Some view it as a scandal that the CEO of J.P. Morgan “knew” about the risky trades long ago. Or that the Bush administration knew “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S..” Or that the average cell phone customer can know when they’re roaming, and yet still be surprised by the data charges from vacation, […]

I believe in diversity of opinion. It makes the world great. It brings us Elvis Presley and Jascha Heifetz. It also puts pineapple on pizzas. The lesson...

HBR.org blogger Peter Bregman recently made some excellent points about the downside of multitasking — as did Matt Richtel in his New York Times article on Monday. I will not deny that single-minded devotion often produces high quality. Nor will I attempt to join the misguided (and scientifically discredited) many who say, “Yeah, other people […]

The New York Times just ran an article about the evils of PowerPoint. What strikes me about the piece is the reporter’s apparent lack of PowerPoint experience. She expresses incredulity that generals spend their time reviewing slide decks that were slaved over for days by junior officers. Perhaps Elisabeth Bumiller has been fortunate enough to […]

This is part of a series of stories from CEOs about the most life-changing events in their careers. Sometimes the result was promotion to the upper reaches of business, and sometimes a steep fall from grace. But good or bad, these events represent defining moments in their lives and character and serve as lessons to […]

This is the first in a series of stories from CEOs of their most life-changing events in their careers. Sometimes the result was promotion to the upper reaches of business, and sometimes a steep fall from grace. But good or bad, these events represent defining moments in their lives and characters and serve as lessons […]

One of the challenges of corporate writing is the endless rounds of editing. No document of import can be published without a wide range of “stakeholders” taking those cudgels in their mitts and running them through the text. Every one of their comments is well intentioned, and invariably come from concerns where they have personally […]

Apparently, my post on the “lunch lesson” rubbed some people the wrong way. When I opined that I found that leadership = responsibility = not always getting to eat lunch, this was, for some, the most heinous concept short of universal healthcare for illegal aliens. The comments that disagreed with me fell into a few […]

When I was little, I heard about “executives.” “Executives at Mega Corp have denied rumors of misdeeds.” “Executives at Giganta Corp could not be reached for comment.” “Executives at Humongo Corp have promised double digit growth despite concerns about recent developments.” The mystery around exactly what an executive did intrigued me, and I wondered if […]

There are two of me. There’s the me who gets up, changes my son’s diaper and puts on my 17-year-old shoes that I know need to be replaced at some point but can’t seem to get around to replacing. And then there’s the me who lives in Los Angeles and gets my email. And I […]