To mark my 7th anniversary writing for the Philadelphia Business Journal, I reflect on the leadership principles that I have written about in my columns and in my book, “Be Different! The Key to Business and Career Success.”
Warren Buffett on ethics and integrity
In speech to MBA students, Warren Buffett, said, “There are three things in hiring people [that you] should look for: integrity, intelligence, and energy. If the person doesn’t have the first … the latter two will kill [you].”
Post-completion reviews of acquisitions improve success of future opportunities
Performing post completion reviews of past acquisitions is a powerful tool to improve the outcomes of future acquisitions. They should be part of the board process.
How to become the preferred provider to your market
Being the preferred provider to your market, the company that everyone wants to buy from, is a huge competitive advantage. Give a great customer/client experience, hire the right people, and lead them in the right way.
The Business Roundtable: Generate shareholder value while acting as a good corporate citizen
More CEOs should adopt the Business Roundtable’s principles. More business schools should administer the MBA Oath at commencement. It’s the right thing to do.
The unintended consequences of Amazon’s forced attrition goals
The last thing you want is for employees to feel as if they are competing with each other. It reduces trust and collaboration among team members. It’s not productive for employees to widely dislike such a cutthroat cultural norm.
Develop your credibility by being transparent and factual
Whenever we realized that we had provided inaccurate information to the International Trade Commission staff, we immediately corrected it, even if it hurt our case. Our honesty and transparency with the staff built our credibility with them.
Graduates, step out of your comfort zone and embrace change
Be open to new opportunities that come your way and create your own opportunities. Embrace change, the only constant in life.
Differentiate yourself in your current job to compete for your next job
These differentiators will help you stand out from other individuals who are interviewing for the same position.
Tragic death at Bowling Green fraternity due to failure to fulfill fiduciary responsibility
Especially due to the power differential, fraternities have a fiduciary responsibility to keep their pledges safe.
Shark Tank star, Kevin O’Leary, takes this approach to corporate earnings goals. You should too.
Set a realistic earnings goal with the objective of blowing through it to the greatest extent possible.
Lessons learned from Bernie Madoff and history’s largest Ponzi scheme
Remember the adage, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”