Most Clicked SmartBrief on Leadership Stories


1. 7 gestures that can sink any leader

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 29, 2009

More than half a person's impact comes from their body language, research shows. Subtle, nonverbal cues called "micro-expressions" can unintentionally send the wrong signals. In this slide show, Raquel Laneri reveals the seven body language mistakes that can derail even the most confident speakers. Forbes (06/23)


2. How to walk and talk like a leader

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 30, 2009

Some bosses just have the gift: the second they open their mouths, they command every eye in the room. But even if you weren't born with that kind of raw magnetism, you can still learn it, said communications expert Dianna Booher at the Society for Human Resource Management's annual conference. Blogger Jennifer McClure shares Booher's tips for walking and talking like a natural-born leader. Cincy Recruiter's World (06/30)


3. Jack Welch takes on HR

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 29, 2009

Getting the most out of your human resources department means getting them out of "the picnic, birthday card and insurance forms business," said former GE CEO Jack Welch at the Society for Human Resource Management's annual conference. Instead, HR departments should be retooled to focus on recruitment, retention and making sure the company's pay system rewards the right behaviors. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Workforce (06/28)


4. Jeff Immelt's CEO manifesto

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 30, 2009

What's it going to take to kick-start the economy? And what sort of responsibility do CEOs bear for getting us there? GE CEO Jeff Immelt has a five-pronged plan for business leaders looking for a way forward. Step one: ditch the service sector and start thinking about exports again. HarvardBusiness.org (06/29)


5. Should you join LinkedIn or Opus Dei?

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jun 29, 2009

Social media might be all the rage right now, but masonic lodges, service organizations and all the other old-school clubs are still better networking bets, according to The Economist. Such groups build stronger bonds and respond faster than tenuous online connections, traits that are only strengthened by new technology. Economist, The (06/25)


6. Now that we're halfway through 2009, when do you believe in your gut that GDP growth in the U.S. will be positive again?

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jul 01, 2009


7. The economics of bad decisions

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jul 01, 2009

Following the burst of the housing bubble, it became much harder for experts to argue that the economy was driven by rational behavior, writes Gary Stix. Now a new school of behavioral economists are looking to psychology and neurology for hints to explain how and why people make bad decisions. The results may lead to changes in financial regulations, Stix writes, refocusing the rules on helping the market avoid falling prey to irrational exuberance. Scientific American magazine (07/2009)


8. Aflac's Amos on managing risk

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jul 02, 2009

Aflac CEO Daniel P. Amos may have started out as a salesman, but he focused on risk management in business school and he says those lessons have served him well ever since. Managing risk can be about identifying a good gamble as much as about avoiding bad ones, he notes, like adopting the company's famous duck mascot. "The duck is a good example of being aggressive," he says. "To make fun of your name is something that's kind of scary, but I thought it might work. It was a hard decision, but I finally decided, 'no guts, no glory,' and we needed to try it." New York Times, The (06/27)


9. DuPont's CEO: "There is no playbook"

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jul 01, 2009

It's not enough to simply ride out the recession, DuPont CEO Ellen J. Kullman said at a recent conference. Business leaders need to use this time to figure out how they'll thrive down the road. The landscape will be different after the recovery, she argues, and many old, reliable strategies will no longer apply. Kullman offers four principles for discerning what aspects of a business will and won't work in the marketplace of tomorrow. Knowledge@Wharton (free registration) (06/24)


10. Why Amazon is gunning for Apple

SmartBrief on Leadership | Jul 01, 2009

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos held grand ambitions for his online book emporium ever since the site launched, and his plans have only grown bigger over time. The next step: taking on Apple -- and using Apple's famous innovation model to do it. Fast Company (07/2009)




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