Top 8 Leadership Attributes from Lasting Leaders November 3, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentAs an entrepreneur and CEO of www.fanfuego.com, a social network where pro athletes engage with passionate fans, I read alot to learn more about being a great leader. A while ago, Nightly Business Report (NBR) - the most watched daily business program on U.S. television - and Knowledge@Wharton joined forces to identify the 25 most influential business leaders of the past 25 years. This collaboration resulted in a book, written by Knowledge@Wharton in partnership with NBR and published by Wharton School Publishing, entitled Lasting Leadership: Lessons from the 25 Most Influential Business People of Our Times. I thought it was a good list to reflect on as a CEO.
1. They are able to build a strong corporate culture.
2. They are truth-tellers.
3. They are able to find and cater to under-served markets.
4. They can “see the invisible” - that is, spot potential winners or faint trends before their rivals or customers.
5. They are adept at using price to build competitive advantage.
6. They excel at managing and building their organization’s brand (which in some cases may be their own name).
7. They are fast learners.
8. They are skilled at managing risk.
How do you do at this list? Are these your attributes? Take some time and see how you did and let me know — these are excellent areas to look at and aspire towards in your entrepreneurial career. (more…)
Congress: 14% Say Doing a Good Job June 21, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a comment(Gallup) In the latest Gallup poll, only 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress. This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973. The previous low point for Congress was 18% at several points in the period of time 1991 to 1994. What does this say? Will we see great change in 2008 if no one is happy with their politicians? Will the disgruntled public change out their elected reps? What should our response be if so many are not happy with the decisions being made by Congress?
It’s worth remembering that Congress is basically nothing more than a mechanism for the representation of the people’s wishes. We all can’t go to Washington. So we elect men and women and send them off in our stead. It’s not an optimal situation, it seems to me, when such a low percentage of average Americans have confidence in this system. Generally speaking, Americans have been skeptical about Congress for decades now. But the current 14% confidence rating for Congress is down from 19% last year and is the lowest in Gallup’s history, surpassing the 18% confidence in Congress measured in 1991, 1993 and 1994.
Congress is now nestled at the bottom of the list of Gallup’s annual Confidence in Institutions rankings, along with HMOs. Just 15% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in HMOs. (By way of contrast, 69% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military, which tops the list. More on this at galluppoll.com on Thursday).
Tech Tip: Gmail Attachment Upgrade May 23, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Technology, Tech Tips , add a commentGmail just upgraded the maximum attachment size from 10 MB to 20 MB. While Gmail in the past let some larger (10+Mb) files, they have now increased the sending size to 20 MB in one message. This may still not work for the folks at the other end as the are few mail providers that will accept a such a big message, (Yahoo Mail Plus, or other premium accounts).
