Management Practices

Lay the groundwork for small miracles

October 11, 2011
Sometimes, it takes a miracle to hold an organization (or yourself) together, and sometimes, that miracle turns out to be extremely hard to maintain.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 1011

September 21, 2011
Rock icon Tom Petty challenged his record label, and won, when it wanted to raise album prices. “Look, I don’t need the extra dollar,” he told executives. “But it makes a big deal to the people buying the music.”

Leadership Tips: Vol. 911

September 1, 2011
Nobody has to tell Google co-founder Larry Page to look for the big picture. He loves the grand quest and will challenge an employee by saying, “You’re not thinking big enough.”

Bringing Army efficiency to business: Lt. Gen. Pagonis

August 15, 2011
Allied Forces commander Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf once called Lt. Gen. William G. Pagonis the “logistical wizard” of the first Gulf War. Now Pagonis applies his wizardry to the business world. What the Army taught him about business:

The 5 traits all CEOs share

July 14, 2011

Imagine a company with 100 middle managers, all smart, all hard-working. Who will get the plum promotion? Who will eventually land in the corner office? There are five essentials that most CEOs share and look for in people they promote.

Lush: Happy people selling happy soap

June 29, 2011
At Lush, happy people make happy soap, literally—the handcrafted cosmetics are fresh, free of preservatives and made with ingredients not tested on animals. The lesson of how Lush cosmetics grew from one small store to a worldwide chain in 44 countries holds valuable insights for any small business in its growth stage.

One exec’s 4 extreme productivity tips

June 20, 2011

How does a top executive like Bob Pozen get it all done? Pozen has been a top dog at Fidelity and MFS Investment Man­age­ment, as well as an attorney, law school professor, business school professor and author. His tips for extreme productivity:

If growth is your #1 job, what’s #2?

June 13, 2011
As CEO, what are your top priorities? According to a recent study by the Conference Board, your answer probably depends on what industry you are in. Of the 10 priorities that CEOs were invited to rank, business growth came in first place. After growth, though, CEOs’ answers varied.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 611

June 1, 2011
Don’t assume the United States has a lock on innovation. Many top U.S. inventors—Edison, Ford, Farnsworth—refined ideas from abroad. So while it’s true that some cultures are more conforming and less open to trial-and-error than ours, it’s also true there’s no guarantee of leadership.

The science of achieving goals

May 24, 2011
People set goals all the time, but the ma­jority end up unfulfilled or abandoned. Mark Murphy, founder and CEO of Leadership IQ and author of Hard Goals, tells us about the secret to getting from where you are to where you want to be.