Management Practices

Google’s happy machine

June 13, 2013
HR people at Google noticed a couple of problems some years back. They used data to solve them both.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 613

June 12, 2013
Hold on to ownership mentality … Always watch as you listen … Be aware that you can be too attractive.

Weed out requests with a ‘twitpitch’

May 17, 2013
Executives are now asking people who want something from them—from job candidates to vendors and suppliers seeking business—to summarize their pitch in the form of a tweet, or “twitpitch.” There are many ways you can apply this technique.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 313

March 5, 2013

Hire people smarter than you are … Get over yourself, like Neil Armstrong did … Retire somewhere that won’t drain your nest egg.


Detail person or micromanager?

January 31, 2013
  Flush out any micromanagement tendencies you may have by answering these questions.

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.

Crocs takes the right steps

November 16, 2012
Crocs, a global apparel and accessories company that began as a shoemaker, has grown quickly in recent years. Why? “We’ve be­­come an $850 million global business by putting our customers first,” says John McCarvel, president and chief executive.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 1012

October 1, 2012
Billy King, general manager of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, thought it was pretty cool the first time minority owner and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z emailed him. Even cooler: Asked what Jay-Z typically wants to know, King says, “How he can help.”

Leadership lessons behind the plate

August 15, 2012

Leaders don’t need to be flamboyant. In fact, sometimes they can seem invisible. Take umpires …

Save me from the boring details, CEO says

August 9, 2012
The worst thing you can say to a CEO is “You’d better read this” and hand over a big, thick document. I expect you to summarize it for me and highlight what’s most important. I’m paid to make hard decisions; I need my managers to crystallize those decisions for me and give me a bal­anced, well-reasoned interpretation.