Communication
Why storytelling is a powerful leadership tool
A five-year-old reading a picture book in her pillow fort. A college student and his friends at the midnight matinee. A ninety-year-old watching her soaps. What do they have in […]
The 2,500-year-old secret to successful leadership
Among history’s many thought leaders, Plato may sport the most impressive resume of the bunch. The Athenian philosopher founded the Academy. His Dialogues are required reading at every institution of […]
5 laws for leaders who want to build trust
Trust can be a fragile thing. Like decorative china or a ship in a bottle, it breaks if handled clumsily. But unlike those, you can’t set trust in your curio […]
Shipwrecked: Leadership lessons from history’s famous castaways
It’s the early 20th century, and you are the captain of a ship. A barquentine specifically—three masts and a coal-burning steam engine in her belly. She’s a sturdy and capable […]
5 important lessons from women business leaders
In recent years, women have made incredible strides in the business world. Forty-one women currently lead Fortune 500 companies. While that remains an unacceptably low percentage (8 percent) overall, it […]
Douglass Rushkoff: How to stop othering the other
Did you know that American politics has become polarized? Shocking news, we know, but in case your news feed wasn’t evidence enough, Pew Research Center has been tracking the phenomenon […]
What would it take to create a great place to work for all?
The business case for diversity and inclusion is overwhelming. We know that diverse teams benefit from increased productivity and a wider knowledge base. We know that varied perspectives help us […]
Want to be a better ally? Help your colleagues overcome subtle prejudice.
Malignant discrimination remains a problem in society, but it’s one we’ve improved upon compared to its historic highs—or, rather, lows. Interracial marriage, to pick one example of progress, used to […]
The Best of the Best: Big Think+ in 2020
For many, 2020 will not be remembered as a “best of” much. We don’t need to repeat the reasons here; it’s sufficient to point out that a 100-year pandemic was […]
Don’t become a fossil. Evolve your business through culture.
Crocodiles have been called “living fossils.” That is, the species has remained unaltered for vast periods of geologic time. They’ve become so perfectly adapted to their ecological niche that millions […]
How to foster more vibrant conversation, with comedian Pete Holmes
Bill Moyers once said that a benefit of being a journalist is learning in public. This relies on two important skills: An ability to ask good questions and the willingness […]
The unexpected secret to strong leadership? Humility.
One of Socrates’s best-known claims was that “I know that I know nothing.” It’s no fluke that this quote has survived more than 2,000 years or that Socrates is nearly […]
What’s the magic formula for a memorable consumer experience? These 3 simple things.
What do companies like Hilton, Salesforce, and Wegman’s Food Markets have in common? First, they all have some of the happiest employees in their industries. These three companies made the […]
The real secret to success? Get to know your customers.
It doesn’t hurt to be quick, responsive, friendly, efficient, or reliable. But for A. G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, the most important ingredient to making your customers […]
How brand evangelists can provide the ultimate word-of-mouth advertising
Any business owner wants to make sure they’re giving their customers an ideal experience. Not only are happy customers more likely to be repeat customers, but they can serve as […]
Are you the one? How to flex your value and beat out the competition
Why should customers buy from you instead of your competitors? That’s the question at the heart of making a sale in a competitive market, says Matt Dixon, Global Head of […]
John Paul DeJoria: How to get your foot in the door and nail the sale
By the time John Paul DeJoria founded John Paul Mitchell Systems, he’d already sold encyclopedias on commission door-to-door, and he understood the importance of persistence in the face of rejection. […]
Simon Sinek: What should your company culture be? Start with verbs.
Culture of a company is like the character of an individual,” says Simon Sinek in his Big Think+ video, “Starting with Why: Build a Culture by Design.” We know that […]
Need to hire and get it right? Follow the hiring strategy of an interview master.
While fewer companies these days rely solely on interviews in deciding who to hire, interviews still have value in that they can reveal the difference between a candidate as a […]
This 3-step method will help you hire—and retain—millennial talent
If a new hire is expected to put in 40 hours, 50 hours, or even more at their job, their new position will be their life for as long as […]
Lisa Lampanelli: Read the room like a comedian to improve audience engagement
Connecting with an audience, as any comic knows, means reading that audience. It’s energetic improv in real time—you need to notice who’s engaged, what’s engaging them, and build on that. […]
3 ways to build team trust and achieve the next big thing
“Trust is so important to how we scale an idea. Without that trust, we don’t take risks. And without risk we don’t build that next big thing,” says Nilofer Merchant, […]
Stand out from the pack, with comedian and author Baratunde Thurston
Social media wunderkind Baratunde Thurston says we’re living in an age of information overabundance, but that this needn’t be a problem. Just as supermarkets offer us many more choices of […]
Stanley Tucci: A director’s guide to project management
Stanley Tucci has played a lot of different roles on movie sets, both in front of and behind the camera. As a director, though, Tucci stands in the center of […]
Your Gen Z colleagues really are different. Learn to understand them.
It’s probably always been the case that each generation’s creations and preoccupations shape the next generation in unexpected ways, producing young adults who seem nearly incomprehensible to their elders, especially […]
Creative collaboration: How to get your team to bring their A-game
“Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.” In her Big Think+ video, “Empower Your People — Conversational Moves for Engaging Your Team in Creative […]
3 public speaking tips guaranteed to lift your game
Should you find yourself speaking to a group of people and not connecting, you’re stuck in a situation that seemingly benefits no one. For some people it seems to come […]
Use humor to enchant your audience, with John Cleese
You can practically see them slipping away. Yes, they’re still in the conversation with you, at least physically, but you know: The other person has disengaged. Who knows where their […]
From rut stories to river stories: Take these steps to change your internal dialogue
Angie McArthur, CEO of Professional Thinking Partners and the co-author of Collaborative Intelligence, talks about keeping a relationship “clean.” She’s talking about dealing with misunderstandings before they have a chance […]
Chris Voss: Close deals like an FBI negotiator
Negotiating is often a white-knuckle affair, but the stakes are rarely higher than when the FBI is trying to come to terms with a kidnapper. Chris Voss, now CEO of […]