Latest news with #Drucker
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
7 Steps To Building An AI-Ready Corporate Culture
Culture eats AI strategy for breakfast A few decades back, management guru Peter Drucker made the observation that 'culture eats strategy for breakfast.' meaning that without a responsive, forward-looking corporate culture, even the most meticulously planned business strategy will fall flat. In other words, just as people make the world go 'round, and people make the business go 'round, it's going to take people to make artificial intelligence go 'round. For organizations moving full-steam into AI, Drucker's time-tested words still ring true. Culture will eat any AI strategy for breakfast, and perhaps lunch too. There are some approaches that leaders seeking to pursue a well-functioning AI strategy can follow that can help integrate it into corporate culture. West Monroe, an analyst group, recently published practical guidelines for building a thriving culture that embraces – not repels – AI. Here are some salient points: Visualize a successful AI operating model. It's important to have a compelling vision of what exactly AI will bring to the business. An ideal AI operating culture provides for a natural flow of work between human talent and AI systems. AI is good at some things, humans at others – such as creativity, judgement, and empathy. 'Organizations that first define what success looks like – automating simple and routine tasks, enhancing customer experiences, or improving decision-making—will maximize ROI,' the West Monroe co-authors state. "Without this alignment, AI will remain an expensive, underleveraged asset rather than a business enabler.' Set realistic expectations. 'Asking employees to blindly trust AI without understanding its role leads to skepticism and resistance. Instead, organizations should clarify AI's purpose: Is it an advisor, an efficiency tool, or an automated assistant? Setting realistic expectations ensures AI is seen as an enabler, not a disruptor.' Build a collaborative culture around AI. For starters, AI should be accessible – in some shape or form – to all. It's not an IT or data analyst project, it's everyone's concern. 'Foster a culture that rewards collaboration over territorial thinking," the West Monroe team urges. "Employees need the assurance that they can experiment with AI to test outcomes. Leaders need to clearly define the purpose of AI within the organization.' Position AI agents as 'interns." 'Think of an internal AI chatbot as providing each employee with a permanent intern that has perfect recall, access to vast knowledge, and continually improves over time," the co-authors advise. "Letting this 'intern' handle routine tasks frees your team to focus on higher-value work that requires uniquely human skills.' Educate and train. Then educate and train some more. 'Not every employee needs to become an AI expert, but every employee should have a clear, baseline understanding of how AI can impact their role," West Monroe urges. "A nurse, for example, doesn't need to engineer AI algorithms to treat patients but should trust AI-driven diagnostic tools while still applying human judgement.' Measure, measure, measure. 'AI's impact isn't just about automation – it's about measurable business outcomes," the co-authors state. Metrics key to AI progress include productivity gains, cost reductions, decision-making quality, employee adoption rates, customer experience improvements, and performance improvement. Prioritize change management. 'AI adoption can often falter not because the technology itself is flawed but because organizations struggle with change," according to West Monroe. "Many companies operate in environments resistant to innovation, where entrenched processes, risk aversion, and siloed thinking create barriers. Companies must first assess their readiness for change to break this cycle.' Companies need to integrate AI into existing processes and their DNA – rather than treating it as a standalone project. To get there, full employee engagement is the path to success.
Toronto Star
01-05-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
Beyond Ozempic: Why metabolic health management needs to be about more than just weight
This spring, Toronto endocrinologist Dr. Daniel Drucker was awarded the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences — the 'Oscars of science' — for a discovery he made nearly four decades ago. While working in a Boston lab in the 1980s, Drucker helped unravel the therapeutic potential of GLP-1, a gut hormone involved in blood sugar regulation. Ten years later, he built on that research by demonstrating how this naturally occurring peptide could also suppress appetite, laying the groundwork for a class of drugs that are now reshaping weight management and obesity treatment. Originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 receptor agonists or GLP-1 RAs — better known by such brand names as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro — have become widely known for their use in weight loss. In 2023 alone, 7.1 million prescriptions were dispensed in Canada. However, while GLP-1 RAs are a powerful tool, they're not meant to be taken in isolation. In 2020, Obesity Canada and the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons developed a set of patient-centred, experience-based best practices designed to guide health-care providers in delivering obesity care. These guidelines emphasize that effective obesity treatment should include medical nutrition therapy (essentially, a personalized dietary plan created by a registered dietitian), physical activity, psychological interventions and other behavioural adaptations. Yet the reality of obesity care, and health care in general, presents challenges that leave many patients without adequate support.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
What's that smell? Green waste burns causing unpleasant, but familiar smoky smell for many in Bakersfield
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — If you woke up Monday morning in Bakersfield wondering if a brush fire started or a building near you burned down, you're not alone. The familiar smell of smoke from a fire filled the morning air in parts of the Bakersfield area. 17 News received several reports of a smell like a fire had burned, but there were no obvious signs of smoke or fire Monday morning. Where in the US will you be able to see the Lyrid meteor shower? Kern County fire officials said green waste caught fire on Sunday at Metropolitan Recycling LLC on Mount Vernon Avenue and burned through the night. The smoke settled in for the overnight hours, Kern County Fire Department Public Information Officer Jonathan Drucker said. Drucker said there was no hazard from it and no firefighters were sent to the location since workers at the property were able to manage it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GTCR set to reap handsome windfall from Worldpay's $24.25 billion sale
By David French and Milana Vinn NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm GTCR is poised to garner a return of about two times its investment in Worldpay, after the sale of its 55% stake in the payments processor to Global Payments, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Such a big windfall has become increasingly rare in the private equity industry, which has been starved of large exits during the last two years when high interest rates froze up financing markets and slowed down the pace of large leveraged buyouts. Earlier on Thursday, Global Payments agreed to buy Worldpay for around $24.25 billion and divest its issuer services unit for $13.5 billion in a complex three-way deal, marking one of the biggest transactions in the payments industry in recent years. The 100% return on the capital invested by GTCR was based on its 2023 deal for the stake in Worldpay - the buyout firm's largest ever acquisition - in a transaction that valued the business at about $18.5 billion. GTCR declined to comment on its returns from the deal. The potential returns could increase further, given that GTCR is taking 41% of its share of the Worldpay purchase price in Global Payments stock, which will give it a 15% stake in the Atlanta-based company following the closing of the deal in early 2026. "These are the types of deals which show the value of private equity. We took a business that was doing well, recruited a world class management team led by an industry luminary, Charles (Drucker, CEO of Worldpay), invested heavily in new products, technology and a clear strategy, and drove accelerated growth to make it attractive to the point where a large strategic could come in and buy it," said Aaron Cohen, head of financial services & technology at GTCR, in an interview. Cohen said the buyout firm is betting on the further potential upside from strategic changes at Worldpay by the management team led by Drucker, and from Global Payments' strategy for the combined company. Under GTCR's brief majority ownership, Worldpay launched new products and grew at a faster clip of about 6%, compared to 1-2% previously, Cohen said. The Worldpay deal marks GTCR's second big exit over the past year, after it clinched a deal to sell insurance brokerage AssuredPartners to Arthur J Gallagher for $13.45 billion in December. GTCR, which jointly owned AssuredPartners with Apax Partners, earned around 2.5 times its original investment in the company that was made in 2019, Reuters has previously reported. Such large deals have gained greater significance in recent years, due to the asset management industry's struggles to offload bets made during the boom years of the late-2010s and the earlier part of this decade. The speed of the exit, announced less than 15 months since GTCR closed its original Worldpay stake acquisition, stands out at a time when private equity firms have been forced to hold onto their investments for longer periods. The median average hold period for a private equity investment is around 5.8 years, according to a report published this week by data provider PitchBook. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
17-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
GTCR set to reap handsome windfall from Worldpay's $24.25 billion sale
NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Private equity firm GTCR is poised to garner a return of about two times its investment in Worldpay, after the sale of its 55% stake in the payments processor to Global Payments, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Such a big windfall has become increasingly rare in the private equity industry, which has been starved of large exits during the last two years when high interest rates froze up financing markets and slowed down the pace of large leveraged buyouts. Earlier on Thursday, Global Payments (GPN.N), opens new tab agreed to buy Worldpay for around $24.25 billion and divest its issuer services unit for $13.5 billion in a complex three-way deal, marking one of the biggest transactions in the payments industry in recent years. The 100% return on the capital invested by GTCR was based on its 2023 deal for the stake in Worldpay - the buyout firm's largest ever acquisition - in a transaction that valued the business at about $18.5 billion. GTCR declined to comment on its returns from the deal. The potential returns could increase further, given that GTCR is taking 41% of its share of the Worldpay purchase price in Global Payments stock, which will give it a 15% stake in the Atlanta-based company following the closing of the deal in early 2026. "These are the types of deals which show the value of private equity. We took a business that was doing well, recruited a world class management team led by an industry luminary, Charles (Drucker, CEO of Worldpay), invested heavily in new products, technology and a clear strategy, and drove accelerated growth to make it attractive to the point where a large strategic could come in and buy it," said Aaron Cohen, head of financial services & technology at GTCR, in an interview. Cohen said the buyout firm is betting on the further potential upside from strategic changes at Worldpay by the management team led by Drucker, and from Global Payments' strategy for the combined company. Under GTCR's brief majority ownership, Worldpay launched new products and grew at a faster clip of about 6%, compared to 1-2% previously, Cohen said. The Worldpay deal marks GTCR's second big exit over the past year, after it clinched a deal to sell insurance brokerage AssuredPartners to Arthur J Gallagher (AJG.N), opens new tab for $13.45 billion in December. GTCR, which jointly owned AssuredPartners with Apax Partners, earned around 2.5 times its original investment in the company that was made in 2019, Reuters has previously reported. Such large deals have gained greater significance in recent years, due to the asset management industry's struggles to offload bets made during the boom years of the late-2010s and the earlier part of this decade. The speed of the exit, announced less than 15 months since GTCR closed its original Worldpay stake acquisition, stands out at a time when private equity firms have been forced to hold onto their investments for longer periods. The median average hold period for a private equity investment is around 5.8 years, according to a report published this week by data provider PitchBook.
