From ‘corporate Siberia’ to CEO

  • May 01, 2001

Soon after Kenneth Chenault joined American Express in his early 30s, he took a job as VP of marketing for the firm’s low-profile merchandise services unit.

Nail down the problem

  • November 01, 1999

When an employee comes to you with a problem, put it in perspective before you scurry to solve it.

Wear the boss’ shoes

  • September 01, 1999

You assume you know what it takes to get ahead at your organization. So you dress for success, document all your decisions in detail and attend all company functions...

Accused of stealing ideas and brown-nosing

  • April 01, 1999

Q. I attended a “lunch and learn” session with our CEO. During the Q&A, I proposed an idea for increasing our market share. The CEO seemed pleased and said...

Respond to Excuses With Force

  • January 01, 1999

Warning: The way you respond to your employees’ excuses may actually encourage them to feed you more excuses. If you readily accept their reasons for being late,...