Thought Leaders
Be Competent. Be Grounded. Be Open. Be Brave.
Whether you run a corporation, a business, or your own career, you'll need these four characteristics if you want to go places.
Steve Tobak is a management consultant, columnist, former senior executive, and author of Real Leaders Don't Follow: Being Extraordinary in the Age of the Entrepreneur (Entrepreneur Press, October 2015). Tobak runs Silicon Valley-based Invisor Consulting and blogs at stevetobak.com, where you can contact him and learn more.
More From Steve Tobak
Business Accounting
50 Cent’s Bankruptcy Is a Lesson in Valuing What You Earn
When you work your way up, you have to learn to value what you have or you end up losing it.
Building a Business
The Sad Saga of the $70,000 Minimum Salary Company
The utopian vision of an entrepreneur who wanted to do his part for income inequality looks shortsighted in the cold light of reality.
Thought Leaders
10 Behaviors of Real Leaders
Leaders lead. Followers follow. You can't do both. That's not opinion; it's biology.
Thought Leaders
Hillary Clinton’s Likability Crisis
In business, you don't have to be liked to be successful. In politics, it's crucial.
Building a Business
Nobody Leads a Charmed Life. Get Over It.
If you think others have it better than you, think again. Life is never easy and always what you make of it.
Online Presence
Twitter: What Went Wrong
Twitter shows that you might have a great product and platform, but you still need to manage it right.
Thought Leaders
9 Lessons in Entrepreneurship From Silicon Valley
If you want to be great at something, learn from the experts. When it comes to startups, the experts are in the tech industry.
Building a Business
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? Because We Shouldn’t.
Conflict is key to smart decisions and positive outcomes ... and we're all the better for it.
Building a Business
Why Inspirational Quotes Will Never Inspire You
If you think you need sound bites to inspire your work, then you're in the wrong line of work.
Thought Leaders
Is the American Dream Dead?
Our culture is affected by a number of factors that are eating away at what made our economy -- and us -- strong.
Thought Leaders
Be a Real Entrepreneur, Not a Digital Clone
Entrepreneurs don't do what everyone else is doing. Like it or not, that's exactly what most of you are doing.
Building a Business
The Simple Secret to a Happy Life
We all lie to ourselves because we want material things we don't need or deserve. The irony is, that makes us miserable.
Building a Business
Why None of Us Can Afford to Forget 9/11
While the cost of fighting terrorism may seem high, the cost of not fighting it or fighting and losing is far higher. It's important for all of us to remember that.
Building a Business
10 Myths About Successful CEOs
Calling yourself a CEO doesn't make you one. Real leaders have real companies, employees, and customers -- not delusions of grandeur.
Building a Business
Want to Be Successful? Quit Being Entitled.
Nothing worth achieving is ever easy. It always takes smarts, guts, hard work, and perseverance.
Building a Business
5 Ways to Never Miss a Deadline
The good news is you won a big contract. The bad news is you committed to do the impossible.
Building a Business
7 Signs of a Future Success Story
If you want to be tomorrow's success story, you've got to do the right things and act the right way today.
Building a Business
The Only Good Reasons to Start a Business
Markets are competitive and customers couldn't care less about your self-serving motives for becoming an entrepreneur.
Building a Business
10 Things Successful People Do Differently
The great irony of today's obsession with success is that it really has nothing to do with characteristics, habits, or routines.
Building a Business
7 Lessons for Dealing with Defeat
Losing is terrible. If there's a silver lining, it is only in learning from it and avoiding the same mistakes again.
Building a Business
Why Being Likable Never Works
Trying to get people to like you is disingenuous, selfish, and manipulative. And it will likely backfire.
Building a Business
Priceless Words From the Founder of WordPress
Great advice on starting a business, from a guy who's been pretty successful himself.
Thought Leaders
Don’t Be a Solopreneur. Do This Instead.
If you've got high hopes for a fulfilling career and financial security, solopreneurship is not the way to get there.
Building a Business
Are You a Success Story? Why Not?
Success doesn't come from a book or a website. It comes from hard work.
Building a Business
Want to Be Successful? Think Like a New Grad.
Whether you're just starting out or have been around a while, these counterintuitive career lessons will help you get to the top.
Thought Leaders
How Wantrepreneurs Become Entrepreneurs
The key to becoming successful at anything – your job, your career, or your own business – is not rocket science.
Thought Leaders
5 Necessary Conditions for Entrepreneurial Success
Nobody becomes a successful entrepreneur by setting out to become one. It happens organically under certain specific conditions.
Building a Business
Why You Need a Good Shrink
There's a growing list of amateurs and pseudo-professionals who claim to be able to change your life. For the most part, they can't.
Building a Business
10 Behaviors of High Achievers
Robert Browning said, 'A man's reach should exceed his grasp,' but always reaching for the stars can be exhausting. It's not for everyone.
