February 27th, 2010 by Miki Saxon
‘Leader’ is a word that’s bandied about with reckless abandon, but it is the only word that’s available that carries a fairly universal meaning.
That said, I have several leadership links I think you’ll find interesting.
First, from American Express’ Open Forum, 10 excellent examples of real business leadership. Some refer to companies, others to people, none will take you long to read. And if the story resonates you can always google more in-depth information.
Next is a fascinating analysis from Newsweek that looks at the pros and cons of business executives as politicians. It’s a timely article considering how many are throwing their hats in the ring.
Finally, whether you consider yourself a leader, or just someone who enjoys helping others excel, you’ll find lots of good ideas at LeaderTalk where Becky Robinson has a round up of posts discussing the importance of, and ways to, develop people from some of the smartest coaches around—including me.
Have a great weekend and happy reading.
Image credit: pedroCarvalho on flickr
Tags: business, leaders, politicians
Posted in Expand Your Mind, Leadership, Politics |
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February 13th, 2010 by Miki Saxon
I’m not sure whether it’s amusing or ironic (or both) but breakout companies all seem to be focused on culture. And when they are successful, no matter the business, they are immediately in high demand to tell others how they do it—think Tony Hsieh and Zappos.
Last Saturday I told you about Nick Sarillo, whose two pizza restaurants in Chicago do $7 million a year with 20% turnover vs. the casual dining industry average of 200%. As a result of the Inc magazine profile he is keynote speaker at the Pizza Executive Summit this summer. I’m sure he’ll be in demand other places. I love the title—“Culture 2.0: Branding your company’s way of life;” think about it.
Along with being a culture fanatic I also believe that anyone can lead given the opportunity, challenge and a supportive culture in which the messenger is never killed.
An NYT interview with Mark Pincus, founder and chief executive of Zynga offers insight into his approach of making all his people CEOs.
“I’d turn people into C.E.O.’s. One thing I did at my second company was to put white sticky sheets on the wall, and I put everyone’s name on one of the sheets, and I said, “By the end of the week, everybody needs to write what you’re C.E.O. of, and it needs to be something really meaningful.” And that way, everyone knows whose C.E.O. of what and they know whom to ask instead of me. And it was really effective. People liked it. And there was nowhere to hide.”
A new blog by David Silverman at Harvard Business Review should prove interesting; the first is about Richard Charkin, Director of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Stories from CEOs of their most life-changing day in their careers. Sometimes the result was promotion to the upper reaches of business, and sometimes a steep fall from grace.
TED has become a phenomenon and it’s on now. Plan to spend some time listening to an eclectic group of creative thinkers.
TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.
The annual conferences in Long Beach and Oxford bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
In a final tip of the hat to Valentine’s Day tomorrow, check out substitutes for Viagra that taste great.
Image credit: pedroCarvalho on flickr
Tags: Culture, Expand Your Mind, TED, Zappos
Posted in Business info, Culture, Expand Your Mind |
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