The 3 words that guide Prudential’s CEO

  • July 23, 2015

As CEO of Prudential Group Insurance, Lori Fouche is one of the most powerful women in business. The 47-year-old credits her success in part to her ability to describe...

He made history with a two-liter bottle

  • June 15, 2015

In 1970, John Sculley was a newly hired marketing executive at Pepsi. His first assignment: to develop a distinctive glass bottle to compete against Coke’s...

Bill Gates’ obstinacy built Microsoft

  • June 12, 2015

Today, many people see Bill Gates as a globetrotting humanitarian. But in the 1980s, he was a headstrong entrepreneur. An incident involving company co-founder Paul...

Surviving ‘hell’ to become a Navy SEAL

  • May 21, 2015

Eric Greitens became a Navy SEAL by becoming a leader. He figured the best way to start Hell Week would be to pull together a team of seven and keep them together, using...

A new CEO asked just 4 questions

  • April 27, 2015

Within a week of Kevin Johnson becoming CEO of Juniper Networks in 2008, he met with all his direct reports in a group. He told them he wanted to listen and learn, so he...

How her honesty spun Zipcar back around

  • April 23, 2015

In 2000, Robin Chase founded Zipcar. The car-sharing service was an instant hit; within three months, the firm had 400 members. Chase was about to secure new funding to...

Bruce Lee: Balance thinking and doing

  • January 21, 2015

Bruce Lee died in 1973 at age 32. In his short life, he thrived as an action film star, martial artist, screenwriter, movie director and ­philosopher. To operate...

‘A leader leads, a boss drives’

  • December 24, 2014

"Credit belongs to he who is in the arena," Theodore Roosevelt said, "his face marred by dust, sweat, and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs to come short and ...

How to draw the line between boss and friend

  • December 17, 2014

The best managers walk a fine line by earning the respect of their team without going overboard and befriending everyone. Here’s how you can strike the proper...

Steve Jobs’ leadership secrets

  • December 10, 2014

The essence of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, according to his biographer, is that his personality was integral to his way of doing business. For one thing, he acted as...

Push decision-making to the front lines

  • November 17, 2014

Many leaders urge employees to take responsibility and make smart decisions. But some leaders interfere by insisting on signing off on those decisions. By delegating...

Sealing deals with a handshake and a taco

  • September 24, 2014

After more than two years of testing a Doritos-flavored taco shell, Taco Bell still had not signed a contract to partner with the company that made Doritos. So as the...

Pepsi CEO’s emphasis on ethics pays off

  • August 25, 2014

Steve Reinemund, Pepsi’s former CEO, recalls an incident in which his counterpart at Coca-Cola called out of the blue. Coke’s CEO thanked Reinemund for his...

Culture is the key differentiator

  • August 13, 2014

"We’re in an industry with 115% annual turnover," says Brian Fielkow, president and CEO of Jetco Delivery. "Our raw number is about one-third of that." How does he...