Benjamin Laker

United Kingdom

Senior Contributor at Inc.

Senior Contributor at Psychology Today

Senior Contributor at Forbes

Professor @HenleyBSchool writing @HarvardBiz @MITSMR @Forbes @Inc @PsychToday articles and @Financialtimes @MITPress books

Articles

How To Handle An In-Person Meeting When You Usually Work Remotely

1 week ago | forbes.com | Benjamin Laker

Being invited to an in-person meeting when you’ve built your career working from home can feel both exciting and unsettling. On one hand, the invitation signals an opportunity to forge deeper connections and engage face-to-face with colleagues. On the other hand, it may disrupt your established routine and bring up concerns about travel, logistics and the change in work dynamic.
What To Do When You Discover Your Team Didn’t Welcome You

1 week ago | forbes.com | Benjamin Laker

Have you ever stepped into a meeting only to sense that your presence is met with cool indifference or even subtle hostility? Discovering that your team didn’t welcome you can feel like a heavy blow to your self-confidence and professional identity. The isolation may leave you wondering if you were never meant to be part of the group or if you inadvertently triggered the rejection. While such a situation is painful, it does not have to define your future at work.
What OpenAI’s $40 Billion Raise Reveals About The Future Of Work

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Benjamin Laker

When OpenAI closed its record-breaking $40 billion funding round—led by SoftBank and rumored to include Microsoft and a syndicate of big-name investors—it didn’t just rewrite the playbook for tech financing. It signaled the dawn of a radically different future for work. With a valuation now topping $300 billion, OpenAI has positioned itself not just as a leader in AI but as a force capable of reshaping the way organizations think, operate, and grow. This is not a tech sideshow—it’s the main event.
How to Hold Effective In-Person Meetings in the Age of Remote Work

2 weeks ago | inc.com | Benjamin Laker

Have you built your business from the comfort of your home office, managing teams and forging partnerships digitally where every interaction is streamlined and predictable? An invitation to an in-person meeting can feel both promising and perplexing. On one hand, you see the potential for richer connections and more dynamic exchanges; on the other, the shift from your well-honed remote routine might throw you off balance.
An Entrepreneur's Action Plan for Surviving Trump's Tariffs

3 weeks ago | inc.com | Benjamin Laker

Here are some practical strategies to pivot, protect your margins, and thrive in uncertain times. EXPERT OPINION BY BENJAMIN LAKER, PROFESSOR, HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF READING @DRBENLAKERAPR 3, 2025Illustration: Getty ImagesListen to this ArticleMore infoPresident Trump’s new tariffs might feel like an unwelcome disruption, but as an entrepreneur, you understand that external shocks often force you to innovate and reengineer your business models.
Trump’s Tariff Legacy Is Alive, So Your Business Needs A New Strategy

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Benjamin Laker

Yesterday the announcement of a sweeping series of reciprocal tariffs sent shockwaves throughout global markets and marked a decisive shift in international trade policy. The new measures impose a 10% tariff on all imports—with even steeper rates applied to what are deemed the worst offenders—and a 25% tariff on auto imports.
What Happens To Leadership When No One Retires Anymore

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Benjamin Laker

What if everything you thought you knew about leadership—when it happens, how it looks, who gets it—was quietly being rewritten by a single demographic shift? People are living longer. A lot longer. In most developed countries, life expectancy is nearing or surpassing 100. That means many of today’s professionals won’t just work into their 60s—they’ll lead, pivot and reinvent themselves well into their 70s and 80s. This isn’t a distant future. It’s already here.
Great Ideas Don’t Happen By Accident-Here’s How To Design Innovation

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Benjamin Laker

Creative ideation is seldom the product of mere chance; rather, it’s the result of an environment designed to foster curiosity, risk-taking, and open-minded exploration. It’s not about waiting for inspiration to strike—it’s about crafting the conditions in which inspiration can be reliably sparked. Leaders who want to unlock breakthrough thinking must challenge routine patterns and encourage teams to step beyond conventional boundaries.
Speaking To Leaders Is Hard-Use These 6 Steps To Prepare Like A Pro

4 weeks ago | forbes.com | Benjamin Laker

Being invited to speak to a group of leaders—whether peers, senior executives or cross-functional stakeholders—can feel both exciting and intimidating. But it’s also a powerful opportunity. Before writing a single word, pause to clarify your purpose. Are you looking to inform, align, inspire or challenge? Be precise. If your aim is to secure support for a new initiative, consider what success looks like: what actions should follow or what mindset shift should occur.
Why Four-Day Workweek Experiments Fail (and How to Make Yours Stick)

1 month ago | sloanreview.mit.edu | Benjamin Laker |Chidiebere Ogbonnaya

Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series Summary: As the four-day workweek evolves from experiment to reality at many organizations, some are thriving and reaping benefits like higher ... productivity, stronger engagement, and improved hiring and retention, while others are struggling with implementation.