One of my favorite memories of Intel is a bumper sticker that read, “My Dad is a ‘successful/equal’ at Intel”—a joking April Fool’s Day reference to the most typical rating given at that time in the company’s yearly performance reviews. That common rating said, in essence, that you were successfully doing what was expected of you [...]

A plumbing company’s billboard in Roanoke, Va., gave me a powerful reminder of just what the right message can do in recruiting. It would have stopped me in my tracks if I hadn’t been driving at 50 mph. But that didn’t matter, because the message was unforgettable. It read: “Have humility, drive, & communications skills? [...]

It was a quiet exchange with thunderous effect—and I hope I’ll never forget it. A few years ago a letter in a magazine caught my eye because I’d read the article it referred to, on the history of women running for president in the United States. On reading the letter, I was so unsettled that [...]