I’m a big advocate of structured meetings, but some teams can feel choked by too much facilitation—as though they can’t talk informally, like they used to.

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The most effective way to interview with the CEO for a C Suite position isn’t about the questions the CEO will ask, nor how effectively the candidate prepares her answers.  The best approach is a collaborative conversation.

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Nowadays, the article posted by an author/blogger is just a conversation starter.  Much rich dialog happens when people make high quality comments, and others reply, weighing in with their own experience and point of view.

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I’ll bet everyone who has dreams of being a CEO has empathy when a founder or CEO gets fired.  That’s certainly how I felt when I heard the news of George Zimmer’s dismissal from The Men’s Warehouse.

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CEOs and CFOs must deliver a carefully crafted duet when they communicate to the team, balancing optimistic messages and cautionary ones.

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Too many CEOs try so hard to avoid the old-style command and control, “Donald Trump” style of management that they just aren’t tough enough on poor performance.  Last week IBM’s CEO publicly criticized her sales function, and I think she was right to do it.

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All types of organizations watch high-potential employees walk out the door because their views aren’t heard. Even members of a top management team can flee to other organizations after too many instances in which the CEO discounted their ideas, unable to shake the command-and-control leadership style.

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There are thousands of Lance Armstrong-like people working in companies today.  People who have a win at any cost approach, who poison teams, destroy a company’s sustainability and ultimately harm the company’s mission.

Is there a Lance Armstrong on your management team?

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Hard fought battles in politics and business leave people bitter and angry at those who opposed their view.  That’s bad for business.

Not unlike Obama and Romney, we business leaders must keep leading even after the battle is over.  Our job:  to rebuild an environment of mutual respect–even between companies.

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Increasing performance, reviewing performance, and rewarding performance are tough subjects that must be handled skillfully.  Microsoft’s stack ranking of employees has been a topic of a number of posts recently that isn’t working out too well when it comes to their employees’ innovation.  So how does the middle market company practice these evaluative techniques without alienating their employees or stifling the essential creativity necessary for growth?

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