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The top 10 biggest data breaches of 2020
Daniel Markuson Science & TechnologyLast year, hackers were as active as never before, taking advantage of users’ vulnerabilities and the economic disruption amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Risk Based Security report, 2,953 breaches were publicly reported in the first three quarters of 2020 alone, bringing the number of exposed records to a staggering 36 billion. Out of the enormous number of data breaches that happened in 2020, experts picked the top 10 biggest leaks in terms of the data volume. The list includes leaky databases that were not necessarily breached per se but exposed sensitive data to the public.
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Businesses plan for the future despite a tremendously difficult 2020
Sumit De Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe year behind us was tremendously difficult. The obstacles we faced because of COVID-19 left most of us on edge, exhausted, and seeking solutions to unprecedented problems. The only obvious benefit of the pandemic is that it happened when it did, not 10, five, or even three years ago. Because of ongoing digital transformation across the globe, most economies were able to respond. Businesses stripped of their ability to operate face-to-face jumped online. Some of these efforts were smoother than others, but most soon navigated through the clumsiness and established streamlined remote-based operational processes.
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Boost from beyond: Business advice from a corporate intuitive
Lark Gould Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementChicago-based corporate thought-leader and intuitive Dr. Therese Rowley has spent time at the top of the corporate ladder as management consultant and strategic planner for some of the biggest companies in the U.S., including Kearney Inc. and AT&T. Armed with an MBA and Ph.D. among other degrees and certifications from prestigious institutions, she now uses her learned skills and inborn talents to coach business leaders, CEOs and entrepreneurs as they seem to break through barriers seen and unseen toward remarkable success. I sat down with Dr. Rowley on the eve of this new year to find out what 2021 may have in store as well as what we can learn from the troubling times we are currently experiencing.
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CES 2021 highlights the federal force behind a new era in technology
Lark Gould Civil & GovernmentManaging an upward trajectory and positive environment that fosters the strength of U.S. technology companies is a topic that played large at CES this year. The world’s largest consumer technology exchange ended last week after it successfully executed the entire event online for the first time in its history. To offer an incoming U.S. government perspective on the current state of tech was CES CEO Gary Shapiro, who sat down with Brian Deese, President-elect Biden's pick to direct the National Economic Council (NEC), for a discussion of what may be ahead in leadership.
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10 simple reasons companies keep failing at strategic execution
Dan Bruder Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWhenever I hear strategy being discussed, someone invariably says that strategies fail because of poor execution. Other times, people say that execution is more important than strategy. But you could also argue that working hard and efficiently on something that is not part of an overarching plan does not create the best outcomes. If you Google the phrase, "strategies fail because of…," the top answer is "poor implementation." In their book "The Balanced Scorecard," authors David Norton and Robert Kaplan note that 90% of organizations fail to execute their strategies successfully. If 90% of strategic planning fails, is it the plan or the execution of the plan that is poor?
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Governance: Plain and simple
Robert C. Harris Association ManagementDefining governance can be difficult. It is a broad concept with many influences. Volunteers are more familiar with management practices than they are with governance. Some organizations provide a hefty leadership manual to describe the board’s role. Others reduce it to a couple of pages with a dozen or so directives; for instance, the board is expected to raise funds, the board must adopt a budget, meetings are held monthly, etc. Hats off to the organization that can describe governance in a few sentences. Keeping it simple may avoid drifting from governance to management.
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Study: How job seekers’ social media profiles affect employability
Linchi Kwok Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementSocial media plays an increasingly important role in recruitment and employee selection. Recruiters are tempted to check on job candidates’ social media profiles (SMPs) because SMPs could reveal more dynamic information about the candidates than resumes alone. By checking the candidates’ SMPs, recruiters can discover their real personalities, which cannot be easily achieved even through job interviews. Meanwhile, hiring managers can also assess job candidates’ social capital based on the size and the composition of their social networks.
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6 effective video marketing tactics for the new year
Sarah Hollenbeck MarketingResolutions are commonplace in the new year. Generally, people make a goal to lose weight, exercise more or learn a new skill. But what about New Year's resolutions for your business? If you feel your marketing tactics are in need of a refresh but aren’t sure where to start, you should consider including video marketing in your content strategy. With 87% of businesses that use video marketing seeing an increase in site traffic, adding this skill to your marketing toolkit is a no-brainer. Check out the six most effective video marketing tactics in this infographic today.
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Pull up, terrain ahead
Bob Harris and David Murillo Association ManagementBoard meetings may be compared to an airline flight. Calling the meeting to order is the originating point. Vectors are included in the strategic plan. Mission and goals are the destination. To reach the destination, the board must maintain flight speed and altitude. When airspeed slows, distractions occur that cause diversions. If an aircraft drops below a safe altitude, the cockpit computer warns: "Pull up, terrain ahead." The flight analogy defines the appropriate air space for the board, committees, and staff.
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Private jet travel: 2021 to be the year private flying takes off
Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event Management2020 was a banner year for private jet travel. And given the unabating proliferation of new virus outbreaks and mutations, it is likely that 2021 will not see those statistics moving backwards. While airlines see passenger counts off by more than half, private flights are running at 90% of normal — or what they were in what is now tabbed as "pre-pandemic times." Corporates are increasingly flying entire teams to multiple locations around the world to ensure business continuity, according to industry research from Private Jet Card Comparisons showing that 31% of U.S. companies are expanding their use of private aviation for business trips.
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