Mike Figliuolo

Founder and managing director

thoughtLEADERS

Mike Figliuolo is the author of The Elegant Pitch (Weiser, 2016) and One Piece of Paper (Jossey-Bass, 2011), and co-author of Lead Inside the Box (Weiser, 2015). He’s also the managing director of thoughtLEADERS LLC, a leadership development training firm. He regularly writes about leadership in the thoughtLEADERS Brief on LinkedIn.

Thu, 01/29/2026 - 12:25
5 Questions You Must Answer to Measure Your Business Effectively Whether you’re using standard metrics or your own, apply these principles so the metric is meaningful
Wed, 06/24/2026 - 12:02
Focusing on metrics is key to achieving your desired business results—but it can be difficult to determine which metrics actually matter. There are five major questions you need to answer to ensure the metrics you’re measuring matter, and that you…
Managing Up Is About Expectation Management Ask your boss. They’ll tell you.
Mon, 06/08/2026 - 12:02
Managing up can be challenging. Failure to meet your boss’s informational needs can lead to bad decisions and frustrating interactions. Learn how to manage up more effectively. Sometimes it’s harder to manage your boss than it is to manage your…
Leading Your Team Through the Balance of Success and Failure Even when there’s failure, praise the risk-takers
Tue, 05/26/2026 - 12:02
Finding the right balance between how you handle success and failure makes a tremendous difference in how motivated (or unmotivated) your team members are. There are simple techniques for celebrating success and dealing with failure. Apply them and…
9 Reasons You Should Write All the Time A powerful habit that can improve your performance in several ways
Thu, 05/07/2026 - 12:02
I write. And I write a lot. Emails. Blog posts. Books. More books. Articles. Tweets. I’m surprised I don’t have full-on carpal tunnel syndrome. Writing is draining, laborious, frustrating, and tiring. You should write too. What? Mike, you just said…
The Networking Opportunity You’re Missing It really is all about who you know
Wed, 04/22/2026 - 12:02
In a connected world, opportunities are more about who you know than what you know. Whether it’s a job, making a sale, or finding your next great new hire, you’d be a fool to miss some great opportunities to build your network. With the growth of…
Boiling Down Ideas Will Always Burn You Think instead about creating a core concept that will resonate
Thu, 04/16/2026 - 12:02
I hear it all the time: “Let’s boil this idea down.” That’s a huge communication mistake. What people are trying to do by “boiling it down” is get rid of all the extraneous information surrounding their idea to find something crisp they can share…
3 Secrets to Hiring Stars for Your High-Performing Team If you recruit and hire well, the odds of performing well go up dramatically
Wed, 03/25/2026 - 12:03
One of the most exciting aspects of building a high-performing team is recruiting the people for it. There’s nothing better than finding that really talented person who wants to come work with you. As you think about doing this recruiting and…
4 Keys to Overcoming Conflict and Giving Good Feedback Being ‘nice’ for the sake of avoiding conflict is dysfunctional
Mon, 03/16/2026 - 12:02
It’s nauseating to hear someone soft-shoe dancing around an issue because they’re afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. They do so because they might receive negative feedback in a 360 review that they were abrupt or too direct in delivering…
How to Lead People Who Have Never Followed The better you teach, the farther you’ll go
Tue, 03/10/2026 - 12:02
What’s the biggest risk facing the leaders of most entrepreneurial ventures? It’s not closing that first round of funding or landing a cornerstone customer. As with most things, it all comes back to people—and your ability to lead those who don’t…
Working Backward Is How You Get to Yes The end should determine your means
Mon, 01/26/2026 - 12:03
It’s a terrible feeling to put a ton of effort into crafting a recommendation only to have it shot down in front of all your co-workers. If you want your idea approved, you should try doing things backward instead. Think about how you craft a…