I just had the opportunity to view an advance screening of the award-winning documentary Buck, which focuses on the empowering work of the American horseman Buck Brannaman. The movie offers a rare window into Buck’s leadership in the field of natural horsemanship, which is a respectful approach to horses rather than trying to “break” the [...]

Last week, Inc Magazine published an interesting article about maximizing your business results from offering free samples. The article not only covered basic concepts such as understanding who you’re targeting and what you want them to experience, but also how to track results through encouraging feedback on social media or offering specific promotion codes for free [...]

In eastern China, farmers have witnessed crops of watermelons exploding, and a number of people are blaming a chemical designed to promote crop growth. For example, one farmer watched helplessly as more than 180 watermelons exploded the day after he used the chemical on them. Other farmers denied using the chemical, but China Central Television aired [...]

Quite a few technology bloggers have been expressing puzzlement or even mockery toward Microsoft after it announced plans to acquire Skype for $8.5 billion. Critics have pointed out that Microsoft already has a voice and video chat platform, while Skype as a company isn’t even profitable (see Why Skype?) Another critic pointed out that the Skype investors [...]

A classic textbook on Organizational Communication identifies a top theory of decision-making as the “garbage can model” because people at meetings are simply throwing out ideas and tossing them around, until a decision finally emerges. There’s rarely any kind of systematic process involved before a decision is finally made.

So kudos to Cisco for recently eliminating several layers [...]

I’m not qualified to comment on the political ramifications or ethical issues surrounding the successful targeting of Osama bin Laden, but I’d like to point out some leadership lessons from the event.

1. President Obama is being credited for taking a big risk in approving a dangerous mission, but in taking that risk, he worked with the military [...]

TerraCycle was recently featured in the New York Times after new revenue streams not only made the company profitable, but brought in $13.5 million in sales in 14 countries. The eco-friendly company initially reduced landfill waste by feeding organic garbage to worms, which ultimately proved unprofitable. However, the company took a quantum leap forward when it started [...]

Last week, I stumbled across a TV show on ABC called The Shark Tank. Since then, I’ve learned that it’s already run for a couple seasons. The show gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to five successful venture capitalists. 

I think the show offers excellent lessons for any business leader about the types of questions that [...]

Anyone with an MBA has likely completed courses in business ethics. They understand that following all ethical rules and guidelines won’t just keep you out of jail; it’s just good business. People tend to do business with people they like, and people are much more likely to enjoy your company when they know you’re an [...]

I recently had the opportunity to contribute to an American Medical News article called, ”How to avoid being burned by staff burnout.” One topic that the reporter and I discussed was the irony of situations where physicians are so focused on the people coming in the door that they forget to focus on the workers behind the [...]