Excel: When Good Models Go Bad

A mainstay in organizations around the world, Microsoft Excel can be a double-edged sword. The program’s widespread adoption, intuitive nature and familiarity offer PhD-level computational skills to managers throughout a company. Yet, because of its ease of use, these users may not understand the complexity and sensitivity of a spreadsheet’s underlying calculations. This lack of understanding can lead to errors resulting in badly skewed data for decision-making. Vanderbilt Professor Larry LeBlanc discusses the risk of Excel spreadsheet models and offers best practices for avoiding common errors.
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Thinking Like a CEO

Leading a company often involves a paradox. The skills that propel a person to the top—whether an entrepreneur building a new business or someone rising through an established organization—may not be the skills most essential for guiding the entire enterprise as a chief executive. Three Vanderbilt professors have had opportunities to study and reflect on qualities that characterize how CEOs think and behave.
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 Podcast Available

Hiring Advice for Employers:
Avoid Aggressive Job Negotiations

Even in a tight job market, high-pressure recruitment tactics can poison the employer-employee relationship. New research by Vanderbilt Professor Ray Friedman shows perceived mistreatment during the recruitment process can make it much more likely that employees will jump ship in the first five years after being hired.
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 Podcast Available