Articles

Finally, I’m on LinkedIn. So, now what?

January 2, 2013
If you join online networks like Facebook or LinkedIn, make it worth the effort. Follow these tips to get the most out of online networking.

How to lead by getting out of the way

January 2, 2013

Even though Brad Smith, CEO of Intuit, oversees a workforce of about 8,000 people, he spurs innovation by getting out of the way. Rather than micromanage, he prods employees to think like entrepreneurs launching a business.

Stop! Don’t look at that email!

December 28, 2012
Every minute you spend on email is a minute you’re not doing something important. These tactics may help.

You have 30 seconds to impress me

December 27, 2012

When addressing senior executives, every minute counts. Make your point succinctly—without tangents or long stories—and end decisively. Consider these structural frameworks when organizing your material:

Cochran paved the way for women pilots

December 26, 2012
At her death in 1980, Jacqueline Cochran held more speed, altitude and distance records than any other pilot in aviation history. But it wasn’t her precociousness that turned Cochran into a force in American history. It was her guts.

Know your selling point and stick to it

December 21, 2012

To win over others, it’s tempting to recite every possible reason why they should accept your proposal. Psychologists call this the Presenter’s Paradox: We assume that more is better when we try to convince others when, in fact, limiting our pitch to only the most appealing reasons works better.

Watch and listen to everything

December 20, 2012

Arnold Hiatt was visiting Hong Kong in 1990 when he noticed a child wearing an unusual shoe. It closed with Velcro and had a loop on the back, allowing the child to pull it on easily. Within months, Hiatt’s Massachusetts company, Stride Rite, produced a similar model. Lesson: Watch and listen.

Sam Adams used propaganda as a tool

December 19, 2012

Sometimes, leaders must resort to subterfuge. That’s what Samuel Adams and other colonists did to whip up hostility against the English in the late 1760s. One of Adams’ tools was a news service reporting the misdeeds of the British troops in Boston, cooking up charges true and false when the situation got bad enough to incite war.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 113

December 17, 2012
Keep your edge by keeping on the move … Be a canary in the coal mine … Give CO2 the boot.

Gentle on the earth: Big on the profits

December 14, 2012

Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, aptly described as “one of America’s great weird brands,” made its U.S. debut in the late 1940s. Emanuel Bronner liked to talk about “constructive capitalism,” which he de­­scribed as sharing profits with workers and going gentle on the earth. His heirs codified this concept.