Management Practices

Weed out requests with a 'twitpitch'

Executives are now asking people who want something from them—from job candidates to vendors and suppliers seeking business—to summarize their pitch in the form of a tweet, or “twitpitch.” There are many ways you can apply this technique.

Calling the shots with some chutzpah

Typically, a CEO who seeks to impress an important client will defer to the client’s wishes. But Linda Kaplan Thaler isn’t a typical CEO. As chief executive of a big New York advertising agency, she recalls a 2001 meeting with Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp.

Ford runs on hard data, not soft hunches

Many CEOs favor fact-based leadership. Rather than rely on their impressions or gut instinct, they tend to scrutinize facts and make decisions rooted in hard data. Alan Mulally, Ford Motor’s 67-year-old CEO, has stood out among leaders of American auto companies for his intense focus on numbers.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 313

Hire people smarter than you are ... Get over yourself, like Neil Armstrong did ... Retire somewhere that won't drain your nest egg.


Gentle on the earth: Big on the profits

Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, aptly described as “one of America’s great weird brands,” made its U.S. debut in the late 1940s. Emanuel Bronner liked to talk about “constructive capitalism,” which he de­­scribed as sharing profits with workers and going gentle on the earth. His heirs codified this concept.

Crocs takes the right steps

Crocs, a global apparel and accessories company that began as a shoemaker, has grown quickly in recent years. Why? "We’ve be­­come an $850 million global business by putting our customers first," says John McCarvel, president and chief executive.

Leadership Tips: Vol. 1012

Billy King, general manager of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, thought it was pretty cool the first time minority owner and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z emailed him. Even cooler: Asked what Jay-Z typically wants to know, King says, “How he can help.”

ING chief uses Twitter to forge brand

Peter Aceto, CEO of ING Direct Canada, has plunged into the world of social media. He uses Twitter to forge relationships with consumers and build the ING brand. Follow his lead in doing social media:

Leadership lessons behind the plate

Leaders don’t need to be flamboyant. In fact, sometimes they can seem invisible. Take umpires ...

Save me from the boring details, CEO says

The worst thing you can say to a CEO is "You'd better read this" and hand over a big, thick document. I expect you to summarize it for me and highlight what's most important. I'm paid to make hard decisions; I need my managers to crystallize those decisions for me and give me a bal­anced, well-reasoned interpretation.

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