Executive Presence
5 habits of toxic leadership (and 5 ways leaders can avoid them)
In a 2018 article, Gallup writer Ryan Pendell shared some frightening figures for business leaders. Public poll data showed that only a quarter of employees believed their leaders had a […]
4 laws for creating magic inside your organization
Certain companies feel magical. Though the spells they cast may be unique, each emits an aura that delights customers, attracts top talent, and impels the culture to pay attention. Apple […]
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 […]
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 […]
How to achieve major goals and growth with ‘self-nudging’
It may very well be the case that there are some people who feel perfectly content with who they are out there, but for most of us, there are things […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 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 […]
How to stop fearing deadlines and start using them
“Doing any sort of creative work takes so much intellectual tussle that if there’s any way you can escape from it, you will.” So says Tina Brown, founder of the […]
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 […]
Say goodbye to panic: Build your emotional agility
As the world seems to spin ever faster, “agility” has become more than something to which a business might aspire — it’s become an absolute necessity for any company looking […]
Maajid Nawaz: Respect your adversaries and dialogue will follow
Disagreements are inevitable — we all have different experiences that lead us to be who we are and to what we believe. Almost as inevitable are distrust, suspicion, and even […]
Negotiation 101: Master research, empathy, and stagecraft
Journalist Ronan Farrow says he’s not a great negotiator, but he’s certainly had a unique opportunity to see how one works. Just out of law school, he was recruited by […]
Why 85% of the business world thinks differently than you do
Business, on every level, is becoming more multi-cultural. Whether it’s embracing diversity internally, expanding to multiple sites around the world, or entering distant markets such as China, never has it […]
Sexual harassment at work: Gretchen Carlson on fixing company culture
It’s a strange situation. In many American workplaces, it’s the sexual predators we protect, not their victims, according to journalist and author Gretchen Carlson. Since her landmark 2016 lawsuit against Fox […]
Why do some people command respect? Learn the 3 elements of executive presence.
The confidence and respect that successful executives enjoy isn’t simply conferred upon them by their job title. It’s the knowledgeability they project, the manner in which they conduct themselves, and […]
Sallie Krawcheck: You want a raise. Learn how to ask for it – like this.
It would be nice if we lived in a world where we could just do a good job and bosses would pay everyone what they’re really worth, and close the […]
Are you truly confident? 9 important lessons for women at work.
March is Women’s History Month, and Big Think+ is commemorating it with a collection of videos highlighting both women’s history, and the complicated choices facing women who are making history […]
The 3 phases of crisis management, with risk expert David Ropeik
The first response to big, bad news is likely to be widespread panic — it’s human nature. Yet, says risk communication expert David Ropeik, you can actually strengthen a team’s […]
What’s happening in your blind spot?
It’s a startling thought, really: “The only person’s face I can’t see in a conversation or a meeting is my own.” That’s a little unnerving. Sheila Heen, founder of Triad […]
Will 2019 be the year of accountability?
We don’t have to tell you that business is complicated. You know. Maintaining productive employee and client relationships, mastering challenges and opportunities, and navigating the future are things that don’t […]
Improve Interpersonal Communication Skills in 5 Steps
Strong interpersonal skills are the “soft skills” that help us successfully live, work, collaborate, and exist with others. Professionals with strong interpersonal skills hone these capabilities through daily practice and […]