Hiring/Firing
Have Product, Need Management
This post from a seasoned CEO offers advice and insight into how to move beyond the sale of a new product toward building out a team that matches your business model. Great writing and wisdom.
After a Failed Hire...
Hiring the right senior person is always challenging, but when you've erred once and it's time to regroup, what can you change about the process to improve your odds of success? Read this post to find out.
CEO Survey Suggests Optimism re 2012
A late Q4 survey shows CEOs of small-medium size businesses expect revenue growth and improved profit in 2012, though only 40% think the U.S. economy will rebound. 94% expect to maintain or increase their workforce...
Should CEOs Have to Invest in Their Own Companies?
Penny Herscher, CEO of FirstRain, poses an interesting question: would CEOs make better decisions if they had to pony up serious cash before taking the helm? Some argue this aligns a leader's interests with...
Failure, Cynicism, and Vision
John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, describes in this Corner Office interview his earliest career recollections, views on leadership, humility, hiring, and other lessons learned.
12 Tips to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
Want to make the most of what LinkedIn can offer? This 'how to' article suggests a dozen specific ways to improve the utility to you of this business tool that is increasingly becoming a ubiquitous social...
CEO Dilemma: When to Hold the Bus
Ben Horowitz describes three types of employees who, though super-smart, can de-stabilize a business. Horowitz quotes iconic coaches on the topic of whether a CEO/organization can or should accommodate the heretic,...
Lead, Follow or Get the F*&k Out of the Way
Entrepreneur-turned VC Mark Suster shares his leadership philosophy in a way that resonates, whether you're in the corner office or contemplating it. Do any of the 'types' described in this post work for...
C-Suite Essential
Technical competence decreases in importance in the C-suite, as social intelligence becomes essential, argues Daniel Goleman. The ability to motivate trumps specific knowledge for corporate leaders. Do you...
How to Fire a CEO
Penny Herscher, CEO of FirstRain, blogs about several recent CEO terminations and lessons learned. (Implicit within these suggestions are ideas for what to expect and how to respond should you be on the receiving...
CEO Help Wanted
Competition from start-ups and investment firms, poor recruitment and retention have combined to leave many large cap technology companies without obvious succession plans, say experts. Boards must do more to groom ...
Doofuses on YOUR Board?
Recent embarrassments at Yahoo and HP have once again shined the spotlight on governance best practices. Do your board member evaluate one another and themselves annually?
4 Steps Before Firing an Executive
When a senior executive has to go, following these 4 steps will make the separation process and what comes next smoother for all concerned. Know why it didn't work, inform the board, prepare for the conversation, ...
A Culture of Dissent
This Corner Office interview with David Sacks, CEO of Yammer, focuses on strategies for hiring, leadership, and mission-driven management. Worth the read!
Recession Continues for Small Firms
Tight credit, rising costs and still-slow growth have limited hiring on the part of small businesses, according to recent data. For the foreseeable, expect more of same, say many company owners. Is this what YOU a...
Lessons Learned from the Oracle(s)
This list of 10 keys to successful hiring comes from an individual who worked with the CEOs of Oracle, Siebel, Business Objects, salesforce.com, and MySQL. It is hard to argue with the results!
Super Nova of a Star Performer
This week tact trumped talent again, as Christian Dior (a unit of luxury purveyor LVMH) publicly parted company with its longtime superstar designer, John Galliano, after he was caught on tape making anti-semitic remarks in a Paris bar. Another ...
6 Tips to Become a Talent Magnet
How is it some leaders seem to attract superb talent over and over? No accident, says the author of this note summarizing research into the techniques that enable these execs to marshal the resources they need on...
Seeking the T-Shaped Executive
Michael Lebowitz, founder and CEO of Big Spaceship (a digital marketing firm), describes what and how he learned from bad leaders, his interviewing and hiring style (broad and deep like a T), and the culture he's...
Are You an Entrenched CEO?
2% of Fortune 500 CEOs are fired annually. Is this a lot or too few? New Wharton research quantifies the considerations facing boards that contemplate whether to retain or replace a flawed leader, including s...
