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.

Wed, 10/15/2025 - 12:01
SMART Goals, Part 1 How to make your goals specific and measurable
Tue, 03/09/2021 - 12:02
When you set goals, I suggest you try to set SMART ones. SMART is an acronym. It stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. These are the key characteristics of a good goal. Now there are multiple versions of SMART out…
How to Avoid Mistakes When Doing Analysis and Making Recommendations Three pitfalls on the road to success
Wed, 11/11/2020 - 12:03
A hypothesis-driven approach to problem solving and making recommendations can be tremendously efficient. You create a hypothesis (i.e., something taken to be true for the sake of argument), conduct analysis designed to prove or disprove the…
How to See Your Projects to Completion Six reasons projects go bad and how to avoid them
Thu, 04/23/2020 - 12:03
Projects go off the rails all the time. Some statistics I’ve seen say only one in eight projects can truly be declared a success. Why are we so horrible at executing projects, especially when we have all these “tried and true” project management…
Components of High-Performing Cultures Create a virtuous circle to empower your team
Mon, 11/11/2019 - 12:03
Driving a strong business starts with the people who work for your business, and those people align with the business through the company culture. How are you shaping yours? A high-performing culture is one where people drive performance because of…
Setting Team and Employee Goals Linking goals to strategy is key to success
Mon, 07/29/2019 - 12:03
For a goal to be really relevant, it must tie to the broader purpose and goals of the entire organization. Your strategy is going to help drive that. Strategy consists of a desired future state and a definition of how you’re going to get there. You…
The Benefits of Creating a Business Plan You do have one, don’t you?
Tue, 06/18/2019 - 12:03
Creating a business plan is the most fundamental step in building a business, and the importance of it cannot be underscored enough. You may ask, “Why do I need a business plan? Why can’t I just launch my business and get to market?” First, you…
Five-Step Problem Solving The power of clarity
Wed, 04/17/2019 - 12:01
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a business problem that you’re not sure how to solve? This five-step problem solving process is a great place to begin working through any business issue. At one point I worked with a financial services…
Proactively Dealing with Regulatory Changes to Keep Your Business Safe What you don’t know can wreck you
Mon, 08/06/2018 - 12:02
Legislative and regulatory changes can cause massive upheaval for your strategic plan. Elections happen all the time. New rules and regulations are proposed, implemented, or repealed on a daily basis. Court cases can change an entire industry…
Building the Bonds of a High-Performing Team Four deliberate steps you can take

Mon, 05/21/2018 - 12:03
You think you’re well on the way toward building and leading a high-performing team. You’ve got a clear vision and mission, and a nice set of prioritized initiatives. You have all the right people. But what starts differentiating a regular team from…
Stop Being a Team Leader and Start Being a Team Member Learning to be a teammate from Capt. Nate
Thu, 04/12/2018 - 12:02
A few years ago, I was very lucky to be reminded of what it’s like to be a team member instead of being a team leader. It was fun, refreshing, and insightful. Too many times as leaders, we forget what it’s like to be led instead of doing the leading…