Wake Up And Adapt, Incoming War College Chief Tells Army

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. More missions, less money: That's the dilemma the U.S. Army faces as it looks beyond Afghanistan. The service is certainly grateful that the all-consuming commitments of the last decade are finally winding down, but it's still struggling to shift gears on a shrinking budget. After ten years of optimizing itself …

Building Effective Teams Isn’t Rocket Science, But It’s Just as Hard by Douglas R. Conant

Over my 35 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit worlds, I've been part of hundreds, if not thousands, of teams of all shapes and sizes: large, small, formal, informal, "real", "virtual" — and the list goes on. I've also led some of these teams as a Fortune 300 CEO, and I've been at …

What does it take to come up with a really great idea?

Visual blogger extraordinaire Christopher Niemann delights with his quirky and honest artistry that has been a regular feature in the New York Times since 2008. His new project, a book titled Abstract City, highlights sixteen of Niemann's eye-friendly essays that contain wonderful bits of illustrated storytelling, including the graph seen above. Full story at Brain …

The Dirty Little Secret Of Overnight Successes

BY JOSH LINKNER Angry Birds, the incredibly popular game, was software maker Rovio’s 52nd attempt. They spent eight years and nearly went bankrupt before finally creating their massive hit. Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing websites in history, but struggled for a long time. Pinterest’s CEO recently said that it had “catastrophically small numbers” in …

An Offer You Can’t Refuse: Leadership Lessons From “The Godfather”

by Lydia Dishman What does a real-life CEO have in common with the central figures of a fictitious Mafia crime family in The Godfather? According to Justin Moore, CEO and founder of Axcient, plenty. Moore is a serial entrepreneur, early-stage advisor, and angel investor. He’s currently at the helm of Axcient, a company he founded …

Is America “on the Wrong Side of History”?

by Jonathan Wai The United States is no longer seen as “that awesome” according to Wang. As Wang writes, “The United States is seen in China generally as a declining power over the long run. America’s financial disorder, alarming deficit and unemployment rate, slow economic recovery, and domestic political polarization are viewed as but a …