Communicating the Plan
The marketing plan and budgetwere just approved by the vicepresident. It' s time to launch! Before introducing the newproduct, booking the hotel fo... Read more
Leadership
Recent Leadership Articles
Hot Tip: Reinforcing Teamwork
The Service Experts franchise in Orem, Utah, is part of a national company, and outstanding local performers are sometimes named to the national all-star ... Read more
Energizing Teams of Hourly Workers
Problem-solving approach. W.L. Gore & Associates, in Newark, Del., puts employees through a rigorous hiring process to be sure t... Read more
Fun at Work: Enliven Your Culture
Water wars. Consider this way to help a group adhere to ground rules it has previously agreed to: Give group members toy sq... Read more
The Seven Sexes of Venus
Inc.'s editor comments on how business opportunities today are so complex it takes a group of individuals or businesses all working together to launch a star... Read more
Falling Phone Rates Squash Global Fax Service
The Intergram Corp., hoping to undercut overseas rivals with Internet-based fax services, went bankrupt when international telephone rates began to plummet. Read more
Tear Down the Walls
Faced with poor internal communications, accounting firm Lipschultz, Levin Gray created a whole new way of doing business by eliminating all wall... Read more
The Truth About Medical Savings Accounts
Overwhelmed by the cost of providing health insurance for your employees? Small businesses can now help employees set up medical savings accounts to pay thei... Read more
Raises by Democracy
A CEO exposes employee pay rates and lets his employees vote on each other's raises. Read more
Beloved Zinfandel
Michael Apstein, a gastroenterologist and full-time wine critic, describes how he uses technology to balance his duel professions and still find time for his... Read more
Machine Maker Unhinged by Sales Emphasis
When machine-builder American Dixie Group began accepting too many projects, it couldn't maintain product quality or delivery schedules, and ultimately went ... Read more
The 90-Day Checkup
Quint Studer, president of Baptist Hospital, in Pensacola, Florida, explains how he made Baptist an employer of choice by revamping its culture. Read more
Corporate Giving: Follow Guidelines or Reap Short-Term Benefits?
Highland Electricity is well known for supporting community projects, and in recent years has increased its corporate giving. The company has also recentl... Read more
Our Workplace Is Stressful. What Can I Do to Improve Morale?
Encouraging exercise is a great place to start. Read more
You-Do-It Brewery Slips Down Hatch
Faulty market research, tricky regulations, and a bad location helped drive Brew Doctors, a brew-your-own-beer store, into bankruptcy. A business obit. Read more
Intensive Care
By asking its customers what they wanted and then giving it to them--giving it all to them--Griffin Hospital not only made itself over but reinvented the pra... Read more
Lessons for Leaders
Three short reviews of new business books offering management insights and advice. Plus: a CEO recounts some the best books he's read this year. Read more
Where Have All the PCs Gone?
Tracking high-tech fixed assets--PCs, scanners, and digital cameras--is key to your bottom line. Here's how to use a database for fixed-asset management. Read more
A Real Dream Job
Russ Klettke, principal of the Chicago public-relations firm Klettke + Associates, believes that a good napcan help you work better. "I'm not narcoleptic,... Read more
Postcards From the Data-Smog Edge
Inc. editor Bo Burlingham describes how his vacation to pastoral France let him escape faxes, phone calls, e-mail, and news, so he could finally get some wor... Read more
Lawsuit Bursts Balloon of Party-goods Chain
After losing its bank line of credit, party-supplies retailer K.G. Marx was hit with an unrelated shareholder lawsuit. Competition from discounters finally d... Read more
Why You Feel the Way You Do
In an excerpt from his book, "Data Smog," David Shenk explains why the surplus of information available through technology each day stresses us out and impai... Read more
In Your Own Backyard
Inc.'s editor describes why every young company eventually has to make the transition from start-up to "professionally managed" by institutionalizing the val... Read more
Obit: Taxi Company's Zeal for Service Backfires
When Yellow Cab owner Raymond W. Stubbs exiled cab drivers who wouldn't adopt his stringent customer service policies, the cabbies went solo, taking their cu... Read more
Mad About Me
A disgruntled employee may suffer from an inability to take responsibility for his or her own life--the same inner turmoil that often prompts entrepreneurs t... Read more
No False Moves
Small companies waste untold dollars on technology that doesn't begin to solve their problems. Here's how to analyze your business and develop a focused tech... Read more
Manuel Fernandez: My Biggest Mistake
Manuel Fernandez is the chairman and CEO of the Gartner Group, based in Stamford, Conn., a high-tech consulting firm that generated $511 million in re... Read more
Soaring Video Chain Crashes to Earth
After hiring high-priced executives to manage aggressive growth plans, a slump in the video-rental market drove Planet Video into bankruptcy. A business obit. Read more
Hurry Up and Wait
CEO Brodsky describes how budding entrepreneurs often make poor business decisions because they're too impatient to think them through. He gives advice on le... Read more
So You Want to Be an Inc. 500 CEO?
A list of eight qualities common to Inc. 500 CEOs and their companies. Statistics include the marital status and economic background of owners and the types ... Read more
Scoring on the Rebound
Sales at SurfSoft Inc., a 1998 Inc 500 winner, faltered until CEO Chuck Hickey picked up "The Deming Management Method" by Mary Walton. The book tau... Read more
Where Really Bad Ideas Come From
Before starting the companies that made the 1998 Inc. 500, many CEOs pursued dubious business concepts that ultimately bombed. Here are the lessons ... Read more
How Can I Keep my Employees?
One Friday afternoon, C. Richard Cowan watched $600,000 walk out the door. Cowan, founder and president of Power Lift Corp. (#2), which distributes... Read more
