Future of Work Briefs

William Thorndike, investor and author of The Outsiders:: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint For Success, looks at some less-known but more effective executives.

Leaders must demonstrate three key attributes in order to be seen as a true leader. First, they must have “grace under fire.” But also, our research found that leaders must stand for and by a clear set of values which define them. Finally, they must have integrity, constantly speaking truthfully.

In their best-selling 2013 book Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work and Think, authors Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier selected Google Flu Trends (GFT) as the lede of chapter one.

There is an increasing amount being written about the use of storytelling as a powerful leadership tool. In fact, stories may be one of the most meaningful ways of quickly understanding what lies “below the water line.” Why might this be the case?

What executive skills are most prized by companies today? How has that array of skills changed in the last decade, and how is it likely to change in the next ten years? Here are the seven C-level skills and traits companies prize most.

some CEOs consistently win in one context but lose in another. If you’re involved in CEO selection, this requires that you both hire the right CEO and understand when the company’s strategic situation suggests that a different CEO is more likely to win.

Most of the people who end up in top jobs have never had any training for or experience in dealing with communicating in a crisis on the big stage. I thought it might be useful to put together a playbook that every leader should have ready for when it hits the fan.

Time Magazine recently put “The Mindfulness Revolution” on its cover, which could either be seen as hyping the latest business fad, or as signaling a major change in the thinking of executive leaders. I believe it’s the latter.

Satya Nadella’s appointment as Microsoft’s CEO was greeted with headlines such as “Why Microsoft and Everyone Else Loves Indian CEOs,” echoing Time’s 2011 lead heralding “India’s Leading Export: CEOs.”