Collaboration

Getting the team to that ‘aha moment’

December 8, 2014
A creative brainstorm can strike at any time, perhaps while you’re in the shower or taking a walk. Effective leaders prod their team to innovate by recognizing and capitalizing on such creative connections.

When to say ‘tell me more about this’

November 5, 2014

About 10 years ago, Jim McCann sent a memo to his technology staff. He wrote about corporate news and some online strategies for the business he founded, 1-800-Flowers.com. Minutes after emailing his memo, he noticed that one of the recipients had already replied. Opening the email, McCann was surprised to see that a newly hired tech employee had sent the memo back to the CEO with reams of corrections…

At Zingerman’s, everyone’s an owner

November 4, 2014
At Zingerman’s Roadhouse, a popular Michigan restaurant, the weekly sales figures are not a big secret. All 50 em­­ployees gather to discuss the results—and brainstorm on how they can help each other exceed those numbers in the week ahead.

Keep virtual meetings on track: 5 tips

October 20, 2014
It’s hard enough to keep face-to-face meetings on schedule. But conference calls can become a noisy free-for-all. Here’s how to run them smoothly.

Try the Braintrust at your next meeting

September 17, 2014
At Pixar, the movie studio behind blockbusters such as “Toy Story” and “Cars”, Ed Catmull cultivated a culture in which filmmakers could share ideas and opinions in a free-flowing, nonthreatening manner. He devised the Braintrust, a regular series of management meetings where the primary purpose is straight talk.

Seattle’s football fans come together

September 8, 2014
When people band together to achieve an ambitious goal, it can heighten everyone’s sense of camaraderie. That’s what happened in Seattle in the lead-up to the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win in 2014.

Does leadership = team success?

August 5, 2014

Po Bronson—The New York Times best-selling author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing—is a big fan of using small teams to tackle big projects. But surely the smaller the team, the more critical the role of the team leader, right? Wrong.

Take a tip from 9/11 families

August 1, 2014

The families of Americans killed on 9/11 rose from crippling tragedy to reshape national policy, becoming the most successful citizen-advocates in generations. Their advice to leaders?

Brainstorming? First, set ground rules

May 5, 2014
Erica was a failed entrepreneur getting a second chance when she realized that her new company was going down just as surely as her own had. Desperate to do something, she latched onto an old-timer, Raymond, who brought together a group of volunteers brainstorming ways to right the ship …

At Citigroup, creativity is a global game

March 13, 2014
In late 2011, Susan Andrews came up with a bold campaign to spur innovation across Citigroup, a global financial firm. As head of innovation for the company’s Citi Ventures unit, Andrews decided to use social media to turn 263,000 em­­ployees in 97 countries into innovators.