See Steve Jobs at his most prickly, learn why Mark Cuban thinks colleges may soon go out of business and dig into gourmet doughnuts in this week’s list of the top Influencer posts.

How Great Leaders Communicate (George Anders) If you’re a top executive, don’t worry about delivering “brilliant speeches and heroic exhortations.” Those are nice, of course. But the best leaders, George Anders writes, tell stories, read the room and boost morale by making people feel like they work for a winner. He shares lessons from Warren Buffett, Meg Whitman and more.







What’s Your Blue Ocean Career Strategy?(Greg McKeown) Cirque du Soleil upended the circus industry decades ago by putting on an entirely different show than Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Whereas Ringling catered to kids, Cirque focused on adults. While Ringling’s prices were similar to movie tickets, Cirque charged a premium. The company, in other words, had found “blue waters,” a place where it could swim without the established sharks. The question: How will you find those waters in your own career?

Steve Jobs Really Didn’t Like You Poaching His Employees (Nicholas Thompson) Newly released emails between Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and former Palm CEO Edward Colligan are amazing for a couple of reasons, says The New Yorker’s Nicholas Thompson. The documents, part of a lawsuit over whether the companies colluded to not hire from each other, “show Jobs in his fullest: sharp, protective, dynamic, bullying, and prickly,” Thompson writes. But they also raise questions about the motivations behind Apple’s litigation.


Four Lessons From Being a ‘Secret Millionaire’ (Naomi Simson) When Australian entrepreneur Naomi Simson appeared on the reality TV series “Secret Millionaire,” working as a volunteer in a homeless shelter and living on just $20 a day, she came away humbled by what she had learned. The experience taught her that service is essential, and that money can’t replace listening.

