claims to possess them, par excellence. Young entrepreneurs make solutions to social and […]
Want to tap into the power of simplicity? You must first define.
People admire complexity. Many attribute it to the work of superior minds, those with the skills or intelligence to wrangle challenging ideas into a workable—if not always comprehensible—whole. This esteem […]
10 emerging technologies every company should pay attention to
Business leaders know they must prepare for technological upheavals in the years ahead. But keeping up-to-date on new technologies—to say nothing of understanding their complexities and forecasting those shifts—is an […]
What is cryptocurrency’s role in the future of money?
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that use online ledgers, called blockchains, to record transactions. These blockchains are decentralized, meaning the permanent record is not stored in one location but exists on […]
Why the future of technology will surprise you
Predicting how emerging technologies will impact industry is more difficult than it seems—and it seems plenty difficult. The reason is that we envision the future based on the present. We […]
Why governing AI is crucial to human survival
Artificial intelligence (AI) has already changed the world. AI algorithms have been incorporated into everyday applications—such as social media, web mapping, facial recognition, and virtual home assistants—to make them more […]
7 great books on emerging technologies (for anyone)
The world is changing, and technology is driving that change. Today, that observation is about as compelling as the insight that water runs downhill. It’s just what technology (and water) […]
What skills will set you apart in the age of automation?
Automation technologies manufacture goods or provide labor with minimal human intervention. They can trace their origins as far back as the 16th century—and arguably further—but didn’t take off until the […]
Beware the corporate cult of personality
What do communist dictators Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong have in common with U.S. Presidents like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan? Hint: It’s the same thing they have in […]
Why storytelling is a powerful leadership tool
A five-year-old reading a picture book in her pillow fort. A college student and his friends at the midnight matinee. A ninety-year-old watching her soaps. What do they have in […]
5 habits of toxic leadership (and 5 ways leaders can avoid them)
In a 2018 article, Gallup writer Ryan Pendell shared some frightening figures for business leaders. Public poll data showed that only a quarter of employees believed their leaders had a […]
4 laws for creating magic inside your organization
Certain companies feel magical. Though the spells they cast may be unique, each emits an aura that delights customers, attracts top talent, and impels the culture to pay attention. Apple […]
The 2,500-year-old secret to successful leadership
Among history’s many thought leaders, Plato may sport the most impressive resume of the bunch. The Athenian philosopher founded the Academy. His Dialogues are required reading at every institution of […]
5 laws for leaders who want to build trust
Trust can be a fragile thing. Like decorative china or a ship in a bottle, it breaks if handled clumsily. But unlike those, you can’t set trust in your curio […]
Make a little time for yourself (in a 24/7 world)
We all know that work-life balance can be difficult, but do we make it harder on ourselves by how we choose to conceptualize the idea? More specifically, is the concept […]
Why every leader should teach soft skills
Sometimes the value of soft skills feels almost secretive—like some scrap of knowledge handed down through an ancient society of corporate recruiters. Of course, that’s not the case or that’s […]
Shipwrecked: Leadership lessons from history’s famous castaways
It’s the early 20th century, and you are the captain of a ship. A barquentine specifically—three masts and a coal-burning steam engine in her belly. She’s a sturdy and capable […]
5 ways COVID has impacted women in the workplace
Since 2015, the Women in the Workplace report has evaluated the successes of women in corporate America alongside the challenges they face. Sponsored by McKinsey & Co. and Lean In, […]
Sexual harassment damages organizations (in more ways than you think)
At first blush, the damages done by sexual harassment seem obvious. Make that incredibly obvious. Such behavior exposes our organizations to legal consequences and the subsequent financial fallout. And in […]
5 important lessons from women business leaders
In recent years, women have made incredible strides in the business world. Forty-one women currently lead Fortune 500 companies. While that remains an unacceptably low percentage (8 percent) overall, it […]
Douglass Rushkoff: How to stop othering the other
Did you know that American politics has become polarized? Shocking news, we know, but in case your news feed wasn’t evidence enough, Pew Research Center has been tracking the phenomenon […]
Steven Pinker: The case for letting go of identity politics
Identity politics has become a highly contentious element within modern political discourse. Those who support this approach believe it bolsters the presence and power of those who would otherwise be […]
Don’t let your business become anti-human: Watch for these 2 dangers.
Anti-human business practices deteriorate their charges, and there’s perhaps no greater warning of this end result than the life of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel. Nobel invented dynamite in 1867 with […]
Will your product be a hit or a flop? This simple rule can help you decide.
What makes something a hit or a flop? Sit and ponder that one, and you’ll find it’s a stumper. At first, the answer seems obvious: popularity. That’s not quite right […]
What would it take to create a great place to work for all?
The business case for diversity and inclusion is overwhelming. We know that diverse teams benefit from increased productivity and a wider knowledge base. We know that varied perspectives help us […]
Want to be a better ally? Help your colleagues overcome subtle prejudice.
Malignant discrimination remains a problem in society, but it’s one we’ve improved upon compared to its historic highs—or, rather, lows. Interracial marriage, to pick one example of progress, used to […]
