 | |
- Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos named world's top CEOs
The late Steve Jobs was the world's top-performing CEO, closely followed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, according to an analysis by Insead researchers. Former Samsung CEO Yun Jong-Yong, Vale ex-CEO Roger Agnelli and Gilead Sciences chief John C. Martin round out the top five. "These CEOs have shown the way, and others can learn from them," the researchers write. Harvard Business Review
(1/2013)      
- What should your New Year's resolutions be?
It's a good time to try to become a better boss, but where should you start? The Wall Street Journal's panel of experts recommends taking professional development seriously, learning how to influence those around you and getting serious about organizing your to-do list. "If all you do is make lists of the projects you need to finish, odds are good that they will remain unfinished far longer than you'd like," writes Heidi Grant Halvorson. The Wall Street Journal
(1/2)
- Retailers say "return fraud" costs them billions
Retailers are getting ready for a rush of post-holiday product returns, with nearly 1 in 20 expected to be fraudulent. Such returns, in which customers return used or stolen items or produce counterfeit receipts -- is estimated to cost retailers $8.9 billion in 2012, with almost 30% of fraud occurring during the holiday season. Bloomberg Businessweek
(12/30)
| Innovation and Creativity |
|
- Innovations to remember from 2012
The past year was a good one for innovations and technological breakthroughs, writes John Blau. Whether it is NASA's Mars rover, the discovery of the Higgs boson, Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking skydive or James Cameron's descent into the Mariana Trench, Blau writes, people will be talking about 2012's technological breakthroughs for years to come. Deutsche Welle (Germany)
(12/28)
- How VCs hope to find the next big thing
Venture capitalists are hoping finding the next generation of world-changing entrepreneurs, writes Michael Gaiss. Some candidates with potential include General Catalyst's University Hacker Olympics and First Round Capital's Dorm Room Fund, in which the money men are reaching out to students and other young visionaries. CNNMoney/Fortune/From The Crowd blog
(12/31)
-
Do you expect your people to come back rested and ready to go after the holidays?
|
They'll be about the same as before holiday break |
45.15%
|
|
They'll be suffering from post-holiday doldrums and exhaustion |
32.78%
|
|
They're going to be hard-charging as soon as they come back |
22.07%
|
-
Get them excited: Many of you have team members who will need a boost when they get back from the holidays. Your task as a leader is to first ensure you're excited about the new year ahead, then to figure out how to get folks out of the dumps quickly so they can start being productive. Try giving them new challenges, new and exciting projects, or setting goals for them that advance their interests and careers. If there's something clearly in it for them, it can help snap them out of that post-holiday fog. -- Mike Figliuolo is managing director of ThoughtLeaders and author of "One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership."
Discuss the results.
-
What is the greatest leadership challenge you face this year?
 | Helping our business recover and thrive in a challenging economy |
| Retaining the members of my team and helping them develop further |
| Building my skills as a leader |
| Dealing with new regulations, taxes and economic uncertainty |
| Growing our high-performing business and maintaining performance |
- Where Nokia went wrong
Nokia has been eclipsed by Apple and Samsung, and it only has itself to blame, industry analysts say. The company foresaw the rise of smartphones but lacked the decisive leadership needed to move beyond lucrative feature phones and implement a future-proof business strategy. "Nokia repeatedly saw the future and adopted a strategy to seize the opportunity but failed to execute," says analyst Ian Fogg. TechCrunch
(12/31)
| Engage. Innovate. Discuss. |
|
- How Navy SEALs would have rescued Han Solo
America's special forces would have been able to quickly resolve many classic Hollywood plots, including Han Solo's capture in "Return of the Jedi" and the zombie shopping-mall siege in "Dawn of the Dead," says Navy SEAL Don Mann. The SEALs' no-nonsense tactics -- zipping down lines dangling from helicopters, shooting everyone, grabbing their target and leaving -- might not have made for great viewing, but they'd have been more effective than the movie characters' bumbling efforts, Mann says. Wired.com/Underwire blog
(12/31)
 | Success requires more than simply showing up early and staying late."
--Cal Newport, professor of computer science at Georgetown University, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal
|
|
|
SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers.
All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today!
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
Recent SmartBrief on Leadership Issues:
- Monday, December 31, 2012
- Friday, December 28, 2012
- Thursday, December 27, 2012
- Wednesday, December 26, 2012
- Monday, December 24, 2012
| | | Lead Editor: James daSilva
Contributing Editor: Ben Whitford
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | |
| |
|
| © 1999-2013 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
