How to Lead


Recent How to Lead Articles

Do Any of Your Employees Have a Life-Threatening Allergy?

No idea? Never thought to ask? You can prepare for and avoid a serious health catastrophe. Here's how.  Read more

Silver Lining for the Broken-Down Carnival Cruise? Praise for the Ship's Crew

How Carnival employees handled a filthy, smelly fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico can teach you a thing or two about top-notch customer service.  Read more

Love Is in the Air at Work. What Can You Do?

You'll be hard-pressed to extinguish office romances. Here's how to ignore them (and why you want to).  Read more

Maker's Mark and the Price of Being Too Popular

Unable to keep up with demand, the hot bourbon distillery plans to stretch supply by watering down its product. Risky move.  Read more

Astronaut Mark Kelly: 'Even Though It's Fun, It's a Continuous Crisis' 

When space shuttle commander Mark Kelly led flights into space, he did not delegate. Here he describes his hands-on approach.  Watch video

One Sure-Fire (and Fast) Way to Get Rid of Office Politics

Politics are the bane of company life. But eliminating them is a lot less complicated than you think. Here's how.  Read more

Jerry Maguire Was Right

Two business owners decided to stop seeking wealth for its own sake and start putting their clients first. Here's what happened.  Read more

Got Funding? 7 Things to Do Now

It's too easy to lose focus after reaching this all-important milestone. Stay the course postfunding with these tips.  Read more

Time's A-Wastin' (And You're Probably Wasting Time)

Most of us don't feel we are using our time well--and we're right. We need to put ourselves on time budgets.  Read more

Think Like a 5-Year Old (the Best Leaders Do)

Want to grow your business? Reclaim your child-like sense of wonder, that endless curiosity about the world around you.  Read more

S&P Lawsuit: Lessons From a Massive Screw-up

As it faces a $5 billion suit, Standard & Poor's is violating nearly every rule in the crisis communications handbook.  Read more

9 Tips for Handling a Q&A Session

You aced the presentation--don't let the Q&A take you down. How to be ready for anything they throw at you.  Read more

9 Hidden Qualities of Stellar Bosses

What your employees see you doing matters. But often it's what they can't see that matters more.  Read more

3 Types of Poison Employees

Here are three types of employees that drag your company down, and how you can stop their bad behavior.  Read more

5 Reasons to Get Your Hands Dirty

This exec spent nine months doing every job at his company before becoming CEO. What he learned helped him triple revenue in five years.  Read more

10 Ways to Step Up Your Leadership Today

No matter who you are, or the type of company you oversee, there are some universal ways you can be better at it.  Read more

How to Banish Office Politics

No company is immune from infighting and gossip. How to keep politics from damaging relationships and impacting your bottom line.  Read more

8 Ways Happy People Are Different From Everyone Else

Want to be happier? Steal a page from the perennial optimist's playbook.  Read more

The Power of Not Solving Problems

The next time an employee tells you about a problem, stop, listen--but whatever you do, don't propose a solution.  Read more

Core Values: 3 Ways to Cut the B.S.

Corporate America is filled with examples of companies that say one thing... and then do the opposite. Make your values mean something. Here's how.  Read more

Reading This May Be Your Only Non-Sales Activity Today

Daniel H. Pink talks with Inc. editor-at-large Leigh Buchanan about his latest book, To Sell Is Human, and the ubiquity of sales today.  Read more

Great Leadership Is All About One Thing (Hint: Not You)

You should strive to be your best, of course. There's just so much to learn from other people.  Read more

One Practical Way to Upgrade Company Culture

For one day out of every month, don't focus on planning or executing anything. Focus on this instead.  Read more

Weed Out Entitled Employees: 3 Ways

Even if your company is a great place to work, not all employees will sufficiently appreciate it. Take a stand.  Read more

The Wrath of a Great Leader

How Martin Luther King, Jr. wrestled with anger and what you can learn from his example.  Read more

5 Ways Getting Married Helped My Business

In writing his vows to his future wife, this CEO learned he ought to make similar promises to his employees.  Read more

Want Your Team to Work Together? Start a Fight.

The more you encourage healthy debate among your top managers, the better off your company will be.  Read more

10 Business Lessons From the NFL

In order to keep minds focused on work and productivity during the exciting NFL playoffs, here are 10 business tips we can all take away from football.  Read more

Why Stretch Goals are a Bad Idea

Without a realistic plan, a stretch goal is simply a waste of time. Here are some tips to help you set goals, make plans, and stick to them in 2013.  Read more

One Leadership Skill That Will Set You Apart

This skill probably isn't one you've ever thought about developing--and that's a big mistake.  Read more

'I Don't Know. What Do You Think?'

If you have only one resolution for 2013, make it to say these seven words more often.  Read more

4 Ways to Be a Force for Good in the World

You're in a position to do more good than you think, starting right inside your own company.  Read more

Great Leaders Aren't Just Role Models

Managers, employees, customers, and other entrepreneurs need a lot more than inspiration.  Read more

How China's Cultural Revolution Stirred Entrepreneur Ping Fu

In her new memoir--and this Q&A--entrepreneur Ping Fu describes her journey from communist China to co-found Geomagic, a 3D imaging and design company.  Read more

6 Things Really Powerful Leaders Do

Not everyone is ready or willing to lead. Here are six things you'll need to master to move masses, inspired by Seth Godin's latest talk.  Read more