Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 25, 2009, 11:52 am
Every time a Facebook or Twitter CEO burps, the question of an IPO seems to emerge. Some long for the days when "concept IPOs" raised $100 million and investors got rich and poor in the same tax year....
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 24, 2009, 2:21 pm
If your career or business is untouched by significant legal matters, then you probably don't have much of a career or business. We are a nation of laws, and any senior executive or business leade...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 23, 2009, 12:40 pm
It happens every year: Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Christmas - 6 weeks and nothing gets done. If you're resigned to lost productivity during the holidays, may as well hand market share to your ...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 20, 2009, 6:15 pm
Early in my career I had a boss from hell. Sure, I've had lots of dysfunctional bosses - I was one myself. But this guy was different. I'm talking serious lunatic stuff here. Still, tragedy an...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 19, 2009, 5:47 pm
Everybody hits snags in their career. You think you're on the right path, something changes, and suddenly your plan is drailed. Unfortunately, accomplished professionals often lack objectivity whe...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 19, 2009, 11:33 am
In 1998, tax income from the unprecedented bull market run of the 90s resulted in the first balanced budget in 30 years. While I don't advocate bubble and bust-fueled economic cycles, economic exp...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 18, 2009, 7:15 pm
On November 9, the CEO of Innovation Partners, a $200 million U.K. insurance software company, was unexpectedly fired by his board, who also announced they’d retained an executive search firm to...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 17, 2009, 11:51 am
Leadership is often seen as an inherently individual phenomenon, when in reality, "groups" are more likely to achieve greatness. There's an exceptional book called "Organizing Genius: The Secrets ...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 16, 2009, 1:40 pm
As a full-time executive, my work life was completely consumed working 60 hour weeks and traveling. These days, the lure of social media and comm. gadgets loom like an ever-growing mountain of unmet e...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 13, 2009, 9:05 am
It's a jungle out there - a crazy, random, stressful, risky environment for an executive in corporate America. I much prefer my safe little controlled cocoon where I get to call the shots, the onl...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 12, 2009, 1:06 pm
If you really want to learn how to move up in the business world, you've got few sources of expert information. And when you're done with all the MBA BS, the business self-help books, and God ...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 11, 2009, 2:37 pm
Subway's $5 foot-long promotion - the idea of a small-time franchise owner - generated $3.8 billion in sales last year and made Subway #2 in fast-food, behind McDonald's. So, is the $5 footlon...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 10, 2009, 8:55 am
Entrepreneurs worry too much about what they're going to develop, make, or market. What's more important is that they make, develop or market something! Here are 15 companies that became famou...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 9, 2009, 4:38 pm
Telegraphing the introduction of a potentially breakthrough product in advance is a powerful PR strategy that can pay off bigtime. But the risk of overpromising and under-delivering can, at times, dwa...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 6, 2009, 9:10 am
Some small businesses almost effortlessly put customer's needs and problems first, while others let their drama and dysfunctions dictate how they do business. Like it or not, customers get dragged...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 5, 2009, 9:05 am
How is a company supposed to reduce its risk when one customer can devastate its business? Some throw around "diversification" like it's an antidote to risk, but as a risk aversion strategy, diver...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 4, 2009, 8:30 am
What constitutes executive presence, that indefinable quality that great leaders possess? Is it about poise and sophistication, use of body language or gestures? Can it be learned, does it develop on ...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 3, 2009, 1:00 pm
When hotelier Chip Conley posted pictures from his Burning Man trip on his Facebook page, some of his employees complained that they were inappropriate for a CEO. We’ve covered the fracas in A C...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 3, 2009, 12:35 pm
Hector Ruiz, former CEO of AMD and president of Motorola, and Bob Moffat, Sr. VP at IBM, were among top executives caught up in the largest insider trading scandal in decades. The question is why woul...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Nov 2, 2009, 1:35 pm
It's a hot trend and it's here to stay. Marketers at Starbucks, Kraft, and Campbell have discovered that "simple" sells. But retail marketing aside, is "simple" a megatrend all businesses shou...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 30, 2009, 8:30 am
The most common career mistake managers make is taking a lesser job than they should. Personal issues aside, too many folks pull the trigger on that critical decision sooner than they should. So what ...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 29, 2009, 12:34 pm
Not only is the writing on the wall, it's covered the wall and spilled onto the floor, the ceiling, everywhere. Big government has come to America. Now what? Do you suck it up and learn to live in...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 29, 2009, 8:30 am
Language is at best a highly subjective communication tool. What you think you say and what the other person hears can be two completely different things. Labels can be great shortcuts, but they make ...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 27, 2009, 11:55 am
The White House has launched an all-out war on Fox News. On the surface, this would appear to be a classic PR blunder, i.e. "If you want to elevate your enemy, attack them publicly." But a closer look...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 26, 2009, 7:10 pm
The recession has inspired some companies to shed businesses and activities that are outside of their core competence. For example, Yahoo has refocused on selling display ads and being a portal for on...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 26, 2009, 2:33 pm
Last week, researchers found that just 8 percent of pedestrians talking on cellphones noticed a clown on a unicycle pedaling across a campus square. A Stanford study suggests that media multitasking i...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 23, 2009, 5:59 pm
We have record unemployment, national debt, and deficit spending. We have a vastly imperfect system. And we have endless greed and fraud. But capitalism's best days are ahead, and not just because...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 22, 2009, 8:12 pm
Given our economic situation - record unemployment, national debt, deficit spending - no wonder you hear so much whining. Not that that's a bad thing; it gives us something to do besides worry abo...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 21, 2009, 7:24 pm
Regret is a bitter pill to swallow. That's why analyzing your career moves - good or bad - are important; they don't age well. But figuring out what went right can be just as perplexing and el...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 20, 2009, 3:49 pm
Once again, Apple blew away analyst forecasts with a record quarter on record Mac and iPhone sales and profits. Firing on all cylinders doesn't begin to describe it. But how does Apple turn out on...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 19, 2009, 3:24 pm
On Friday the SEC charged a billionaire hedge-fund manager and 5 others - including top executives from IBM, Intel Capital, and Mckinsey - in a massive insider trading scandal. While it's tempting...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 16, 2009, 2:24 pm
CEOs say the darndest things. Regardless of the industry or size of the company, every CEO I've known has possessed the same two qualities: smart and quotable. Why that is, I don't know. But f...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 15, 2009, 3:14 pm
A survey of the nation's top CEOs shows business conditions are improving. I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling it. So who is? Goldman Sachs announced quarterly profits of $3.2B whi...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 14, 2009, 5:28 pm
Is the destruction of the U.S. auto industry the last nail in the coffin for labor unions? Are they vestigial organizations that have served their purpose and are now obsolete? Are they saddling compa...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 13, 2009, 11:46 am
In the real world - diplomatic and business alike - great fanfare doesn't always correlate with great results. HP's Carly Fiorina and Yahoo's Jerry Yang are examples. By rewarding intentio...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 8, 2009, 3:13 pm
The growing "entitlement" problem in the workplace and senior managers' increasing unwillingness to hold themselves and others accountable are two sides of the same coin. The only antidote to this...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 8, 2009, 8:30 am
Any VC or investor will tell you that, in this financial climate, they look for teams that have demonstrated a track record of conservative cash management, who prove they can do more with less. Here ...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 7, 2009, 1:01 pm
Obama's pay czar is planning to revamp compensation packages for executives at "bailed out" companies by shifting as much as half their cash salaries to stock. Most striking about this unprecedent...
Comment - Like

Steve T. posted an article on The Corner Office - Oct 6, 2009, 2:25 pm
If you're not pushing the envelope, "wiping out" from time to time, you're not going to get anywhere in life or in business. But these days, we've become so politically correct that there&...
Comment - Like