Lessons from Great CEOs: How to (Every So Often) Escape the Bubble at the Top

bubble of beer on a bottle
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As sure as night follows day, a “bubble” envelops CEOs and other senior leaders once an organization starts to grow beyond 10 or 15 people. It’s the nature of having a leadership position, the number of people in an organization, and the fact that humans operate in certain predictable ways.

While it’s a bubble that can provide some needed buffer, it’s also a bubble that disables.… Read the rest

How to Succeed? Try and Fail! And Try Again.

Albert Einstein noted “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

So what’s up with the craving for the sweet smell of success people that people are determined to avoid the taint  of failure?

Biotech CEO Robert Johnson told me that when he did business development at Lilly he was paid to bring deals forward for the firm to consider.… Read the rest

[Career Thoughts for 16-24 Year Olds] Is BusinessWeek’s “Lost Generation” Really Lost?

The current edition of BusinessWeek trumpets a “Lost Generation” of 16-24 year olds – and notes, “The continuing job crisis is hitting young people especially hard—damaging both their future and the economy.” The article talks about the drag on future earnings, as well as the experience of a similarly aged generation of Japanese youth from the 1990’s.

No doubt that the impact of the recession is hard on this group – but is the prognosis true?Read the rest