Leadership & Career

Extract hard-to-get feedback

July 1, 2009
Your manager doesn’t give feedback on your job performance. When you seek input, he replies, “If there’s a problem, I’ll let you know.” You need to sell your boss on the win-win benefit of providing performance feedback.

Lessons to live by

July 1, 2009
Wisdom rarely comes cheap. Usually, it takes decades of experience to learn lessons in leadership. Alan Webber devised a simpler path to enlightenment. He identified 52 insights he gleaned from meeting successful people throughout his career.

Lessons in cash flow

June 1, 2009
You know how to manage people. But do you know how to manage money?

Fed up with breakdowns? Join the club

June 1, 2009
When your computer, cell phone or Internet connection fails to function, you’ll ride an emotional roller coaster.

Health Corner: Prepare well for medical tests

June 1, 2009
With doctors and nurses rushing around in a tizzy, they may not have time to give you full instructions or advice to prepare for medical testing.

Redirect your resentment into positive problem-solving

June 1, 2009
Stewing resentments often emerge as the No. 1 impediment to resolving conflict. The urge to keep anger alive—and let it fester inside you—can overpower your better judgment.

When push comes to shove, leave

May 1, 2009
Ask Greg Brenneman—a respected CEO who has run Burger King, Quiznos and PwC Consulting—to identify his toughest moment as a leader, and his voice turns grim ….

Steer clear of arrogance

May 1, 2009
During the 2008 presidential campaign, some pundits wondered whether Barack Obama’s confidence bordered on arrogance. Managers ask themselves the same question.

Collect a group of smart friends

May 1, 2009
On a trip to France in the early 1950s, Chuck Williams marveled at the cooking equipment that he saw. After returning to the U.S., his friends in a local cooking group expressed interest in the items. By 1958, he moved his Williams-Sonoma shop to San Francisco and it took off.

Read between the lines

May 1, 2009
We’re swimming in health statistics. Every day we see new findings linking various foods or behaviors to good outcomes (veggies prevent cancer!) or bad (stress causes Alzheimer’s!).