The trick to knowing when to listen, and when to brush off.

Doing a premortem is very simple. Assume that your draft plan (or project) *has* failed. You and your team now brainstorm reasons to explain why it bombed.

The road to profit is not the road to full employment, which is why technology is rapidly doing away with the need for workers. And dumping them onto the streets.

A little postmortem can make many a future plan more robust.

If you act like a torch, you will see too many options. But you will see no option clearly. To see the right option, you need to focus your light. You need to give your goals the laser treatment.

A wise manager will always look at both sides of behavior. Did they trip by themselves or were they pushed by the situation?

I have met many managers who habitually work late because they routinely help others who should already know how to breathe on their own. Not only does the hero manager risk burnout, she also risks becoming the bottleneck to corporate success.

The poor boss at the top must make decisions of great import based on a steady stream of . . . good news.

Imagine your colleagues around the table nod in collective agreement. Makes you happy, doesn’t it?

I have seen people become angry when they realize they wasted their time at work. So angry, in fact, that not even financial rewards could sweeten the bitterness they felt toward those they held responsible.