Mike Figliuolo

Founder and managing director

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.

Fri, 12/06/2024 - 11:07
Your Organization’s Culture Might Be Sick, But You Can Heal ItHelp your team understand they carry your culture every day
Mon, 07/14/2025 - 12:02
Most days we walk through life unaware of the conversations occurring around us. And then there are those times you overhear a conversation that stops you dead in your tracks. You have to hit rewind in your brain and ask, “Did they actually just say…
One Simple Question That Keeps You From Falling on Your SwordClarifying moments that help you better evaluate a situation
Tue, 07/08/2025 - 12:02
I love passionate people—people who throw themselves into their work with every last bit of energy they have. To them, everything about their work is important. It’s serious business, and they drive hard to form the world in an image they’re proud…
Finding Your Daily MotivationWhatever your greatest days have in common is what truly drives you
Mon, 06/30/2025 - 12:02
I heard an interesting twist on an old question the other day. People always ask the classic, “What keeps you up at night?” question. (By the way—don’t ever ask that of your interviewer during a job interview. It comes across as cheesy and stupid.)…
3 Rules of 3 for Successful CommunicationsThey’ll help your communications, make your ideas clearer, and reduce frustration and confusion
Mon, 06/23/2025 - 12:02
For as many words as we use, we’re terrible communicators. Voicemails are jumbled streams of consciousness. Emails are “text bombs” with no rhyme or reason. Presentations are nothing but crippling piles of slides. But don’t worry—here are three…
How Primacy of Purpose Can Make Your Strategy SuccessfulLet your people surprise you with their creativity
Thu, 06/12/2025 - 12:03
There’s an old army saying, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” I’m sure some Navy or Marine guy out there will attribute this comment to their branch of service, but to be clear, it came from the Army. Actually, the original of this…
If You Want Your Company to Grow, Fish for WhalesTo get big, think big
Wed, 06/04/2025 - 12:01
You can’t get big without thinking big right from the start. As an entrepreneur starting a business, it’s easy to see yourself as “the little guy.” If you do, you’ll forever stay the little guy. Too many times I’ve seen entrepreneurs name their…
Why Product Simplicity Always WinsStop making product development so hard, complex, and confusing. You’re wasting money.
Tue, 05/13/2025 - 12:03
We humans love to complicate things. The more crap we hang off of a product, the better we think it is. The more engineering that goes into it, the more we can sell, right? Wrong. Simplicity wins. Every time. (iPod, anyone?) As an entrepreneur, I…
How Leaders Can Overcome Resistance to ChangeIt starts with supporting other leaders’ changes
Wed, 05/07/2025 - 12:03
Nobody likes change. I know if you do anything that changes my routine in the morning, my whole day is whacked. We all hate change. Heck, most of us hate getting change at the grocery store because of all those coins. As a leader, though, your job…
Five Steps for Quickly Reaching Inbox ZeroFewer cat videos, but less time and stress
Thu, 04/24/2025 - 00:03
Email is the bane of our existence. Sure, it’s awesome for funny cat videos, chain letters, and getting awesome blogs like this one (see what I did there?), but it can also cause massive amounts of stress and waste tremendous amounts of time. One…
Overcoming Your Decision-Making FearsIf you’re deliberate and understand the trade-offs, you can decide faster with less fear
Thu, 03/27/2025 - 12:02
A leader’s daily decision checklist is daunting: From hiring or firing to major business changes, every judgment call carries with it some level of risk. A bad choice could result in a toxic hire or a new product launch that crashes and burns.…