1️⃣ The meritocracy gap is widening HBR’s survey of 193 US senior executives found that 90% of women, versus 35% of men, think women leaders are judged more critically. Only 37% of women said promotion criteria are applied equally.
💡 Why it matters Formal criteria will not fix promotion if access to P&L roles, sponsorship and the benefit of the doubt remain informal.
☕ Coffee talk Whose promotion file still gets read as potential, and whose as proof?
2️⃣ Let humans open the search MIT Sloan Management Review synthesized four studies: AI improved individual creative output but made group ideas more alike. Using AI for selection, rather than initial ideation, preserved more variety.
💡 Why it matters Teams should separate generating options from refining them. Bringing AI in too early can make a good idea look original when everyone has it.
☕ Coffee talk How different are the ideas after ten people ask the same model to brainstorm?
3️⃣ Maintenance needs an owner with reach BCG says identical aircraft inspections can take two to three times longer across squadrons, while 15% to 20% of maintenance actions cause a disproportionate share of downtime.
💡 Why it matters Status reviews do little without authority to move scarce parts and people, standardize work and attack the few delays holding up the fleet.
☕ Coffee talk Why does the readiness meeting still report status if nobody can move parts or people?