The Leadership Secrets of Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took walks with Steve Jobs near Jobs’ Palo Alto home, absorbing everything the great Apple visionary had to say. Some of it stuck. A recent New York Times article pointed out that Zuckerberg started taking walks himself with potential...

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Apple Store’s Secret Sauce: 5 Steps of Service

People do the craziest things in an Apple Store. They record themselves dancing and post their videos to YouTube. Some have proposed marriage in Apple Stores. Comedian Mark Malkoff brought a goat into an Apple Store and produced a video on the other stuff he tries to...

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Share the Stage to Win Over Your Audience

People love to see a performer share the stage with someone in the audience or, better yet, with someone they know personally.  I recently went to a Bruce Springsteen concert where, much to the audiences' delight, he brought up two people to help him with a song (once...

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Alan Mulally, Optimism, and the Power of Vision

I was surprised to receive a personal phone call from Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, in 2009. He simply wanted to compliment me on an article that I had written about the power of optimism. I thanked him and asked how things were going at Ford. Mulally impressed me with his...

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How the Ritz-Carlton Inspired the Apple Store

One of the questions Apple Store hiring managers ask themselves while sizing up a potential job candidate is, “Can the individual offer Ritz-Carlton level service with the right training?” The Ritz-Carlton is the gold standard of customer service so it would make...

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Enrich Lives: Reinvent Your Business The Apple Way

Enriching lives. These two words tell you everything you need to know about The Apple Retail Store and why it’s become the most profitable retailer in America. “Enriching lives” are the first two words on the wallet-sized Apple Retail credo card all employees are...

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Why Apple Store Employees Won’t “Sell” You an iPad

If you walk into an Apple Store to buy a new iPad, you will be greeted by friendly, passionate sales associates (specialists) who are eager to help you. But don’t expect them to “sell” you anything. After spending the last eight months researching a new book on the...

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Media Skills: 5 Ways Tim Cook Tackled the Tough Question

Apple CEO Tim Cook responded recent criticisms over Apple suppliers’ working conditions in China by making a forceful response in comments at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference. Cook’s answer to a difficult question offers a good example for CEOs...

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Presentation Skills: Bring Statistics to Life

I recently returned from Mexico where I worked with executives of one of the country’s largest brands, helping them to shape and craft a corporate story to share with customers and stakeholders. During one of our conversations, one of the leaders turned to me to...

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3 Things Carnival Must Do Now to Manage the Costa Crisis

Shares of Carnival are dropping significantly after the cruise company’s worst accident—the Costa Concordia running aground off the coast of Italy (Carnival is the holding company for Costa Cruises). We know that eleven people are dead and more than twenty are still...

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Joel Osteen: 7 Keys to Successful Public Speaking

As the second subject for Oprah's Next Chapter on OWN, she chose mega-church pastor, Joel Osteen. Few people give weekly talks or “presentations” to as many people as Osteen. His Lakewood Church in Houston attracts 16,000 for each sermon on Sundays. He reaches...

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70 Percent Of Your Employees Hate Their Jobs

The good news for the labor market—more people are voluntarily leaving their jobs than they did a year ago.  The bad news for corporate managers—more people are voluntarily leaving their jobs.  Once you start seeing this trend, you know that employees are discouraged,...

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No Joke: A Comedian Conquers Fear of Public Speaking

Comedian Dan Nainan’s dad is from India and his mom is from Japan.  Once Nainan introduces his ethnic background, he launches into one joke after another as well as impersonations of politicians and athletes.  He usually brings down the house.  Nainan  has performed...

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The Legacy of Steve Jobs: Remembering a Master Innovator

A while back, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman challenged the US government to create more jobs -- Steve Jobs. He suggested that the only way to emerge from the recession is to foster an environment where business innovation is front and center, as Jobs has...

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Business Renegades: Howard Schultz

For the Forbes video series, Business Renegades, Carmine hits on three points as it relates to Howard Schultz's leadership qualities. 1. Ask yourself what business you are really in? 2. Make emotional connections with your consumers. 3. Tell your brand story.

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What Makes Steve “Steve”

The news that Steve Jobs resigned as CEO came as little surprise to those who have been monitoring his ailing health lately. But it does mark the end of one of the most inspiring careers in the history of the business world. Few people in this world will revolutionize...

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Why Leaders Need Tiger’s Ex-Caddie

When Steve Williams carries the bag for Australian golfer Adam Scott in this week’s PGA Championship, a lot of eyes (and ears) will be on Williams to see if he’s put aside the anger that led him to make some controversial remarks after his new boss won the Bridgestone...

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Because He’s Steve Jobs . . . and You’re Not

In the movie Crazy Stupid Love, Steve Carrellplays an awkward forty-something man whose wife wants a divorce.  As he’s getting used to life as newly single, he meets the dashing, smooth-talking character played by Ryan Gosling who takes Carrell under his wing.  In one...

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How Smartphone Habits Undermine Leadership

Your “habit” of checking emails, Twitter, and Facebook messages on your smartphone might have turned into a full-fledged addiction.  That’s the argument of U.S. and Finnish researchers in a new study published in the Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.  On...

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The Best PowerPoint Tip You’ll Ever Get

The best PowerPoint tip you’ll ever hear is this: When you create a PowerPoint presentation, do not start by opening the software. Start sketching instead. I recently met with a group of sales leaders at a major Internet company who give presentations every...

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US Women’s Soccer Coach Scores Points for Leadership

First, congratulations to Japan for winning the Women’s World Cup on Sunday.  I was just in Tokyo and I know how much the victory must mean to the Japanese right now.  The win – in an overtime shootout—takes nothing away from the U.S women’s national team coach, Pia...

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Naked Presentations in Japan

I’m constantly amazed by how eager people are to improve their presentation and communication skills—regardless of where they live or what industry they work in. I recently returned from a remarkable week-long visit to Japan where I spoke to more than 1,000 people in...

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How to Think Like Steve Jobs

BNET Podcast on the seven success principles on selling dreams rather than products taken from the Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Listen to the Podcast.

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Why Your Business Needs a Big Idea

To get ahead in 2011, business owners should articulate a goal that inspires their employees. Its success will hinge on its boldness and specificity, says Carmine Gallo. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to reach an ambitious goal: land a man on...

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Run More Effective Meetings

By making basics clear and emphasizing clear communication, you and your employees will get more accomplished and cut the time you spend discussing what you need to do My colleague Steve Spurgeon spent three decades in senior leadership positions at some of the...

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To Unlock Creativity, Learn from Steve Jobs

The company name "Apple" fell from a tree, literally dropping right into Steve Jobs's vision of what a computer should be: simple and approachable. Although Jobs had dropped out of Reed College in Portland, he returned to Oregon periodically to share ideas with...

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