William Ury has helped end civil wars. And as the co-founder of the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard University, Ury believes the negotiation techniques he has used in dramatic situations apply to the ordinary problems that we encounter every day. Whether you need to seal a business deal or settle a disagreement with your spouse, […]
Weekend Wisdom – To Truly Lead, Learn How to Follow
Good leaders know their limits—and acknowledge other people’s talents. Sometimes making the best call requires delegating an important decision to someone on the team who has special expertise. A confident leader should always feel comfortable deferring to the expert in these situations. In critical missions—whether it’s in the office or in the field—expertise is more […]
Free Advice From a Billionaire
As the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett has amassed billions of dollars in wealth. An outspoken critic of conventional wisdom about investing, Buffett has developed his own investment philosophy. Here are two top insights from THE ESSAYS OF WARREN BUFFETT. Key Insight 1: Stocks should be purchased with the intention to hold them indefinitely. Investors […]
Shorten Your Workday
What if you could take most afternoons off? Or work just three days a week? According to the Harvard Business School lecturer Robert Pozen, the standard eight-hour day is needlessly long for most jobs. By identifying priorities and rethinking your task list, you can cut your hours—or at least stop taking work home. Start your time-management […]
Weekend Wisdom – Do Your Future Self a Favor
Have you ever agreed to speak at a conference (or attend an out-of-town meeting, or meet an acquaintance for dinner) in the distant future, then regretted it later? Overcommitting is a common problem. With that in mind, when self-help guru Tim Ferriss spoke with 140 highly successful people for his big book of advice, TRIBE OF […]
Don’t Get Tongue-Tied
Salespeople know a lot about making effective presentations. But when it’s time to close the deal, many falter with a weak finish. (“Well, what do you think?”) Subtle turns of phrase can make or break these conversations, especially when money is on the line. Learn how to say the right thing at the right time […]
Weekend Wisdom – A Great Reason to be Generous
Our businesses are valuable. So what makes more sense: demonstrating that value to potential customers, or hoarding trade secrets and other information like it’s a pile of treasure? It may seem counterintuitive, but giving things away for free is actually a great way to generate profit. In the model described in THE GO-GIVER, free information is […]
Weekend Wisdom – Build a Better Task List
Nothing beats the alchemy of a well-built team, which helps effective individuals showcase their talents and shore up weaknesses with support from colleagues. But after you put together a perfectly balanced group, there’s still the matter of actually getting the work done. With everyone bringing different working styles and approaches to project management to the […]
Think Like a Leader
Being a smart leader isn’t necessarily about training and knowledge. It’s about mindset: knowing how to apply the right cognitive lens to the situation at hand. High achievers have supple minds that move easily between different points of view. Ready to put on your thinking cap? Check out our Instaread on John C. Maxwell’s HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE […]
Weekend Wisdom – Know When to Pivot
Steering a startup towards maximum profitability is a lot like driving a car. Sometimes it requires going straight ahead, at top speed. Other times you need to pull over—and, occasionally, you realize that you’ve been going in the wrong direction. Author of THE LEAN STARTUP Eric Ries says that successful startups know when to turn, […]
