The Top 4 Basic Business Principles (Claire Hughes Johnson)

A businessman in a suit and tie pointing at graphs and charts on a screen that represent basic business principles.

What are the fundamental business principles your company should focus on? When should you draft a company mission statement? To ensure that your company has a clear identity to guide its business model, business expert Claire Hughes Johnson recommends that you codify your company’s key principles in a set of guiding papers. These should include four components: your company’s mission, long-term targets, key values, and team charters. Learn more about these basic business principles to get you started.

How to Win a Negotiation: 5 Tips for a Win-Lose Deal

Two people trying to win a negotiation, shaking hands by a cityscape.

Do you know how to win a negotiation? Does your negotiation partner want to be the only winner? Herb Cohen contends that sometimes, it won’t be possible to craft a win-win negotiation. When you suspect someone wants to be the only one who wins, it’s time for you to step up and take the win yourself. Let’s look at five tips that’ll help you win a negotiation.

Selflessness in Leadership: 3 Ways to Put Your Team First

A leader patting someone on the back during a business meeting.

Do you need other people? Are you a giver or a taker? Do you tend to run ahead of others and leave them behind? Many leaders think in terms of what’s best for themselves and base their decisions on their personal goals and opinions. John C. Maxwell writes that, to be an effective leader, you must prioritize your team’s needs over your personal ambitions. Keep reading for Maxwell’s advice on how to practice selflessness in leadership.

Moral Authority: 3 Ways Leaders Can Earn It (John C. Maxwell)

A business leader with a team of professional looking people behind him.

Do you have positional authority? Do you have moral authority? Which is more powerful? As a leader, you must develop your influence over others. To do so, you must gain moral authority—respect and recognition for exemplary personal qualities, values, and actions. Having positional authority may force people to follow you, but earning moral authority makes people want to follow you. Read more to learn how to earn moral authority as a leader.

Patagonia’s 6 Environmentally Friendly Business Practices

Patagonia’s 6 Environmentally Friendly Business Practices

Do you want your business to be environmentally friendly? What can businesses learn from Patagonia? Patagonia’s mission is to make the best product, to cause no unnecessary environmental harm, and to use business as a force for solving the environmental crisis. If you want your business to do the same, you can follow Patagonia’s business principles. Continue reading for six environmentally friendly business practices to build a sustainable company.

3 Authentic Business Tips to Earn Your Customers’ Trust

A small business owner smiling in her store

What makes a business authentic? What are ways to introduce people to your products? Authenticity in business goes a long way, especially if you want to keep new customers around. By being transparent, you’re building a relationship of trust with your customers. In his book Let My People Go Surfing, Yvon Chouinard discusses the importance of authenticity at Patagonia. Continue reading to learn how to be an authentic business that makes its mission clear.

Top 3 Employee Well-Being Initiatives for a Healthy Workplace

A boss giving her employee a thumbs up

Do you want to prioritize the well-being of your employees? How can you create a more casual workplace? In his book Let My People Go Surfing, Yvon Chouinard says that a core tenet of Patagonia’s business philosophy is prioritizing the well-being of its employees. Your business depends on your employees, so ensuring their happiness and safety is a recipe for success. Discover three employee well-being initiatives that you should utilize as a manager.