Careers

Selling doesn’t have to be pushy.

Tomorrow became a little distant from today in 2008. With the challenges facing businesses today–versus even six months ago–emerging leaders find little solace in the best practices that have worked so far. So what can help us cope with the challenges ahead? I have put together 10 mantras that might guide us ahead: 1. Listen […]

Three reasons why you shouldn’t go back.

It may come as news to some (young) people, but business and pleasure are not synonymous. With the Millenials’ exodus to social media platforms from good old-fashioned email accounts, the lines between our business and personal lives are increasingly blurred. We live on our smart phones or blackberries and technology has enabled us to multi-task […]

If you want others to see how you've grown, you need to show them.

Leadership transitions go awry with alarming frequency, often the result of an emotionally charged power struggle between the CEO and his would-be heir. Four practices, however, can help successors defuse the crisis—and make it to the top.

Questions to ask before you take the job.

Are you the seven-foot superhero, the conniving villain, the strong-willed woman, or the family-man cop? You'd better be one of them, or risk being cut...

Hobbies count.

Work is a financial necessity for almost everyone, along with the sacrifices work sometimes demands. It can be drudgery. But work also can be fun and exciting. The competition can be energizing. Work can be an important and positive part of our lives. I learned a lot about this from Amy Wrzesniewski and her work […]

Five strategies for weathering the ups and downs.

Open-ended mentoring can be intimidatingly time-consuming.

You shouldn't be in touch only when you need something.

If you are the leader of a large organization (or only of yourself) who cares about improving the world, here’s a question you should consider: How will you participate in the global solution networks that are increasingly managing to address the world’s problems? A global solution network is a group of independent parties that have […]

Set yourself apart.

It’s time to formalize a “deceleration” career phase — one that lets us ease up and step down, without the angst that comes from doing something outside the norm. I know the concerns: What about the loss of prestige? Can we really reduce people’s salaries? How will it affect pensions? All important issues — and […]

by Lauren Keller Johnson

One corporate drama playing out in the news is the fate of Saab — a now-orphan division of General Motors that appears will narrowly escape extinction by last-minute buyer Spyker. For owners, employees, dealers, and suppliers of Saab, the potential death of such an iconic brand was probably hard to fathom. After all, the Swedish […]

Congratulations—you’ve been asked to lead a change initiative! But there’s a catch—its success hinges on the cooperation of several people across your organization over whom you have no formal authority. If you’re like most managers, you’re facing this sort of challenge more often these days because of flatter management structures, outsourcing, and virtual teams. For […]

It’s OK to build your own relationships with senior leaders.