Monthly Archives: July 2010

There must have been an enormous sigh of relief among BP employees — from the front line to the boardroom — on Tuesday, when their CEO Tony Hayward’s finally resigned. However he was perceived — as villain, incompetent or, scapegoat … Continue reading →

I was lying in bed, safely reading a magazine, when the fear arose. It started somewhere between my stomach and my chest, and it radiated outward. Like adrenaline coursing through my body after a sudden fright, it was a physical … Continue reading →

What can people in business learn from studying the ways successful designers solve problems and innovate? On the most basic level, they can learn to question, care, connect, and commit — four of the most important things successful designers do … Continue reading →

With innovation, entrepreneurship and significantly smarter fiscal policies, America should eventually escape its “hireless recovery.” But what won’t hasten new hiring — and might even dampen job prospects — is the mythical belief that higher education invariably leads to higher … Continue reading →

Unlike traditional reviews and other types of feedback, 360-degree reviews include input from a comprehensive set of people: peers, managers, direct reports, and sometimes customers. One of the most valuable aspects of this tool is that the opinions are voiced … Continue reading →

Is it necessary for us to agree that management is a profession before we can have a meaningful discussion about creating a “code” of business ethics? Maybe not. Consider America’s first code of business ethics, that contained in Benjamin Franklin’s … Continue reading →

When I was 24 I moved from Boston to L.A. in search of a record deal. Never got one, but Edgar Winter did record a song I wrote called, “Stranger to Love,” for a B horror movie called Netherworld. Those … Continue reading →

Okay, maybe that’s going too far. I don’t really recommend firing your marketing manager. I do however believe that most companies will eventually need to hire or contract with a community manager, if they haven’t already. A recent BusinessWeek article … Continue reading →

Culture. It’s subtle, it’s everywhere, and it can make or break you. Zefer Corp was an internet consulting start-up whose CEO, Tony Tjan (also an HBR.org blogger), deliberately created a culture of youth, hipness, and hard work. Everything from the … Continue reading →

Andy Grove penned a fascinating commentary about the impact of outsourcing on American job creation, and the subsequent ability to innovate in the sectors that have been outsourced. He challenges the belief that as long as knowledge work stays in … Continue reading →