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Faculty Viewpoints

  • Elon Musk’s Trillion-Dollar Pay Package Is Just Bad Corporate Governance

    Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Stephen Henriques write that the gargantuan package proposed by Tesla—based on a series of implausible performance targets—suggests a board in thrall to its charismatic, erratic CEO.

    Elon Musk wearing a cowboy hat on stage in front of cars
  • How Corporate Jargon Obscures the Truth and Fuels Disaster

    When executives spew business buzzwords, writes Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, their colleagues are often just as confused as the rest of us.

    A drawing of a man with a tangle of letters coming out of his mouth
  • MAGA’s March Toward a Command Economy

    The Trump approach to the economy is anything but conservative, write Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, former Procter & Gamble CEO John Pepper, former Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy, former Medtronic CEO Bill George, and Laura Tyson, former chairman of the White House Counsel of Economic Advisers.

    Donald Trump with economic charts in the Oval Office
  • The President Holds the Trump Card in His Meeting with Putin. Will He Play It?

    When Donald Trump meets with Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine this week, write Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Steven Tian, he should remember that he has a key piece of leverage: Russia’s economy is struggling, and the U.S. can push it off the cliff.

    Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin before a meeting in Helsinki in 2018.
  • Trump’s Tariff Tantrums Are Hobbling the U.S. Economy

    Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Stephen Henriques write that the economic effects of Trump’s arbitrary and unpredictable tariffs and oversold investment deals are already apparent.

     Cars are loaded onto the car carrier ship Polaris Liberty at the automotive terminal in Bremerhaven, Germany, on August 11. 
  • The Last Disgrace of the ‘Tiffany Network’

    Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, with co-authors Steven Tian and Stephen Henriques, writes that the capitulation of CBS to the Trump administration is the final stage of a long decline for three storied brands.

    A water tower on the Paramount movie lot
  • Zelensky Must Protect Civil Society

    Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and coauthors write that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy’s recent moves against political rivals are self-defeating and dangerous missteps. They argue that he needs to show the courage to acknowledge mistakes and restore trust.‌

    Protestors in Ukraine
  • AI Is Getting Smarter—and Less Reliable

    Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and author Joanne Lipman write that popular chatbots have proven susceptible to manipulation, groupthink, and hallucination.

    A toy robot lying on its side
  • Tim Cook Is Still the Right Leader for Apple

    Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Steven Tian argue that Cook’s unmatched track record makes him uniquely positioned to steer the company into its next phase of innovation and growth.

    Tim Cook at an Apple event
  • Beauty, Power, Art, and Finance‌

    Art, money, and power twist together in complex ways, in a dynamic that may be older than humans. In his research, Yale SOM’s William Goetzmann traces the social meaning of art and money and the ways they set pecking orders, create art superstars, and blow up into senseless bubbles.‌

    The auction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi at Christie’s in 1997.