“The truth is, you are building your reputation–your brand–one response at a time. People are shaping their view of you by how you respond to them. If you are slow, they assume you are incompetent and over your head. If you respond quickly, they assume you are competent and on top of your work. Their perception, whether you realize it or not, will determine how fast your career advances and how high you go. You can’t afford to be unresponsive. It is a career-killer.”

“Classic entrepreneurs who built companies from scratch dominate the list of the best. Shockingly, only one woman — Estee Lauder — made the top 50 of Professors Anthony J. Mayo and Nitin Nohria’s list of top 100 business leaders.”