 |
|
|
|||||
Across industries, caution is rising. CEOs are slowing down major strategiesfrom hiring to investmentas uncertainty grows. The Business Roundtables CEO Outlook Index recently dropped to its lowest level since 2020, reflecting widespread hesitation amid global volatility. Its understandable. When the path ahead is unclear, the instinct is to pause. To wait. Companies, institutions, governments, and philanthropists alike are reassessing their strategies as volatility becomes the new norm. Most leaders are focused on the challenges closest to homein their industries, portfolios, and internal priorities. But the reality is: We dont live or work in silos. We live in a global market. And across every corner of that market, the signals are clear: growing caution, slower decision making, and heightened risk awareness. At UNICEF USA, where I lead private sector fundraising, we are squarely in the middle of that tension. Were seeing these trends play out in real timein boardrooms, in proposal reviews, in budget meetings. As we work to meet escalating needs for children around the world, there is a slowdown. But this is also a moment that demands urgency and trust. It also demands innovation. And like many of our partners, were rethinking what it takes to deliver meaningful, sustained impact in a rapidly shifting landscape. Hesitation is understandablebut costly We hear it from donors and partners all the time: Were recalibrating. The global environment is unpredictable. Economic headwinds and geopolitical unrest have created a pause in decision making across industriesand philanthropy is no exception. Even committed supporters are questioning whether now is the time to lean in or wait for more clarity. But heres the problem: While strategy resets may make sense at the institutional level, the needs on the ground arent pausing. For a child living through conflict in Sudan, a mother navigating floods in Bangladesh, or a newborn in Guatemala in need of basic care, delays have consequences. The cost of hesitation is measured in lives, in futures, in lost momentum. At UNICEF, we cant stop in the face of uncertainty, and we dont. We double down. Its how we work. Because every delay risks compounding the damage. We need to be clear-eyed about what happens if global investment slows. Weakening humanitarian and development funding doesnt just affect the children we serveit reverberates across markets and industries. Rising conflict, destabilized supply chains, currency volatility, and workforce readiness arent distant risks. Theyre business realities. There is a moral imperative to act. But there is also a business imperative. If we want a more stable, equitable futurefor everyonewe must invest in the systems that create it. Slowing our response now wont bring stability. It will deepen inequality and delay recovery. Collaborate to meet the moment One thing is clear: Delivering impact at scale requires collaboration. Weve always worked across governments, corporations, civil society, and communitiesbut in todays environment, the strength of those partnerships matters more than ever. Trust and alignment arent soft values; they are strategic necessities. Were seeing powerful examples of what this can look like. Corporations that are embracing flexibility. Donors who are willing to have hard, honest conversations. Foundation leaders moving toward sustained, trust-based relationships that prioritize long-term outcomes over short-term metrics. Through support of the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation (Lilly Foundation), we will be able to not only deliver results, but accelerate change. Its recent commitment to UNICEF USA is focused on delivering and strengthening maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health in low- and middle-income countries by expanding prevention and care of noncommunicable diseases. We work to build trust with regular progress updates that demonstrate tangible results on this shared objective. Innovation with real stakes Innovation means different things to different people. At UNICEF, its not about noveltyits about meeting the moment by improving how we work and how we deliver. In a world of rising complexity, innovation is how we adaptoperationally, strategically, and systemically. Whether its working with OpenAI to use generative AI to improve education outcomes, to pilot financing models to increase climate resilience, or scaling health solutions across fragile systems, were focused on innovations that improve delivery and drive measurable outcomes. Not pilot projects for their own sake, but solutions that meet urgent needs and adapt to changing realities. Progress is not theoreticalits measurable. Since 1990, the number of children under five dying from preventable causes has dropped by more than 60%. Thats proof that when the world acts with urgency and coordination, we can change the trajectory for an entire generation. Progress is not theoreticalits also human. Imagine a five-year-old child you love. Maybe theyre starting school, asking endless questions, or learning to swim. Now imagine that same childfeverish and weak from something easily treatable. Youre holding them in your arms to comfort them. You know what they need. The medicine exists. The clean water exists. But you cant get it. Thats the crushing reality facing millions of families every day. Not because we lack simple, affordable, and preventable solutionslike vaccines, treatments for diarrhea and pneumonia, or ready-to-use therapeutic food for severe acute malnutritionbut because access breaks down when systems are underfunded, fractured, or forgotten. Whats at stake for all of us This is a moment to lead with urgency. To move with clarity, not caution. Because the choices we make todayacross philanthropy, business, and policywill determine what kind of world we live and work in tomorrow. Michele Walsh is executive vice president and chief philanthropy officer at UNICEF USA.
Category:
E-Commerce
Savvy marketing leaders recognize that AI is a powerful tool that can be used to reshape how teams operate. But even as AI tools rapidly improve, there are still limitations in todays technology that demand titration in how its used. The best marketers are those who understand how far to push the AI envelope within their business and market context. And now is the time for marketing leaders to expand their existing skill set and develop their AI intuitionwhen to use it, when to lose itto make the most of AIs transformative power and deliver the best marketing work possible. By combining broad AI fluency through adoption with a willingness to remain agile as the technology matures, teams can thrive and make the best use of AI for the biggest impact. With that in mind, here are AI-related dos and donts every marketing leader should know. AI as a research assistant, not a business strategist If teams dont understand the context in which their business is operating, they wont be effective marketers. The best marketing leaders are absolute experts on their own companies, with knowledge of the details of their offerings, customers, competitors, and broad industry trends. When marketers understand their business this deeply, they can build programs that align with company priorities, connect with customers, and fuel their companys growth, making it easier to secure budget and executive buy-in. Do use AI as a cheat sheet to stay on top of the market and competitors, and to improve business intelligence across departments, like finance and product. AI can analyze mountains of internal and external data and content it would otherwise be impossible to comb through, like companies annual reports, customer and competitor earnings, press releases, and newsletters. At Guild, my teams turn to AI for tasks such as market sizing, benchmarking against other marketing organizations for budgeting, and business planning and competitive analysis. AI can also be helpful with pricing research and gauging customer insights. Dont expect AI to replace the nuanced understanding of a business’s priorities or its context. Ultimately, teams should create their own strategies, but using AI with business context will make those strategies better and more complete. AI cant read betweenthe lines or predict the futureonly meaningful conversations, deep curiosity, and astute understanding of one’s business can do that. Use AI as a production designer, so creatives can shine Campaign work in marketing can quickly become rote, tying designers and writers up with tasks that are far from strategic or highly creative. All variants of ad design or ad copy can be generated by AI. It can take a first pass at any blog content, social media graphics, or resizing assets for different platforms. Let AI bring ideas to life faster and more efficiently to free up creatives to focus on developing breakthrough campaign concepts and compelling brand stories. Do use AI to rapidly prototype visuals, generate multiple design variations, and handle time-consuming production tasks. AI excels at replicating creative direction so take advantage and use in moments where multiple iterations are needed. Dont rely on AI for creative inception or novel campaign ideas. This is where creatives shine. Use AI to handle the heavy lifting and transform the creative work into end product downstream so creative strategy and brand decisions are owned by creatives themselves. Use AI to accelerate pointed insights With AI, leaders can access an abundance of real-time data, turning marketing into a velocity engine for optimization and peak performance. The speed to insights around whats working and what isnt, along with the ability to move with agility, is where the real power of AI lies for marketing leaders. Whether thats analyzing customer data to spot engagement patterns, detailed segmentation in email open rates, or digging into a competitors recent launch, AI helps leaders get to the root of why this matters faster than ever before. Do use AI to quickly analyze performance data, competitor portfolios, or deep segmentation analysis. Be specific and give AI the full context in your prompts. Instead of asking How did this campaign perform? try What is variance by audience segment in each of these ad headline click-through rates? This is a case where AI can be a game-changer when giving pointed insights. Dont treat AI-generated insights as final answers. AI may be able to determine if certain creative elements performed well, but it cant determine if that approach aligns with your strategy and broader business objective. Just because AI quickly spots a pattern doesn’t mean it requires changing the work itself. Successful marketers will need to develop the skills to quickly decipher what insights matter and why. The marketing leaders who will truly shine in the AI era will be those who master the art of balancing technology with their human instincts. In order to be successful, theyll need to leverage AIs power as it exists today, and be agile enough to adapt as the rate of improvement around that technology shifts. Today, that means letting AI handle much of the heavy liftingresearch, data analysis, creative production workto improve expertise and create leverage across the marketing organization. As AI technologies rapidly evolve and mature, the best leaders will dynamically change with it so that their organizations can deliver better, faster, and more novel results for the business. Rebecca Biestman is chief marketing officer at Guild.
Category:
E-Commerce
A new survey from neurodiversity advocacy and support nonprofit Understood suggests that the true percentage of neurodivergent adults may be higher than expected. So why is work still so rigid?
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||