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Professionals apply techniques for digital transformation in AI certificate program

AI has broadened how companies integrate technology and digital transformation into their operations. For Karan Girotra, the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, AI prompts questions about a new wave of automation..

The AI for Digital Transformation certificate program, authored by Girotra, combines academic theory and practical executive experience in business and technology into one seamless journey through the new opportunities and potential pitfalls that AI brings. Girotra explains how businesses can utilize these new tools for success through data collection and experimentation. The program concludes with tips for encouraging a culture of learning and leadership through AI.

Girotra discussed the power of data-driven AI enhancements and digital transformation in a recent conversation with eCornell.

How essential is learning AI for professional development right now?

“That really comes down to the question: How is the world going to change [from this breakthrough]? We’ve seen from previous generations of automation that when we automate physical work, the new efficiency forms a pattern. This time, the automation of cognitive language work allows us to benefit in certain ways, including increasing productivity of individuals and organizations. People who don’t work on implementing these ideas risk being left behind and won’t reap the benefits of automation.”

How have you worked to make digital transformation, specifically with AI, accessible for a general audience?

“The program is not basic in ambition, but it is basic in style. The technical language is minimized, and [the courses] do not use jargon. In fact, there is a whole module that I call ‘Cut through the techno babble.’ So it’s designed to be extremely accessible.”

With AI constantly evolving, does this course have longevity in its application?

“Right now, there are so many hyper-specific courses in the AI boom. You have marketing with AI or trading with AI or one of a million other subspecialties. The problem with specific versions is that they change and lose their value with [any procedural innovation]. But if you learn AI more generally – what it can do for any role – then you can invent new ways to use it without copying the current ways people are using it. In a way, there’s a trade-off. When you get more narrow, AI becomes more relevant [for current issues], but it becomes less useful as the world changes. With this course, we teach the conceptual knowledge behind AI in digital transformation to let individuals chart their own procedures in a changing environment.”

Keep pace with the rapid advancements in AI and digital technologies in the AI for Digital Transformation certificate program. Learn more and enroll.

Quotes have been edited for clarity.

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Cornell Keynotes podcast: Mismanaging hybrid teams

Worker distracted by dog during virtual meeting

The shift toward hybrid work exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since become a staple in all types of organizations.

Although hybrid teams can offer a number of benefits, leaders often find that the practices they have come to depend on for managing in-person teams do not translate well to the hybrid context. And with hybrid team management being the responsibility of both leaders and team members alike, where can you look for opportunities for improvement?

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, professor Brad Bell, director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell’s ILR School, shares ways that hybrid teams are mismanaged and presents strategies for effectively managing hybrid teams.

Read more on the Chronicle.

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Leaders strategize for new corporate environment in Hybrid Work Strategy certificate

Woman sits in an office set up. In front of her, there is a meeting on her monitor with six people displayed.

Since 2020, organizations all over the world have shifted to hybrid work models. This change has forced leaders to reevaluate how remote collaborative processes can still drive organizational culture. Brad Bell , Donna Haeger and Theomary Karamanis , faculty authors of Cornell’s Hybrid Work Strategy Program, spoke to the eCornell team about the challenges and opportunities posed by hybrid work.

Is it possible to replicate an in-person environment in a virtual workspace?

Theomary Karamanis, Senior Lecturer, SC Johnson College of Business: “That’s the biggest mistake that organizations make: They feel that they need to simulate everything that happens organically in an in-person environment into a virtual environment, and you cannot do that. Instead, try to have less live meetings, less synchronous communication and a bit more asynchronous [work]. Live meetings should usually be limited to problem solving, creativity and conflict resolution.”

How does the hybrid work environment affect the leadership structure of an organization?

Brad Bell, Professor, ILR School: “In these semi-remote environments, leaders can’t be as hands-on, they can’t see everything that’s happening, so a lot of the leadership has to be assumed by the team members themselves in these hybrid and remote settings. This opens a gap [inside the organization’s leadership structure]. Someone that is not a leader might look at courses like [Hybrid Work Strategy] and assume they need to be in a management role to benefit from this. But without usual in-office interaction, those concepts and tools have become importantly applicable to both the leaders and the members.”

What can leaders do to ensure that their hybrid organizations are consistently productive?

Donna Haeger, Professor of Practice, SC Johnson College of Business: “Oftentimes at work, whether it’s hybrid or not, everyone’s focused on ‘task, task, task’, ‘get the work done.’ That’s become even more of a pressure because things do become disjointed when people are not colocated . . . An organization’s culture and productivity are tied together. Tasks and relationships, and the synergy between those, are what really create productivity. [Fostering that synergy] is really essential in a hybrid work environment: The research has shown that the stronger the culture, the more productive the workplace will be.”

Begin developing your confidence as a hybrid team leader with eCornell’s Hybrid Work Strategy certificate program. Learn more and enroll now.

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Justin Heitzman, an eCornell writing intern, contributed to this post.

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Cornell Keynotes podcast: Mid-year trends in generative AI tech

3D chrome brain statue, generated with AI

What are the latest breakthroughs in generative AI? What’s just noise?

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, Karan Girotra, the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management and professor of operations, technology and innovation at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Cornell Tech, explores what’s new in the world of AI, including updates on Apple Intelligence, Anthropic and advancements in China.

Read more on the Chronicle.

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Cornell Keynotes podcast: Drive sales and marketing success with AI and academic theory

Photo of Clarence Lee

How can you leverage generative AI today to reach key goals in the workplace?

As co-founder of Eisengard AI, Clarence Lee spends his workdays examining how businesses can leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve their workflows. The use cases for marketing and sales are abundant — from copywriting, A/B testing and customer relationship management to pipeline operations, pitching and cold call strategy.

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, Lee, also a former professor at Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business, shares how companies can apply academic theory to create AI business frameworks for those routine lead- and revenue-generating practices.

Read more on the Chronicle.

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Cornell Board of Directors Forum set for October in NYC

Cornell live immersion program participants engage in discussion

From geopolitical instability to artificial intelligence (AI), companies are facing an increasingly complex business environment that presents both challenges and strategic opportunities. Following the success of last year’s program, the 2024 Cornell Tech Board of Directors Forum – slated for Oct. 29 and 30 in New York City – is designed to provide corporate leaders with critical skills and actionable insights to bring to their boardrooms.

According to LizAnn Eisen, faculty director for the forum and acting professor of the practice at Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech, the program will cover cutting-edge governance issues and research, delivering leading-edge frameworks and best practices for addressing critical issues.

Read more on the Chronicle.

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Cornell Keynotes podcast: Current trends in generative AI tech

Handshake between a human hand and a robot hand, each extending from laptop computers

Each day brings a new headline on artificial intelligence. Which stories should capture our attention and which are just clickbait?

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, Karan Girotra — the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management and professor of operations, technology and innovation at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Cornell Tech — explains the current capabilities of AI and shares the most newsworthy updates about the technology.

Listen to Episode 35, AI Today: Current Trends in Generative AI Tech and read more on the Chronicle.

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Applied Machine Learning certificate prepares professionals for data science careers

Neuron illustration

Effective data analysis can make all the difference for a company’s efficiency. Advances in machine learning (ML) have helped data scientists harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and take their analysis to the next level. Brian D’Alessandro, head of data science for Instagram’s Well-Being and Integrity teams and author of Cornell’s Applied Machine Learning and AI certificate program, has 20 years of experience in ML model construction. D’Alessandro spoke to the eCornell team about the certificate, ML instructional approaches and career paths. 

What can students expect in the program?

“Even when students have learned how to build a model, I would argue that they haven’t learned to build a good model yet. There’s an empirical process required in tuning model parameters such that you get the prediction quality that you’re looking for. So, in this certificate,  we ensure students learn how to build a strong, basic model . . . how to tune it and validate it, and then we start to introduce more complex algorithms that are more often used in industry settings. We cover K-nearest neighbors, decision trees and linear models – the full spectrum. Throughout the program, we emphasize the consistency of the API across different machine learning algorithms.”

Are any important aspects of working with ML frequently overlooked?

“I really like to emphasize digging into data first before learning algorithms. The cliche at this point is “garbage in, garbage out,” and that’s very true for machine learning. So what I want to do here is build an appreciation for what will ultimately be 80 to 90 percent of the workload, which is data preparation. We emphasize the importance of it. [We] don’t dismiss it . . . this is the one area of machine learning that is often not spoken about or taught in textbooks.”

What about this program will help students upskill or pursue a career change?

“The program is oriented toward developing the core machine learning skills for most data science jobs or machine learning engineering. If you are a working professional and you want to get into either one of the fields, this certificate is designed to be one of the best starting points, presuming you’re co-learning, or have already learned, Python.”

Take the first step toward building successful machine learning algorithms in Cornell’s Applied Machine Learning and AI certificate program. Learn more and enroll now.

This story was drafted by eCornell marketing intern Justin Heitzman.

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A culture of intrapreneurship: 3 practices for organizational innovation

A worker sitting in front of a laptop and holding a lightbulb in his right hand

In business, reinvention does not happen overnight. It is the result of scaled innovation – years of experimentation to identify and implement solutions to evolving challenges.

However, some senior leaders see innovation only as a one-off like a new product, service upgrade or go-to-market strategy. The misconception can stall a company’s progress toward significant goals and lasting industry impact. Expert faculty from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and ILR School recently shared three tactics organizations can use to integrate innovation throughout their operations.

1. Create a culture of intrapreneurship.

Rather than limiting out-of-the-box thinking to specific projects, executives and managers can guide employees to operate like entrepreneurs within their businesses. Through this approach, known as intrapreneurship, leaders help team members function with the autonomy and accountability to contribute new creative ideas on a continuous basis.

“As I work with companies globally, the primary reason I see innovation ‘getting stuck’ is that organizations approach it as a singular task,” said Neil Tarallo, senior lecturer of management and organizations at the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration. “Innovation is an ongoing process, and it requires commitment, adaptability and a willingness to embrace change.”

Great innovation, according to Tarallo, begins with the C-suite and moves downward throughout an organization. Executives can foster creativity from the top by dismantling rigid hierarchies and empowering employees at all levels to share ideas. Additionally, managers can encourage cross-functional collaboration among teams.

“The companies best positioned to innovate when it is most necessary are those that innovate in small ways every day,” said Tarallo. “These organizations operate in teams that bring a range of specialties and perspectives to each challenge they face. This approach leads to a more forward-thinking culture than can sustain a business in the long term.”

2. Support risk-taking and long-term thinking.

Innovation often requires risk. To help employees adopt a positive risk mindset, leaders can encourage – and reward – experimentation, set realistic expectations for results and make it clear that failures are opportunities to learn and not stairsteps to punitive consequences.

Yuan Shi, assistant professor of management and organizations at the Nolan School, offers additional guidance for executives and managers discussing innovation with backers and shareholders.

“External investors might not immediately grasp the value of ideas that bridge different fields, despite the eventual significant impact of these cross-domain concepts,” Shi said. “Breakthrough innovation demands considerable patience from investors and may face threats from short-term thinking in the market. Firms should embrace longer time horizons and prioritize longer-term returns.”

Shi advises leaders to communicate with transparency, detail the competitive advantages and financial value of innovation and provide regular progress updates with evidence of impact.

3. Earmark resources for innovation.

A lack of resources can be a barrier to success for innovation, but oftentimes the greatest obstacle can be the tendency not to view innovation as an initiative that requires tangible support. According to Brian Lucas, assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Cornell ILR School, leaders may want big ideas but they are unlikely to receive them unless they make provisions for creativity.

“People believe a breakthrough idea is something that just pops into someone’s head, maybe while taking a shower, riding the bus, talking with a colleague or just by thinking hard enough,” said Lucas. “Leaders think that they just need to put out a call for innovation, and eventually one of their workers will have a good idea. Sometimes this happens. But more often breakthrough ideas are the result of deliberate creative work that requires resources.”

Lucas encourages executives to consider the four categories of people, time, space and funding in their efforts to support innovation: “Ask yourself how many people do you have working on new ideas and can these people bring in other people if needed. Do the people have dedicated time for innovation, or are they expected to multitask? Is there dedicated space for creativity and conversation? Do they have money to buy data and research, materials for prototyping, consulting services, travel and more?”

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) increases, companies can also take steps to ensure that human knowledge and the latest technology can coexist successfully. Businesses can use tech as a tool for employee innovation and provide upskilling resources necessary for new job opportunities.

“Historically, tech advancements lead to employment and economic growth,” Lucas said. “Companies and leaders who view innovation as ongoing work are best equipped to use AI as a resource for creativity and to benefit from its potential.”

Gain expertise in cutting-edge innovation practices in one of Cornell’s more than 30 online leadership certificate programs, including Intrapreneurship, Innovation Strategy and Leadership Agility.

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Cornell launches new general counsel executive education program

Cornell Tech campus

Senior in-house attorneys and corporate leaders are navigating a dynamic business environment full of opportunities and challenges, ranging from technological innovation to shifts in regulatory requirements. At the current pace of change, 45 percent of chief executives believe their businesses could fail within a decade unless they adapt.

Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech are set to host the General Counsel Summit – an immersive executive education program designed to help these professionals address new issues in corporate governance and compliance, intellectual property, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, sustainability, ethics and more – on June 20 and 21, 2024, at Cornell Tech in New York City.

“It is imperative for in-house counsel to be on the cutting edge of business transformation,” said LizAnn Eisen, faculty director for the summit and acting professor of the practice at Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech. “These legal practitioners are pivotal in guiding companies through rapid global change. Our program is designed to help participants position themselves as strategic thought leaders and partners to executives in organizations working to capitalize on trends and avoid common pitfalls.”

The summit is structured to deliver valuable insights and practical knowledge in a variety of formats. Participants will engage in online and in-person presentations, panel discussions and hands-on workshops led by Eisen and other Cornell faculty experts, experienced corporate lawyers and decision makers, including:

  • Charles Whitehead, B.A. ’83, Professor, Cornell Law School
  • Matthew D’Amore, B.S. ’91, Associate Dean, Cornell Tech
  • C. Allen Parker, Former CEO, SVP & General Counsel, Wells Fargo
  • René Paula, Multi-Exit Executive, Public Company Officer, Board Director, Vaxxinity
  • Danielle Sheer, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Commvault
  • Nicholas Dorsey, J.D. ’09, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
  • Elizabeth Morgan, Partner, King & Spalding
  • Michael Arnold, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
  • Bill Priestap, Founder, Trenchcoat Advisors
  • ​​Alasdair Share, Chief Security Officer, Goldman Sachs
  • Machua Millett, Chief Innovation Officer, Lockton Financial Services
  • Margaux Knee, Chief Administrative Officer, LinkNYC
  • Susan Meisel, Executive Vice President, Sony Music Entertainment
  • Elizabeth Grayer, Non-Profit Executive and Attorney

Participants will also enjoy peer networking receptions. Eisen believes the program’s small size of no more than 50 professionals will enable productive one-to-one conversations on best practices and strategy during those gatherings.

“The significant changes sweeping through the corporate landscape demand a nuanced understanding of how areas such as technology, geopolitics, risk and crisis management intersect with the law,” Eisen said. “Following the summit, members of the cohort will return to their companies as stronger communicators, problem solvers and influencers on these topics. They will also gain an expanded network of fellow leaders to consult in challenging times.”

Participants who complete the program will earn the General Counsel Summit: Strategic Leadership Certificate from Cornell Tech, CLE credit and 25 Professional Development Hours.

Individuals interested in the program can learn more and register online through June 10. Early bird pricing is available for a limited time.