Latest News Bad Business Acumen Flattens Companies' Profits A lack of business acumen across all levels of employees leads to poor decision-making and bad communications, according to a recent survey. But a combination of in-house and off-the-shelf training can fill in gaps in employees’—and top leaders’—financial know-how. Read this article

Featured Articles Do Presidential Candidates Have Top Leadership Qualities? Voters put a candidate into office because they agree with that candidate’s stand on important issues. But the candidate’s leadership skills determine whether he or she can follow through on campaign promises. Ordinary Ways To Become an ‘Extraordinary Leader’ Extraordinary leaders aren’t born that way. They grow into greatness, says an author and leadership coach. Top leaders share many of the same shaping experiences, and most of these experiences center not around innate skills but around methods of dealing with successes, failures and team members. Are Entrepreneurs Born, or Molded by our Education System? Ohio State professors contend that business researchers tend to ignore entrepreneurs who are looking to create business opportunities and develop markets that don’t yet exist. But these professors claim that some of the biggest breakthrough innovations have come from the creation theory—like Starbucks. 2008 U.S. Executive Compensation Trends Emerge The slowing U.S. economy is changing executive compensation practices, as reflected in proxy statements filed by public companies so far in 2008, HR consultancy Mercer finds in a new analysis. Companies see an unpredictable economic future and are struggling with how to establish incentive goals. Many Senior Executives Not Engaged with Their Organizations More than 50 percent of senior executives have “less than ideal emotional connection and alignment” to their organization, research shows. PepsiCo.’s Nooyi: Female Leaders Should Be Authentic PepsiCo. Inc. Chairman and CEO Indra K. Nooyi prides herself on bringing her “whole self” to the office and encourages others to do the same.

Featured Webcast Ethics & Code of Conduct Training In the post-Sarbanes-Oxley workplace, the critical need for comprehensive ethics and “code of conduct” training is placing HR, legal and training professionals at the heart of an organization’s compliance efforts. It is essential for these business leaders to understand the importance of training and to know how to provide it to their organizations. In this webcast, Shanti Atkins reviews the legal requirements that mandate ethics and code of conduct training. She will describe how to provide an effective and engaging training program for the entire organization and examine the role of training in a broader ethics and compliance program. Register for this webcast

From SHRMStore Our Iceberg Is Melting Most of the denizens of the Antarctic penguin colony sneer at Fred, the quiet but observant scout who detects worrying signs that their home, an iceberg, is melting. Fred must cleverly convince and enlist key players, such as Louis, the head penguin; Alice, the number two bird; the intractable NoNo the weather expert; and a passle of school-age penguins if he is to save the colony. Their delightfully told journey illuminates in an unforgettable way how to manage the necessary change that surrounds us all. Explanatory material following the fable enhances the lasting value of these lessons.