Postcards

Power Point: Let's be responsible

"We must usher in a new era of responsibility...and begin the hard work of bringing new levels of honesty and fairness to our government."

- President Obama, in his opening letter in the new U.S. government budget. Obama is showing himself to be a brand-builder. Not only does the cover of his budget document come with a high-minded title: A New Era of Responsibility--Renewing America's Promise. (Last year, President Bush's budget MORE

Hope amid retail's rough week

It was, to steal a Malcolm Gladwell term, a "tipping point" in my outlook on the cratering economy. I call it my "That Girl" moment.

It was the fourth Monday in November last year. I was at a Thanksgiving party at the home of Cathie Black, the president of Hearst Magazines. Marlo Thomas was there, too. "Saks is selling shoes for 75% off. It's incredible!" TV's onetime Ann Marie was crowing, MORE

Power Point: Don't lowball to get by

"When you are leading a large organization, you need to lead by example and appreciate that this includes having targets that generate value, not simply targets that can be easily hit."

-- Sears (SHLD) Chairman Eddie Lampert from his annual letter to shareholders, posted on Sears' web site Thursday. The good news: Sears reported a fourth quarter profit of $190 million, beating analyst estimates. The bad news: That's a 55% drop MORE

Global giving: Not so bleak

by Jessica Shambora

On Wednesday morning, when I attended The Bridgespan Group's panel on emerging trends in philanthropy, I expected a bleak report.

After all, with public and private sector funds drying up, non-profit managers all around are fretting about budgets. Large foundations lost nearly one-third of their assets last year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. And Paul Light, an NYU professor of public service, predicts that 100,000 non-profits will be MORE

Power Point: Put a lid on anger

"It's not about helping banks, it's about helping people. We cannot afford to govern out of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment."

-- President Obama, to Congress on Tuesday night. It was a speech obviously written for the suffering American populace. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke followed up by telling the House Financial Services Committee that at-risk homeowners need rescuing. "Some borrowers presumably knew what they MORE

10 tips from the best in business

Photo courtesy of Kathrine Berger

by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten

As authors of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, published in February by Portfolio, we found ourselves stumbling across the most important business insights of the last 30 years. We learned plenty about leading, managing, innovating and saving your company and yourself when disaster lurks around the corner. In case you don't have time to read all the MORE

Power Point: Read faster

"This does not attach directly to my brain?"

-- Jon Stewart to Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos on Tuesday's Daily Show on Comedy Central (VIAB). Amazon's Kindle 2 began shipping today to customers, many of whom have been waiting for months. The device sold out before Christmas for the second year in a row. When Bezos told Stewart he could download any book in 60 seconds or less, Steward feigned misunderstanding MORE

Confidence game: It takes a leader

Are you keeping the faith? Your answer probably depends on whether you have the right leader to look up to.

I've been thinking about leadership a lot lately. For one thing, I read on the front page of today's New York Times that a remarkable portion of America believes in our new president. Sixty-three percent of Americans approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job, according to a new MORE

Power Point: To become a star, avoid acting like one

"I can cope with any workload. I can deal with lack of sleep. I can multitask like you've no idea."

-- Actress Kate Winslet in this week's Time cover story. The 33-year-old star of The Reader copped the Best Actress Oscar last night. The win was Winslet's first but she's been nominated six times, which at 33, makes her the youngest actor to reach that milestone. Sam Mendes, Winslet's husband who MORE

Reinvent your firm, not your values

Reinvent!

Every manager is supposed be doing that these days. You know, there's a lot more risk in reinvention than just the uncertainty of your fancy new business model. In your rush to reinvent, you could well leave your core values behind.

I've been contemplating this lately for several reasons. For one, I'm sold on the wisdom of Jim Collins, the management guru who was part of a recent Fortune cover package MORE