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| Volume 7, Best of 2007 |
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In This Best of 2007 Issue:
 Iacocca’s nine Cs of leadership
When sales are stalled and profits flat
 The top 12 presentation mistakes
The nine most common hiring mistakes
7 Lessons from a bad manager
The seven fundamental management skills for leaders at all levels
 6 ways to kill your credit score
101 Dumbest moments in business
7 Net-worth killers
 How to get on a Board
Your brilliant second career
Steve Jobs' greatest presentation
 The great debates about 360 degree feedback
Top 10 toughest questions - asked and answered
 “I no longer want to work for money”
The kid who turned down $1 billion
 Tickling the keyboard: 10 spreadsheet tips
 Ten eating habits to avoid
10 Fashion trends you can't ignore
Nine super-nutritious foods
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Iacocca’s nine Cs of leadership
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points—not ten [I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses]. I call them the “Nine Cs of Leadership” - says an excerpt from former Chrysler Chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca’s Where Have
All the Leaders Gone? Enter, Robert Nardelli, who private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management named the new Chrysler’s CEO and one with numerous sobriquets, including “The Turnaround Specialist”, “The Hatchet Guy”, “Tough Job, Tough Guy”. The list
goes on...When asked by Fortune in April, what he would be doing if he were to be back as CEO of Chrysler, Iacocca, in his characteristic style, put it bluntly:
[Here’s Iacocca’s C-list, not only for Nardelli, but for all corporate leaders, as listed in his book...]
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When Sales Are Stalled and Profits Flat
Most entrepreneurial CEOs don’t have the economic safety net to tolerate slow market adoption of their new products.
When faced with a sluggish reception, marketing and sales teams typically suggest traditional solutions such as branding programs, reducing prices to gain faster adoption, spending more on marketing promotions, adding features to the
product or service or casting a wider net – tactics that further drain the company’s resources, yet provide no guarantees for success.
If this sounds familiar, the good news is that there is a proven, better way to get back on track with underperforming products and services. Instead of reducing prices (which cuts into margins) or investing more money in branding, marketing or additional
product development (which cuts into operating capital and delays introduction further), a quick analysis can reveal a clearer, and more rapid, road to success...
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The top 12 presentation mistakes
Mistake #1: Overlooking "Murphy"
If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.
This mistake basically means that you walk into the room where you're going to present and something is wrong. LeRoux tells a story about a multimillion-dollar sales
presentation to which "Murphy" paid a visit—in the form of missing curtains and a boardroom window overlooking a huge pool surrounded by bikini-clad swimmers (you can
guess what the attendees looked at instead of the presenter). Remedy: Visit important presentation rooms at least a day in advance. If that's not possible, have someone take
pictures from different angles and email them to you.
Mistake #2:...
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The nine most common hiring mistakes
Mistake 1:Relying only on interviews to evaluate a candidate.
A study conducted by the International Personnel Management Association in February 1999 analyzed how well job interviews accurately predict success on the job. The
surprising finding: The typical interview increases your chances of choosing the best candidate by less than two percent. Mistake 2: Using successful people as models...
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7 Lessons from a bad manager
Many people work for bosses who are horrible at what they do.
It is an enviable situation that is fairly common. When circumstances such as these arise, most dwell negatively on the situation while complaining about how terrible their plight is. Naturally, this does not yield productive results. Nonetheless, the individual seems to
take solace in the whining. A much better approach when confronted with this scenario is to attempt to learn all you can from the situation. The changing of jobs is so common in this era that 5 years is considered long term tenure. People facing this dilemma often only need to deal with it for a short period of time. Typically, either the manager or the employee
move on within a reasonable time frame. If an individual tries to gain all the knowledge possible from that person, he/she skills will grow. I encountered a working relationship similar to what others experience. My experience within the particular field was
9 years when a new manager was brought in. He was new to the industry. Knowing this, all the employees were willing to give him reasonable time to learn the trade.
Unfortunately for this individual and the company, his duration with the firm was short-lived. Working under him offered me an invaluable opportunity to witness a failed approach to management...
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The seven fundamental management skills for leaders at all levels
At the heart of creating value and long-term success for most organizations is the ability to design and develop a product or service to serve a targeted group of end users.
For purposes of this discussion, we will call those end users "consumers." In most cases, consumers are people like you and me who buy items for our personal use. An end user also might be another company that buys your product or service for its own final use or to use
in producing some other product to be on-sold. A "brand" represents a promise to consumers of what to expect from a product or service. Brand positioning is the process of establishing that promise in the minds of consumers. Through effective brand positioning
and related marketing actions, your product or service can become a recognized and valuable brand, known for delivering real benefits to consumers that are distinct and different from your competition. When brands deliver on their promise...
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6 ways to kill your credit score
A low score means higher rates. Here's how you may be doing yourself harm.
Lenders, insurers, landlords and others will charge you more or flat-out reject you if you show up with a low FICO score. Here's how you may be doing yourself harm...
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101 Dumbest Moments in Business
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The year's biggest boors, buffoons, and blunderers. Business 2.0 Magazine's 7th annual look at the year in bungled layoffs, customer-service snafus, executive follies, and other madness. See all 101.
1. Wal-Mart
Because if there's anything America loves, it's a politician...
In an attempt to put a smiley face on its tarnished image, Wal-Mart hires heavy-hitting public relations firm Edelman, which sets about using tactics derived from political races to reverse public perceptions of the giant retailer.
Dubbing its campaign "Candidate Wal-Mart," the firm trumpets all manner of new Wal-Mart initiatives: improved employee health-care benefits, higher starting pay levels, new stores in downtrodden neighborhoods, reasonably priced organic foods, and a flat $4 fee for hundreds of generic prescription drugs.
As a result, candidate Wal-Mart quickly becomes, well, the most popular politician since Spiro Agnew. By year's end Wal-Mart suffers its first quarterly profit drop in a decade, sees same-store sales decline in November's run-up to the crucial holiday shopping season, and suffers a series of public relations gaffes so stunning that it lands six spots in this year's edition of the 101 Dumbest Moments...
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7 Net-worth killers
Saving and spending aren't the only factors affecting your net worth. How you manage (or don't manage) your assets and liabilities can make a big difference, too.
...
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How to get on a Board
It's neither as simple nor as difficult as people may think. Following this practical advice can increase your chances of being able to serve on a board.
There are three popular myths about getting on a board:
Myth No. 1: Because of the shortage of directors willing to serve, it's easy to get on a board today.
Reality: Most active chief executive officers now limit their outside board seats to one, and even retired executives seldom serve on more than three or four. Directors are being more selective about the board invitations they accept, and some highly qualified execs refuse to consider serving at all. Board invitations are, indeed, rolling in for experienced directors. But landing your first board seat is...
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Your brilliant second career
Your work experience makes you a valuable commodity. Figure out how you want to parlay it into a new career for yourself.
have always wondered how a kid in his second year of college is supposed to pick a major and then, a couple of years later, dive into a career. At that stage in life,
most folks know almost nothing about the range of careers that are available and have so little life experience. It's no wonder that, in survey after survey, midcareer
professionals report that they "fell into" their areas of specialization. Few, if any, of us, after all, have childhood dreams of becoming a procurement manager, a process
engineer, or a human resources information systems analyst. And yet, here we are. What's exciting these days is that, with average job tenures getting shorter and
shorter and big-company lifetime jobs already a thing of the past, more and more midcareer professionals are finding job happiness in Chapter Two careers—sometimes in
radically different areas from the gigs they've held for the first 15 or 20 years out of college. Still, sitting in your cubicle at XYZ Corp., it can be hard to imagine
yourself taking the necessary steps onto a wildly different career path. Here are some ideas for getting started...
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Steve Jobs' greatest presentation
Our communications coach mines Jobs' introduction of the iPhone to offer five lessons for making an unforgettable pitch.
After a gorgeous afternoon of golf a few days ago, my nephew seemed anxious to get home, even skipping out on my invitation to dinner. He's a graduating high school
senior, so I assumed he wanted to hang out with friends. I was partly correct. He wanted to hang out with friends in line for the new iPhone.
Leave it to Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs to create a frenzy that gripped every gadget fan in the country. The hype, however, started with what I consider Jobs' best presentation to
date—the introduction of the iPhone at the annual Macworld trade show in January. After watching and analyzing the presentation, I thought about five ways to distill Jobs'
speaking techniques to help anyone craft and deliver a persuasive pitch...
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The Great debates about 360 degree feedback
Each of us wants to know how we’re doing at work.
We especially want data from our supervisor that tells us that we are doing well. We have a great need to know how others view our work but we want the information in a kind and
gentle fashion. When learning how to provide effective feedback, managers discover how to give meaningful feedback in a way that ensures the employee shares meaning,
my favorite definition for communication...
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Top 10 toughest questions - asked and answered
Regular emails from readers ask hundreds of questions each year. Patterns emerge about the toughest situations you face in your organizations.
These are the ten toughest, but most frequent, questions you send my way.
I’ve written a how-to piece to answer each question you’ve asked. These articles address and answer your toughest questions.
1. How to Deal With a Negative Coworker: Negativity Matters
Some people exude negativity. They don’t like their jobs or they don’t like ...
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“I no longer want to work for money”
From a letter sent November 2 by Whole Foods Markets CEO John Mackey to his employees. On the same day, the grocery chain warned that sales growth would slow in the year ahead. Its stock dropped 23% on the news:
"To all team members, I want to announce a couple of significant changes regarding compensation at Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFMI). First, as you know, we have a salary-cap policy, which limits the total cash compensation that can be paid to any team member...
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The Kid Who Turned Down $1 Billion
When Mark Zuckerberg showed up in Palo Alto three years ago, he had no car, no house, and no job. Today, he's at the helm of a smokin'-hot social-networking site.
Here's why this 22-year-old CEO spurned Yahoo and Viacom to go it alone...
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Tickling the keyboard: 10 spreadsheet tips
Basic shortcuts to smooth the use of Excel. It may not be one of the seven wonders of the digital world, but for CFOs, nothing compares with Microsoft’s Excel for performing calculations, tracking a variety of business items, and making forecasts of what the future might hold in store.
The problem is that the program is so complicated that few busy finance chiefs can ever use more than a handful of Excel’s many capabilities. When things get complicated, it may be most helpful to start simply—and when it comes to computing, you can't get much simpler
than the keyboard. Following are 10 essential keyboard shortcuts that have the power to streamline how to use Excel. While the focus is on using Excel 2003, most of the shortcuts apply to older and newer versions as well. One thing is for certain: the bigger the
spreadsheet, the more time the shortcuts can save...
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Ten eating habits to avoid
You've probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But did you know it also tends to be our most habitual?
Many eat breakfast--typically a heavily time-constrained meal--in the same place every day, and as a result, make the same kinds of nutritional choices.
For some, that's a bowl of cereal and fruit, while for others, it's a glazed doughnut.
In moderation, doughnuts are fine. Everyday? Not so much. But bad habits like this are hard to break. Whether you started eating poorly because of your hectic schedule, as a way to deal with stress or if you grew up on fast food, the
impulse becomes ingrained over time. Changing these behavioral patterns also takes time, as well as motivation and patience, says Jenny Lindsey, a registered
dietitian at Virginia Tech...
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10 Fashion Trends You Can't Ignore
David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a fashion-forecasting firm in New York City, is like a typical 20-something.
He spends his time listening to the latest indie bands, hanging out with hipsters in the park, watching countless hours of MTV and browsing trendy boutiques, trying to spot the next fashion trend.
But one thing sets Wolfe apart from his peers: He is almost 70 years old.
"Just because I am well past retirement age doesn't mean I can't see a trend," muses Wolfe. "I've been doing this since the '60s. I can spot a trend before you can say 'Wow, that's cool!'"
As one of the nation's leading fashion forecasters, Wolfe advises companies like Liz Claiborne Inc. on what executives, designers and creative directors should be paying attention to in fashion. The big trends he is predicting for 2008:...
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Nine Super-Nutritious Foods
You're in the grocery store shopping for a carton of orange juice for tomorrow's breakfast and you're faced with a decision--plain old juice or, for no extra cost, one fortified with bone-building calcium.
You're not alone. Promising better bang for the buck, products like these, called functional foods, are increasingly filling grocery store aisles--and our fridges. But
do we really need them? "There's a finite volume in the stomach and everybody is vying for that volume," says Fergus Clydesdale, distinguished professor and department head
at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. "One way to try to get a part of the share of that volume is to offer something that has some health benefit."...
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