You might not know it based on their visibility and reach, but the satirical newspaper and website, The Onion, is a small business.

Founded in Wisconsin in 1988 and now headquartered in New York City, the 160-employee publisher has been in business longer than over half of Winning Workplaces' 2010 Top Small Company Workplaces finalist organizations.  Not only that, in an era in which the viability of the traditional newspaper is being questioned, The Onion has grown its market share through successful forays into book publishing and web video broadcasting.

Last week The New York Times interviewed The Onion's CEO, Steve Hannah.  Asked about his top leadership lessons, Hannah offered employee leadership development and employee retention tips that were far from satirical.  In fact, what he talked about echoes the experience and advice we hear from our award-winning small firms and others in our network that understand the transformative power of smart people practices.

For example:

• CEOs who look after their employees soon find that loyalty is a far more powerful motivator than fear.
• "Listen to the people below you because they are on the front lines."

Read Adam Bryant's full Corner Office Q&A with Hannah here.