Fortune 500

Four #Global500 covers are better than one. Which one is your favorite? The corporations on our annual list of the world’s 500 largest companies posted near-flat, but still record-breaking aggregate revenues of $41 trillion in 2023. The top five include: 1. 🇺🇸 Walmart 2. 🇺🇸 Amazon 3. 🇨🇳 State Grid 4. 🇸🇦 Saudi Aramco 5. 🇨🇳 Sinopec 🔗 See the full #Global500 list: https://lnkd.in/e3e_pTZD

Brian Niccol’s new role as Starbucks’ CEO comes with a long to-do list. bit.ly/3XgTms0 While Niccol was a star at Chipotle,, some on Wall Street have cautioned that Starbucks’ global footprint and complex business make turnaround efforts much more difficult than what he faced while leading the burrito chain. Niccol faces problems ranging from lengthy order times and falling demand to union contract negotiations and pressure from activist investors. In a statement, the company said that Niccol’s understanding of branding, operations and innovation makes him “the right person to drive Starbucks forward.” Read more: bit.ly/3XgTms0

“I think everyone comes to work wanting to succeed.” bit.ly/4ecw8Ke Starbucks’s new CEO Brian Niccol officially assumed his position on September 9, 2024. The former Chipotle CEO spoke with Fortune in May 2024, revealing the worst business advice he’s ever received. “The frame [of reference] should be what’s it going to take for this individual to succeed?” Read more: bit.ly/4ecw8Ke

The worst career advice new Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol ever received: find someone to fire just to make an example out of them. His response: No, thanks—sounds mean. Early in Niccol's career a manager that he called "frankly, not a very good manager" told him to make an example out of someone, presumably to look tough. It was the worst business advice of his career, Niccol told Fortune. “Their piece of advice was, ‘hey, you got to demonstrate that you have the ability to fire somebody.’ So basically find somebody in your line of work where you're like, ‘yeah, that should be somebody that I need to get rid of,’” he said in an interview before he joined Starbucks. Niccol had no interest spending all his time trying to figure out what people's faults were. He called it "just the wrong frame of reference” for trying to build a team. Instead he preferred to coach his employees and see the best in them. “Everybody comes to work wanting to succeed.” Read about the full story in my latest article for Fortune. https://lnkd.in/eqpKRnuY

Good leaders are also choosey about which decisions to weigh in, says United Airlines’ CEO Scott Kirby. bit.ly/3ZgJGjA The chief executive spoke to Fortune about his experience taking the helm of the third-largest U.S. airline by revenue in May 2020, right as the pandemic wreaked havoc on the travel industry. One of his key learnings, he said, is that not every decision is his to make. More often than not, the wisest decision is to delegate the decision-making process to someone who is equally, if not more, well-informed on the matter. Not only is it a time-saver and productivity-booster for him, said Kirby, but it also empowers employees and provides them with ownership and autonomy within the company. Read more: bit.ly/3ZgJGjA Learn everything you need to know to make it to the corner office with the Fortune hashtag #NextToLead newsletter. Subscribe here: bit.ly/4eblpzC

Expectations are high for Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol. bit.ly/3XgTms0 He’s spent the last few weeks visiting dozens of the company’s coffee shops; poring over menus, store formats and the myriad options of drink preparations, trying to get a handle on the world’s largest coffee chain before he officially takes the helm. Now, Niccol faces problems ranging from lengthy order times and falling demand to union contract negotiations and pressure from activist investors. Read more: bit.ly/3XgTms0

Salesforce is, in a sense, starting all over again as an AI agent startup. In an exclusive interview with Fortune, a week before the company’s Q2 earnings report, CEO Marc Benioff explained that the next wave of AI will be all about agents. bit.ly/47fRHr4 Benioff says the company is making a “hard pivot” to Agentforce—a new AI agent platform that will make a splashy debut at the company’s annual Dreamforce conference this month. “It is about driving through the innovator’s dilemma,” Benioff said. Read more: bit.ly/47fRHr4

The rewards programs of the four largest U.S air carriers are being probed by the US Department of Transportation. bit.ly/3XvVkpw The department has asked the airlines to submit reports on their programs within 90 days to give the government a better understanding of how consumers “are impacted by the devaluation of earned rewards, hidden or dynamic pricing, extra fees, and reduced competition and choice. The probe would be the first extensive government look at the programs that have expanded to produce billions of dollars for airlines annually, in some cases adding more revenue than flight operations. Read more: bit.ly/3XvVkpw

What might be seen as eccentricity and passion coming from a male founder often is seen as micromanagement from a female founder. bit.ly/47heLpk “Founder mode” has captured the attention of the tech industry. And it’s just the latest example of a trend that applies to women differently. As Sara Mauskopf, cofounder and CEO of the childcare marketplace Winnie, says, “It’s not easy for a woman to act like Elon Musk and get away with it.” Instead, women have often been slotted into the manager role, from Sheryl Sandberg to the hires that followed her—the very style of leadership founder mode rails against. Read more: bit.ly/47heLpk

Founder mode. https://trib.al/BJMPlI9