Change the Way You Persuade. Throwing proposals at an executive without really understanding how he or she makes important decisions is like shooting darts in the dark: Some of the ideas will stick, and others will miss the target by a very wide margin. New research shows that the best way to get your proposals heard -and accepted- is to tailor your arguments to one of five distinct decision-making styles.

Why Business Models Matter. The thinking about business models got very fuzzy during the Internet boom, and when the bubble burst, the concept of the business model fell out of fashion as quickly as the.com appendage. That's a shame, because a good business model remains essential to every successful organization. Here's a way to bring rigor back to business modeling.

Tool, Kit. Read a Plant-Fast. You can tell a lot about a factory in a short visit, if you know what to look for. Use the Rapid Plant Assessment tool, along with information gained from visual cues and employees' input during a plant tour, to rate your own plant, a competitor's, or an acquisition target's.