Management

7 steps to a greener (and smarter) workplace

Helping the planet can also boost the bottom line, says an executive at super-green -- and highly profitable -- Patagonia. Here's how.

FORTUNE -- Dear Annie: My company is putting the finishing touches on our plans and goals for 2013, and my boss, who runs the division where I am a brand manager, has given me a big, vague assignment: Make our business run "greener" in the year ahead. This will MORE

Expecting a fat year-end bonus? Don't get your hopes up

Bonuses at many companies this year are likely to be lackluster. Next year is looking even tougher. By Anne Fisher

Amazon's Jeff Bezos: The ultimate disrupter

He's a pro-customer, tightfisted risk-taker who is conditioning Wall Street to embrace his erratic earnings. If you're running a business with high margins -- watch out.

By Adam Lashinsky, senior editor-at-large

FORTUNE -- Jeff Bezos likes to read. That's a dog-bites-man revelation if ever there was one, considering that Bezos is the cerebral founder and chief executive of a $100 billion empire built on books. More revealing is that the Amazon MORE

Why everyone should practice at work

Musicians and athletes do it, so should workers of all stripes. How to introduce practicing to the office.

By Laura Vanderkam

FORTUNE -- Musicians practice. Athletes practice. They practice because they want to get better at what they do. You'd like to get better at what you do, too. But if your organization is like most, the word "practice" seldom comes up in anything beyond a discussion of kids' after school MORE

Bite-size bits of wisdom from Bill Gates and Richard Branson

Want to know how Bill Gates thinks about creativity, or which business decisions Sir Richard Branson regrets? Two new books will tell you.

FORTUNE -- "People do play computer games at work, but they also doodle with pencils. Do you take away their pencils? That's not the way a modern workforce is managed. You've got to trust people."

So said Microsoft's (MSFT) chairman in 1996, according to Impatient Optimist: Bill Gates in MORE

How to keep employees you can't afford to lose

Even in this sluggish job market, your best people always have other offers. Here's how to entice them to stick around.

Dear Annie: I liked your column about the art of quitting gracefully, but unfortunately several of my most talented and experienced direct reports seem to have read it, too. Three of them have quit (gracefully) in the past three weeks, and certain others seem less enthusiastic about their jobs than MORE

Colleagues ethically challenged? How to handle it

The number of people reporting workplace misconduct is on the rise, and so is retaliation against them. But you can do the right thing without jeopardizing your career. By Anne Fisher

Management by walking around: 6 tips to make it work

Management by walking around, popularized back in the '80s, may be making a comeback. One reason: For building rapport among team members, it beats emailing from behind closed doors.

Dear Annie: My company did a round of 360-degree performance evaluations recently — the first time we've done this since I was promoted to management two years ago. The team of about 30 people reporting to me all had positive things MORE

Time to rethink long-term incentives for executives?

Deferred compensation is costly and cumbersome, yet may not do much to motivate senior management, says a new study. By Anne Fisher

How bosses can rise above their 'evil twins'

Managers often fall victim to good ideas poorly executed and positive intentions inadequately expressed. How to avoid this sort of management fiasco. By Jill Geisler