Most Clicked SmartBrief on Leadership Stories
1. CEO disgrace on parade
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 08, 2008
The public image of the CEO plunged this week with the testimony the U.S. House drubbed out of Wall Street execs, particularly those from the insurer AIG. Just last week, after an $85 billion federal bailout, the company rewarded 70 of its own with a $440,000 spa trip. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal wonders if Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld was too obsessed with short sellers and paranoid about Goldman Sachs to run his company. Here's a three-minute recap of his testimony. Washington Post, The (10/08) Wall Street Journal (free content), The (10/07)
2. Of innovators and idiots, by Warren Buffett
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 13, 2008
Weren't we all better off before Wall Street got creative with subprime mortgages? Don't blame the innovators, says Warren Buffett. He sees a natural progression from good idea to rampant idiocy. "People don't get smarter about things that get as basic as greed," he says. HarvardBusiness.org (10/09)
3. Why there's more to fear than fear itself
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 09, 2008
The global financial crisis can't be blamed solely on the madness of the crowds, says New Yorker writer Steve Coll. People are panicking because they've been left in the dark, he says. "In many ways investors are reacting rationally to the fact that critical information about the financial markets ... is simply not available." New Yorker, The (10/08)
4. How great leaders call the right shots
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 09, 2008
Good judgment doesn't just happen, says Noel Tichy, a business professor at the University of Michigan. "When we looked at leaders that make big decisions ... it's not a blink, it's a process," he says. "You own it from beginning to end." Interviews with GE chief executive Jeffrey Immelt, P&G chief A.G. Lafley and others helped him identify the stages of that process: sensing a need, getting it "framed and named," mobilizing others, making a judgment and seeing the execution through. Wall Street Journal (free content), The (10/06)
5. Why 80% of IT projects fail
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 10, 2008
The promise of a new IT project that will solve a company's every problem can overwhelm an executive's judgment. David Elton, an IT-systems consultant, says a whopping 80% of IT projects fail, in part, because leaders are too dazzled by the technology to see the project for what it is. "If you start with an IT project you'll get a lump of IT," Elton says. "If you start with a business project and an outcome you're looking for you're more likely to achieve that." Financial Times (10/07)
6. Stupid iPhone tricks
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 14, 2008
The number of applications you can buy for your iPhone has grown exponentially and, as you can see in this slide show, some are wanton displays of silliness. Like the digital "milk" you can "pour" into your phone and pretend to drink. Or the voodoo doll, with virtual pins included. BusinessWeek (10/01)
7. Which of the following alternative energy sources do you think holds the most potential to offset our dependence on fossil fuels?
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 08, 2008
8. Monkey works as man, and vice versa
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 08, 2008
In Japan, monkeys are moving into the work place, at least at this restaurant that employs monkey waiters who work for snacks as tips. If watching this video has you worried the board is going to replace you with a trained monkey, consider moving to India. The Lucknow train station hires a man to work as a monkey to keep pest monkeys at bay. He's spot-on with the mannerisms. BBC (10/06)
9. Paste-eaters at the ballot box
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 09, 2008
Daily Show correspondent Jon Oliver analyzes a crucial demographic in this election: the stupid vote. Comedy Central (10/07)
10. A solar startup with a game-changing shape
SmartBrief on Leadership | Oct 08, 2008
A California company called Solyndra has burst onto the lively solar-energy scene with $600 million in capital, 500 employees and $1.2 billion in orders. Its product is a roof-top solar module shaped like a cylinder. "We can cover twice as much roofspace as conventional solar panels and they can be installed in one-third the time," says CEO Chris Gronet. CNNmoney.com/Fortune (10/07)
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