leadership skills

Three Ways to Avoid Becoming a Turnover Statistic

While moving up the organization, I've noticed a high turnover in the senior ranks. It seems like a lot of talented people who were once successful fail to make the grade. How can I increase the likelihood that I will not end up like these casualties?READ»

5 Character Traits to Survive the Recession

As a leader, you are choosing to be responsible for your actions and reactions. You choose to be a gentle leader. You choose to empower others without taking the credit. You choose to be open, look for the possibilities and be aware to the many gifts that unfold in front of you. Author Leon Jaworski writes, “In the beautiful flow of these moments, it seems as if we are being helped by hidden hands.” Has this ever happened to you? READ»

Why Incentives Are Irresistible, Effective, and Likely to Backfire

Ken O'Brien was an NFL quarterback in the 1980s and 1990s. Early in his career, he threw a lot of interceptions, so one clever team lawyer wrote a clause into O'Brien's contract penalizing him for each one he threw. The incentive ...READ»

• Incentive Clauses Gone Bad
• CEOs Who Risk Big for Big Paydays

Leadership Columns

When Performance Reviews Underperform If you let subordinates select their own performance criteria, most of the time they will make the wrong choice. Get the best out of your employees by creating effective, high-quality ...READ»

The Digital Divide

Why is it so hard for marketers to fully embrace the digital revolution? Old habits die hard, says Kevin Roberts, Saatchi & Saatchi's worldwide CEO. And there's foot-dragging in all quarters. But denial is not a winning ...READ»

Kevin Roberts's Chaos Theory

What does it take to manage a brand in a digital world? Kevin Roberts, worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, says it takes vision, guts, and the ability to thrive amidst chaos. Here are four ways to keep your footing. Find ...READ»

Made to Stick: The Myth of Mutual Funds

Why we don't always believe the truth.READ»

• Doing What Feels Right Despite the Evidence
• 10 Tips for Making Sensible Investments

Fixing Washington D.C.'s School System

No one is attacking Washington, D.C.'s stagnant culture more boldly than Michelle Rhee, head of the city's failing schools. Is there a lesson here for our nation's leaders?READ»

• 45 World-Changers
• A History of Public Education Reform in the U.S.
• Why D.C. Schools Get a Failing Grade

Silence, Listening and Executive Competence

By Kenny Moore It’s not just our personal life that benefits from silence.  So does our corporate one. I recently had a chance to work with one of our Operating officers.  He asked my help in designing a group meeting ...READ»

Creativity is in the Detail, and Everywhere…

Companies need to allow employees to liberate their inherent creativity, rather than squash it as most do. Tapping one's inner creativity within a destination-driven society requires the courage to slow down and reflect inwards. READ»

When Performance Reviews Underperform

If you let subordinates select their own performance criteria, most of the time they will make the wrong choice. Get the best out of your employees by creating effective, high-quality performance criteria documents -- here's how. READ»

Shifting Gears at 105 mph -- Without Flying off a Cliff

Part IX: The Growth of a Brand. Karen Post continues to offer branding lessons from a social-networking startup.READ»

Creating the Inspiration -- Part 2

If you are willing to go to the trouble of creating a vision statement, shouldn’t it motivate your employees? Avoid three common pitfalls that can negate the impact of your vision. READ»

Creating the Inspiration -- Part 1

Are vision statements really necessary? Does anyone really take them seriously? If the majority of vision statements are any indication, the answer to both questions is no. But are these companies missing something? READ»

Tell Them The Truth

Feedback and straight talk is critical for the growth and development of your team.READ»

Twitter on Steroids

Finally! A way to check on what your friends are doing every minute of every day on every social network. That’s FriendFeed. All together now: “We’re not currently monetizing the site.”READ»

• 7 Ways Bret Taylor Uses FriendFeed
• Why Facebook Is Even Bigger Than You Think
• Is Michael Arrington One of the World's Most Influential People?
• The Curious Genius of Twitter

China Storms Africa

  By: Richard Behar Sun Jun 1, 2008 at 1:00 PM Since Fast Company published China Storms Africa in June of 2008, the article has itself stormed the media landscape. CNN called it "one of the most important magazine ...READ»

Special Report: China Storms Africa

With its resource-hungry push into the sub-Sahara, Beijing puts the planet to the test.READ»

Judge the Nudge

1. Paper Route USA Today became the nation's largest daily newspaper by getting inertia on its side. Twenty-two percent of its average daily circulation of 2.3 million readers comes from getting its paper distributed in ...READ»

• Get Laziness on your Side

Get Laziness on Your Side

How to sway people's decisions with the gentlest of nudges.READ»

• Judge the Nudge

Library of the Living Dead

Embrace a business best seller at your brain's peril.READ»

The Brand Called Obama

Win or lose, Barack Obama's rise changes business as usual for everyone. Here's why.READ»

• How to Build a Brand Like Obama
• The Brand Called President
• How Obama Won It With the Web

Three Instances Where Checklists Have Worked--and How

Why you should learn to love checking boxes.READ»

• Heroic Checklist

Heroic Checklist

Why you should learn to love checking boxes.READ»

• Three Instances Where Checklists Have Worked--and How

The Journal-ist: In the Lead

From this month's academic journals, four views on what makes a top-notch 21st-century leader: curiosity, charisma, neuroscience, and Ivy League thinking.READ»

• Now: March 2008