Leadership Use OKRs to focus teams during tough times Ask your team... What is most important for the next three weeks? Even in good times, successful organizations focus on the handful of initiatives that can make a real difference, deferring less urgent ones. Particularly in tough times, an effective goal-setting system with disciplined thinking at the top, with leaders
Feature Stories Want to change the world? Congratulations. You've achieved career success. But it isn't enough. Our communities and global causes need your talent to make positive changes in our world by tackling big societal problems. If, increasingly, community or global causes should appeal to your sense of purpose, and should you want to use your talent
Growth Less money = better companies Entrepreneurs who act like banks by raising huge sums of money opportunistically, or worse, out of pride or false validation, often face unfavorable outcomes. Growth capital, when used properly, has energized many of the best companies, and handled incorrectly, it has created toxic dependencies and poor outcomes. The conventional wisdom
Expectations Unconscious judging vs. Conscious observation We all, at times, make quick conclusions about someone, only to find out that we were wrong. When we act on snap judgments, it's not a good feeling, and it tends to stick with us whether we're on the assuming or receiving end. Our brains have evolved to make quick
Curiosity Development matters If you grow more capabilities more quickly than others do, you'll perform better today, earn opportunities to perform better in the future, and a virtuous cycle will take hold — development matters. Unfortunately, most companies are, at best, average at developing future talent. So how can you chart the shortest, surest
Team Unlock human potential The ability to recognize talent, unlock human potential, and find not just the best person for each role, but also the best position for each person, is key to developing winning teams. But becoming a great talent agent is not easy; it requires us to be more open-minded and to
Resilience The stuff of real leadership The skills required to conquer adversity and emerge stronger and more committed than ever are the same ones that make for extraordinary leaders. Why do certain people naturally inspire confidence, loyalty, and hard work, while others (who may have just as much vision and smarts) stumble? It’s a timeless
Expectations Everything is a step to a better place Inevitably, everything we go through in life is a step to help us get to a better place. However, research shows that we often, inaccurately, think that the way things are now is the way things will continue to be. If you're thriving in life and work, that's maybe not
Leadership Become a master of persuasion The ability to persuade is perhaps the most significant skill that will give you a competitive edge professionally and make you successful. Persuasion is not a "soft skill"; it is a fundamental skill that can help you attract investors, sell products, build brands, inspire teams, and trigger movements. Words and
Self-awareness Ways smart people undermine their success At most jobs, you need more than raw intelligence to get ahead. And if smarts is your strength, only focusing on your greatest strength, rather than also addressing your weaknesses, tends to be self-sabotaging. When intellectually gifted people don't achieve as much as they'd like to, it's because they're subtly
Self-awareness Celebrate the incomplete-human-leader Drop the myth of the complete leader at the top who's got it all figured out. Only when leaders embrace seeing themselves as incomplete are they be able to make up for their missing skills by trusting others. No one person can stay on top of everything. But the myth
Purpose Purpose is the key to motivation It's hard to imagine how employees can perform if they don't understand your company's purpose. How can they come to work every day ready to further the business if they don't know what your company is trying to accomplish and how their jobs support those goals? People (not just Millennials)
Productivity Stop wasting your time Overwhelmed is the new normal. No matter the job, we all end up with a lot more work over time, and the only way to get out of it is to redesign your job. After all, it's your job, so make it work for you and stop wasting your time.
Leadership Great leaders don't give advice People don't leave jobs; they leave their leader, and micromanagement usually has something to do with it. Effective leaders are coaches, and instead of teaching people, they guide others to arrive at their own solutions, put them into action, and set goals. Unfortunately, skills that get someone elevated to a
Growth Solving for how work is done tomorrow If you allow people the opportunity to learn something new or to show their craft, they will give you their best work. The magic is in providing the opportunity. Often managers have little faith in their employees’ ability to survive the twists and turns of a rapidly evolving business landscape.
Growth Measure quality of life over GDP If the goal of all our collective activities is to have a more equitable society that is economically thriving and offering citizens a meaningful quality of life, then we need to stop measuring progress in GDP, which measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it isn't
Purpose Learn how to be happier Happiness doesn't just show up one day; it comes from your actions. There is the transient type that comes and goes, fed by things like a walk in a park, spending time with a friend, or eating ice cream. What creates sustained feelings of happiness, is traits like optimism and
Technology How to get digital transformation right Digital transformation work for organizations where leaders focus on changing the mindset of the organizational culture and processes before they decide what digital tools to use and how to use them. Below are a few things to keep in mind when going through digital transformations: 1) Figure out your business
Leadership Promote those who can get you where you want to go Leaders often (erroneously) assume that attributes that have made someone successful so far will continue to make them successful in a more significant role. The secret to selecting great leaders is to try and predict the future, not to reward the past. If you want to select the best people
Growth Mentor the person, not their career Aspiring leaders need more and better mentoring than 'they're getting today. Mentoring also needs to extend beyond a current career to be more effective in helping people fulfill their true full potential. Mentoring the whole person takes more effort, time, and thought. Here are some practices for doing it well:
Self-awareness Decisions determine our reality The decisions we make determine our reality, and we make about 2,000 of them every waking hour, so inevitably, we all make some poor decisions every single day. But if we are aware of the enemies of good decision-making, and take steps to outmaneuver them, we can make better
Purpose Find meaning in your work Setting happiness as your primary goal for work can make you end up feeling the opposite because happiness (like all emotions) is a fleeting state, not a permanent one. Instead, find meaning in your work. The average person spends around 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime, so it’
Resilience Pacing and perseverance In a marathon, pacing and perseverance are paramount. Few companies think critically about the strategic principles needed to endure or have the foresight to temper their pace in anticipation of the long journey that lay ahead. Enduring companies are not one trick ponies. Companies with a long-term vision will recognize
Growth Take control of your career development Chances are your boss doesn't take the time to think through how best to deploy your talents properly. Therefore, you have to take control of your career planning to ensure you're putting yourself in a position for long-term growth. Here are four ways to become more strategic about the process:
Expectations Inspiring accountability Accountability is not about taking the blame when something goes wrong. Accountability is about delivering on commitments. It's taking initiative with follow-through, and assuming responsibility for an outcome (not just a set of tasks). Accountability is necessary at all levels; i.e., executives can't be accountable unless the people who
