Archives: September 2007

Can Bad Press Be Good for Stocks?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 28

Next time a public relations executive I'm talking to for a story starts getting nervous about bad press, I'm going to show them this study. According to a trio of...

Sarbanes-Oxley = a downturn in corporate risk-taking

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 26

For all its noble intentions, the five-year-old Sarbanes-Oxley Act prompts many complaints from the corporate community. It has been blamed (wrongly, in most cases) for prompting companies to shun public...

The Coming Brain Drain

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 25

It's hard to miss all the cries of fear about the coming brain drain. The boomers are going to retire, and if you listen to most workplace consultants, there's going...

O.J.'s publisher on why he did it

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 24

The O.J. Simpson-dictated tome--If I Did It--debuted at #3 on The New York Times nonfiction bestseller list on Sept. 30 (which came out yesterday) and has gone back for a...

Strategy on the Board

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 21

We had a visit today by George David, the CEO and Chairman of United Technologies, the Hartford, Conn.-based conglomerate that builds everything from helicopters to air conditioners to elevators. David,...

My Cell Phone is Safe...Right?

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on September 19

There is a disturbing and growing body of scientific evidence that points to health dangers associated with cell phones. The lastest comes from The French Interphone Study and the...

Is Management Really a Profession?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 18

Doctors must take the Hippocratic Oath and earn continuing education credits for years. Lawyers must pass the bar and adhere to strict codes about attorney-client privileges. But although managers have...

The Problem with Pricetags: Classmates.com & NY Times

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 18

The New York Times has finally scrapped Times Select -- the service that charges online users a fee to read certain columns, archives and blogs. It turns out advertisers didn't...

Is there an "antitrust" religion?

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 16

Edwin Rockefeller has a new book out on Oct. 4 from the Cato Institute called The Antitrust Religion that asserts antitrust practics have become irrational, unreasonable and massively frustrating. Rockefeller,...

A Worksheet for Pay

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 15

Whether or not you agree with Robert Reich's controversial commentary this morning in the Wall Street Journal that CEOs deserve their sky-high pay, if you're a director on the compensation...

High-Impact Nonprofits

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 13

Non-profits often operate on the principle that delivering great service or putting together a great board are the only real barometers of success. Some of them are trying to adopt...

Smart move for Pepsi

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 12

Pepsi has launched a red can in China that closely resembles the packaging of arch-rival Coca-Cola, according to a piece in today's Wall Street Journal. Smart move, or dumb? I...

Why All the Focus on Jerks?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 11

Is anyone else surprised at all the attention given to the concept of the jerk-free workplace? Stanford professor Bob Sutton's book, The No Asshole Rule, has been on the best-seller...

Hands up: Who Else Sees A "Perfect Storm"?

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 10

I'm just back from a fun stint as a guest host of CNBC's Power Lunch and was struck by the increasing popularity of the term: "A perfect storm." People are...

Manipulating your emotions at work

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 08

Dan Hill of Sensory Logic spoke with me recently for a Video View about his new book on Emotionomics. He talks about facial coding, emotional intelligence, the problem with focus...

Women Business Owners--Having It All?

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 07

I wanted to follow up on the earlier post. One way women succeed, of course, is to opt out of the workforce and go out on their own. A new...

How Women Become Leaders

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 07

I was eager to pick up a new book by Alice Eagly and Linda Carli on how women become leaders (called Through the Labyrinth). They choose the word labyrinth as...

Can A Workplace Be A Democracy?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 06

I had an interesting conversation yesterday wicth a woman named Traci Fenton, who heads up a "leadership and business design studio" called WorldBlu. I called up Fenton after reading a...

Comstock stays but will GE sell NBC?

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 05

I was interested to read a piece in this morning's New York Post about Beth Comstock heading from NBC Universal back to GE headquarters. The article quotes insiders who assert...

A chat with Starwood's new chief

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 04

Frits van Paasschen says he has “always gravitated towards fun jobs.” Sure enough, his background includes (most recently) being CEO of Coors Brewing Co., running Nike's operations in Europe and...

Unmotivated to be Back at Work?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on September 04

You're not alone. According to a recent study by Development Dimensions International (which, surely, will be happy to sell you consulting services about motivating your employees), nearly half of all...