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Tomasz Pawlikowski (Publicis) recommends: Hacking Work: Breaking Stupid Rules for Smart Results by Bill Jensen and Josh Klein

Tomasz Pawlikowski — 2012-02-09T10:22:00+04:00

Today's top performers are taking matters into their own hands: bypassing sacred structures, using forbidden tools, and ignoring silly corporate edicts. In other words, they are hacking work to increase their efficiency and job satisfaction. Consultant Bill Jensen teamed up with hacker Josh Klein to expose the cheat codes that enable people to work smarter instead of harder. Once employees learn how to hack their work, they accomplish more in less time.

Amit Sah (Citi Russia) recommends

Amit Sah — 2012-02-02T10:44:00+04:00

Amit Sah, Consumer Business Manager, Citi Russia, recommends to our Club members to look outside of their area and try to learn from great political or sports leaders. And the most important here is to find the difference that helps to break out.

Accredited Online Colleges on the Rise

Nick Johnson — 2012-01-19T11:36:19+04:00

The Internet is revolutionizing higher education: accredited online colleges are growing in size, traditional colleges are adopting online programs, and all trends indicate that distance learning is not only here to stay, but that it will make an unprecedented impact on the educational systems currently in place today. What kind of change will online college courses provoke in the paradigms of students, professors, and educational institutions in the coming years? Let’s take a look.

David Gray (PricewaterhouseCoopers) recommends: The Art of Action

David Gray — 2012-01-17T11:28:00+04:00

David Gray, Country Managing Partner at PwC Russia, recommends The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps Between Plans, Actions and Results by Stephen Bungay.

Don Prince (CCL LLC) recommends a film by Peter Weir "Dead poets society"

Don Prince — 2012-01-11T17:15:00+04:00

Don Prince, General Director at Center for Creative Leadership (ССL LLC), recommends to all leaders a 1989 drama film “Dead poets society” starring Robin Williams and directed by Peter Weir. It tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students to change their lives of conformity through his teaching of poetry and literature.

Per Wendschlag (IKEA) recommends "Meine Letzte Stunde" by Andreas Salcher

Per Wendschlag — 2011-11-08T12:38:00+04:00

Per Wendschlag, General Director of IKEA Russia and CIS, recommends the book called Meine Letzte Stunde (My Last Hour) by Andreas Salcher, the book that describes the process of living and dying, that makes you think that you only have one life to live.

We Are Searching for Editor!

Yury Barzov — 2011-10-12T23:40:18+04:00

Good2Work Club of Leaders is seeking proactive and responsible person for the position of editor. In the process, you also will master skills of video editing.

How Steve Jobs Was Fired From Apple and Entered His Life’s Best Period

Ilya Zinenko — 2011-10-06T10:48:00+04:00

We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

Bruno de Labarre (Reckitt Benckiser) recommends to read books of any kinds

Bruno de Labarre — 2011-08-23T11:24:00+04:00

Bruno de Labarre, General Manager at Reckitt Benckiser Russia, CIS, recommends to read books of any kinds and explains why he doesn’t like management books, especially from America.

Annelies van den Belt (CEO of SUP) recommends Spotify

Annelies van den Belt — 2011-07-04T10:26:00+04:00

Annelies van den Belt, CEO of SUP, recommends a music service.

Ian Strickland (OBI Russia) recommends: Leading at the Speed of Growth

Ian Strickland — 2011-03-17T13:35:00+03:00

Ian Strickland, Managing Director of OBI Russia, recommends Leading at the Speed of Growth by Katherine Catlin & Jana Matthews. Book that helps CEOs and entrepreneurs reinvent their companies and themselves so they can be successful leaders of growth.

Peter Kronschnabl (BMW) recommends: "Fish!" and "The Peter Principle"

Peter Kronschnabl — 2011-03-05T18:35:00+03:00

Peter Kronschnabl, CEO of BMW Russia, recommends to our Club members Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, John Christensen, Ken Blanchard and The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong by Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull.

Ian Strickland (OBI Russia) recommends: Business: The Ultimate Resource

Ian Strickland — 2011-02-17T13:59:00+03:00

Ian Strickland, Managing Director of OBI Russia, recommends Business: The Ultimate Resource is a practical one-stop resource to the world of work and careers, written by an expert team of world-class writers, for use by anyone at work.

Peter Kronschnabl (BMW) recommends: "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry and "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga

Peter Kronschnabl — 2011-01-13T18:00:00+03:00

Peter Kronschnabl, President of BMW Group Russia, recommends our Club members to read couple of books about management and business: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry and The White Tiger: A Novel by Aravind Adiga

Vincent Ollivier (BNP Paribas) recommends "1984" by George Orwell

Vincent Ollivier — 2010-11-30T12:20:00+03:00

"1984 by George Orwell. I think it's a key book to understand the modern world, especially the appendix. I guess, you know this book or at least what it talks about. I guess, it's not a very funny answer but it's one of the key books to understand the modern world and to position itself towards this world".

Novel by George Orwell, published in 1949 as a warning about the menaces of totalitarianism. The novel is set in an imaginary future world that is dominated by three perpetually warring totalitarian police states.

David Thomas (Volvo) recommends: Up the Organization by Robert Townsend

David Thomas — 2010-11-10T16:52:00+03:00

David Thomas, President Volvo Car Russia, recommends: Up the Organization by Robert Townsend, a person who ran Avis in 1950' in America.

Mission of the Club: Keep Climbing

Yury Barzov — 2010-08-23T18:45:00+04:00

More than 100 international and Russian executives and buisness founders already conducted interview with the club. They come from such companies as 3Com, 3M, Alliance Boots, Allianz, Almaz Capital Partners, Baring Vostok Capital Partners, BBDO, BNP Paribas Bank, Banque Société Générale Vostok, BMW, Center for Creative Leadership, Cisco Systems, Citigroup, Danone, Delta Private Equity Partners, Dirol Cadbury, GE Money Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Heineken, HP, HSBC, Independent Media Sanoma Magazines, Indesit, Jet Republic, Mazda, Microsoft, Nestle, Oracle, Oriflame, Robert Bosch, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sanofi Aventis, Thunderbird CBSD, Unilever, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Volvo, Western Union and more.

Ivan Svitek (Home Credit) recommends: "Winning" by Jack Welch

Ivan Svitek — 2010-06-10T11:25:00+04:00

The new book by Jack Welch called Winning is recommended to our Club members by Ivan Svitek, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Home Credit Finance and Bank.

Austin Kimm, President for Renaissance-Life, recommends: The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking by Barbara Minto

Austin Kimm — 2009-11-13T12:28:00+03:00

Austin Kimm, President for Renaissance-Life, recommends: The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking by Barbara Minto.

Philippe Graff (Dynargie) recommends: Win-Win-Win Management and Peak Performance

Philippe Graff — 2009-11-06T11:15:00+03:00

Philippe Graff, the founder of Switzerland-based international company Dynargie, recommends the members of our club to read a couple of books which he wrote.

Adrian Marley (DHL) Recommends: Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story Of The Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny

Adrian Marley — 2009-10-15T11:57:00+04:00

Adrian Marley, General Manager, DHL Russia, recommends Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story Of The Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny by Mike Dash

Steve Strachota (Cadbury) Recommends: Every Day Activist: Everything You Need to Know to Get Off Your Backside & Start to Make a Difference by Michael Norton

Steve Strachota — 2009-07-15T13:15:41+04:00

Steve Strachota, Managing Director of Cadbury Russia & CIS recommends Every Day Activist: Everything You Need to Know to Get Off Your Backside & Start to Make a Difference by Michael Norton

Our First Anniversary (UPDATED 30/04/09)

Yury Barzov — 2009-04-24T23:17:48+04:00

We are one year old. We have taken 200 video lessons on leadership. One third is in English. Three fourths are with CEOs and business founders. Leading industries are IT, Financial Services, Consumer Goods, Retail and Consulting. In 2009 we launched a new theme - lessons with the state authorities. Aid to the President Arkady Dvorkovich ranked among top ten most influential people in Russia opened this theme in the club. We'll do our best to become more useful and more fun. Stay tuned.

New in Content Policy

Anastasia Sotsevich — 2009-04-15T19:22:00+04:00

In order to further upgrade quality and candor of our video conversations we have decided to imply limitations to the access to the club's proprietary video content for non registered visitors.

While Many Companies Still Fight for Survival Some Are Already out in the Market Going after the Larger Market Share (Good2Work Club of Leaders February-March 2009 Survey Major Findings)

Yury Barzov — 2009-04-03T18:53:15+04:00

Almost a quarter of Russian and international companies in the Russian market economy sector are confident in their current business models and are improving operational efficiency with an explicit target to significantly increase their market share. Another 10% are confident and clear about the measures they are taking to protect their current market standing. It may be considered as an indicator that the structuring of the markets around the old and new leaders will soon began.

Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy

Anastasia Sotsevich — 2009-01-02T15:28:00+03:00

We respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask our participants to do the same. It is our policy, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, to terminate membership of participants who may deliberately or repeatedly infringe copyright or other intellectual property rights of us or others.

Community Rules

Anastasia Sotsevich — 2009-01-02T13:43:00+03:00

All participants of the GOOD2WORK Community are registered under their real names. They shall submit truthful personal information, treat each other with respect and stick to the number of rules.

Privacy Policy

Anastasia Sotsevich — 2009-01-02T13:11:00+03:00

We believe that any participant is the sole owner of the right to either disclose any personal information or any own content to any other person or group of persons. By filing in an application to join the community a perspective participant voluntarily accepts responsibility to disclose some portion of his or her personal information to us and to other community members.

Content Rules and Disclaimer

Anastasia Sotsevich — 2009-01-02T10:42:00+03:00

GOOD2WORK controls only the content posted by editorial staff of GOOD2WORK. All other content, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the participant from whom such content originated. GOOD2WORK may or may not pre-screen content posted or published in a way that other visitors or participants can see it.

Filip Kegels (Danone) Recommends: "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't"

Liza Barzova — 2008-11-17T12:24:28+03:00

Filip Kegels, General Director, Danone Russia & CIS, recommends the book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by Jim Collins: "In "Good to great" it's all about discipline [...] well managed empowered discipline is probably the thing which will give the most learning you can imagine".

Blake P. Sallé (Cisco) Recommends: The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

Blake Sallé — 2008-11-06T15:06:00+03:00

Blake P. Sallé, Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Emerging Technologies at Cisco Systems recommends the book that he believes is the best book about leadership that he has ever read: Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind.

How I Joined Alfa Via Newspaper Ad

Andrey Kosogov — 2008-10-16T03:54:00+04:00

I came to Alfa in 1992 via the newspaper ad. There were no headhunters at that time in Russia so a vacancy was announced in the Moscow News. I was going to Kiev by train...

Successful Demotion

Maxim Donde — 2008-09-15T23:50:00+04:00

The time passed, but the person we hired did not show the expected results. The problem had to be solved, so I spoke openly to him: “You have to move to lower position with all due consequences or...

The Road to Movie Business

Vadim Goryainov — 2008-09-14T19:08:00+04:00

Up to the time I left the publishing house Prof-Media I had worked at that company for 8 years, made several successful deals and possessed all the necessary attributes for starting my own business: experience, market knowledge, reputation, money...

Firing Softly

Sergey Petrov — 2008-09-13T23:21:00+04:00

Once I started to spot that one of our senior executives was not performing as expected. I couldn't say he was working less, no, he kept tried hard. The problem was that he could not keep up with our company’s hectic work pace. He just couldn't ‘cut the mustard’. He learned new skills too slowly, and, since he was not a young man, it was hard for him to relearn quickly.

Building a Team

Vladimir Skvortsov — 2008-09-12T17:31:00+04:00

When I started working at AlphaStakhovaniye insurance company in april 2002 it was going through a very important and difficult period. Just before I joined in 2001 the company was formed through a merger of its two predecessors...

Leaders, Fools and Impostors: Essays on the Psychology of Leadership

Anton Murad — 2008-04-21T02:46:00+04:00

In this book of insightful essays, Kets de Vries explodes the myth that rationality is what governs the behavior of leaders and followers, and he provides a more realistic perspective on organizational functioning and the leader-follower relationship. The author shows that a great potential for distortion exists when leaders try to act out the fantasies of their followers..

Leading By Design: The Ikea Story

Anton Murad — 2008-04-20T16:13:00+04:00

Leading by Design is really, of course, the story of Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish furniture retailer who turned Ikea into a company that now has 41,000 workers at 150 stores in 30 countries who annually distribute 100 million catalogs and sell $6.25 billion in goods...

How Dell Made More Money than His School Teacher and Learned to Segment the Market

Anton Murad — 2008-04-20T00:10:00+04:00

When I was sixteen, I got a summer job selling newspaper subscriptions to The Houston Post. At the time, the newspaper gave its salespeople a list of new phone numbers issued by the telephone company and told us to cold call them. It struck me as a pretty random way of approaching new business...

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Anton Murad — 2008-04-19T13:28:00+04:00

New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell looks at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages, and products, he argues, often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a few fare-beaters and graffiti artists fuel a subway crime wave...

How Lou Gerstner Got IBM To Dance

Anton Murad — 2008-04-19T06:50:00+04:00

The author says that IBM's problems, challenges, complexity and culture are unique, and the fixes he applied are unlikely to be easily transferred. The answers to the question of how Gerstner saved IBM, the major business decisions, are known. What's less understood is how he managed to change a culture that he generously describes as "inbred and ingrown"..

Brad Bird: Rats should crawl or how to deal with creative employees

Anton Murad — 2008-04-18T19:21:14+04:00

One of the guys challenged me. He said, “I want to know why you’re doing this.” Now, I had gone into this film reluctantly. It’s not what I was looking to do after The Incredibles. And there was a part of me that wanted to say, “Because I’m the director, that’s why. Do you want to take this problematic thing over?”. But I stopped..

How Fred Deluca Found Success By Way of the Submarine Sandwich

Anton Murad — 2008-04-16T18:35:00+04:00

DeLuca took advantage of the lack of quick-service chains to cater to customers anywhere, anytime. Known for its freshly baked sandwiches, Subway has been baking its own bread at its very store everyday since 1983. DeLuca even designed Subway's bread machine to ensure the quality of its bread as a healthy alternative to traditional fast food.

iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business

Anton Murad — 2008-04-16T07:09:00+04:00

iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a business era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Jeffrey Young and William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple, detail Jobs’s meteoric rise, and the devastating plunge that left him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer-making business entirely.

Second Acts: Career Paths For Worn-Out Executives

Max Golovanov — 2008-04-15T10:37:00+04:00

As considers Wall Street Journal, golfing and gardening aren't as enticing as they once were. While baby boomers are increasingly becoming eligible for Social Security benefits, so far it seems that few are actually putting their working lives to bed. According to an AARP survey, 79% of baby boomers plan to work in some capacity into their retirement years.

Jack: Straight from the Gut

Anton Murad — 2008-04-14T16:23:00+04:00

That's the basic philosophy of how Jack ran the vast and extraordinarily profitable General Electric company for more than two decades. During his tenure, GE was recognized annually as the best company in the world by Fortune magazine. Welch reveals how his unusual management techniques propelled GE to become one of the most successful corporations of all time...

Who is John Galt?

Anton Murad — 2008-04-14T09:57:00+04:00

"Who is John Galt?" This famous rhetorical question rings through Ayn Rand's best-selling novel as the people's anthem of despair in depressed economic times. Set in the future, the novel follows capitalist magnates as they battle looters, strikers, and the impending ruin of the United States' economy...

How Ingvar Kamprad Laid The Basis of The IKEA concept

Anton Murad — 2008-04-12T10:54:00+04:00

Out of long talks through the night with Sven Göte about how we were to get out of this vicious circle – lower price, worse quality – the idea grew of trying a permanent display or exhibition of our furniture. People could go to the display, see the furniture for themselves, and compare the quality at different price levels...

Tom Peters: Rе-imagine!

Anton Murad — 2008-04-10T15:35:00+04:00

More than just a how-to book for the 21st Century, Re-imagine! is a call to arms - a passionate wake-up call for the business world, educators, and society as a whole. Focusing on how the business climate has changed, this inspirational book outlines how the new world of business works, explores radical ways of overcoming outdated...

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Anton Murad — 2008-04-09T08:45:00+04:00

How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?

More CEOs Are Saying No to Bonuses

Max Golovanov — 2008-04-07T17:51:44+04:00

According to The Wall Street Journal, some corporate leaders believe 'tis better to give back than receive during tough times. More chief executives are spurning bonuses earned for fiscal 2007. Their voluntary cutbacks, most common among financial companies affected by the mortgage meltdown, don't always assuage demoralized staffers and unhappy investors.

The "Ten Hot Dogs" Strategy of Ingvar Kamprad

Anton Murad — 2008-04-07T17:15:00+04:00

In 1995 the IKEA furniture store started selling hot dogs at five kronor each, as opposed to the usual price of ten to fifteen kronor. This investment was at once successful, and today it contributes to the growing restaurant and food sector by turning over 1.6 billion kronor in 1997, and alone answering for exports from Sweden amounting to 700 million kronor ($87 million).

Richard Branson: Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way

Anton Murad — 2008-04-07T10:30:00+04:00

In this autobiography, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson says one of his prime business criteria is "fun." Fun made Branson a billionaire, and few business memoirs are one-billionth as fun as Branson's, nor as niftily written. Not only does it relate his side of near-death corporate experiences, it tells how the chairman literally cheated death by gun, shipwreck, and balloon crash..

How Steven Spielberg Got His First Job

Anton Murad — 2008-04-07T09:44:00+04:00

I began by making 8 and 16mm films, some for $15 apiece and some for $200. You can't excuse yourself by saying, "Well, I can't raise the money to make the short film to get into the front door and show my work." It's not expensive to make little movies, even if they're in Super-8 and done with a Kodak Ektasound camera you've borrowed from a friend...

To get rich your child should read

Anton Murad — 2008-04-05T19:25:00+04:00

"Let's suppose your goal is to raise a child who will grow up and make The Forbes 400 list someday. How do you feed her brain and nourish her spirit? What secrets of wealth-building do you pour into his pulsing veins?" Rich Karlgaard, Forbes reporter, composed a list of 53 books whish would help your children achieve outsize success.

How Michael Dell Decided to Start His Own Business

Anton Murad — 2008-04-04T23:11:00+04:00

Traditionally, in the computer industry, a manufacturing company built computers, which were then distributed to resellers and dealers who sold them to businesses and individual consumers. In the early days, companies like Apple and IBM sold their products through computer dealers because they needed the leverage to gain nationwide sales...

Fortune Published Interview with Chrysler's CEO Nardelli and Top Execs

Max Golovanov — 2008-04-04T17:07:25+04:00

The Fortune published interview with Chrysler's CEO Nardelli and top execs LaSorda and Press on Cerberus and Chrysler's turnaround team. Cerberus Capital Management agreed last May to buy 80% of Chrysler from its German parent, then known as DaimlerChrysler. But by the time the deal closed in early August, global credit markets had convulsed and the U.S. economy was slowing down.

How HP chose human oriented philosophy and succeed

Anton Murad — 2008-04-03T18:08:00+04:00

It is the tradition of treating every individual with consideration and respect and recognizing personal achievements. This sounds almost trite, but Dave [co-founder Packard] and I honestly believe in this philosophy... The dignity and worth of the individual is a very important part, then, of the HP Way...

Top MBA's For Leaders By QS International Recruiter Survey

Elena Pisareva — 2008-04-03T13:29:49+04:00

QS TopMBA.com published the results of International Recruiter Survey 2007 that reflects recruiters’ preferences. The tables are compiled entirely based on the unprompted selection of each school, by responding recruiters anywhere in the world, for each area of specialisation, in particularly for leadership.

Free Video Lecture Podcasts From Top Universities

Max Golovanov — 2008-04-03T13:04:04+04:00

Free video lectures are a great way to learn more about a particular subject because you don't have to put a lot of effort into the experience. There are currently dozens of top universities that provide free video lectures to self-learners around the world. Here's a list of the best.

Find Out About Your Leadership Traits at Good2Work!

Ilya Zinenko — 2008-04-02T23:38:00+04:00

We explore innovative ways of leadership development. Our most eminent members are eager to try new tools of transferring their skills of leadership. We provide them with options to do it. For those who are interested to learn if they have traits for a leader we prepared these F.A.Q.

Stephen Covey: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Anton Murad — 2008-04-02T01:24:00+04:00

Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift" – a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" and much more...

Comanies Need To Invest Long Term To Overcome Talent Shortage Blocking Corporate Growth

Yury Barzov — 2008-03-28T12:08:38+03:00

In January 2008 McKinsey Quarterly published an article "Making talent a strategic priority". I found there a couple of rather interesting points.

Can Howard Schultz Turn Starbucks Around?

Max Golovanov — 2008-03-24T19:41:39+03:00

Since Howard Schultz took back the espresso machines at the coffee-slinging company he founded, he has preached returning focus to the customers at Starbucks. Last Thursday, he announced a change to the company's U.S. operations that is intended to do that, but at the cost of 600 jobs.

Forbes published this article in November 2007. I found some interesting points in it on Spitzer’s behavior.

Yury Barzov — 2008-03-18T13:38:08+03:00

And he (Greenberg) has told some people he may file a defamation suit or other legal action against Spitzer, "a man who has abused the rule of law." (There might be a statute of limitations problem here.) "I can't tell you how that's going to play out," Greenberg says, "but I'm not afraid of him."

Capital International Buys $175 Million Stake in Unimilk

Yury Barzov — 2008-03-17T13:24:00+03:00

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Capital International Inc. bought a stake in OAO Unimilk, Russia's second-biggest dairy company, to benefit from surging demand for milk and baby food in the former Soviet Union, Unimilk said.

Modern Times Sells DTV to CTC Media for $395 Million

Yury Barzov — 2008-03-11T14:05:22+03:00

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Modern Times Group AB, Sweden's largest publicly traded media company, agreed to sell Russian Television network DTV Group to CTC Media Inc. for about $395 million in cash.

Investors' Favorite Female CEOs

Yury Barzov — 2008-03-07T14:56:58+03:00

Of about 1,000 public companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue in a Forbes database, there are 30 female chief executives. On an annual basis, half the companies on this list have shown shareholders a greater total return than the Standard & Poor's 500.

Talent Supply Chain Management

Yury Barzov — 2008-02-29T14:47:49+03:00

In a recent article Peter Cappelli, Wharton Professor of Management, proposes to apply the just-in-time principles of supply chain management to current talent management issues.

Forbes Commentary on Russia Today English Language TV Channel

Yury Barzov — 2008-02-28T15:44:46+03:00

‘This 24-hour, English-language channel is broadcast on cable stations in the U.S. and via satellite to audiences around the world. It's been operating since 2005, but as Russia's widely criticized presidential elections approach (and its image abroad is deteriorating) the government-funded channel is evidently increasing efforts to charm its foreign audience.'

What You As a Club Member Can Do On Your Personal Page?

Anton Murad — 2008-02-12T14:43:00+03:00

On your Personal Page you as a club participant can publish articles and create groups and difine their scope of visibility to other site visitors. You can communicate using Personal Forum and change your personal information and much more…

Is U.S. heading to recession? Dean advises MBA students: Prepare to engage in some missionary selling, to help employers discover your talent.

Yury Barzov — 2008-01-21T13:19:08+03:00

Stock markets in Asia plunged on fears of the U.S. heading to recession. Robert F. Bruner, Dean, Darden School of Business advises MBA students: Prepare to engage in some missionary selling, to help employers discover your talent. He also comments on the systemic nature of financial crisis that helps us to predict what we should expect from the current one.

Blog: Leading from Behind and the Magic of Ubuntu

Yury Barzov — 2008-01-21T11:13:43+03:00

In the most recent newsletter of Egon Zehnder International I found an interesting concept of Harvard business school professors who claim that Western business organizations have much to learn from ‘less conventional’ concepts of leadership explored in the fierce war for talent in the emerging economies. They found a couple of concepts in Africa. I wonder if we can find some in Russia?

Father’s no More a Leader

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-12-28T18:54:21+03:00

Financial Times published a review of the book by Michael Maccoby called The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow. According to the review, the book is of mixed qualities. Though, there is enough curious analysis of the social changes and their impact on leadership model.

Blog: New Leader's Voodoo Kit

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-12-27T21:44:02+03:00

There’s something particularly magic in charisma phenomenon, which is necessary to obtain for every leader. But what if it’s hard to get but you need it eagerly?

If You're Productive, What’s Your Price?

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-12-20T17:31:38+03:00

I think few realize the huge spread in the value of 20 year olds. Some, it's true, are not very capable. But others are more capable than all but a handful of 30 year olds.

Leadership Lesson from a Futuristic Rock Climber

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-12-20T16:49:08+03:00

Here’s a story on how to succeed by changing your frame of mind. In 1978, Jim Collins, the future author of From Good to Great book, became obsessed with a rock climb called Genesis in Colorado. Once, watching another climber’s failed effort to pass it, he noticed it’s not that impossible.

Today You’re a Mediocrity, Tomorrow – a Leader?

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-12-19T20:07:35+03:00

Now, research at the London School of Economics may show that leaders are very rarely born. Instead, they are the ones who are willing to make the decision to lead in situations when it is most expected of them.

One of Simple Secrets of Leadership from Young Sam Walton

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-12-17T17:14:44+03:00

Sam Walton, Wal-Mart founder, in his book Made in America. My Story shows an example of an uncommon leadership lesson.

The Four Truths of Storytelling

Yury Barzov — 2007-12-17T15:30:20+03:00

Peter Guber is a business leader and a film producer. In his view storytelling is a key component of success for both leadership and in moviemaking.

To Stick and Inspire

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-12-14T17:06:00+03:00

We all tell stories every day. Why? “Research shows that mentally rehearsing a situation helps us perform better when we encounter that situation,” Heath writes. “Stories act as a kind of mental flight simulator, preparing us to respond more quickly and effectively.”

Ruben Vardanian, Troika Dialog: “I Value My Company’s Managers’ Ambitions to Become Extra Successful”

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-26T17:42:01+03:00

If you build a partnership where all the partners can influence the decisions, you should create the mechanisms that allow them to become the owners.

Vadim Asadov: Playing Chess with Yourself

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-11-24T19:50:00+03:00

Several times I found myself in a situation when it seemed that only a miracle could save a project. And sometimes it is really better to close it down, than to regret money, time and efforts spent, hope to drag it up to success by one more “ultimate” investment. It is a very difficult choice for me each time, because I always have money...

How Sergey Petrov left the Soviet Army to start his own business

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-17T23:56:00+03:00

Now Sergey Petrov is the principal shareholder of the Russia's largest car distributor and retaier. He is at the list of the Russian Forbes. In 1980s he was making successful career as a Soviet Air Forces officer. Once a situation occured that made him to think about change...

Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO, General Electric

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-11-16T01:27:00+03:00

Throughout his career Welch was always learning from all the leaders he worked with. What he hated about the organization in his early days as a chemical engineer, is exactly what he transformed as CEO: the red tape and bureaucracy of the company.

Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia Inc.

Maria Pikalova — 2007-11-15T20:40:00+03:00

Yvon Chouinard has proven that it is possible to make successful multi-million business following strict environmental principles and values. Yvon Chouinard is a world-class mountaineer and surfer, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman, noted for his clothing and gear company, Patagonia...

Threat of Loss of Control over Company as a Result of Hiring an Outsider CEO

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-11-14T19:49:44+03:00

How Sergey Brin and Larry Page hired Erich Schmidt, not wishing to hire anybody at all.

Google: Making the World a Better Place Can Be a Good Way to Earn

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-11-14T19:07:01+03:00

In 2007 Fortune named Google the “Best Company to Work For”. Its rivals say that when they are lucky to find an excellent professional, they certainly found that he or she has been already made a job offer...

During the Last Decade Britain Emerged as a World Leader in the Knowledge Economy

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-14T17:33:24+03:00

Why is Britain doing so well? The Work Foundation’s answer (we are engaging in Europe’s largest-ever knowledge economy inquiry) is that the knowledge economy is a sophisticated supply response to high and growing levels of educated, discerning demand – and that Britain has enjoyed 15 years’ growth of just such demand.

Monster.com Study: Employers Undervalue Work/Life Balance Initiatives' Impact on Recruitment

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-12T13:30:49+03:00

Study Indicates That Only Half of HR Professionals Believe Work/Life Balance Will Improve Over Next Five Years.

Gary Hamel: We Are on the Threshold of a Post-Managerial Society

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-10T20:55:28+03:00

The outlines of the 21st-century management model are already clear. Decision-making will be more peer-based; and the tools of creativity will be widely distributed in organizations.

Newly released book Millennial Leaders Tells Success Stories from Today's Most Brilliant Generation Y Leaders

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-08T15:10:45+03:00

Newly released book shows people how to communicate and lead across generations, while offering valuable insights into the emerging force that is Gen Y.

Employees’ Loyalty to an Organization Has Loosened Last Years, Survey Revealed

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-02T17:43:06+03:00

Business leaders and their leadership style remain incredibly important to employees--even though it seems workers complain more about benefits, salary and vacation time. People just want a boss and management team who are interested in the well-being of the individual and the company, according to the 2007 Global Workforce Study by management consulting group Towers Perrin.

Leadership Development in Companies Moved from Training "Just in Case" to Focused Learning

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-02T17:23:26+03:00

Leadership development has moved from training "just in case" someone needed to know the key concepts or tools in management to focused learning and development "just in time" to apply them to achieve specific strategic objectives. Today's leadership development is much more likely to include an application opportunity and to support specific strategic initiatives.

Many of the Young, Talented Russians Who Left Their Home Country in the Late 90s Are Coming Home

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-11-01T15:34:14+03:00

Despite Moscow’s international reputation as one of the most expensive cities in the world, most professionals will find their money goes much further in the Russian capital than, for example, in London.

Facebook's Microsoft Deal May Boost Options Prices, Hurting Ability to Lure Top Talent

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-31T12:00:21+03:00

There is a little-noticed downside to Microsoft Corp.'s investment in Facebook Inc., according to WSJ. The deal will likely raise the price of stock options issued by the social-networking company and could make it more difficult to hire talented employees.

How Boris Volpe Had Not Agreed With His Bosses

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-31T06:00:07+03:00

In the 90s I was working as a regional manager in Siberia for a large American FMCG company. We were to launch a sales motivation program from scratch. American managers from the headquarters showed me a special matrix and told me they had introduced a successful salespersons motivation system based on it in several countries. Although I was a Dr.Sc.Math. I couldn't understand the matrix...

"Some Leaders are Born, Others Are Made," Says Karlin Sloan, Executive Coach

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-30T12:43:30+03:00

Sloan's new book, Smarter, Faster, Better: Strategies for Effective, Enduring, and Fulfilled Leadership is a thought-provoking handbook for anyone who wants to kick a management career up a notch to the leadership level.

500 Largest US Companies Will Lose 50% of Their Senior Management in 5 Years

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-30T12:27:56+03:00

The nation is in the middle of a talent crisis. The U.S. is estimated to face a 10 million worker shortage in 2010; and the average tenure at one employer for U.S. employees is only three years.

Tata Group’s Talent Development Keeps MBAs from Leaving India

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-29T15:47:49+03:00

Tata gains the admiration of potential leaders through the strength of their 12-month intensive management-training program, called TAS, which has been in place for more than fifty years.

Your Boss Thinks You Don’t Fit for General Manager Position

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-28T18:27:19+03:00

“Why not me? Why him? I deserve this position more than someone else!” Everyone feels so not being promoted. How to improve the situation? May be to jump into a boss’ car and pound him with your qualification for the job for an hour? Sounds crazy? Jack Welch did it and it worked.

Igor Salita: The Price of the White Label

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-27T10:05:39+04:00

There is no better motivation for a sales manager than a widely accepted product. And nothing is worse than a product which does not sell. A good sales person will not work for any salary if he can’t sell, because lack of good sales means lack of joy and drive for him...

Kip Tindell, Co-founder, CEO, The Container Store

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-26T17:10:12+04:00

Kip Tindell is that kind of a leader one can frequently watch in his own stores, selling dusting shelves and helping with customer carry-outs. He managed to create a fundamentally new retailing business, home organization product store, based on the amazing attitude to the company’s employees...

Employers Implement New Policies to Accommodate Gen Y Workers

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-26T14:55:31+04:00

"Generation Y workers grew up in a technology-driven world where standards and norms have changed and often operate under different perspectives than older co-workers," Ms. Haefner said.

Keeping a Promise When It Turns out to be Much More Difficult Than It Was Supposed to Be

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-25T17:49:20+04:00

How Jeff Bezos flew to Japan to deliver a customer’s order.

PepsiCo’s Leadership Development Approach Includes Career-Growth and Talent-Management Models

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-25T13:53:30+04:00

PepsiCo’s leadership-development strategy is grounded in the belief that strong leaders are needed to be successful in the marketplace.

How Gerstner Supported an Employee Who Was Regarded as a Misfit, and It Payed Off

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-25T13:43:21+04:00

Jerry Welsh had been a professor of Slavic languages, particularly Russian, and his avocation was ultra-marathon running. He was known around American Express as "Wild Man Jerry," and his expertise was in his gut understanding of the consumer spending psyche...

How Pierre Omidyar Found The Most Effective Way to Solve Disputes Between eBay Users

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-25T13:04:31+04:00

Initially, users of Pierre Omidyar's Auction Web (later he named it eBay) e-mailed him whenever they had complaints, wanted to ask questions, or otherwise wanted to comment about the site...

How Dee Hock Acted When the Owner Did not Keep his Word and Refused to Share Profit

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-25T12:10:45+04:00

Loss of the job was a crushing experience. Perol and I were friendless in a massive city we hated, breathing air so polluted it seared the eye and blotted out everything beyond a few blocks...

How Nordstrom Saved Family Business Giving “Nice People” the Freedom to Dump the Rules

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-25T11:07:00+04:00

As the 21st century dawned, American retailer Nordstrom was in trouble. Its sales had slowed down and its stock prices had declined. Nordstrom's board of directors even considered merging with another retailer or selling the company...

A Generation Y Leader Inspires by Enabling Others to Be Leaders

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-24T19:31:41+04:00

A Gen-Y leader delegates to help the worker achieve their goals. They are motivated by relationships and have an obsession with seeing others succeed.

Pierre Omidyar, Founder and Chairman, eBay

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-24T12:24:56+04:00

Omidyar changed the face of online commerce in 1995 when he launched Auction Web to experiment how equal access to information and opportunities would affect the efficiency of a marketplace...

Vadim Asadov: Parting with a star

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-23T22:30:30+04:00

Some time ago I had to fire a highly qualified programmer from one of my projects. He was not an ordinary person at all, and it was not easy to communicate with him, but I could put up with all these difficulties...

How Steve Jobs Hired the Key Man for the iPod Project

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-23T21:36:09+04:00

Winter of 2001. The hardware guy, Tony Fadell had worked on developing a number of devices at General Magic (a company started by some of the original Mac team members) and later at Philips. After Philips, he set out on his own and tried to shop around the idea...

Employee Doesn’t Fit for the Job

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-22T14:38:22+04:00

How Welch fired people not fit for their jobs.

Jack Welch Shared His Message of Leadership, Globalization and Values on AFP Conference

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-22T13:07:56+04:00

Welch said that good leaders must have three key characteristics: authenticity, resilience and "the ability to see around corners."

The Right Person for a Top Position Is Not Interested in the Job

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-21T13:56:09+04:00

A brilliant candidate does not want to join your going broken company for some reason? Oh, sometimes they are so unbearably capricious. Don’t worry! Lou Gerstner agreed to become the first non-IBMer to claim the executive suite, at the time when most of the candidates felt that resuscitating IBM was next to impossible.

How Lou Gerstner Made His First Steps as the IBM Boss

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-20T12:40:18+04:00

In less than thirty days, the incoming CEO of IBM, Lou Gerstner, should have to introduce himself to tens of thousands of skeptical IBMers worldwide, many worrying whether they would have a job by year's end; face angry, perplexed, and demanding shareholders at the annual meeting...

How Sammons Saved Rite Aid through Giving Its Employees the Feeling that They Are Valued

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-20T12:00:19+04:00

When Mary Sammons joined Rite Aid in December 1999, the company appeared to have no future. In the fall of 1999, the company was condemned for its aggressive marketing of pharmaceutical products and other consumer-unfriendly practices...

Wilbert L. (Bill) Gore, Founder, W.L. Gore & Associates

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-19T20:19:12+04:00

Colleagues described Bill as quiet, humble and completely approachable. His wealth was considerable but inconspicuous. And in his own company he tried to create the ideal environment for a guy like himself - a somewhat crazy buttoned-down engineer...

Open Communication is a Must-Do for Every Business-Leader, Boris Scherbakov Says

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-19T19:50:06+04:00

Many of top-executives underestimate or don’t like public events, explaining they are often unimportant and too far from serious business issues. Anyway, insists Mr Scherbakov, it’s very useful to take part in such events.

Companies Worldwide Face Leadership Crisis - IBM Study

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-19T19:41:44+04:00

The study suggests companies are putting growth strategies at risk if they cannot identify and develop the next generation of leaders.

How Dee Hock Plunged into the Ocean to Pursue the Offended Important Partner

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-19T10:16:44+04:00

The staff had bad news. Bernard Sue, head of Carte Bleue, had been roughly handled by some of the proponents of the name change. He had angrily announced he was returning to France on the next flight, would no longer participate in the meeting...

How Sergey Brin and Larry Page Hired Erich Schmidt, Not Wishing To Hire Anybody At All

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-19T10:14:33+04:00

Two venture firms Kleiner Perkins of John Doerr and Sequoia Capital of Michael Moritz that had invested $25 million in Google in 1999 had gotten nothing in return, as they saw it, except frustration and headaches from the Google Guys...

How Rudolph Giuliani Learned to Start with Small Things and Achieve the Larger Result

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-19T10:03:53+04:00

…When I became mayor, I was dealing with a failing operation. Suffice it to say that even devoted Gotham-boosters had started to regard their hometown as ungovernable. It was an attitude summarized by an October 1993 joint New York Times and WCBS poll in which 62 percent of New Yorkers said life had worsened over the previous four years...

Vadim Goryainov: A Film Director’s Revolt

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-18T21:42:27+04:00

I remember one incident that happened when I was working on my first picture Asiris Nuna. It was a fantasy piece for children based on the novel by Sergey Lukyanenko. Oleg Kompasov, the director of the film, is undoubtedly a very talented person. And like all the creative people he is too easily carried away…

Gen Y'ers Are Conservative in Their Lifestyle

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-18T15:49:50+04:00

Generation Y is the most conservative generation since the Great Generation that fought World War II, Penelope Trunk says.

Deloitte and Other Big 4 Companies Are at the Top of The Best Places to Work for Graduates

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-18T14:45:58+04:00

Across industries, there is a mad scramble to recruit the best and brightest of a new generation, the much-maligned, heavily scrutinized Gen Y. Nowhere is the pressure more intense than in the Big Four. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has so greatly increased the need for their services that the firms are facing an epic talent shortage.

eBay: Built on the Belief in People’s Basic Goodness

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-17T18:25:29+04:00

The very first item sold on future eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. Astonished, Pierre Omidyar contacted the winning bidder and asked if he understood that the pointer was broken. In his responding email, the buyer explained: "I am a collector of broken laser pointers".

Sergey Brin, Co-Founder and President of Technology, Google Inc.

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-17T00:30:29+04:00

"Evil," says Google CEO Eric Schmidt, "is what Sergey says is evil." Brin, in his role as Google's conscience and head policymaker, spends his days gripping the moral tiller - and in so doing, imposes his worldview on everyone else...

How Welch Personally Learned a New Method to Apply It at GE

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-16T20:49:00+04:00

In the mid of 1990-s a friend told Jack Welch about a new method of making a quantum increase in inventory turns in manufacturing operations. Relatively few business leaders back then understood what a powerful tool faster inventory turnover...

Business Cartoons: Lighthearted Look at Leadership

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-16T19:39:00+04:00

After collecting more than a hundred stories about leaders, we began to think how to systematize them without being boring. Finally we just divided all of them into some small groups of similar situations they describe, and illustrated each group by flash animation. The ideas for animation were born at a series of brainstorming sessions. So please don’t judge us too severe! Just see and enjoy!

How Michael Dell Learned to Delegate

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-16T11:10:33+04:00

The whole thing was one big experiment. I learned many valuable lessons along the way. Take delegation, for example. Since I had been a college student, I was used to a schedule that allowed me to sleep late. When...

Apple Inc.: Made of Passion, Style and Innovation

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-15T14:55:34+04:00

From the very beginning, Apple’s culture has always been remarkable for two distinguish features: innovations and passion. It has employed the integrator approach - the model with both...

Vince Lombardi, One of the Most Successful Coaches in the History of American Football

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-15T13:53:57+04:00

Adding to his input to the history of football, Lombardi is a legend for his coaching philosophy and motivational skills...

IBM Launches Center for CIO Leadership

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-15T12:47:17+04:00

The Center will bring together executive leaders, academics and other experts from around the world to build practical research and executive development initiatives focused on advancing the CIO profession.

Nau: Welcome to Retail 2.0

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-14T18:06:01+04:00

The members of the Nau team share conviction that, in addition to generating profit, companies have an equal responsibility to create positive social and environmental change. They use storytelling as a marketing tool and started with a retail concept that combines the efficiencies of the Web with the intimacy of the boutique.

The Container Store Tries to Make Employees Want to Come to Work in the Morning

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-14T14:05:22+04:00

Since the very beginning management has been operating under the belief that a happy workforce will translate into happy customers. Perks for employees include free yoga classes three times a week...

Facebook: the Most Widely Available Product of Harvard

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-14T09:37:14+04:00

Facebook was founded by Harvard “supersmart kid” Mark Zuckerberg when he was 19 years old. The idea of a social networking website for students took its origins in the fact that Harvard did not provide a student directory with photos and personal information, known at most colleges as a face book...

Wegmans Food Markets, a Grocery Chain Where Employees Will Teach You Choosing Wine and Cooking Fish

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-13T09:34:01+04:00

The senior management sets the tone at Wegmans Food Markets with leaders who are informative and accessible. All new employees meet Danny Wegman at the "Welcome to Wegmans" party – an event that is never held without him. Three days a week you can see key executives...

UK Entrepreneurs Voted for Richard Branson and Alan Sugar as the Business Leaders They Most Admire

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-12T19:07:56+04:00

95 per cent of UK entrepreneurs say other UK entrepreneurs inspire their creative thinking, with Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar voted as the business leaders they most admire.

Zappos: Try Walking in Their Shoes

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-12T17:32:06+04:00

Zappos’ corporate culture is centered on a near-fanatical devotion to customer service. The company provides overnight shipping for each purchase. The warehouse is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so customers can order shoes as late as 11 p.m. and still get...

Hewitt Associates Conducted the ‘Top Companies for Leaders’ Study

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-11T15:44:28+04:00

The Top Companies for Leaders were selected and ranked by an esteemed panel of judges based on criteria including leadership practices, company reputation, leadership culture and values, and business performance.

Top5 in Russia’s Best Employer Ranking Consists of Foreign Companies. McDonalds Is №1

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-11T13:52:38+04:00

Only 50% of Russian employees agree that companies in Russia are successful in motivating, retaining and attracting talent in organizations today.

W.L. Gore & Associates: an Unusual Fast Growing Company with Culture That Enables Employees to Innovate

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-11T11:52:20+04:00

There is one business legend often told at W.L. Gore & Associates. In 1965 Bill Gore was passing around a new plant and suddenly realized that he didn’t recognize every employee anymore. It motivated him to state a principle...

How “Finance For Little Folks” Helped Welch to Turn GE Credit into Big GE Capital

Maria Pikalova — 2007-10-11T02:44:17+04:00

When Jack Welch became a sector executive in 1977 he looked at GE Credit Corp. as at one of the most promising sectors. Like plastics, it was well out of the mainstream, and he sensed it was filled with growth potential...

Igor Salita: Revolution in Mars

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-11T01:09:09+04:00

“He is a dreamer”, said someone. “He knows nothing about our business. We have been working for 5 years to achieve today’s distribution level, and now he wants to triple it only in year and a half!” “He’s just nuts”, said another one. “We should get rid of him as fast as we can. Otherwise there'll be a trouble.”

New Social Networking Sites Aim at Older Generations

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-10T16:12:38+04:00

Social networking has thus far largely focused on executives in the business world and young people, because they are tech-savvy and treasured by Madison Avenue.

Only 7% of Business Leaders Are Willing to Pay for Online Business News

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-10T13:39:25+04:00

Business Leaders Seek Information from Both New and Traditional Forms of Media, Study Shows.

How ‘New Boss’ Andrey Yanovsky Came to Agreement with the Informal Leader and Kept the Whole Team

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-10T04:10:35+04:00

In the end of the 1990s I was appointed general manager of a large global company’s regional office. The sales department was headed by a man who had done a lot for the organization’s successful development and significant growth of the organization...

Private Bankers Are Forced to Recruit From Outside of Conventional Circles Due to Talent Competition

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-09T13:16:46+04:00

Boris Collardi, chief operating officer of Julius Baer's private banking division, said the Swiss bank had targeted students at Lausanne's prestigious hotel management training academy, due to their smart appearance and customer service skills.

New Global Leaders Must Be Multilingual and Have Several Years of Living Abroad, the Study Suggests

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-09T12:21:04+04:00

Heidrick & Struggles has put together a Global Talent Index that highlights some of the weaknesses of the top-ranked U.S. market when it comes to developing talent. The survey, conducted with the Economist Intelligence Unit, points to tough visa restrictions and the largely unilingual nature of U.S. workers as two factors that could hurt U.S. competitiveness down the road.

India Will Be Human Capital Mine for the Next 50 Years, KPMG Partner Argues

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-08T12:20:12+04:00

India is at a one-in-a-100 year peak in the context of number of people entering the workforce.

Jeff Bezos, Founder, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Amazon.com

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-04T20:52:19+04:00

Bezos has promoted innovative efforts among his employees through the Just Do It program, which rewards those who come up with and execute ideas that help the company - without first obtaining permission from their bosses...

Company’s Usual Meetings Are Unproductive and Formal

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-04T19:06:15+04:00

If you are tired of endless meetings and boring presentations with a lot of buzzwords, you will smile for sure hearing about a game contrived by Art Levinson to prevent culture atrophy at Genentech. gBuzz Bingo: the more buzzwords are said, the more cards’ boxes are checked off. Does not it deserve to be probed at your very next meeting?

Arthur D. Levinson, President and CEO, Genentech

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-04T18:17:23+04:00

Unique corporate culture is the success secret of Genentech. And Art Levinson is the one who protects its mission, focus, and culture from “evil ghosts”: bureaucracy, idle talks, bloated discourses, mind-numbing...

MySpace Is Looking for a Marketing Executive in Russia

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-04T15:50:11+04:00

MySpace representative Dany Dudeck refused to comment on this vacancy, but said that the company is prepared to enter 10 new countries till 2008, in addition to 22 countries where it already has the offices.

Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-04T12:24:27+04:00

Hiring people Tony Hsieh interviews them for culture fit. And he does not care if they are passionate about shoes, he wants people who are passionate about what Zappos is about - service. Hsieh thinks...

How Andrey Kosogov Formed a New Team When No Investment Professionals Were Available in Russia

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-04T12:17:01+04:00

In 1994 the Russian stock market began to go upwards for the first time, and the most part of the Alfa Capital team decided to leave the company. Perhaps they thought...

Starbucks: a “Third Place” to Spend Time after Home and Work

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-10-03T18:35:58+04:00

Coffee shops and bars existed long before Starbucks, but the quality of both the coffee and the customer service were questionable. Having bought the original Starbucks brand, Howard Schultz started its transformation with offering better experience for the coffee fans. The company began to brew coffee of the uniform quality and became first in the development of premium-priced drinks...

Monster.com Launches First Service Designed to Promote Availability of Green Jobs

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-03T18:25:21+04:00

GreenCareers by MonsterTRAK serves as a place that connects young people and employers with the emerging sustainable economy in a concrete way, making the environment more personally relevant for both parties.

IBM and O2 Teams Are Among Finalists for the Personnel Today Magazine’s Talent Management Award

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-03T13:03:32+04:00

This award recognises organisations with a proactive approach to talent management and succession planning. The judge looked for imaginative organisational talent reviews by the HR team, working in conjunction with others.

UK Insurers Face a Recruitment Crisis, Failing to Sell the Industry to Students and Talented Managers

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-03T12:35:34+04:00

Insurers say much of the trouble has come from a failure to sell the industry to students and talented managers, many of whom end up seduced by high investment banking salaries -- though few of those careers will last a lifetime.

US Leads in a Global Talent Index, China and India Are at the Top 10, Russia Will Fall from 6th to 11th Place by 2012

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-01T18:19:21+04:00

Asia Pacific countries are giving a tough competition to the US and Europe when it comes to attracting and nurturing talent, says the Index developed by executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles and the Economist Intelligence Unit covering thirty countries chosen for the survey based on a representative geographical spread.

Jack Welch: Gen Yers are Driven, Thoughtful, Open-Minded and Candid

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-10-01T12:40:39+04:00

"Overwhelmingly, we've found Gen Yers to be hardworking, entrepreneurial, startlingly authentic, refreshingly candid, and wonderfully upbeat."

Nucor: Decentralized Authority and Sense of Individual Responsibility

Maria Pikalova — 2007-09-27T19:37:50+04:00

Leadership at Nucor started from its legendary leader F. Kenneth Iverson's core philosophy: that employees, even hourly clock-punchers, will make an extraordinary effort if you reward them richly, treat them with respect, and give them real power.

Rosinter Joined up With Belgravia and Immo Industry to Develop Business Parks across Russia

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-26T11:57:24+04:00

The partners, including Immo Industry Group, a Belgium-based industrial property company, are together investing $1bn which – with gearing – means investment of $2bn in more than 2m sq m of buildings on 15 sites.

Companies Tend to Use Mentoring Programs to Develop Future Leaders

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-25T15:14:26+04:00

The research shows that companies that have had a high-potential employee-development program in place for five years or more tend to rank several development methods above mentoring.

Gen Yers Are Starting Businesses Earlier and at a Faster Rate than 35 to 44-year-olds

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-24T13:47:11+04:00

This has to reflect each generation's attitude to risk: 72% of Gen Y business owners surveyed said they thrived on risk. A smaller 53% of baby boomer entrepreneurs consider themselves risk junkies.

Amount of Work Makes the Job Seem Impossible to Be Done

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-09-18T21:41:22+04:00

How Rudolph Giuliani learned to start with small things and achieve the larger result.

Monster.com Launches Video Profile Service, Enabling Employers to Integrate Video in Job Postings

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-18T17:15:26+04:00

The new offering will allow employers to extend their brand via employment videos, and help target and attract the best candidates.

Most Companies Treat Talent Issues Separately, Which Is a Critical Error, Researchers Say

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-17T13:40:47+04:00

Here are some excerpts from their look and suggestions of what companies can do to weather the storm.

Patagonia: the Company That Limits Its Growth and Fights for Protection of Nature

Maria Pikalova — 2007-09-15T18:57:08+04:00

Patagonia, Inc. is one of the brightest companies in the outdoor industry. Barefoot employees, cavorting pets and organic chefs - in many ways Patagonia looks like an Internet startup, but as a matter of fact it is a thirty-plus-year-old clothing and equipment company. The place is all business, but it's business conducted upside down and inside out.

Virgin Group May Soon Come to Russia, Selling Franchise for Virgin Megastore to Ritzio Group

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-13T18:49:09+04:00

Ritzio stockholders revealed an interest in non-gambling projects about half a year ago, when Russian government signed a gambling business regulating low. Now they are looking for promising projects to invest.

Investment-Advisory Firms Face a Talent Shortage along with an Inflow of Clients

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-13T13:06:42+04:00

If firms have a hard time replacing advisers who retire, the quality of firms may deteriorate and damage the industry's reputation.

The Home Depot: the Combination of Entrepreneurial Spirit and GE-Style Discipline

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-09-11T12:11:14+04:00

The founders also strongly believed in the "upside down pyramid". A right side up pyramid means that the workers’ importance to the company is at the bottom, with one executive at the top. But Marcus and Blank claimed that the most important persons for the company were the associates in the stores...

A Team Groups Around an Informal Leader against Its New Boss

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-09-11T10:08:40+04:00

You have no chance to be a real leader if your team thinks that the boss is someone else. No panic! You will have enough time to fire this lucky rascal. But first try to find out if he is really so lucky. Andrey Yanovsky, CEO of Nidan Soki, once managed to put an informal leader in his place without destroying the whole team.

To Bridge the Generation Gap, Employment Agency Randstad Teams Y-ers With Older Staff

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-10T21:57:18+04:00

This unconventional pairing is a part of Randstad's effort to ensure that its twentysomething employees – Generation Y – fit in to their working places and will be retained.

“Put employees before customers,” Container Store CEO Kip Tindell Advises

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-05T18:00:05+04:00

If you take care of your employees, they'll take care of the customers - and that will take care of your shareholders. To myopically focus on the shareholders is wrong. So we invest heavily in our employees.

CEOs Keep More Literature and Poetry Books than Business Bestsellers in Their Private Libraries

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-05T17:22:55+04:00

Serious leaders who are serious readers build personal libraries dedicated to how to think, not how to compete, an article in the New York Times argues.

Virgin Group Sees Opportunities for Expansion into China and Russia

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-05T16:50:53+04:00

In the forefront of the expansion will be the AirAsia company which was founded by Tony Fernandes, a former executive at Virgin Group and Warner Music, who has been hailed as Asia's answer to easyJet's Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

In the International War for Talent, Cities Will Combat to Attract the Best Talent from Generation Y

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-09-03T20:02:27+04:00

"Generation Y will not think twice and the danger is that when they get to vibrant, funky cities like London, New York or Mumbai or Dubai, 95 per cent of them will not come back."

How Ricardo Semler Fired a Tough Leader

Maria Pikalova — 2007-09-02T19:54:09+04:00

At Semco there were two fighting groups of executives – adherents of tough and soft management approaches . CEO of the company Ricardo Semler tried to find a compromise because he understood that this controversy impedes development and growth. But at one of the traditional executive meetings an unpleasant accident happened...

Intel Studies Russian Middle Class, Aiming to Customize its Products for Russian Country-Homes

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-08-30T18:15:31+04:00

By studying the behavior of the middle class, and how they use information technologies at their dachas, Intel hopes to come up with solutions and products customized for Russian country-homes.

Indian IT Companies Create ‘Shadow Talent Pool’

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-08-24T19:47:50+04:00

This trend is unique to India, says Nirupama V G, managing director of HR consultancy AdAstra. “Almost every employee has two or more job offers. In the past few months, we have seen many more companies asking for shadow arrangements. Consultants are asked to keep this ready-to-hire shadow warm, through occasional phone calls, short messages or e-mails,” she says.

Ricardo Semler, CEO and majority owner, Semco SA

Maria Pikalova — 2007-08-23T21:54:45+04:00

Many people have talked the talk of corporate democracy; but Ricardo Semler’s company walks the walk. Semler has let his employees set the terms of their employment: hours, salaries, wages, bosses. His unusual management policy pulled Semco out of its death spin and let it grow consistently for many years. It is not a form of altruism, but a better way of making business through enjoying life.

Companies Are Used to Edit Wikipedia to Mend Their Online Reputation

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-08-22T19:38:43+04:00

The magazine highlights the cases which illustrate a real struggle to control reputations on the Web, as well as the public relations misses that result from failed attempts to hide controversy.

Key Employee Is Firmly Resolved to Leave the Company in Protest

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-08-22T08:59:00+04:00

After first big lay-off in Apple a bright young programmer decided to slam the door because his software project partner turned out to be fired. He had only one weak spot – passion for Macintosh. But it was enough for Steve Jobs to rake him and his computer up, put them both in a car and drive them to the date with their real love.

Semco SA: Brazilian Miracle Where Employees Set Their Salaries and Sleep in Hammocks

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-08-08T21:24:56+04:00

Semco is often called one of the most interesting companies in the world. And it is actually so. There are no job titles, no written policies, no HR department, or even, the present time, no headquarters. There is still a CEO, but half a dozen senior executives pass the title every...

Gleb Arkhangelsky: How talking to my boss helped me understand that my hobby is my vocation

Maria Pikalova — 2007-08-07T07:04:35+04:00

The moment of appearance of the vocation in my life was a project of producing field mushrooms which made me very bored. I came to a president of the bank to bid farewell. I told him that I do not like this project, that I am not interested and lost my motivation...

Break up with Close Associate

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-08-03T00:17:00+04:00

To get to know about a close peer and friend’s betrayal, to bluff through the crisis, to “drive а wedge” between the evildoer and the team, to fire him without losses, but let the door open for the future. Is it possible in real life? Richard Branson could do it all while running one of his first enterprises.

Igor Salita: How I Had to Investigate a Robbery

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-07-30T05:05:20+04:00

In the mid-90s when Pepsi was about to open its new regional representative office in Petrozavodsk, I decided to test a revolutionary new strategy concerning the company’s distribution system. Rather than continuing to use independent distributors, I proposed to open Pepsi’s own offices with our own sales teams...

Career Turning Point of Choosing Between Several Opportunities

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-27T12:19:00+04:00

Good advice from Pierre Omidyar, eBay founder, who has become a millionaire at the age of 29: “To truly prepare for unexpected, you’ve got to position yourself to keep a couple of options open – so when the door of opportunity opens, you’re close enough to squeeze through.”

How Andrey Yanovsky Moved from a Global Corporation to a Young Russian Company

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-26T16:24:29+04:00

Quite recently, only some years ago career and top position in a large international company have been a dream of life for almost any Russian manager. But at a certain point of time just a few years later more and more managers began to move to the young, fast growth oriented Russian businesses. I could feel the reason of such changes in managers’ preferences basing on my own experience...

Igor Salita: The Risky Appointment

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-07-23T14:29:56+04:00

...I decided to offer Alexei a new, much more creative position in sales. That was a double risk: Alexei didn’t have sales experience, and my bosses along with HR department opposed this appointment. They told me “Come on, he’s strictly a logistics specialist,he has no sales experience. How is he going to build the corporate sales system?”

The Headquarters Make the Branch Leader Apply a Wrong Solution

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-07-22T13:57:18+04:00

How Boris Volpe Had Not Agreed With His Bosses.

How Resignation of a Key Executive Made Andrey Kosogov Reconsider the Whole Business

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-21T18:25:39+04:00

In the end of February 2006, CEO of Alfa Capital Anatoly Milyukov announced that he was going to leave. Most of other key executives decided to quit together with him. It meant that we had to form a new team...

As Gen Y Continues to Enter the Workforce, Their Day Jobs Will No Longer Define Who They Are

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-07-20T11:43:05+04:00

Ryan Healy, 26-year old co-founder of Employee Evolution web-site covering the subject of Y-generation, asserts at his blog posting What does Gen Y want from work? defines some key differences Y-gens make between today’s work environment and the old one.

How Dee Hock Took Up “Retirement on the Job”

Maria Pikalova — 2007-07-13T12:33:20+04:00

After sixteen years of unorthodox management and unblemished results, the sheep, by the standards of industrial age command-and-control organizations, was a failure. In truth, those with whom the sheep battled and lost were not without merit.

How Jeff Bezos Chose His Own Business instead of Successful Career as an Employee

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-13T12:31:04+04:00

When Jeff Bezos told David Shaw, his employer of that time, he wanted to quit the job and start his own business, Shaw pointed out some of the risks...

How Dee Hock “Borrowed” Bank Executives to work under Clerical Employees Supervision

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-10T20:06:31+04:00

...There remains an immense problem to which we have no solution. More than a hundred thousand mailers are ready to receive newly embossed NBC BankAmericards. Each card must be proofread against the printed mailer, hand-inserted, and bundled for delivery to the post office. It must be done in three days. It is far beyond the capacity of the small staff of the card center...

Mary F. Sammons, President and CEO, Rite Aid Corporation

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-10T16:40:48+04:00

When Mary Sammons joined Rite Aid in December 1999, the company was condemned for its aggressive marketing of pharmaceutical products and other consumer-unfriendly practices, including selling date-sensitive products well past the due dates...

Amazon.com: Earth's Biggest Anything Store Driven by “Two-Pizza Teams”

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-10T13:00:00+04:00

Amazon is striving to attract the most talented and creative people because innovation is the part of what the company is. Jeff Bezos has promoted innovative efforts among his employees through the Just Do It program, which rewards those who come up with and execute ideas that help the company without first obtaining permission from their bosses...

Competencies Frameworks of Jack Welch

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-07-10T11:03:00+04:00

... The question I often get: "How can I manage quarterly results and still do what's right for my business five years out?" My answer is, "Welcome to the job!"

... Anyone can manage for the short term - just keep squeezing the lemon. And anyone can manage for the long - just keep dreaming.

...Performing balancing acts every day is leadership.

Steven Allan Spielberg, film director and producer, co-founder of the DreamWorks studio

Maria Pikalova — 2007-07-04T17:14:46+04:00

Steven Spielberg is not only the most powerful and successful filmmaker but also a brilliant manager that is able to make capricious talents work as one strong team. He works a lot, knows that money matters and uses his power to give young talents a start.

Competencies Framework of Rudolf Giuliani

Maria Pikalova — 2007-07-04T00:00:02+04:00

When taking a leadership role, try to achieve a clear, decisive victory as early as possible. Aim to solve a problem small enough that it’s easily understood and yields an unambiguous solution...

Top Manager’s Career Reaches Its Plateau in a Big Corporation

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-06-21T16:17:22+04:00

How Andrey Yanovsky moved from a global corporation to a young Russian company.

Choose People, Not Companies

Ivan Sukhiy — 2007-06-01T00:55:15+04:00

The purpose of this project is to learn how to make the right choice by example from people who had a privilege of being developed as true leaders by other true leaders they were born to or met with. Your choice of the leader who will make a leader out of you is your only way to the fast track. That's what Good2Work is about.

Steve Jobs, Co-Founder and CEO, Apple Inc.

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-05-31T12:34:32+04:00

While Jobs was a persuasive and charismatic evangelist for Apple, some of his employees from that time had described him as an erratic and tempestuous manager...

Rudolph Giuliani, 107th Mayor of New York City

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-05-25T02:49:31+04:00

Giuliani’s reaction to attacks on 09/11 proved once and for all how much he cared about New Yorkers, even if he had not always been able to show it. After this critical incident, a good many Rudy watchers assumed he had changed...

Books

Maria Pikalova — 2007-05-14T15:33:00+04:00

These are the books which inspired us to give a start to GOOD2WORK project. The initial content of our site and original concept of the resource are to a great extent based on the ideas and stories we found in this literature...

Trainings

Maria Pikalova — 2007-05-01T14:58:00+04:00

These are training programs which were created by thinkers and authors of the books included into our Books List. The information you can see below contains the name of the company and the leader and the name of seminars/lectures he or she is reading himself or trainings under his direction.

Schools

Maria Pikalova — 2007-05-01T14:52:00+04:00

These are the schools in which you can directly contact with some of thinkers and authors of the books included into our Books List. The information you can see below contains the name of the school and the name of lecturer and in some cases the course under his direction.

Employees Are Skeptical About You as Their New Boss

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-26T19:01:28+04:00

Haven't you ever been in a situation - new place of work or a new project - when people around didn't took your expertize and abilities for granted. It is a difficult situation. Lou Gerstner faced it when he made his first steps as the IBM boss.

Accuracy, Reliability and Credibility of Information

Ivan Sukhiy — 2007-04-23T15:56:00+04:00

We stick to the policy to use for our editorial content only information available from reliable sources. Our objective is to aggregate only information available from either primary (our role models) and scholarly (our academic experts) sources, or secondary and popular sources which have many times in the past proven to be reliable.

Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-20T06:35:00+04:00

Through Virgin Branson has established unorthodox corporate structure. He maintains a controlling interest in every company he starts, but in most cases after start-up stage...

How Art Levinson Didn’t Give Way to Panic and Produced a Billion Dollar Blockbuster

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-19T22:12:02+04:00

On March 14, 2003, hundreds of angry Wall Street analysts converged on The Pierre hotel in New York and demanded answers from Genentech CEO Art Levinson...

How Rudolf Giuliani Became "America's Mayor" on 9/11/2001

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-19T11:50:00+04:00

Mayor of NewYork City Rudolf Giuliani gained national attention for his leadership role during and after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center...

Disclaimer and Participants’ Conduct

Ivan Sukhiy — 2007-04-17T20:00:48+04:00

Participant's Public Content License

Ivan Sukhiy — 2007-04-17T17:57:02+04:00

GOOD2WORK does not claim ownership of participant's content made available for inclusion on publicly available areas of our web site. However, with respect to content participants make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of our web site, participant grants GOOD2WORK the worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license(s).

Successful Hired Manager Career Abandoned in Favor of One’s Own Business

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-13T10:56:15+04:00

How Jeff Bezos decided to give up his successful career as an employee to start his own business.

Louis Gerstner, former Chairman and CEO, IBM

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-12T11:47:03+04:00

Gerstner was an extremely visible executive who maintained an active schedule that kept him in front of clients and employees. A sign in his office bore a quotation from a novel by John le Carré, a favorite author: "A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world"...

Employees are Demotivated by Corporate Bureaucracy

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-11T15:00:46+04:00

How Blake Nordstrom saved family business giving “nice people” the freedom to dump the rules.

Key Employee Can’t Devote Himself to a Job Because of His Family Member Illness

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-11T14:45:09+04:00

How Lou Gerstner acknowledged the commitment of his close associate through many years.

An Employee is Responsible for a Serious Accident

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-11T14:41:14+04:00

How Jack Welch being responsible for a serious accident learned about importance of encouragement for an employee who made a mistake.

Promoted Person Appears to Be Wrong for the Job

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-11T14:34:19+04:00

How Jack Welch promoted the wrong person instead of his friend and was courageous enough to admit and correct the mistake in time.

How Lou Gerstner Used His McKinsey Consultant Experience in IBM

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-10T13:26:53+04:00

After joining IBM Lou Gerstner started from opinion polling about the company’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition he sought advice from three important financial analysts who tracked IBM for Wall Street; Dan Mandresh from Merrill Lynch, Steve Smith from Paine Webber, and Steve Milunovich from Morgan Stanley...

How Dee Hock Invented the New Credit Card Common Worldwide Name with All His Staff Help

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-09T15:24:13+04:00

In 1973, it became apparent that continuing proliferation of names for the card could hinder growth of the system. At the time, the only common worldwide identity was the blue-white-gold bands design. The product had a different name in every country...

How Walton Was ‘Kicked out of Town’ by Landlord who Wanted to Give His Store to a Son

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-09T10:10:39+04:00

"My landlord, the department store owner, was so impressed with our Ben Franklin's success that he decided not to renew our lease—at any price—knowing full well that we had nowhere else in town to move the store..."

How Lou Gerstner Fired an Executive Who Could Not Make Unpopular Decisions

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-06T19:46:00+04:00

Lou Gerstner hadn't been at IBM long enough to deliver any major pronouncements. But more red ink undoubtedly meant more layoffs. The rightsizing priority on the CEO's short list of initiatives meant that 25,000 and as many as 40,000 IBMers would lose their jobs by year's end...

Burning Business Necessity Probes the Company’s Basic Values

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-06T17:58:02+04:00

How Page and Brin changed Web ads completely but stuck to their principles.

Mutual Corporate Culture (Dress-code) Misunderstanding

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-06T17:54:56+04:00

How IBM executives met with Bill Gates for the first time.

Key Manager Wants to Devote Himself to Big Risky Project in Public Interest

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-06T16:26:01+04:00

How Dee Hock’s boss let him work full tme in the public interest retaining his position as VP with all the bank’s resources at his disposal.

Troubles with Office Machines Make Impossible Finishing Work in Time in a Usual Way

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-06T15:17:00+04:00

How Dee Hock saw spontaneous order emerged out of chaos fighting at crisis night with office machines.

How Hock’s Boss Let Him Work Full Time in Public Interest Retaining his Position as VP

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-05T20:26:36+04:00

"Mr. Carlson, I'm in trouble. When I spoke up at the meeting in Columbus I had no intention of getting so involved. I agreed to serve on the committee with the thought of setting things in motion and stepping aside. Problems are much worse than...

How Sam Walton in His Early Days Learned One of the Leadership Secrets

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-04-05T15:27:00+04:00

I had decided I wanted to be president of the university student body. I learned early on that one of the secrets to campus leadership was the simplest thing of all...

How Hock Saw Spontaneous Order out of Chaos Fighting at Crisis Night with Office Machines

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-05T13:56:17+04:00

We faced with major problems and no margin for failure. One hundred thousand card mailers in huge rolls arrived today, along with special machinery for feeding them into computer printers and cutting and folding them as they emerged...

How IBM Board Member Jim Burke Persuaded Gerstner to Put His Career At Stake

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-05T12:37:38+04:00

From 1990 to 1993, IBM shareholders saw nearly $6 billion in equity evaporate as the stock plunged by some thirty percent. In his final years the company's chairman and CEO, John Akers, cut IBM's workforce by a quarter, closing ten plants and trimming manufacturing capacity by forty percent...

How Pierre Omidyar Created a Web Cite to Help His Girlfriend and It Grew into eBay

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-05T12:35:05+04:00

While living in the San Francisco Bay Area and working at General Magic Pierre Omidyar met and became engaged to Pamela Wesley, a graduate student in biology. One night at dinner his girlfriend mentioned an old hobby, collecting and trading Pez candy dispensers...

How Gerstner Listened to a Retired IBMer’s Advice and Hired Sales Specialists

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-04T20:01:00+04:00

In early July of 1993, Lou Gerstner met with Sam Albert, a longtime IBMer, now in his sixties, who had retired in 1989 after thirty years with the company...

How Dee Hock Dug in the Garbage Cans to Find a Lost Deposit

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-03T21:14:16+04:00

One day stands out. I had been sent to a suburban office to learn branch banking. The manager turned me over to a crusty woman who was to train me as a teller. The very soul of courtesy to customers and a genius at her work, she was, nevertheless, of choleric disposition, not at all improved by...

How Jobs Enticed the President of PepsiCo To Become His CEO of Apple

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-03T20:59:34+04:00

In early March 1983, Steve Jobs decided that if the board wouldn't let him run Apple as CEO, the next best choice from his perspective would be someone he felt comfortable with, whom he might be able to control...

How Pierre Omidyar ‘Squeezes Himself Through the Door of Opportunity’

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-03T18:35:48+04:00

Pierre Omidyar’s father advised him, "Whatever future you're building… Don't try to program everything. Five Year Plans never worked for the Soviet Union," referring to the collapse of the nation in 1991. "In fact, if anything, central planning contributed to its fall"...

Ingvar Kamprad, Founder, IKEA

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-04-03T18:33:53+04:00

Striving to be as egalitarian as his brand, Kamprad insists on flying economy class and taking the subway to work. He believes that the company exists to improve people ...

How Pierre Omidyar Brought Money into eBay by Hiring the Right Person as CEO

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-03T18:15:27+04:00

eBay was a growing company and to push it to further success, Pierre Omidyar and his partner Jeff Skoll decided to bring more money into the company by selling stock to the public. Selling shares to the public meant that Omidyar and Skoll had to be more professional about the company's leadership...

How Omidyar Received Financial Backing from an Investor without a Business Plan

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-03T04:11:17+04:00

In eBay Pierre Omidyar had created a small yet winning team devoted to its colleagues and its customers. However, in order for eBay to grow and prosper, the company needed financial backing from outside investors...

How Omidyar's Internet Service Provider Pushed Him to Make Money on His Hobby Project

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-03T03:58:14+04:00

When Pierre Omidyar worked as a software engineer for General Magic, an Apple offshoot, he tinkered at home with his own software creation, AuctionWeb (later he named it eBay). He allowed people to use its services for free...

How Steve Jobs Made Young Apple a Client of the High-Statured Ad Agency

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-02T15:20:19+04:00

Fall of 1976. Apple II was almost ready for the market. At the same time the semiconductor company Intel ran a clever, attention-getting advertising campaign that ignored the usual technical claims...

How Teenage Jobs Called Bill Hewlett to Order Parts and Got Summer Job

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-02T15:07:44+04:00

After Jobs’ family had moved to Los Altos, Steve, still being a teen, began a project to build a frequency counter - a device...

How Jeff Bezos Flew to Japan to Deliver a Customer’s Order

Maria Pikalova — 2007-04-02T13:34:22+04:00

Jeff Bezos spent plenty of money connecting the name Amazon.com with exceptional customer service in the minds of public...

Blake W. Nordstrom, President, Nordstrom, Incorporated

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-29T16:56:03+04:00

Under Blake’s leadership the company focused on hiring “nice people” and gave them the freedom to dump the rules and do whatever it takes to make the customer happy…

Larry Ellison, Co-Founder, CEO, Oracle Corp.

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-29T05:41:24+04:00

Without a university degree, Larry has managed Oracle from its roots as a database company into the more than $10 billion-a-year software and services powerhouse...

Andy Pearson, Chairman and CEO, Tricon Global Restaurants Inc.

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-29T04:02:37+04:00

At age 76, Andy Pearson learned an entirely new set of leadership skills. He has found a new way to lead - one based on personal humility and employee recognition and transformed himself into a new kind of boss...

How Andy Grove Met a Man Who Learned to Manage His Own Career

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-03-28T19:16:35+04:00

'A story comes to mind. It was related to me by a business journalist who had interviewed me when this book was first published. This man used to be a banker. He was happily and productively employed until one day...

Sam Walton, Founder, Wal-Mart

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-28T16:14:54+04:00

Walton did not like publicity about himself, preferring to spotlight his stores. He was, indeed, a corporate evangelist, and his articulation of his company’s vision is a good example of the creation of a corporate culture...

How Andy Pearson at Age 76 Transformed Himself into a New Kind of Boss

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-28T15:28:48+04:00

Andy Pearson was a high-visibility executive, having been a senior director of McKinsey, then head of PepsiCo for nearly 15 years, driving revenues from $1 billion to $8 billion. He was known for his skills at bringing people down to earth, from any altitude. His chief weapons at the time were fear, surprise, and a fanatical devotion to the numbers...

How Pearson Helped Disgruntled COO to Become Tricon’s Most Productive Top Executive

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-28T14:31:00+04:00

Aylwin Lewis, chief operating officer at Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., started working with the new chairman Andy Pearson at the moment he joined the company. He was the first to point out that Pearson has lost none of his business acumen - nor his ability to be blunt.

How Page and Brin Changed Web Ads Completely but Stuck to Their Principles

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-27T19:51:00+04:00

By the end of 1999 Google was averaging 7 million searches per day, but its revenue remained small. No wonder that the company’s investors insisted on paid ads. But Sergey Brin and Larry Page didn’t want ...

Michael Dell, Founder, CEO and Chairman, Dell Inc.

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-27T19:20:00+04:00

Tom Peters says that people such as Dell "have the ability to appreciate people who are independently minded.” Michael gets high ranking for inspiring millions of them to pursue their dream.

Dee Hock, Founder of VISA International

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-27T18:22:00+04:00

By creating Visa Hock gave a birth to a new type of company he called 'chaordic' organization and a new type of leadership, implying that everyone leads and follows at the same time...

How Bill Hewlett Cut the Padlock off the Lab Stock Door on a HP plant

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-27T18:22:00+04:00

The faith that HP has in its people is conspicuously in evidence in the corporate "open lab stock" policy. The lab stock area is where...

Bill Gates, Co-Founder and Chairman, Microsoft

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-25T13:16:29+04:00

Gates meets regularly with Microsoft's senior managers and program managers. By all accounts he can be extremely confrontational during these meetings, particularly when...

Howard Schultz, Chief Global Strategist and Chairman, Starbucks

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-25T13:12:02+04:00

Howard Schultz wanted to build “a company with the soul”, a company that his father never got a chance to work for, in which people were respected. He applied a series of practices that were unprecedented in retail...

Andrew S. Grove, Co-Founder, Intel Corp.

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-25T12:56:37+04:00

But during Intel’s history Andy Grove had to overcome some serious crises. The first major one began in the mid-1970s, when Japanese companies...

How Google Guys Solved the Problem of Google’s Presence in China

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-25T10:19:22+04:00

In 2002 Chinese government decided to shut down all access to Google. Sergey Brin was no expert on international diplomacy. So he ordered a half-dozen books about Chinese history, business, and politics and splurged on overnight shipping...

How Schultz Talked to 242 Potential Investors and 217 of Them Said “No”

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-25T10:09:04+04:00

When in 1982 Howard Schultz went to Italy he took note of the coffee bars that existed on practically every block. He learned that they not only served excellent espresso, they also served as meeting places...

How Steve Jobs Talked Bill Gates into Investing in Apple

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-24T07:41:25+03:00

January 1997. Steve Jobs came back to Apple as “informal advisor” and one of his first actions in that role was to accompany Gil Amelio, Apple’s CEO of that time, on a diplomatic mission to Microsoft to meet with Bill Gates...

How Steve Jobs Broke Macintosh Keyboard Yearning to Restore Apple in His Own Way

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-24T07:37:49+03:00

Not long before Steve Jobs’ second coming to Apple in 1996 he was giving a talk to The Stanford Graduate School of Business’ High Tech Club at the home of a student. For three hours he sat in the lotus position...

Larry Page, Co-Founder and President of Products, Google Inc.

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-24T00:45:45+03:00

Page is the thought leader of the company and continues to share responsibility for Google's day-to-day operations with...

What Made Branson Start His First Enterprise And Become An Entrepreneur

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-03-22T00:09:40+03:00

At quite a young age Branson decided to put school behind him and leave. ‘Perhaps partly because I was dyslexic I had to try to prove myself in other ways and, in fact, sometimes if you have a slight disability in life, you can then excel in other ways...'

How Bill Gates Learned To Be Alert To Bad News

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-03-21T23:23:51+03:00

In the middle of 1990-es Microsoft invested heavily in interactive television expecting that the market would develop quickly. In collaboration with several telecom companies...

How Branson Appreciated Reality Show Participant’s Ability To Calculate Risk

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-03-21T22:29:44+03:00

In 2004 Richard Branson made the Reality show ‘The Rebel Billionaire’. In the final episode Richard offered the winner Shawn Nelson a cheque for a million dollars or an option to toss a coin for an even bigger prize. Shawn was utterly embarrassed...

How Branson Spent A Night in Prison and Got Strongest Incentive to Make His Company Grow Fast

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-03-21T22:15:14+03:00

In 1971 21-year-old Richard Branson happened to find an opportunity to avoid taxes, riding through UK and French customs with a van loaded with records. It helped to make about £5,000 more in profit than he could have done legally...

How Steve Jobs Hired a Star Salesman from IBM Just Showing Him a Monitor Stand

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T23:00:08+03:00

It was October 1986. Dan’l Lewin, the marketing honcho of Steve Jobs’ new company Next, needed to recruit a new vice-president of sales...

How Jack Welch Turned Meetings with Wall Street's Analysts into Intellectual Duels

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T17:49:54+03:00

On December 8, 1981, Jack Welch delivered his big message on the "New GE" in front of Wall Street's analysts. It was his first public statement on where he wanted to take GE...

How Jack Welch Won the GE CEO Race by Doing What He Thought Was Right

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T16:41:04+03:00

In December 1977 Jack Welch was one of five sector executives, who had been publicly identified as candidates for new GE’s CEO. The succession process was thick with politics...

How Welch Put a Right Person to Head GE Medical Business and Won over Competitor

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T13:15:12+03:00

Vice president of GE’s medical division, Julian Charlier, had a grandiose idea every minute but wasn't much into following up on them. After several conversations Jack Welch decided that Charlier would be better back in Europe at another company. But medical division needed a new leader...

How Brin and Page Retained Control Over Google After First Big Outside Investment

Ekaterina Zakomurnaya — 2007-03-20T12:25:17+03:00

In the spring of 1999 two star angel investors of Silicon Valley Kleiner Perkins led by John Doerr and Sequoia Capital of Michael Moritz decided to invest in Google. It was exactly what Sergey Brin and Larry Page needed because...

How Branson Launched Virgin Records as a Shop and Then as a Record Lable

Ilya Zinenko — 2007-03-20T12:01:49+03:00

In 1971 Virgin Mail Order Records, Branson’s thriving business was ruined by the strike of the Post Office workers. People couldn’t send cheques to the company and it couldn’t send records...

How Jack Welch by Hard Work Won over Product Flaw That Nearly Ruined His Career

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T03:47:09+03:00

When GE was already building a new plant for its new plastic Jack Welch who was in charge of this project found out that the product had a serious flaw...

How Branson’s Virgin Group Went Public and Then Got Back Private to Save Its Reputation

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T03:44:00+03:00

In a bid to attract more money for the further development Virgin made its shares publicly traded in 1986. The stocks sold good but it was a hard challenge to Richard Branson...

How Jack Welch Used Bad Example Method to “Kick” a Top Performer When Needed

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T03:40:34+03:00

Once Jack Welch inspected GE’s R&D sector in India he was impressed with what he have seen there. But when he has met the head of R&D sector on annual executive meeting he was surprised to receive from him a low evaluation of his people in India...

How Welch after a Serious Accident Learned about Importance of Encouragement

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T03:37:39+03:00

In 1963 early in Jack Welch’s career at GE he was in charge of experiments with a chemical process. He was leading the team of engineers which was bubbling oxygen through a highly volatile solution in a large tank...

How Jack Welch Put His Superior on Trial Period and Learned about Differentiation

Maria Pikalova — 2007-03-20T03:29:27+03:00

In 1961 Jack Welch has been working at GE for a year as an engineer when his boss handed him a $1,000 raise. But then he found out that he got exactly what all his colleagues received. He showed best performance and thought that he deserved more than the “standard” increase...