"The biggest lessons from the downturn have been that no matter how bad a position can get, it can get a lot worse. And never be too big in anything."
-- Bank analyst Meredith Whitney in an email to investors. In the note she recaps what she learned during a lunch this week with Goldman Sachs' (GS) president Gary Cohn and CFO David Viniar. Goldman has stayed strong, relatively, as rivals MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Mar 5, 2009 8:26 PM ET
by Jessica Shambora
For Fortune's Most Admired Companies issue, released this week, I interviewed the CEOs of two top performers: Bill Weldon at Johnson & Johnson (No. 5 on the list) and Jim Skinner at McDonald's (No. 16). Fortune ranks companies based on survey results from more than 4,000 executives, directors and securities analysts.
My interviews with these chiefs covered a range of topics, from cosmetic surgery to the Dollar Menu. But MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Mar 5, 2009 3:02 PM ET
"A little misery is worth a lot of money. So try to stay married if you possibly can."
-- Celebrity divorce lawyer Raoul Felder offered his advice for couples considering divorce on CNN's Your $$$$$. While the recession drives many couples to divorce, maybe just as many stay together because they can't afford to split. After all, staying together can save thousands of dollars. "People have to decide how much they MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Mar 4, 2009 6:29 PM ET
Photo courtesy of Stuart Cahill
by Clayton M. Christensen and Jason Hwang
It's strange to think that not long ago, the ability of ordinary people to access a blog like this from a PC, laptop or cell phone was the stuff of science fiction. But the advent of the microprocessor, which simplified computer design and assembly, brought computing out of corporate mainframe centers and into our homes.
The microprocessor was what we MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Mar 4, 2009 1:05 PM ET
Carly Fiorina topped Fortune's Most Powerful Women list for seven years, from its launch in 1998 (when she was heading the biggest division at Lucent Technologies) until 2004, shortly before she was fired from the CEO position at Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). The news broke today that Fiorina, 54, was diagnosed with breast cancer on February 20 and underwent surgery yesterday at Stanford Hospital.
The buzz around Washington and California lately is that MORE
Patricia Sellers - Mar 3, 2009 3:55 PM ET
My Fortune colleague Geoff Colvin writes in our March 2 issue that a few companies--DuPont (DD) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and McDonald's (MCD), to name three--are working overtime to preserve their brand equity in this downturn. Instead of discounting, they are, in some cases, actually raising prices.
Another company loathe to cut prices: Starbucks (SBUX). As I've noted on Postcards, CEO Howard Schultz told me last year that the smartest decision he MORE
Patricia Sellers - Mar 3, 2009 2:31 PM ET
"I live by a code that I got taught very early in my career, that it's the company first, the employees second, and you're last. If that code gets inverted, it's not a good thing."
-- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) CEO Mark Hurd, who appears on the cover of the new issue of Fortune, released today. Adam Lashinsky's story on Hurd is part of our "World's Most Admired Companies" package. HP came in MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Mar 2, 2009 6:27 PM ET
On Friday, I left you with a promise: that I'd find something new and proactive to do to answer President Obama's call to "responsibility"--which seems to be the buzzword of his Administration.
I found my "to do" this weekend--but before I tell you what I decided on, let me share briefly what I spent yesterday working on. Carrie Welch, my onetime Fortune colleague and former Most Powerful Women Summit co-chair, and MORE
Patricia Sellers - Mar 2, 2009 2:10 PM ET
For the latest on the most influential women in business, philanthropy, government, and the arts, like us on Facebook. 
In a funny and candid interview, Google VP Marissa Mayer explains how she got to the top. Watch
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns shares how she once accepted a job with Dell but ended up staying with Xerox. Watch
Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
.
Fortune Most Powerful Women
Sheryl Sandberg:
Gina Bianchini
