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# Bill Taylor

Simply Brillant

## Sitemaps

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## Posts

- [Articles](https://williamctaylor.com/articles/)
- [Write for us sponsored posts](https://williamctaylor.com/2025/03/write-for-us-sponsored-posts/) - Write for Us Sponsored Posts! To discuss your ideas for contributing please send an email to netherlandsmark@proton.me Please include in the subject line: guest post for [website] And send us the article you'd like to post attached or in the email itself. General Submission Guidelines What topics can I write about? We have no limit
- [HBR: Better ideas to be productive](https://williamctaylor.com/2025/03/hbr-better-ideas-to-be-productive/) - https://mikkosgameblog.com/ https://www.disa.it/ https://www.bethanypc.org/ https://juanmadiaz.es/ https://tantrakamala.com/ https://www.lydiasyson.com/ https://lucaeats.com/ https://razgames.com/ https://artmarquetry.com/ https://workout-wasserwelt.de/ https://bitwide.com/ https://supernoticiasdelvalle.com/ https://tordas.hu/ https://www.marketing-movil-sms.com/ http://netsparsh.com/ https://www.samstern.co.uk/ https://lem-on.pl/ https://farmtotablecatering.com/ https://www.bluecitycycles.com/ https://www.simplybenglenn.com/ https://www.stvictoria.net/ https://real-farma.com.ua/ https://trinketeborda.com/ https://asofuer.com/ https://xbss.org/ https://black-sheep.hu/ https://poleit.net/pause/ https://www.craigcolorusso.com/ https://bsfshootingsports.com/ https://angiefm.genzel.ca/ https://uberdesi.com/ https://www.aaronkatsman.com/ https://lauriedameron.com/ https://habit5.co.uk/ https://www.wapoid.de/ https://candidlychristen.com/ https://stlgamejam.com/ https://www.diocesisansevero.it/ https://www.vectusbiosystems.com.au/ https://cineverso.es/ https://oadllc.com/ https://jerryandgod.com/ https://dectromed.com/ https://www.rooneyinsurance.com/ https://blackwattleyarn.com.au/ https://dairyxbred.com/ https://landing-mvmodas.meuanunciodigital.com.br/ https://www.ubyquo.com/ https://vuyanilodge.com/ https://walkthetalk.org.au/ https://twinmakerbooks.com/ https://bricovalle.es/ https://www.seputarwisata.com/ https://getballetbox.com/ https://jeromethenot.com/
- [Money and the Meaning of Life](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/05/money-and-the-meaning-of-life/) - Everywhere you look, there’s compelling evidence that the single-minded pursuit of wealth often leads smart people to do incredibly stupid things—things that destroy that which money can’t buy. Last week, the big story was the conviction of Raj Rajaratnam on 14 counts of insider trading, a greed-driven scheme that will lead to obliterated reputations, long
- [How to Turn Anything from Adequate to Amazing](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/05/how-to-turn-anything-from-adequate-to-amazing/) - If there’s one message I have stressed more than any other over the last few years, it is that it is not good enough to be pretty good at everything. The most successful companies, products, and brands have figured out how to become the most of something—not just adequate, but downright amazing. If there’s one
- [Simple Ways to Change How We Change](https://williamctaylor.com/2013/09/simple-ways-to-change-how-we-change/) - I devote most of this blog to reckoning with the future of business and learning from organizations and leaders that are helping to invent the future. But I hope you’ll indulge just a bit of nostalgia about the past. It was twenty years ago this Fall that Alan Webber and I finalized our business plan
- [To Win Big, It Helps To Be a Little "Nuts"](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/04/to-win-big-it-helps-to-be-a-little-nuts/) - Here’s a simple question for all you students of business success and stock-market returns: What has been the best-performing stock in the United States since the “Black Monday” crash of 1987? If you said Apple or Microsoft or Walmart or Berkshire Hathaway, you’d get credit for a reasonable answer. But you’d be wrong. The best-performing
- [On Valentine's Day, an Ode to Leadership and Love](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/02/on-valentines-day-an-ode-to-leadership-and-love/) - Here it is Valentine’s Day, nine days after my beloved New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLVI, and there are two things about the game I still can’t shake. One is my general sense of euphoria, especially since I made the case in a pretty high-profile forum (The Washington
- [CEOs, Step into the Front Lines or Risk Losing Touch](https://williamctaylor.com/2023/05/ceos-step-into-the-front-lines-or-risk-losing-touch/) - Leading change is both a top-down process and a bottom-up process. The goal is to educate and energize colleagues at every level, especially those on the front lines, about the power of your plans, and to be educated and energized by the pragmatic wisdom of their experiences. Change programs work when they shape the behaviors
- [HBR: Your Competitors Aren’t Always Who You Think They Are](https://williamctaylor.com/2022/11/hbr-persuading-your-team-to-embrace-change-2-2/) - When it comes to strategy, one way to meet radically new expectations in your industry is to draw from the impressive and surprising strategies that are being used in other industries. Why can’t interacting with an insurance company be as responsive and transparent as interacting with Uber? Why can’t checking into a hospital be as
- [It's More Important to Be Kind than Clever](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/08/its-more-important-to-be-kind-than-clever/) - One of the more heart-warming stories to zoom around the Internet lately involves a young man, his dying grandmother, and a bowl of clam chowder from Panera Bread. It’s a little story that offers big lessons about service, brands, and the human side of business—a story that underscores why efficiency should never come at the
- [Fox Business “Mornings with Maria” Striving for Originality in Business](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/09/fox-business-mornings-with-maria-striving-for-originality-in-business/) - Be original, and you’ll have more fun doing your job. Think about the time when your business was just getting off the ground. Difficult as it may have been, it was pretty exciting because you either had a great new idea for a product, or you wanted to productively build on an established product or
- [HBR: Unleash Your Organization’s Overlooked Talent](https://williamctaylor.com/2022/08/hbr-persuading-your-team-to-embrace-change-2/) - Leaders everywhere are desperate for new insights, new products, new sources of energy and creativity. One way to find those things is to embrace new ideas about who gets to contribute and how, whether they are inside or outside the organization. The author points to two examples: the art exhibition “Guarding the Art” and John
- [HBR: Persuading Your Team to Embrace Change](https://williamctaylor.com/2022/04/hbr-persuading-your-team-to-embrace-change/) - How do leaders persuade people to do things they would rather not do? The author outlines two very different persuasive techniques based on social science: the “foot-in-the-door” technique and the “door-in-the-face” technique. Each of these techniques can work in the right situation, although neither of them translates perfectly from the ivory-tower world of social-science research
- [Fast Company: Four lessons on innovation from the most creative team in baseball](https://williamctaylor.com/2022/04/four-lessons-on-innovation-from-the-most-creative-team-in-baseball/) - Opening Day of the baseball season offers the chance to reflect on the arrival of spring, the childhood pleasures of skipping school for the ballpark—and, for people like me, who think about creativity and innovation, how hard it can be to change an institution that is in desperate need of reimagination and renewal. Most everyone
- [HBR: To Find Creative Solutions, Look Outside Your Industry](https://williamctaylor.com/2022/02/hbr-to-find-creative-solutions-look-outside-your-industry/) - The chaos and crises of the last two years have created all kinds of questions for leaders and organizations. One of the biggest questions is: Do we have new ideas about where to look for new ideas? When it comes to innovation and problem-solving, there will always be a place for old-fashioned, time-consuming R&D —
- [Fast Company: This Brazilian billionaire should be your role model for corporate activism](https://williamctaylor.com/2022/01/this-brazilian-billionaire-should-be-your-role-model-for-corporate-activism/) - Super-rich entrepreneurs love to explore brash endeavors outside the mainstream of their business—say, the high-profile space race between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, or Larry Ellison’s obsession with the America’s Cup. But it remains genuinely rare, and worthy of attention, when a billionaire entrepreneur takes a hard look at the society around their business and
- [HBR: How Leaders Can Balance the Needs to Perform and to Transform](https://williamctaylor.com/2022/01/hbr-the-leadership-and-artistry-of-tony-hsieh-2-2/) - It is tempting, during a crisis as severe as the Covid-19 pandemic, for leaders to respond to big problems with bold moves — a radical strategy to reinvent a struggling business, a long-term shift to virtual teams and long-distance collaboration
- [HBR: Why Sports Are a Terrible Metaphor for Business](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/02/hbr-why-sports-are-a-terrible-metaphor-for-business/) - Here in the United States, we’re just days away from Super Bowl Sunday. The buzz around the biggest game in America’s biggest sport is, as always, about more than football. It’s also about business and leadership. Does the Patriots’s consistent excellence over the last 15 years offer insights on teamwork that transcend football? Does Bill Belichick’s
- [Fast Company: How one humble Main Street retailer beat COVID-19—and Amazon](https://williamctaylor.com/2021/04/fast-company-how-one-humble-main-street-retailer-beat-covid-19-and-amazon/) - It is tempting, during a crisis as severe as the Covid-19 pandemic, for leaders to respond to big problems with bold moves — a radical strategy to reinvent a struggling business, a long-term shift to virtual teams and long-distance collaboration
- [Barron's: Forget Socialism Versus Capitalism. Here’s the Real Debate We Should Be Having.](https://williamctaylor.com/2019/02/barrons-forget-socialism-versus-capitalism-heres-the-real-debate-we-should-be-having/) - It’s hard to maintain a booming economy and a rising stock market amidst bitter social divisions and angry political discourse.
- [HBR: How to Stay Optimistic (When Everything Is Awful)](https://williamctaylor.com/2021/02/hbr-the-leadership-and-artistry-of-tony-hsieh-2/) - It is tempting, during a crisis as severe as the Covid-19 pandemic, for leaders to respond to big problems with bold moves — a radical strategy to reinvent a struggling business, a long-term shift to virtual teams and long-distance collaboration
- [HBR: The Leadership and Artistry of Tony Hsieh](https://williamctaylor.com/2020/11/hbr-the-leadership-and-artistry-of-tony-hsieh/) - It is tempting, during a crisis as severe as the Covid-19 pandemic, for leaders to respond to big problems with bold moves — a radical strategy to reinvent a struggling business, a long-term shift to virtual teams and long-distance collaboration
- [BPU ’16 Talk: “Don’t Let What You Know Limit What You Can Imagine”](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/11/bpu-16-talk-dont-let-what-you-know-limit-what-you-can-imagine/) - Presenting at the Boston Properties University 2016.
- [HBR: To Solve Big Problems, Look for Small Wins](https://williamctaylor.com/2020/06/hbr-to-solve-big-problems-look-for-small-wins/) - It is tempting, during a crisis as severe as the Covid-19 pandemic, for leaders to respond to big problems with bold moves — a radical strategy to reinvent a struggling business, a long-term shift to virtual teams and long-distance collaboration
- [HBR: How Bad Times Bring Out the Best in People](https://williamctaylor.com/2020/03/hbr-how-bad-times-bring-out-the-best-in-people/) - Every so often, you encounter academic research that snaps into place a whole bunch of tensions, issues, and problems that you’ve noticed but haven’t been able to understand. That happened to me when I read a new book called The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How
- [HBR: Don’t Let Negativity Sink Your Organization](https://williamctaylor.com/2020/02/hbr-dont-let-negativity-sink-your-organization/) - Every so often, you encounter academic research that snaps into place a whole bunch of tensions, issues, and problems that you’ve noticed but haven’t been able to understand. That happened to me when I read a new book called The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How
- [HBR: Great Leaders Understand Why Small Gestures Matter](https://williamctaylor.com/2020/01/hbr-great-leaders-understand-why-small-gestures-matter/) - I travel a lot of for business, and like most frequent flyers, I dread connecting flights. Except, that is, when those connections take me through Denver or Charlotte, where the prospect of an hour between planes brings a smile to my face and a spring to my step. Why the good cheer? Because I know I’ll be able to spend time with the men and women of Executive Shine, one of the most soulful (or is it soleful?) businesses I’ve ever encountered.
- [HBR: To Build a Strong Culture, Create Rules That Are Unique to Your Company](https://williamctaylor.com/2019/12/hbr-to-build-a-strong-culture-create-rules-that-are-unique-to-your-company/) - It’s hard to see new things if you don’t know how to pay attention, how to cut through the endless meetings, messages, and emails, how to really listen to and begin to decode what’s happening in the world that truly matters to your organization.
- [HBR: Do You Give Employees a Reason to Feel Proud of What They Do?](https://williamctaylor.com/2019/11/hbr-do-you-give-employees-a-reason-to-feel-proud-of-what-they-do/) - It’s hard to see new things if you don’t know how to pay attention, how to cut through the endless meetings, messages, and emails, how to really listen to and begin to decode what’s happening in the world that truly matters to your organization.
- [Join Me for a Webinar](https://williamctaylor.com/2013/05/join-me-for-a-webinar/) - This coming Thursday, as part of series of activities in support of Small Business Month, the folks at PNC Bank are hosting a one-hour Webinar with me. The target audience for the session is entrepreneurs, senior leaders of fast-growing companies, young people with little more than the germ of an idea or a rough business
- [HBR: Making Kindness a Core Tenet of Your Company](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/11/hbr-making-kindness-a-core-tenet-of-your-company/) - Scan the newspaper headlines, or switch on cable news for a few minutes, and it’s easy to conclude that we are living through harsh, mean, divisive times. But a recent column in the Washington Post reminded me of a truth that is even easier to overlook: Just as bad behavior tends to spread, so too does good
- [The World's Most Radical Banker](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/10/the-worlds-most-radical-banker/) - One of the great things about what I do is that I get to meet and learn from innovators who operate so far out on the edge, who think so differently from everyone else in their field, that they are truly one-of-a-kind characters—radicals in the best sense of the word. Exhibit A is Vernon Hill,
- [Homepage Feature](https://williamctaylor.com/practically-radical/) - "The most powerful and instructive change manual you'll ever read." - Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of A Whole New Mind and Drive Read What Others Are Saying ? Order Practically Radical Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound 800CEOread Wall Street Journal Bestseller! #1 Bestseller! Inc./800CEORead
- [HBR: To Come Up with Better Ideas, Practice Paying Attention](https://williamctaylor.com/2019/05/hbr-to-come-up-with-better-ideas-practice-paying-attention/) - It’s hard to see new things if you don’t know how to pay attention, how to cut through the endless meetings, messages, and emails, how to really listen to and begin to decode what’s happening in the world that truly matters to your organization.
- [Barron's: Have We Mastered Technology, or Has It Mastered Us?](https://williamctaylor.com/2019/03/barrons-forget-socialism-versus-capitalism-heres-the-real-debate-we-should-be-having-2/) - It’s hard to maintain a booming economy and a rising stock market amidst bitter social divisions and angry political discourse.
- [HBR: Dear HBR – Getting Sidelined at Work](https://williamctaylor.com/2019/01/hbr-dear-hbr-getting-sidelined-at-work/) - Have you been sidelined at work? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Bill Taylor.
- [HBR: The Legacy of Herb Kelleher, Cofounder of Southwest Airlines](https://williamctaylor.com/2019/01/hbr-the-legacy-of-herb-kelleher-cofounder-of-southwest-airlines/) - Herb Kelleher died last week at the age of 87, and with him went a true business original. What strikes me is how much all of us can learn from what he created and how he led.
- [HBR: If Humility Is So Important, Why Are Leaders So Arrogant?](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/10/hbr-if-humility-is-so-important-why-are-leaders-so-arrogant/) - A recent management column in the Wall Street Journal appeared under the appealing headline, “The Best Bosses Are Humble Bosses.” The article reported that humble leaders “inspire close teamwork, rapid learning and high performance in their teams.” It even reported that one HR consulting firm is planning to introduce an assessment to identify personality traits
- [HBR: Lifestyle Brands Are Building Hotels Now. Here’s Why That Actually Makes Sense.](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/09/hbr-lifestyle-brands-are-building-hotels-now-heres-why-that-actually-makes-sense/) - These days, it seems, every brand wants to be a “lifestyle brand.” Three examples appeared in a recent article in the New York Times, which both chronicled and raised a skeptical eyebrow about the commitment of so many brands, in some pretty prosaic industries, to becoming lifestyle brands. What the Times (and, I fear, many of
- [HBR: To See the Future of Competition, Look at Netflix](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/07/hbr-to-see-the-future-of-competition-look-at-netflix/) - I don’t often start essays about leadership with insights from French novelists, but in this case it seems appropriate. “The real act of discovery,” Marcel Proust wrote, “consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” Today the most successful companies don’t just outcompete their rivals.
- [HBR: What If Amazon’s Next Big Innovation Was to Improve the Jobs of Its Blue-Collar Workers?](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/06/what-if-amazons-next-big-innovation-was-to-improve-the-jobs-of-its-blue-collar-workers/) - Earlier this spring, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos released his annual letter to shareholders. Like every shareholders letter Bezos has written since his company went public in 1997, this year’s version was brilliant, entertaining, and filled with big strategic insights and gritty management takeaways. To my eyes, though, it was also missing something — an omission
- [Yahoo Finance: Regular Folks Can Be Disruptors, Too](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/09/yahoo-finance-regular-folks-can-be-disruptors-too/) - Can you shake up your business like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk if you’re an ordinary schmo living 10 states away from Silicon Valley? Read the Full Article
- [See Me, Hear Me....](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/04/see-me-hear-me/) - No, I'm not doing my version of The Who's Tommy. But over the last few weeks I've had a chance to do two Web-based events that are now available to the general public. I'd like to invite you to check out either or both events and let me know what you think. The first was
- [The Values Proposition: Do Small Things with Great Love](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/10/the-values-proposition-do-small-things-with-great-love/) - The world confronts vast uncertainty, from unrest in the social climate to accelerating shifts in the climate itself. The economy faces huge challenges, from public-debt crises in Europe to the overhang of mortgage debt in the United States. The business community faces an ongoing series of stops and starts, from the loss of an icon
- [How HP Lost the "HP Way"](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/09/how-hp-lost-the-hp-way/) - Really, Hewlett-Packard? This is what’s become of the company of Bill and Dave—not just the founders of HP, but the founding fathers of Silicon Valley? Three CEOs in six years. Two of those CEOs who embarrassed themselves with pathetically inept campaigns for elective office. The other CEO who managed to get tossed out of his
- [Are You "Humbitious" Enough to Lead?](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/07/are-you-humbitious-enough-to-lead/) - The folks at the esteemed Leader to Leader Institute publish a quarterly journal called, not surprisingly, Leader to Leader. What is surprising is that they saw fit to ask me to write an essay on what it means to lead in a world where nobody alone is as smart as everybody together. Well, the Summer
- [The "Practically Radical" Workout?](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/04/the-practically-radical-workout/) - Well, not quite, but close. The folks at Life Time Fitness are so enthusiastic about Practically Radical that they are selling the book in the cafes at their 90 clubs in 20 states. Now, they have produced a wonderful video that airs via video screens on the treadmills, exercise bikes, and elliptical equipment at their
- [How to Hire Great People Fast](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/04/how-to-hire-great-people-fast/) - My latest blog post for Harvard Business Review applies a bunch of insights we first published in Fast Company a dozen years ago to address the "battle for talent" raging today in Silicon Valley, in Boston, and in other high-tech centers around the country. Everything old really is new again--including the best way to find,
- [Why Read the Book When You Can See the Movie?](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/02/why-read-the-book-when-you-can-see-the-movie/) - The folks at Polar Unlimited, who run the Read it for Me series of business-book webinars, have created an 11-minute "video summary" of Practically Radical. It's really fun, and does a nice job of highlighting many of the key ideas and case studies in the book. You need to use the password practicallyrad to view
- [A Crash Course on "Practically Radical"](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/02/a-crash-course-on-practically-radical/) - Normally, I'm not super-eager to share videos of me doing talks—either the lighting is bad, or the sound quality is bad, or maybe I'm having a bad day. But last month, I did a "book breakfast" in Providence RI with friends at the Business Innovation Factory, and BIF shot a video of my remarks. It's
- [Practically Radical, the Cliff's Notes](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/02/practically-radical-the-cliffs-notes/) - On February 25, I'll be doing a webinar about Practically Radical organized by Steve Cunningham of Polar Unlimited, a digital-marketing agency based in Canada. In advance of the webinar, Steve has put together an incredible summary of the main ideas and messages in the book, and has also posted a 25-minute interview with me that
- [Keeping Up with Practically Radical--Week Two](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/01/keeping-up-with-practically-radical-week-two/) - I want to take a moment and say thanks to everyone who has helped Practically Radical get off to such a fast start. The book was released two weeks ago today, and it's been a blur of activity ever since. Here's an update. I am pleased to report that in its first week of eligibility,
- [Launch Trajectory: Highlights from Week One](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/01/launch-trajectory-highlights-from-week-one/) - Practically Radical officially launched on Tuesday, January 4--one week ago today. And what a week it's been! A blur of interviews, blog posts, celebrations, and all the fun and exciting stuff that comes with the publication of a new book. I can't list everything that happened last week, but allow me to point to just
- [Fast Company Turns 150!](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/10/fast-company-turns-150/) - Well, not really. But the November 2010 issue of Fast Company represents the 150th issue in the history of the magazine. Wow, do I feel old. To commemorate the milestone, the staff has compiled some of the best articles from the old days. Happy 150th, Fast Company!
- [HBR: The Best Leaders See Things That Others Don’t. Art Can Help.](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/04/hbr-the-best-leaders-see-things-that-others-dont-art-can-help/) - I don’t often start essays about leadership with insights from French novelists, but in this case it seems appropriate. “The real act of discovery,” Marcel Proust wrote, “consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” Today the most successful companies don’t just outcompete their rivals.
- [HBR: What Breaking the 4-Minute Mile Taught Us About the Limits of Conventional Thinking](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/03/hbr-what-breaking-the-4-minute-mile-taught-us-about-the-limits-of-conventional-thinking/) - The sad news of the passing of Roger Bannister, the first human being to run a four-minute mile, got me thinking about his legacy—not just as one of the great athletes of the past century, but as an innovator, a change agent, and an icon of success.
- [HBR: The Right and Wrong Way to Attract Young Workers to a “Boring” Company](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/02/hbr-the-right-and-wrong-way-to-attract-young-workers-to-a-boring-company/) - Young people find their companies dull and don’t have much enthusiasm for a career in their field. I hear it time and again — How can we compete with Facebook or Google for young engineers? How can we attract digitally savvy marketers against Starbucks or Amazon?
- [HBR: Companies That Do Right by Their Workers Start by Elevating Their Definition of Success](https://williamctaylor.com/2018/01/hbr-companies-that-do-right-by-their-workers-start-by-elevating-their-definition-of-success/) - With unemployment at record lows, yet inequality at record highs, this feels like a time for CEOs to think bigger.
- [HBR: The 4 Kinds of Leaders Who Create the Future](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/12/hbr-the-4-kinds-of-leaders-who-create-the-future/) - Alan Kay, the educator and computer designer, famously declared, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” But what does it take to invent the future in such a turbulent and uncertain world? How do successful organizations build on their history, even as they craft a new point of view about what
- [HBR: How Coca-Cola, Netflix, and Amazon Learn from Failure](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/11/hbr-how-coca-cola-netflix-and-amazon-learn-from-failure/) - I can’t tell you how many business leaders I meet, how many organizations I visit, that espouse the virtues of innovation and creativity. Yet so many of these same leaders and organizations live in fear of mistakes, missteps, and disappointments — which is why they have so little innovation and creativity. If you’re not prepared
- [HBR: Amazon, Whole Foods, and the Future of the (Old) New Economy](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/06/hbr-amazon-whole-foods-and-the-future-of-the-old-new-economy/) - I heard the news today, oh boy — Amazon is buying Whole Foods Market in a deal worth nearly $14 billion. The combination of these iconic companies, both of which have come of age in the last two decades, raises obvious questions.
- [HBR: 5 Questions to Ask About Corporate Culture to Get Beyond the Usual Meaningless Blather](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/06/5-questions-to-ask-about-corporate-culture-to-get-beyond-the-usual-meaningless-blather/) - So much of our thinking about organizational culture has become so bland, so unobjectionable, that it is on the verge of becoming meaningless.
- [Fortune: Where Was the Pilot On That United Airlines Flight?](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/04/fortune-where-was-the-pilot-on-that-united-airlines-flight/) - I’m as horrified as everyone else watching that video of a United Airlines passenger being forcibly dragged from his seat, knocked down and bloodied, to make room for a crew member. I’m also stunned, as someone who studies strategy, culture, and customer service, at what an epic failure this whole episode was, and continues to
- [HBR: Trust Your Employees, Not Your Rule Book](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/04/hbr-trust-your-employees-not-your-rule-book/) - Here’s the good news: The big airlines are revising their rules for booking and boarding flights — rules that led to one of the great business fiascos in recent history, United Express Flight 3411. Here’s the bad news: If the long-term lesson that leaders of the airline business (or any other business) take away from
- [HBR: 4 Kinds of Workplaces, and How to Know Which Is Best for You](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/04/hbr-4-kinds-of-workplaces-and-how-to-know-which-is-best-for-you/) - We all want to be part of a great organization and a high-performance workplace. We want to be at our best, surrounded by colleagues who help us and challenge us, doing work that is financially rewarding and personally meaningful. But there’s more than one kind of successful organization, and there are many kinds of productive
- [Fortune: What Bill and Melinda Gates See That Donald Trump Doesn’t](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/02/fortune-what-bill-and-melinda-gates-see-that-donald-trump-doesnt/) - The world the Gates describes seems completely at odds with the attitudes, priorities, and policies of Donald Trump and the new administration in Washington.
- [HBR: True Leaders Believe Dissent Is an Obligation](https://williamctaylor.com/2017/01/hbr-true-leaders-believe-dissent-is-an-obligation/) - These are head-spinning times for those of us who think about the best ways to lead and the most effective ways to compete. What defines acceptable personal behavior (let alone behavior worth emulating) among public officials? Why would executives at so many iconic organizations — Volkswagen, Wells Fargo, FIFA — tolerate behavior so egregious that
- [HBR: How Domino’s Pizza Reinvented Itself](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/11/hbr-how-dominos-pizza-reinvented-itself/) - Some of the most extraordinary innovations I’ve seen have taken place in the pizza business. Read the Full Article
- [Management Today: Look Beyond Silicon Valley for Inspirational Business Success](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/10/management-today-look-beyond-silicon-valley-for-inspirational-business-success/) - William C Taylor's new book looks at all manner of unusual companies start-ups learn a lot from. Read the Review
- [HBR: What the Best Change Leaders Know, and Why They’re So Hard to Copy](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/12/hbr-what-the-best-change-leaders-know-and-why-theyre-so-hard-to-copy/) - Of all the lessons I’ve learned about innovation and change, one stands above the rest... Read the Full Article
- [HMR: How WD-40 Created a Learning-Obsessed Company Culture](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/09/how-wd-40-created-a-learning-obsessed-company-culture/) - And helped the cult product go global.
- [800CEOREAD Editor’s Choice: Simply Brilliant](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/09/800ceoread-editors-choice-simply-brilliant/) - I first learned of Bill Taylor when we brought him here to Milwaukee to speak about his first book, Mavericks at Work. Read the Full Article
- [Forbes: If People Say You’re Ordinary, ‘Simply Brilliant’ Is the Way Out](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/09/forbes-if-people-say-youre-ordinary-simply-brilliant-is-the-way-out/) - Most business books remind me of Ikea furniture. Read the Full Article
- [There’s No Such Thing As an Average Business, Just Average Ways to Do Business](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/08/theres-no-such-thing-as-an-average-business-just-average-ways-to-do-business/) - Take it from Florida’s most beautiful parking garage.
- [Write a Failure Résumé to Learn What Makes You Succeed](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/05/write-a-failure-resume-to-learn-what-makes-you-succeed/) - It works for companies as well as individuals.
- [The Best Entrepreneurs Are Missionaries, Not Mercenaries](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/04/the-best-entrepreneurs-are-missionaries-not-mercenaries/) - Ask three questions to figure out which one you are.
- [Companies Can’t Be Great Unless They’ve Almost Failed](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/03/companies-cant-be-great-unless-theyve-almost-failed/) - What the best-performing stocks of the last 30 years have in common.
- [Why the Future Belongs to Tough-Minded Optimists](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/03/why-the-future-belongs-to-tough-minded-optimists/) - Are you one?
- [How One Fast-Food Chain Keeps Its Turnover Rates Absurdly Low](https://williamctaylor.com/2016/01/how-one-fast-food-chain-keeps-its-turnover-rates-absurdly-low/) - Hire for attitude, and train (a lot) for skill.
- [Why You Should Read Your Memo Out Loud](https://williamctaylor.com/2015/06/why-you-should-read-your-memo-out-loud/) - Bill Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company, offers tips for making your writing more memorable.
- [Fix Their Problem, Win the Deal](https://williamctaylor.com/2015/03/fix-their-problem-win-the-deal/) - Bill Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company, shares an important lesson for aspiring entrepreneurs: your proposal won't win or lose strictly on the merits of your idea; it has to solve a problem for the other party.
- [Why Kindness Is Good Business](https://williamctaylor.com/2014/10/why-kindness-is-good-business/) - Bill Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company, shares how a small act of kindness left a lasting impression.
- ["What Customers Crave Is a Sense of Humanity"](https://williamctaylor.com/2014/09/what-customers-crave-is-a-sense-of-humanity/) - Fun interview with yours truly at Time.com. You can read it here.
- [Great Leaders Are Insatiable Learners](https://williamctaylor.com/2014/09/great-leaders-are-insatiable-learners/) - In these head-spinning times, the challenge for leaders is not to out-hustle, out-muscle, or out-maneuver the competition. It is to out-think the competition in ways big and small, to develop a unique point of view about the future and get there before anyone else does. The best leaders I’ve gotten to know aren’t just the
- [The Best Leaders "Talk the Walk"](https://williamctaylor.com/2014/08/the-best-leaders-talk-the-walk/) - One of the most ubiquitous aphorisms in business is that the best leaders understand the need to "walk the talk"—that is, their behavior and day-to-day actions have to match the aspirations they have for their colleagues and organization. But the more time I spend with game-changing innovators and high-performing companies, the more I appreciate the
- [Playing It Safe Is Riskier than You Think](https://williamctaylor.com/2013/09/playing-it-safe-is-riskier-than-you-think/) - There are all sorts of reasons why so many big organizations can be slow to make changes that everyone agrees need to be made. “Our current margins are too good, even though the business is being eroded by new competitors.” “Our current products are still popular, even though a new generation of offerings is getting
- [Seriously...A Smile Is Always in Style](https://williamctaylor.com/2013/11/seriously-a-smile-is-always-in-style/) - Last week, the front page of the New York Times carried an in-depth report on a “broad and transformative trend” in Russia. It had nothing to do with more democracy or less corruption. It had to do with better customer service—specifically, an intense focus inside Aeroflot, the infamous Russian airline, to teach flight attendants how
- [Clever Ways to Be Kind](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/10/clever-ways-to-be-kind/) - I’d like to say I was surprised by the wave of commentary triggered by my most recent post over at Harvard Business Review, but I had a feeling it would get a big reaction. In the essay, titled “It’s More Important to Be Kind than Clever,” I told the story of a touching gesture by
- [A Quick History of Fast Company](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/08/a-quick-history-of-fast-company/) - After a recent talk in Dallas, I sat down for a video interview and stepped into the Way Back Machine, to discuss the launch of Fast Company, the ideas for which the magazine stood (and still stands), and what Alan Webber and I hoped to achieve nearly 20 years ago when we set out on
- [When Bad Service Is Good Business](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/08/when-bad-service-is-good-business/) - It’s hard not to be surprised by what you read in the newspapers these days, but a recent report in the New York Times left me downright floored. Richard X. Bove, a high-profile securities analyst who focuses on bank stocks, wrote a commentary that excoriated Wells Fargo for its lousy service—so much so that he
- [Practically Radical, Now in Paperback!](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/08/practically-radical-now-in-paperback/) - I am very excited to announce that the paperback edition of Practically Radical has just been released by my friends at William Morrow. I've updated all of the case-study material for the paperback edition, and I've added an all-new "Work Book" of questions and exercises designed to help individual leaders change the game in their
- [Please, Can We All Just Stop "Innovating"?](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/05/please-can-we-all-just-stop-innovating/) - There’s something about the culture of business that tends toward excess—in financial markets, to be sure, but also in the “market” for new ideas and management techniques. The logic is always the same, whether the idea in question is reengineering, six-sigma quality, or lean production systems: A genuinely original strategy is born in one company
- [Your Company's "Obituary" Can Shape Its Future](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/05/your-companys-obituary-can-shape-its-future/) - If you’ve spent any amount of time in executive retreats or leadership offsites, you’ve probably been asked to participate in a familiar evaluation of your career and impact. “Take twenty minutes,” a facilitator will say, “and write your professional obituary. What legacy did you leave? What contribution did you make? What might colleagues remember about
- [It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Believe](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/04/its-not-what-you-sell-its-what-you-believe/) - Adam Lashinsky’s new book Inside Apple offers lots of intriguing material about Steve Jobs and the strategic choices, design principles, and business tactics that created the most valuable company on earth. But for all of Lashinsky’s behind-the-scenes material about Apple’s legendary leader, it was a public story about Apple’s new leader, CEO Tim Cook, that
- [I'm Going Public!](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/02/im-going-public/) - I spend most of my time these days on the road, giving talks and leading discussions based on the ideas and lessons in Practically Radical. Most of these sessions, sadly, are not open to the public--either they are private events held by companies, or members-only events organized by associations. In two weeks, though, I'll be
- [Eli Manning, Leadership Giant](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/02/eli-manning-leadership-giant/) - I live in Boston, but I was raised as a New York Giants fan and have remained True Blue for half a century. So what a thrill when the Washington Post asked me to write about the leadership qualities of Eli Manning. It's all in good fun, of course, and I hope my neighbors and
- ["Are You Learning as Fast as the World Is Changing?"](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/01/are-you-learning-as-fast-as-the-world-is-changing/) - Tom Kelly, general manager of IDEO, the world-renowned design firm, likes to quote French novelist Marcel Proust, who famously said, “The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” What goes for novelists goes for leaders searching to craft a novel strategy for their company, a new
- [I'd Like to Thank the Academy...](https://williamctaylor.com/2012/01/id-like-to-thank-the-academy/) - I am pleased to report that the end of 2011 brought with it a slew of wonderful accolades and shout-outs for Practically Radical. Among the nice notices, Practically Radical was included on the following lists: Best Business Books of 2011 (American Express Open Forum). Best Books of 2011 for Entrepreneurs (Inc. Magazine). Best Leadership Books
- [Average Is Over. What's Your Extra?](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/12/average-is-over-whats-your-extra/) - I approach a book by New York Times columnist Thomas Freidman with a mixture of wariness and anticipation. Wariness, because Friedman’s books tend to go on for many pages longer than they need to, and many of those pages contain his trademark blend of Davos Man self-congratulation and cheesy metaphors. But I still have a
- [Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/12/just-because-you-can-doesnt-mean-you-should/) - As we come to the end of a bitter, divisive, downright ugly year in business and society, it’s hard to pick the one big story that defines the climate of the times. This summer’s rancorous debt-ceiling talks come to mind, as do the collapse of the feckless Italian government and the rise of Occupy Wall
- [Don't Let What You Know Limit What You Imagine](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/11/dont-let-what-you-know-limit-what-you-imagine/) - One of the most perplexing features of these troubled times is that so many capable people in so many fields look so lost and ineffective. Whether it’s the stubborn inefficiencies of the health-care system, the ever-rising costs of the higher-education system, even the slow-motion collapse of the US postal system, leaders with unrivaled expertise and
- [Slickest Plane Ever?](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/10/slickest-plane-ever/) - Just learned about an airline called Kulula.com, sort of the Southwest of South Africa, but with an even more effervescent personality. Check out this plane. What a fun exterior!
- [How to Lead After a Legend](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/10/how-to-lead-after-a-legend/) - It’s tough as a new CEO to fix a troubled company suffering under a legacy of misleadership, as Meg Whitman is about to learn at Hewlett-Packard. But it’s even tougher to follow in the footsteps of an icon—a leader who didn’t just win big with the company, but changed the game in the industry. Just
- [Why Steve Jobs Matters to You](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/09/why-steve-jobs-matters-to-you/) - All sorts of commentators are asking all sorts of questions about the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple, Inc. What does it mean for the company’s future? What does it means for the stock price? What does it mean for the computer industry, the music industry, and the media industry? All fine questions,
- [The Great "Great People" Debate](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/08/the-great-great-people-debate/) - My HBR posts on "Why Great People are Overrated" continue to kick up some dust. This morning, the NPR program "Here and Now" devoted a 14-minute segment to an interview with me on the battle for talent in Silicon Valley, and my reservations about what's going on. What a fun time-- a serious topic, but
- [Creative Explosion--Lessons from the Fringe](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/08/creative-explosion-lessons-from-the-fringe/) - This has been an explosive summer—markets in turmoil, cities in flames, politics in meltdown. So it’s a relief to enjoy and learn from an explosion of a different sort—the explosion of creativity taking place this August in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The festival, a one-time icon of artistic rebellion, is now
- [How Do You Know a Great Person When You See One?](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/07/how-do-you-know-a-great-person-when-you-see-one/) - In the still-raging debate over my two HBR posts about why “Great People Are Overrated,” the one (and perhaps only) question that went under-discussed might be the most important question of all: How do you know a great person when you see one? In other words, is “greatness” purely a matter of raw brainpower and
- [Overrated, Part II](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/06/overrated-part-ii/) - I’m pleased, although not surprised, by the incredible wave of reactions to and comments about my post, “Great People Are Overrated.” (I’m also not surprised by the vitriol and personal nature of some of the barbs aimed at me—that seems to go with the territory whenever you question an article of faith among the Web
- [Great People Are Overrated](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/06/great-people-are-overrated/) - Last month, in an article in the New York Times on the ever-escalating “war for talent” in Silicon Valley, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a passing comment that has become the entrepreneurial equivalent of a verbal tick—something that’s said all the time, almost without thinking. “Someone who is exceptional in their role is not just
- [We Is Bigger than Me](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/06/we-is-bigger-than-me/) - My latest blog post over at HBR builds on a great column by David Brooks of the New York Times, who argues against the culture of self-fulfillment and personal happiness. The challenge, he writes, is not to "find yourself" but to "lose yourself"--in a cause that matters or a company in which you believe. I'm
- [Wartime CEOs vs. Peacetime CEOs](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/04/wartime-ceos-vs-peacetime-ceos/) - By my reckoning, Ben Horowitz is the most thought-provoking blogger on leadership and strategy today. He’s also a lot more than a blogger. As one of the two name partners at Andreessen Horowitz, he is one of the most influential venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. As the cofounder and longtime CEO of Opsware, a software
- [Europe Gets "Practically Radical"](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/04/europe-gets-practically-radical/) - I just agreed to a 5-city, 5-day "Practically Radical" tour of Europe in late May: London, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Moscow, Helsinki. Excited! I'll keep folks posted as to specific dates and venues.
- [Join the Startup Debate at HBR!](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/03/join-the-startup-debate-at-hbr/) - This morning, I published an essay on HBR.org that I knew would kick up some dust. Basically, I argued that "startup fever" is rapidly becoming startup hysteria, and that you really can have too much of a good thing--even a thing as good as entrepreneurship. Well, as I expected, the debate has begun in full
- [CNN Gets "Practically Radical"](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/03/cnn-gets-practically-radical/) - A few weeks back, I traveled to New York City to record an in-depth interview about Practically Radical with Christine Romans, host of CNN's "Your Bottom Line" program. I figured with all the turmoil and tumult in the world--from meltdowns in Japan to rebellions in the Middle East--that interview would never see the light of
- [Please Discuss....](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/03/please-discuss/) - My new favorite quote... "Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." Eleanor Roosevelt
- [Talkin' with "Billy the Brain"](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/03/talkin-with-billy-the-brain/) - No, that's not me! I'm doing an interview on California's KKZZ-AM at 1:20 pm today. The host of the program is "Billy the Brain." You can listen online.
- [CNN This Weekend](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/03/cnn-this-weekend/) - Look for me on CNN, talking with the great Christine Romans about Practically Radical and personal branding. The 4 PM hour this Saturday--rebroadcast Monday am as well.
- [Free Passes to Upcoming Webinar](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/03/free-passes-to-upcoming-webinar/) - I'm doing a Webinar at 11 am next Wednesday, March 9, with the folks at G5 Leadership. My friends at TomPeters.com have some free passes if you wish to participate. Register via the Tom Peters Web site, which you can find here. If you get a free pass, I promise my insights will be worth
- [In Praise of "Calculated Boldness"](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/02/in-praise-of-calculated-boldness/) - One nice thing about a never-ending book tour is that you learn lots of new stuff along the way. A week or so ago, on a visit to the Chicago offices of DraftFCB, the great advertising agency, I picked up a book that three agency executives wrote called Calculate Boldness. It's a terrific take on
- [Spread the Word (of Mouth)](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/02/spread-the-word-of-mouth/) - One of the nice things about a new book is that it creates the opportunity to reconnect with old friends. Dave Balter, founder and CEO of BzzAgent, is one such old friend. He and his colleagues are pioneers in the world of word-of-mouth marketing, and after he read Practically Radical he was nice enough to
- [Viva Las Vegas!](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/02/viva-las-vegas/) - Here's a link to a fun (and really in-depth) interview with KNPR, Nevada Public Radio, in advance of my appearance in Las Vegas on Friday. This is going to be quite an event--we are expecting 2,000 people at the Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus. You can listen here.
- [A "Practically Radical" BILLboard](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/02/a-practically-radical-billboard/) - My "Practically Radical" adventure has been full of first's, but this one is a real surprise--a highway sign in Las Vegas with my mug on it advertising an upcoming talk. Dare I say it is a true BILLboard????
- [Don't Change the Channel!](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/01/dont-change-the-channel/) - I may have a "face for radio" (old joke, I know), but I'll be on CNN's "Parker Spitzer" program tonight, 8:00 PM EST, talking about Practically Radical. Some guy named Alec Baldwin will be on too.
- [Practically Radical--A Busy Day One](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/01/practically-radical-a-busy-day-one/) - Phew! Day One of the launch is drawing to a close, and if tomorrow is anything like today, I may need a vacation by the end of the week! What a fun (if exhausting) day of reviews, interviews, excerpts, blogs, and tweets. Over on Dan Pink's blog, I offer three resolutions for how to be
- [A Huge Day Early in the New Year!](https://williamctaylor.com/2011/01/a-huge-day-early-in-the-new-year/) - Today's a big day--no, a huge day-- for me. At long last, it's Launch Day for Practically Radical. The countdown is over! Look for all kinds of news and updates over the next few weeks. Amazingly, and purely coincidentally, it is also the day of my 25th wedding anniversary. So thanks to all of you
- [We're Havin' a Party! Join Us on January 5 in NYC](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/12/were-havin-a-party-join-us-on-january-5-in-nyc/) - What's a new book without a book-release party? My friends at TBWA, the amazing marketers behind such iconic brands as Apple, Absolut, Adidas, and Visa, are hosting a "Practically Radical" event in New York City on Wednesday January 5. If you're going to be in the area, and wish to attend, shoot me an email
- [A "Game Plan for Game Changers"](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/12/a-game-plan-for-game-changers/) - Practically Radical launches three weeks from today, and I'm excited! So excited, in fact, that I have begun to share some of the key ideas in the book. Here's my new post for HBR, on four simple ideas that constitute a "game plan for game changers." You can read it here. Enjoy!!!
- [A "Practically Radical" Review](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/12/a-practically-radical-review/) - Every author waits nervously for his or her pre-release review in Publishers Weekly, the bible of booksellers everywhere. Well, the review of Practically Radical is in, and it rocks! PW calls the book "an engaging and briskly written read" with "actionable prescriptions and meaningful examples" that "will captivate and benefit" leaders who want to make
- [Why Nobody Wins Unless Everybody Wins](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/12/why-nobody-wins-unless-everybody-wins/) - Recently, I’ve started thinking about something Bruce Springsteen used to say back in the 1980s, because it seems so relevant to what we’re going through as a country, an economy, and as businesses today. During the height of the Born in the USA craze, when Ronald Reagan dominated American politics and Bruce ruled the cultural
- [The Loney Life of the CEO](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/12/the-loney-life-of-the-ceo/) - Like everyone else, I was surprised to read the news this morning that Jeffrey Kindler, the change-minded CEO of Pfizer, Inc. was retiring after less than five years on the job. Who knows all of the factors that contributed to the decision. But what was so striking about the “official story” is that Kindler was
- [Smart Lessons from the Google "Brain Drain"](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/11/smart-lessons-from-the-google-brain-drain/) - Everybody seems struck by (and worried about) the flight of talent from Google, either to other (younger) high-profile companies such as Facebook, or to the next generation of venture-funded startups. I don't have any specific advice for Google, but concerns about the "brain drain" create an opportunity to offer a bunch of lessons for organizations
- [How Netflix Became a Hollywood Star](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/11/how-netflix-became-a-hollywood-star/) - My latest for Bnet, the CBS Interactive Network, on what we call can learn from the hottest name in the movies. (And no, it's not Harry Potter.) To me, the secret of Netflix's remarkable success isn't just that it has mastered the technology of movie distribution. It's that it helps its customers master the art
- [Do You Feel the LUV?](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/11/do-you-feel-the-luv/) - The folks at BNET, the CBS Interactive Network, have asked me to write a weekly leadership blog. You can read my first post here. It's all about my favorite company in the world, one about which I've written extensively in the past, and that teaches all sorts of lessons about leadership, innovation, and how to
- [Why I'm Still Bullish on America](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/11/why-im-still-bullish-on-america/) - Maybe it's because it's Veterans Day, and I am feeling unusually patriotic, or maybe it's because President Obama is traveling in Asia, which means it's open season for every pundit to make China and India seem ten feet tall, but I'm getting tired of the drumbeat that American innovators and entrepreneurs can't keep pace with
- ["You Can't Be a Rebel If You Don't Have Something to Prove"](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/11/you-cant-be-a-rebel-if-you-dont-have-something-to-prove/) - Arkadi Kuhlmann, CEO of ING Direct USA, is one of my favorite business leaders and innovators. Polly LaBarre and I wrote about him extensively in Mavericks at Work, and I've stayed in touch with him in the years since. He is the face of business at its best: pro-customer, anti-establishment, willing (even eager) try try
- [Why Is It So Hard to Be Kind? ](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/10/why-is-it-so-hard-to-be-kind/) - My latest post for Harvard Business Review is a little different. It's a story of my plan to get my Dad a special gift for his 75th birthday, his disappointing experience with a Cadillac dealer, a surprising gesture from a Buick dealer, and what it means for business and success. One of those little stories
- [Launch! 85 Days and Counting](https://williamctaylor.com/2010/10/85-days-and-counting/) - It is with great pleasure that I announce the official publication date of my new book, Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself. The date is Tuesday January 4, 2011--85 days from today, and the first business day of the New Year. That's right, as soon as

## Pages

- [Home](https://williamctaylor.com/) - Bill Taylor is a writer, a speaker, and entrepreneur who has shaped the global conversation about the best ways to compete, innovate, and succeed.
- [A Quick History of <i>Fast Company</i>](https://williamctaylor.com/fast-company/) - "Something is happening and it affects us all. A global revolution is changing business, and business is changing the world." Those were the first words in the first "Letter from the Editors" in the first issue of Fast Company. The premiere issue appeared in November 1995, and thus began the greatest professional journey of my
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- [Speaking Engagements](https://williamctaylor.com/speaking-engagements/) - Speaking Engagements Financial services. Professional services. Healthcare. Manufacturing and distribution. Technology. Community-development and regional-business associations. Bill has addressed hundreds of audiences from countless fields. His messages, stories, and practical lessons equip leaders to do the hard work of big change. Short Clips Talent and Culture The Hard Work of Big Change The Unmet Challenges of
- [Latest Newsletter](https://williamctaylor.com/latest-newsletter/) - Three Ways to Unleash Positive Energy in Exhausting Times - November, 2022 I don’t know about you, but I’m tired—exhausted, really. The last two-and-a-half years have demanded so much of us as leaders, colleagues, family members, and citizens. It’s not just the pandemic and public health, inflation and economic turbulence, or elections and social divisions.
- [About Bill](https://williamctaylor.com/about-bill/) - Bill Taylor has a passion for ideas and practices that reshape how organizations compete, innovate and win—in good times and times of crisis. As co-founder of Fast Company, he shook up the business-magazine world and the world of business. His latest book shows how to unleash breakthrough creativity and cutting-edge performance in even the most
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- [The Simply Brilliant “Fit for the Future” Quiz](https://williamctaylor.com/future-quiz/) - The quiz below is based on the leadership traits Bill discusses in his Harvard Business Review article, The 4 Kinds of Leaders Who Create the Future. Alan Kay, the educator and computer designer, famously declared, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” But what does it take to invent the
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- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/simply-brilliant/)
- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/advanceyourbusiness/) - The cofounder of Fast Company shows that opportunities for breakaway performance may be closer than you think.
- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/vfsummit/) - The cofounder of Fast Company shows that opportunities for breakaway performance may be closer than you think.
- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/hbr-facebook-live/) - The cofounder of Fast Company shows that opportunities for breakaway performance may be closer than you think.
- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/fidelity/) - The cofounder of Fast Company shows that opportunities for breakaway performance may be closer than you think.
- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/marketcounsel/)
- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/southcentral-foundation/)
- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/lincoln-electric/)
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- [Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways](https://williamctaylor.com/quicken-loans/)
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- [Mavericks at Work](https://williamctaylor.com/mavericks-at-work/) - The Economist called Mavericks at Work "a pivotal work in the tradition of In Search of Excellence and Good to Great." Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's, called Mavericks "a competitive playbook for the 21st century." The Financial Times calls Mavericks "a defiant act, a bold and idealistic declaration of faith" in the
- [William Taylor Essentials](https://williamctaylor.com/about-bill/william-taylor-essentials/) - CNN Gets "Practically Radical" Breakfast for Innovators "Buzzing" in Boston "Powering the People" in DC
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- [Practically Radical Song](https://williamctaylor.com/practically-radical/practically-radical-song/) - [audio:https://williamctaylor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/PracticallyRadicalSong.mp3|titles=PracticallyRadicalSong]
- [Practically Radical](https://williamctaylor.com/practically-radical/) - A Game Plan for Game Changers Albert Einstein put it brilliantly: “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.” Some unknown Texas genius put it simply: “If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got.” It’s hard to put
- [Practically Radical Preview](https://williamctaylor.com/practically-radical/practically-radical-preview/) - Download the Practically Radical Preview (PDF)

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## Videos

- [Why the Future Belongs to Tough-Minded Optimists](https://williamctaylor.com/videos/why-the-future-belongs-to-tough-minded-optimists/) - https://youtu.be/9u8FVK9GN18
- [Why Everyone Should Write a Failure Resume](https://williamctaylor.com/videos/why-everyone-should-write-a-failure-resume/) - https://youtu.be/V-BAaa9QhqE
- [Why There’s No Such Thing as an Ordinary Business](https://williamctaylor.com/videos/why-theres-no-such-thing-as-an-ordinary-business/) - https://youtu.be/qmB3CM_Zj9Y
- [As Important to Be Kind as it is to Be Clever](https://williamctaylor.com/videos/as-important-to-be-kind-as-it-is-to-be-clever/) - https://youtu.be/iieHyc1JqlU
- [Why the Work of Leadership is the Work of Change](https://williamctaylor.com/videos/why-the-work-of-leadership-is-the-work-of-change/)

## Books

- [Simply Brilliant](https://williamctaylor.com/books/simply-brilliant/) - The cofounder of Fast Company shows that opportunities for breakaway performance may be closer than you think. Why should game-changing innovations and high-powered success stories be the exclusive domain of a few technology-driven start-ups or a handful of Silicon Valley billionaires? Today, argues bestselling author William C. Taylor, the thrill of radical creativity can be summoned in all
- [Practically Radical](https://williamctaylor.com/books/practically-radical/) - Albert Einstein put it brilliantly: “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.” Some unknown Texas genius put it simply: “If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got.” It’s hard to put it any better: These two bits
- [Mavericks at Work](https://williamctaylor.com/books/mavericks-at-work/) - The Economist called Mavericks at Work "a pivotal work in the tradition of In Search of Excellence and Good to Great." Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's, called Mavericks "a competitive playbook for the 21st century." The Financial Times calls Mavericks "a defiant act, a bold and idealistic declaration of faith" in the

## Reviews

- [Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of <em>DRIVE</em> and <em>TO SELL IS HUMAN</em>](https://williamctaylor.com/reviews/daniel-h-pink-bestselling-author-of-drive-and-to-sell-is-human/) - Bill Taylor is back — and he's better than ever! Simply Brilliant describes how to make your organization truly extraordinary by focusing on the values that set you apart from the pack. Brimming with fascinating case studies,Simply Brilliant is essential reading for leaders in every industry.
- [Seth Godin, author of <em>Linchpin</em>](https://williamctaylor.com/reviews/seth-godin-author-of-linchpin/) - Bill Taylor has done it again. This book is going to change your business forever—when you read it, you'll understand.
- [Tom Peters, coauthor of <em>In Search of Excellence</em>](https://williamctaylor.com/reviews/tom-peters-coauthor-of-in-search-of-excellence/) - I love this book so much. Greatness (!) from real people (!) in the most un-Silicon Valley (!) markets and locations imaginable. Wow!
- [Sandra L. Fenwick President and CEO, Boston Children's Hospital](https://williamctaylor.com/reviews/sandra-l-fenwick-president-and-ceo-boston-childrens-hospital/) - Simply Brilliant is just that--real examples of the journey from ordinary to extraordinary. Bill Taylor challenges us to think differently about elevating our organizations to be truly distinctive in what we do and how we do it. His book inspires us to accept that challenge.
- [Len Schlesinger Baker Foundation Professor, Harvard Business School, and President Emeritus, Babson College](https://williamctaylor.com/reviews/len-schlesinger-baker-foundation-professor-harvard-business-school-and-president-emeritus-babson-college/) - Simply Brilliant is, well, simply brilliant! Bill Taylor empowers us with a set of basic, first-order principles in action—on the virtues of kindness, humility, and empathy—that turbocharge, and often trump, all of the more complex ideas we teach in business schools. A must read!
- [Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of <em>Originals</em> and <em>Give and Take</em>](https://williamctaylor.com/reviews/adam-grant-wharton-professor-and-new-york-times-bestselling-author-of-originals-and-give-and-take/) - A fascinating look inside companies that are rewriting the rules of success. If you’ve ever wondered whether imagination trumps knowledge and passion beats ambition, drop what you’re doing and read this book.

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## Sources

- [Simply Brilliant](https://williamctaylor.com/sources/simply-brilliant/)