The world is full of people who have ideas. But the light-bulb moments that lead to meteoric success are more likely to emerge when your goal-setting practices are systematic. Ideas have to be implemented. Enter Objectives and Key Results (OKR)—a management philosophy that pairs concrete objectives with actionable steps. This system has worked for some of the most successful companies […]
Don’t Be a Doormat
How can you be a more generous professional without letting other people step all over you? By doing one favor at a time. So-called sharks have a reputation for succeeding in business. But kind, good-natured people can also be tremendously successful as professionals. The key to be conscientious about generosity, giving in a way that […]
Does Viral News Cloud Your Judgment?
Staying on top of the news has become a matter of survival. Unfortunately, the news shapes not just our knowledge, but also our emotional states. Exposure to too many negative news stories—and that seems like most of them, these days—can therefore affect your ability to digest information properly and make good decisions. This means that […]
How to Fake It
The best way to acquire confidence is to act as though you already have it. Just fake it till you make it. Public speaking is akin to putting on an act for an audience, much as a theater performer will do in a play. Like an actor, a speaker can project confidence with body language […]
The Next New Thing
You don’t need to hire a consultant or stage a fancy brainstorming session. The best source of new business ideas is right in front of your eyes: your ordinary everyday routines. Take entrepreneur Kristina Guerrero. She wasn’t planning to start a business, much less get involved in the pet food industry. Her product idea, a […]
Negativity Isn’t All Bad
Your bad attitude serves an evolutionary purpose. No, it’s not just pessimism. Whenever you find yourself fixating on anxiety and fear, it’s likely because your brain is trying to keep you safe. Humans owe their survival as a species to highly evolved biological and psychological strategies. Case in point: the brain’s amygdala processes stimuli to help […]
Refresh Your Style
You probably know good style when you see it on the street. But can you recognize it on the page? Prose style is unique to each writer, and it’s a quality that only emerges with patience and practice. For that reason, style isn’t something you can learn by following specific steps or a uniform recipe. […]
Why It’s Hard to Get Started
Is it possible to become too invested in your work? Obviously, entrepreneurs need to be passionate. But it’s equally important to avoid fixating on perfection, which can delay the start date of a new product or service. The goal should always be to make the first sale as quickly as possible. First-time entrepreneurs sometimes suffer from inertia, letting their fear […]
Small Steps, Big Improvements
On-the-job training isn’t just for newbies. When the pandemic forced many offices to temporarily shift operations into employees’ homes, a lot of leaders were reminded that training employees on new skills and processes is an ongoing affair. Think about your job and how much the landscape has changed over the last 10 years. Rapidly evolving […]
Build Trust Fast
This week, the chief executives of Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google were grilled by the US House Judiciary Committee. Members of both major American political parties have clamored for the four Big Tech firms to be investigated for violation of antitrust legislation. The four executives—Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, […]
