From Brain Foods To Addressing Charlottesville: This Week’s Top Leadership Stories

This week, we explored what it’s like to spend a week adjusting your diet to fuel your brain (not just your body), which interview answers hiring managers just can’t abide, and how management guru Peter Drucker might have counseled business execs after the events in Charlottesville last weekend.

These are the stories you loved in Leadership for the week of August 14:

1. I’ve Interviewed Thousands Of Job Candidates, Here Are The Deal Breakers

It’s normal to be nervous for job interviews. In fact, as one former hiring manager explained, candidates usually don’t get knocked for giving answers that are just okay: “I understood that it was an awkward situation, and sometimes, people needed to find their footing.” However, certain answers are deal breakers. This week we learned what some of the most common ones are.

2. What Happened When I Ate The Best Brain Foods For A Week

You know you should eat healthy for your body, but there’s plenty of evidence that your diet is equally as important for your brain. Fast Company’s Anisa Purbasari Horton put her anti-diet bias aside and decided to try the “MIND” diet, an eating plan designed for optimal cognitive function. Here’s how she fared on a week of leafy greens, salmon, blueberries, and no sugar or dairy.

3. Peter Drucker Has Some Sage Advice On How Execs Should Respond To Charlottesville

When most people hear the name Peter Drucker, they think of his management principles. Drucker’s writing is still considered a must-read for business leaders and managers. But as Rick Wartzman reminded us this week, Drucker also urged every business to act as a “leading institution of society.” The corporation, Drucker saw it, “is one of the very few institutions . . . that is not nationalistic in its worldview” and, at its best, “brings together” all kinds of people and “unites them in a common purpose.”

4. Never Say These 11 Things During A Job Interview (Unless You Don’t Want The Job)

There are a few things you should never say in a job interview, but some candidates nevertheless continue to utter them time and again. For instance, telling a hiring manager that your last boss was terrible might send the wrong signal. Here’s a look at what else to avoid–and why.

5. Why Trump Blames “Both Sides” For Charlottesville

President Trump’s profession that “many sides” were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville drew a firestorm of criticism. In an op-ed this week, Sarah Kendzior, a journalist who’s studied authoritarian states, says Trump’s statement risks empowering hate groups. She writes, “Trump’s neo-Nazi adherents will likely continue their activity whether or not Trump is in office, though how emboldened they are may depend on who is in power.”