How do you create jobs? Finally, this question is finally getting some attention in Washington ... sadly, it took increasing painful unemployment reports to get this front and center ... but from the ground floor where we live, I don't see the efficacy of some of the programs being considered.…
The NY Times runs a weekly column entitled the Corner Office, that discusses leadership lessons from CEO’s across a broad spectrum of companies. These interviews usually recall important tenets of successful leadership and serve as a valuable reminder about important lessons and how they should be applied.
This week, Adam Bryant interviewed Susan Lyne, CEO of Gilt Groupe. Lyne reports that she has learned the importance of being committed to “stepping back to think about the big picture,” a major challenge for most business leaders. A great way to do that is to grab a blank sheet of paper to begin.
I also like her suggestion about “office hours”, an idea she picked up from a colleague who was a former college professor. (more…)
I have written and spoken extensively on the topic of building leadership teams and how those gaps hang like an albatross around the neck of the CEO ... or any leader of an incomplete team. The President of the United States is not immune to this condition and the gaps…
The New York Times feature, The Corner Office, generally provides practical advice from CEO’s. This week’s interview with Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines, stresses the value of communication and his belief … correctly, I would say … that communication skills are more important than ever with the advent of the Internet and the myriad ways that communication takes place with our professional constituents. Not a PowerPoint slide deck either. Complete sentences.
He also offers his insights about recruiting and interviewing techniques (more…)
The Wall Street Journal recently published further anecdotal evidence of the mixed messages that companies are receiving ... and giving ... about the expected upturn. While some 25% of companies reportedly expect more layoffs, about the same percentage think further layoffs are unlikely. Many companies continue to look to salary…
Business Week carries a fresh look at The Peter Principle, the seminal work that coined the phrase about people being promoted to their "level of incompetence". Still a worthy concept for evaluating talent and making sure that your greatest salesman doesn't become a big failure as a sales manager.
The NY Times carried a poignant article today about Talent: The Secrets of the Talent Scouts. Here are 2 key messages that bear repeating: 1. Get as much advice as possible about new hires. The McArthur Foundation known for its "genius grants" interviews thousands from across myriad disciplines.…
We're proud of the "Straight Talk. All the Time" mantra on this site. Jason Calacanis of Maholo.com and founder of Silicon Alley Reporter stays close to that line in his recent newsletter that BW republished. It describes his brutal experiences with the dot.com implosion and offers the hard cold facts…
<A recent WSJ story about cost-cutting focuses on measures taken to reduce the costs for current employees to forestall personnel cuts that business leaders fear will hurt their ultimate competitiveness. There are some interesting twists on several ideas. Agilent Technologies tried a novel approach by tying a portion of all…