JP's Top Global Reads

Hi, my name is Jean-Pascal Duvieusart and I’m Chairman of the Board at Home Credit. Welcome back to my regular ‘Global Reads’ feature where I personally select articles, reports or interviews from global media that have caught my interest. Reading this month is a combination of top trending topics and two books on my recommended list.

Let me know what features have caught your attention in the comment box.

Reuters - AI chatbot technology is latest battleground for online supremacy

You might have already heard – or even used – Microsoft’s ChatGPT, an AI driven platform that can create jokes, film scripts and even help with your kid’s homework (this is not an endorsement by the way!) Google owners, Alphabet have been quick to launch a rival, called Bard. Whoever wins this battle, it seems that AI driven content, writing and even analysis is here to stay.

Forbes – What your workforce needs from you now

First we had the ‘Great Resignation’, then came ‘Quiet Quitting.’ Life has been challenging for hiring managers and bosses across the world. So what qualities do we need when it comes to connecting with our colleagues? According to the World Economic Forum, it’s all about ‘generous listening.’ They say that workforces are more disempowered, cynical and ambivalent than ever. It’s time to listen.

McKinsey & Company – How to navigate volatility in Asia

Excellent insights from this McKinsey ‘Future of Asia’ podcast on what business leaders can do to navigate choppy waters in the coming years. The main piece of advice? ‘If you are belt tightening, you’re doing it wrong.’ McKinsey is advising that companies will need to reinvent themselves to thrive. It’s time – they say – to embrace huge product simplification as the macro environment becomes more volatile.

The Attack by Yasmina Khadra and The Schopenhauer Cure by Irvin Yalom - And for those of you that are interested (probably everybody should to some extend) in philosophy, geopolitics and novels let me recommend these two great old timers. If you only have time for one book, read the first one.