OWNERS' MANUAL  

Jeff Haden


5 Underrated Traits of Great Leaders

Those bosses who inspire, motivate, and make employees feel better about themselves? Here's what they do differently from everyone else.  Read story

6 Qualities of Remarkably Loyal Employees

Loyalty has nothing to do with length of employment and everything to do with actions.  Read story

Do You Pass This Key Leadership Test?

The stakes are high, and the pressure is on. Here's how great bosses respond in challenging situations.  Read story

5 Leadership Lessons You Won't Learn in B-School

Forget vision, passion, and other B-school platitudes. Here are the nitty-gritty details on what makes leaders great.  Read story

Most Important Failure to Embrace

Maybe you already proudly "fail fast and fail often." There's one type of failure you're probably still avoiding--but shouldn't.  Read story

How I Keep My Job From Killing Me

Sitting is terrible for you, but what do you do when your job is sedentary? Inc.com columnist Jeff Haden took a treadmill desk for a spin.  Read story

How Retro Prices Can Deliver Cutting-Edge Profits

Being the low-cost provider is never easy--especially when you're a start-up. But the Retro Fitness line of gyms beat the odds. Here's how.  Read story

4 Tips to Dramatically Improve Any Skill

Practice does not, in fact, always make perfect. Here's an easy way to make sure all that work pays off.  Read story

Most Important Clicks to Track on Your Website

That SEO strategy is all for naught if you're not watching the right metrics. Here's how to measure success.  Read story

What Makes Work Honorable?

Fancy titles, a big paycheck, name recognition? None of these convey a person's true dignity.  Read story

9 Questions for Ashley Madison's Founder

Noel Biderman built a business everyone loves to hate: a dating website for cheating spouses. Here's what you can learn from it.  Read story

A Cure for Performance Review Blues?

Hate doing employee evaluations? Most of your employees hate receiving them. But there might be a better way.  Read story

Why What Kind of Car You Drive Matters

You may not think twice about your ride, but customers, investors, and employees are most certainly looking--and judging.  Read story

11 Tips to Find the Best LinkedIn Groups

If you're using LinkedIn only to make connections, you're missing out.  Read story

The $8 Can of Diet Coke

If your prices are well above the norm, is it your responsibility to make sure customers know that upfront?  Read story

Fauxclusive! Mark Zuckerberg's Email Hacked

You won't believe his inbox! Plus: Aliens raise $1 billion on Kickstarter for new planet!  Read story

One Thing Every Great Entrepreneur Does

Visions, strategies, decisions--those are all important. But not as important as this.  Read story

5 Questions Great Job Candidates Ask

Many of the questions potential new hires ask are throwaways. But not these.  Read story

One Word That Defines a Great Personal Brand

Julia Allison, one of the Web's biggest self-promoters, explains how to define your brand before others do it for you.  Read story

Performance Reviews: 8 Things Not to Say

Sometimes it's what you don't say during an evaluation that makes all the difference.  Read story

Eric Ripert on How to Build a Classic Brand

Le Bernardin restaurant has received four stars 26 years in a row. The head chef explains what it takes for a brand to never go out of style.  Read story

10 Business Clichés That Prove You're Lazy

Recognize any of the platitudes on this list? Here's why you should stop using them--now.  Read story

Best Reason to Start a Business? God Asked.

One entrepreneur explains how he answered God's call by starting a new venture.  Read story

How to Get Paid Faster

Here's a simple way to figure out how quickly you're collecting--and how to do it faster.  Read story

2 Web Metrics Every Entrepreneur Should Know

What do visitors really do when they come to your website? These two metrics will tell you.  Read story

Best Way to Protect Your Brilliant Ideas

How do you know when to patent, trademark, or a license your idea? We grilled the CEO of General Patent Corp. to find out.  Read story

How Much to Pay Remarkable Employees

When you've found someone who's truly outstanding, the normal pay rules shouldn't apply.  Read story

Secret to Outstanding Customer Service

Growth and scale are typically the enemy of great, personal customer service--except in this case.  Read story

Best Way to Make Employees Better at Their Jobs

Forget trying to come up with motivational tools and "tricks." There's a better--and simpler--way to get more out of your staff.  Read story

Time to Break Up With Your Bank

Your relationship with your bank may be one-sided--and expensive. But you won't know unless you play the field.  Read story

10 (More) Beliefs of Remarkably Successful People

Successful people think about their work differently than most. Here are some of the beliefs they said we missed in a previous story.  Read story

3 Interview Questions That Reveal Everything

Employee fit is crucial. Here's a simple way to know if a job candidate is right for your business.  Read story

How Google Is Killing Organic Search

If your business depends on customers finding you in search results, you're in trouble--and it's likely to get worse.  Read story

How to Sneak Up on Incredibly Elusive Goals

If success always seems to be just out of your reach, consider approaching your goals from a new angle.  Read story

11 Ways You Allow Your Life to Suck

Is your personal or professional life unsatisfying? Here's how you--more than anything else--might be holding yourself back.  Read story

Shake Shack CEO: 'We Want to Be the Anti-Chain Chain'

Can the company achieve global burger domination without becoming a soulless corporation? CEO Randy Garutti explains how he plans to do it.  Read story

One Thing Employees Need (But Rarely Get)

Pay, benefits, training, opportunities: All important. But this is more important.  Read story

Your Most Important Investment

Chances are, you're failing to invest in the most important asset of all. Do these five things and your business will be better for it.  Read story

Basic Social Media Mistake Everyone Makes

Why don't more people "like" your business on Facebook or follow it on Twitter? Simple: Your perspective is all wrong.  Read story

9 Dumb Ways to Ruin a Meeting

If you must call a meeting, make it count. Don't waste everyone's time with one of these mistakes.  Read story