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Most Clicked SmartBrief on Leadership Stories


1. How Steve Jobs turned corporate America upside down

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 06, 2009

Steve Jobs, Apple's mercurial CEO, came back from career oblivion -- and survived two brushes with death -- to turn the business world on its head, writes Adam Lashinsky. Jobs has transformed the music, mobile-phone and movie businesses, while continuing to push the limits of his original industry, computing. CNNMoney.com/Fortune (11/05)


2. Taking the mystery out of leadership

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 03, 2009

Clear communication is important in any leadership role, says Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, otherwise followers start trying to guess what the boss is thinking. Whether she's hosting ice cream socials in Harvard Yard or holding online Q-and-A sessions with alumni around the world, Faust says she's always trying to make sure that Harvard's different constituencies feel valued and included in the management process. New York Times, The (10/31)


3. Great service begins with trust, says Ritz-Carlton chief

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 02, 2009

Ritz-Carlton President Simon F. Cooper says the key to his company's success is training the staff well, then trusting them to do their jobs. Every employee at Cooper's hotel chain can spend up to $2,000 to improve any guest's stay without seeking managerial approval - whether it's used on champagne for a guest's birthday or on carpentry costs to make a beach wheelchair accessible. "It doesn't get used much, but it displays a deep trust in our staff's judgment," Cooper says. Forbes (10/30)


4. Why Amazon and Wal-Mart went to war

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 05, 2009

Price wars normally hurt all the retailers involved, driving prices and profits lower across entire industries, but Amazon and Wal-Mart's decision to go to war over online book prices is different, writes James Surowiecki. The two companies are fighting over a limited list of best-sellers that they can afford to sell cheaply, he notes, with the aim of poaching customers not from one another, but from other book retailers. "Wal-Mart and Amazon have figured out how to fight a price war and win: make sure someone else takes the blows," Surowiecki notes. New Yorker, The (11/09)


5. Could America default on its debts?

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 04, 2009

It's far from likely that America would stiff her creditors -- but it's no longer altogether unthinkable, writes Robert J. Samuelson. If lenders lose confidence in U.S. bonds, Washington might have to choose between deep spending cuts, major tax increases or defaulting on her outstanding debts -- and simply going broke might be the most attractive of the three options. "The odds may be against ... that fate, but even the remote possibility underlines the precariousness and the novelty of the present situation," Samuelson notes. Washington Post, The (11/02)


6. Mission statements don't have to be dumb

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 05, 2009

Most mission statements are the corporate equivalent of Hallmark cards, writes Nancy Lublin -- warm, cuddly sentiments that don't mean much. Companies would be better off using their mission statements to set clear, tangible and specific goals. "Employees, vendors, and clients don't get stoked by fuzzy mission statements," Lublin writes. "They will line up behind concrete goals." Fast Company (11/2009)


7. Fast-food giant aims for cultural overhaul

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 06, 2009

Yum! Brands, owner of fast-food chains KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is planning the "biggest culture-change initiative in the world today," says CEO Dave Novak. The company hopes to train all 1.4 million of its employees in the precepts of management expert John O'Keeffe, a former Procter & Gamble executive, in a bid to create a culture of innovation and cross-pollination between its global divisions. Economist, The (10/29)


8. Your biggest business battle is with yourself

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 06, 2009

Business leaders are faced with a constant stream of internal battles, writes Terry Starbucker -- and they have to win every single time if they're going to reach their true potential. It's by overcoming our own private doubts and weaknesses that we can lead others to greatness, he writes. TerryStarbucker.com (11/01)


9. What do you think the results of yesterday's election mean for the future of White House policy and pending federal legislation?

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 04, 2009


10. Man turns up alive at his own funeral

SmartBrief on Leadership | Nov 06, 2009

A Brazilian bricklayer stunned friends and family by wandering into his own funeral. The man had been on an all-night drinking spree when relatives mistakenly identified the body of a disfigured car-crash victim as belonging to him. "An aunt and four of his friends identified the body, so what were we to do? We went ahead with the funeral," said the man's niece. CBS News (11/04)




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