This is Ellen Degeneres’s commencement speech for Tulane University graduating class of 2009. I think this is a great example of someone who started out with nothing, didn’t know what they wanted to do, and eventually turned their passion and their dream into a reality. In my opinion Ellen Degeneres became who she is today by coming up with an idea and running with it, straying away from the norm, and staying true to her values and her character. I know it’s a little lengthy but please take the time to watch this, I think it’s worthwhile and of course, funny.

First, you find what you love to do. Then be good at it. No doubt. Everyone has motivation, it’s hard to find it. In the end, it’s for the pursuit of happiness.

The $1.6 Billion Woman, Staying on Message//

Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg’s No. 2, has helped steer Facebook, Inc. to its once-unimaginable height. Her message is about women and how, in her view, they must take responsibility for their careers and not blame men for holding them back.

Given that Ms. Sandberg is Facebook’s chief operating officer, and that all of Wall Street was hanging on last week’s news, you might think that she was absurdly off-topic. But Ms. Sandberg sees herself as more than an executive at one of the hottest companies around — more, too, than someone who will soon rank among the few self-made billionaires who are women. She sees herself as a role model for women in business and technology. In speeches, she often urges women to “keep your foot on the gas pedal,” and to aim high.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/business/sheryl-sandberg-of-facebook-staying-on-message.html?pagewanted=all

Leading Older Employees

As young professionals take on increased responsibility at office, they need to build management skills that allow them to work effectively with senior colleagues. When you’re young and you’re tasked with leading, the three most important things to keep in mind are as follows:
1. Be Confident
2. Be Open Minded
3. Solicit Feedback Regularly

Interesting read for all young professionals, from the Harvard Business Review.

A CEO and a gentleman
People who believe that “nice guys finish last” probably don’t know Ken Chenault. The chairman and CEO of American Express built his career around being honest and likable, while remaining a tough competitor.

“Frankly, you can’t be a jerk and be successful in the service business for a long period of time,” he says. “When you’re in the service business, reputation is everything. Sometimes when you’re very successful, you become arrogant, and what I’ve tried to instill is a very strong sense of customer needs, respect for your colleagues, says Chenault.”

RICHARD BRANSON: Be a leader — not a boss

A leader is very different from a boss. Many CEOs are bosses, not leaders, directing their employees from well behind the front lines. But sitting in the boardroom listening to even the most comprehensive reports from the front can never compare with your being there and seeing, hearing and understanding those interactions with your customers for yourself.

http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=162636

If you aren’t frequently out there leading the charge with your employees, you simply cannot stay in touch with the realities of your business.

Last week’s news that Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in the United States, would be run by Laura Lang, who was the chief executive of the digital advertising agency Digitas is a clear signal that the digital future, we are always talking and hearing about, is here. Ms. Lang has never managed a magazine print run in her life. She’s 100% oriented towards digital and content. I thought it would be interesting to get to know her better through this video.

While some elements of Google’s success as innovator would be very hard to emulate, others can be profitably adopted by almost any business. I hope you enjoy this Harvard Business Reivew interview with Tom Davenport, Professor of Information Technology & Management

Why American Management Rules the World - according to a group of European researchers:

What is the secret sauce of management success? One of the biggest drivers is variation in people management. American firms are ruthless at rapidly rewarding and promoting good employees and retraining or firing bad employees.

Source: Harvard Business Review

Akio Morita: if you’ve never heard of him, you’ve surely heard of his company, Sony. Sony’s first product was a rice cooker that didn’t cook rice so much as burn it, selling less than 100 units. This first setback didn’t stop Morita and his partners as they pushed forward to create a multi-billion dollar company.

http://www.sony.com/SCA/press/morita_bio.shtml