The Reynolds Center has announced its 2008 fall workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
The Reynolds Center has opened registration for select 2008 free online seminars.
Topics include:
*Intermediate Business Journalism
*Covering Private Companies
*Business Journalism Boot Camp
Decisions, decisions, decisions. How do you make the right call when your money, your career or the future of your company is on the line? This summer, business magazines look to tried-and-true corporate and financial leaders for the answer to that question.
Readers can glean guidance on the art of decision-making from best-selling author Jim Collins in Fortune magazine's June 27 issue, "How to Make Great Decisions: Guru Jim Collins Shares His Secrets."
In an interview with Fortune senior writer Jerry Useem, Collins, the author of Good to Great and Built to Last shares his insights: "Lasting excellence in corporations seems to stem less from decisions about strategy than decisions about people, and seeking consensus is not the way to make the tough calls."
In the accompanying article "How I Make Decisions," the magazine profiles 11 individuals in various careers, explaining how Gen. Peter Pace, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, trains Marine Corp leaders; how Washington-state color consultant Leatrice Eiseman picks next year's trending hues; how Dulles air-traffic controller Paul Rinaldi keeps planes from colliding and how former Major League Baseball umpire Doug Harvey calls a game.
The magazine also puts together a fascinating list of "The Best and Worst Calls in Business History," including Western Union's rejection of the offer to buy Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patents for $100,000, Merrill Lynch founder Charles Merrill's advice to his clients to sell the year before the 1929 stock market crash and St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Curt Flood's refusal to be traded — a move that created free agency.
The July issue of Business 2.0 leads with a doozy of a teaser for its cover story, "The CEO's Secret Handbook".
"Imagine a lifetime's worth of executive wisdom, boiled down to a handy pocket-sized guide. Corporate leaders swear by it — but it's not for sale. Lucky for you, we've excerpted the best parts," the intro reads.
Over the years, Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson has been collecting his ideas on how to run a business, first on loose pieces of paper, then in a PowerPoint presentation, before putting it all together in a 76-page booklet entitled, Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management. The magazine describes it as "part Ben Franklin and part Yogi Berra, with a dash of Confucius thrown in."
Some of Swanson's gems: "Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there," "When faced with decisions, try to look at them as if you were one level up in the organization. Your perspective will change quickly," and "A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter — or others — is not a nice person."
Jim Collins puts in his 2 cents in this magazine, as well, with the article, "Are Swanson's Rules Good to Great?" He concludes they are.
SmartMoney turns to the "World's Greatest Investors" in its August cover story for advice on making smart picks with your portfolio.
Berkshire Hathaway head Warren Buffett likes electric utilities these days and he's snapping up shares of Anheuser-Busch. Legg Mason Value manager Bill Miller is buying Cisco and Yahoo. Sir John Templeton of the Templeton Growth fund remains bearish, especially about U.S. stocks, but sees selective opportunities in Russia and Canada. Pimco Total Return fund manager Bill Gross makes the bold prediction that interest rates aren't going anywhere for the next few years.
Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
