HR
How do you view HR’s role as an employee advocate?
SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll...
Leadership
HR
Why CEOs need a new breed of HR leader
A decade ago, the skill set of the HR leader was defined by the classic 80/20 rule: 80% HR administration, 20% business. Today, this...
Productivity
Connection vs. productivity
Online tools that let users know when there is activity on social networks or e-mail can hamper productivity, Darrell Etherington write, citing a study...
Productivity
How to jumpstart your productivity
This post is adapted from “More Time for You: A Powerful System to Organize Your Work and Get Things Done” by Rosemary Tator and...
Productivity
How to boost your productivity
This guest post is by Shannon Suetos, who writes about purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs at Resource Nation. We...
Productivity
Finding productivity in daydreams
Want to be more productive? Daydream. When I was 6 years old, I remember my grandmother saying I was going to be a philosopher...
Careers
5 evidence-based tips to mental toughness
Entrepreneurs, leaders, and business owners need to be game-ready to meet those challenges with their best mental game.
Strategy
Coaching by flash card: A way to keep things simple and specific
Flash cards can serve as your prompt to think through a problem, as well as to take action in a deliberate manner.
Management
ZoomInfo CEO: Long-distance leadership brings surprising insights
Five years ago, for quality-of-life and cultural reasons, I returned with my wife and our three daughters to my native Israel while still continuing...
Leadership
TEDx secrets to success for every speaker
There’s something extraordinary about TED. This nonprofit foundation has touched millions around the world with inspirational talks, spreading ideas that invite listeners to see...
Management
2 things organizations must do to win the war for talent
Is your organization a great place to work? To know for sure, you’d need information like the percentage of employees that are highly engaged...
Leadership
What’s eating your lunch? A tale of strategy and culture
This is the second in a series of articles by Alaina Love that examine the evolution in leaderships thinking necessary for success in the...
Communication
2 powerful words
“What helps people, helps business.” —Leo Burnett Last week, I got a much-needed haircut. I went to see Rodger, who has been cutting my...
Management
The genuine faker
Imagine having your team go from five people to 80 in an instant. That’s what happened to Mike Calihan, a senior executive with Aldridge...
Management
The Cs of change
The ability to see a bold future, build a compelling vision and define a strategy to achieve it is core to leadership. Making that...
Management
Engagement plan not working? Here are 5 ways to fix it
An employee-engagement plan isn’t something you can create once and follow, to the letter, forever. As business goals and employee demographics change, engagement initiatives...
Communication
Slowing down to speed up: Leadership communication in a crisis
When Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans, Rod West had to tell the truth and tell it fast. As Entergy’s operational executive he was on...
Leadership
Q&A with Cox Communications’ Mark Greatrex
Mark Greatrex is the executive vice president, chief marketing and sales officer at Cox Communications. Greatrex’s impressive career includes more than 25 years...
Leadership
What experience have you had with being “layered” at work?
SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 210,000 business leaders. We run the poll...
Inspiration
The No. 1 skill for leading up, down and across
There is one thing, one talent that matters more than all of the training, titles and corner offices combined could lend to your ability...
Strategy
How to rewire your brain for better business acumen without adding to your schedule
We make countless decisions every day. We probably feel as though we generally make those decisions completely rationally. However, that is most likely not...
HR
13 entrepreneurs on how they streamline HR
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship...
Careers
5 bulletproof confidence strategies from a former FBI agent
As an FBI agent making an arrest, success wasn’t an option — it was an absolute necessity if I wanted to stay alive. I...
Leadership
Q&A: AWEA’s Kiernan on the findings of annual wind energy report
American Wind Energy Association today released its US Wind Industry Annual Market Report 2015. AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan sat down with SmartBrief to discuss...
Management
4 questions all leaders should ask before using a personality assessment with their team
Amy*, a senior vice president in charge of marketing, comes to me with a request: She wants to provide professional development to her staff...
Strategy
Don’t fall in love, it’s bad for business
I could feel it; my hands were sweaty, my heart rate elevated. I was nervous and excited in the same breath. This could be...
Communication
How effective communication can improve your team’s health
Internal communication has a lot in common with healthy living. Everybody knows the benefits, but people still disregard their importance. Suppose a company announces...
Communication
Lessons from a pancake house
I love eating breakfast at The Original Pancake House down the street from my house. It has great food and great service. I feel...
Communication
Consensus is not a dirty word
Each month, When Growth Stalls examines why businesses and brands struggle and how they can overcome their obstacles and resume growth. Steve McKee is...
Leadership
Have you ever faced a major ethical dilemma at work?
SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 210,000 business leaders. We run the poll...
Communication
Do you foster a culture of encouragement?
I recently had the opportunity to watch one of my favorite college basketball teams win their quarterfinal contest in the NIT. What was so...
Small Business
How to make your company an irreplaceable partner in 3 steps
Many companies think they’re building relationships with clients, but until they sink multiple hooks into an organization, the relationship is volatile. The deeper the...
Communication
From communication mistakes to communication mastery
Even though communication is often referred to as “soft skills” a more appropriate term is critical skills. If you look at any workplace issue,...
Inspiration
Know your why
How can we better identify and express our why and motivate those around us to believe in what we believe and perform to their potential? Begin by answering these basic questions:
Communication
The one thing you must do to be successful when you speak
When you want your message to be heard, making it relevant is the key to getting your listeners’ attention. That’s because the on-demand world...
Careers
Why STEM leaders need emotional intelligence training
When I entered the workforce as a part of “the tech industry,” most people could do their jobs (even in tech) without using a...
Leadership
What’s the most important element of a great leadership conference?
SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 210,000 business leaders. We run the poll...
Careers
How to think like a “next decade” leader
My mother was an elegant woman who never went out in public without looking very pulled together. Her hair was always well-coiffed, her clothes...
Strategy
Skills necessary to compete in rapidly evolving markets
Jeffrey Phillips and Alex Verjovsky are the authors of the new book, “OUTMANEUVER: OutThink, Don’t OutSpend” (March 2016). Phillips leads OVO Innovation, an innovation...
Leadership
Big shoes to fill: How to prepare someone to follow a great leader
When a company is ready to pass the torch, tapping someone on the shoulder and expecting him or her to step up is a...
Management
How to help remote teams feel more engaged and happy
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship...
Inspiration
Basic human values that empower high-performance workplaces
Although business leaders try to boost performance by enforcing rules, their efforts lead, ironically, to disengagement and apathy, and an estimated 70% of employees in the...