How Gregg Paradies steered The Paradies Shops through a recession

Gregg Paradies started seeing signs of economic trouble in the summer of 2008 and knew right away he’d better take action. Paradies’ company, The Paradies Shops Inc., had enjoyed a long, virtually unbroken streak of growth since its inception in 1960. In its lifetime, the retailer had grown from a single toy store at Atlanta […]

Taking off

How Saint-Gobain got lean to accommodate its growing aerospace business

How to confront abrasive behavior in the workplace

When Bernadette Boas was given a pink slip from her very lucrative, global vice president type of role, she was happy. But she didn’t understand why, so she decided to do some self-reflection. “I was that bitch with the walls up, and there was no internal dialogue going on at all,” she says. She recognized […]

How women can prepare themselves for leadership roles

Gender diversity in corporate leadership If a woman wants to pursue a corporate leadership role, it might be to her advantage to be a fast walker. That’s the candid advice of Rob Falkenberg, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Ohio. “I look for fast walkers,” he says. “I find that fast walkers are fast thinkers; they’re fast […]

Breaking the mold

How Empire Die Casting is setting a new trend in energy efficiency

Address your fears head-on to maximize your chances for success

I admit it. I’m an expert on fear. I became an expert when I found myself paralyzed with fear when my first child was born. I couldn’t believe that I was responsible for this tiny being and literally anything and everything could happen to him. I didn’t feel qualified to protect him or run my […]