How To Tell Someone They're Wrong (And Make Them Feel Good About It)

How To Tell Someone They're Wrong (And Make Them Feel Good About It): "There are plenty of reasons not to tell someone they're wrong. It's uncomfortable, for one thing. You also might come off as rigid, unsympathetic, arrogant, or worst of all, politically incorrect."

Around the World

Around the World: "Thinking about taking your product overseas? Our Shoestring Start-Up Expert gives you a few tips about exporting on a budget."

Who's In Charge Here Anyway?

Who's In Charge Here Anyway?: "How many times has this happened in your organization?"

Break On Through: 6 Ways to Conquer Your Fear of Career Change

Break On Through: 6 Ways to Conquer Your Fear of Career Change: "When it comes to changing careers, there's lots to be afraid of. You might not call it fear. But let's face it. That's what stops you from making the move out of a miserable job, or starting over in a new field no matter how right the time is to do just that. It's paralyzing."

5 Tax Breaks for Your Career Shift Education

5 Tax Breaks for Your Career Shift Education: "Starting a second act usually comes with a price tag. One big one: the cost of adding new skills and training, particularly if you're entering a field that calls for certification or an advanced degree."

6 Ways To Write Off Your Car Expenses

6 Ways To Write Off Your Car Expenses: "Cars are one of the most expensive items to own, both in terms of the initial investment we make in them and in the cost of ongoing maintenance. Fortunately, there are valid ways to offset these expenses with tax deductions. You might qualify for one or more of these options for personal, small business, self-employed or business deductions. (If you're not taking advantage of these deductions, you could be missing out on tax savings. Check out 5 Tax Credits You Shouldn't Miss.)"

Simplify Your Work (and Your Life)!

Simplify Your Work (and Your Life)!: "Have you ever gone home at the end of a long day and wondered what you really accomplished?"

6 Credit Mistakes Retirees Make

6 Credit Mistakes Retirees Make: "While children and adult offspring often look to their elders for wisdom, not all seniors are the best source for financial advice. In fact, according to Bankrate.com, credit card debt is growing fastest among seniors."

Five Ways To Overcome The Fear Of Chasing Your Dream

Five Ways To Overcome The Fear Of Chasing Your Dream: "The only thing to fear is fear itself. That’s easy for folks who say these sorts of things: They’ve made it. That’s why they’re quoted."

10 Tips For Getting The Lowest Car Insurance

10 Tips For Getting The Lowest Car Insurance: "Buying your first car is a pleasurable rite of passage for most people, but the accompanying purchase of auto insurance is less fun. In fact, many new car owners find the cost of insurance frustratingly high and so do individuals who have had car insurance for decades. (Learn how to read one of the most important documents you own. Check out Understand Your Insurance Contract.)"

Advice to Entrepreneurs - Go Global and Mobile

Advice to Entrepreneurs - Go Global and Mobile: "As my work is interviewing chief executives, I was particularly interested in finding the inside story with the world’s largest for-profit CEO organization, Vistage International, Inc. Founded in 1957, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Vistage has more than 14,000 CEO members in 15 countries."

Passive Investing Beats the Markets

Passive Investing Beats the Markets: "Time and again, individual investors discover (all too late) that trying to predict the next winning stock, the next hot mutual fund, or market’s next turn is a loser’s game."

How the 80/20 Rule Applies to Clients AND Operations

How the 80/20 Rule Applies to Clients AND Operations: "By Andy Rachleff"

How To Build Your Emergency Fund

How To Build Your Emergency Fund: "This post provided by SavingsAccounts.com."

5 Ways To Receive Your Tax Refund

5 Ways To Receive Your Tax Refund: "Taxpayers in the United States are confronted with a number of different methods to receive their income tax refund for the year. These include checks, a debit card, direct deposits of funds into a bank account and even purchasing government savings bonds. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages that taxpayers should be aware of. (For related reading, also take a look at 10 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions.)"

In Pictures: How To Make $1 Million Before You Graduate

In Pictures: How To Make $1 Million Before You Graduate: "These whippersnappers have business in their blood."

Nine Habits That Make Contagious Startup Leaders

Nine Habits That Make Contagious Startup Leaders: "Startups provide business leadership with new products, services, and new revenue models, but leadership startups can only be built by entrepreneurs who are leaders themselves, and incent leadership in the people around them. Leadership which incents other people to be leaders is called “contagious leadership.”"

Want a "Comfortable" Retirement? Try These Three Moves

Want a "Comfortable" Retirement? Try These Three Moves: "The 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute uncovered a growing fear and worry about retirement that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Worker confidence in having a "comfortable" retirement was at record lows."

Finding the Money - Be Smarter like IBM

Finding the Money - Be Smarter like IBM: "You gotta love the revenue growth in companies like Apple and Google.  From 2000 to 2010 Apple revenues jumped from $8B to $65B.  Google grew from nothing to $29B."

The Art of Selling Your Company Story

The Art of Selling Your Company Story: "When Toshiba Medical Systems introduced a revolutionary new CT-scan, I met with a group of executives to help them shape the story for its global launch.  The 3-dimensional views of the heart and brain that the machine displayed were indeed impressive but how could we give an equally impressive presentation without drowning the audience with mind-numbing data?  We told a story instead."

How Much Should You Spend on Self Improvement?

How Much Should You Spend on Self Improvement?: "This post provided by GetRichSlowly.org."

8 Keys to Innovation: Building Brands by Killing Frogs

8 Keys to Innovation: Building Brands by Killing Frogs: "Every once in a while I read something that is just so cool that I wish I was smart enough to write it. The Eight Things Stand-Up Comedy Teaches Us About Innovation by Paul Valerio is just such a piece."

8 Ways To Avoid Getting Burned By Prepaid Debit Cards

8 Ways To Avoid Getting Burned By Prepaid Debit Cards: "Prepaid debit cards are marketed as a solution for people who don't have checking accounts or can't get approved for a credit card. They are also given as gifts by people who want to essentially give cash. However, these cards have many differences from traditional debit and credit cards that can cost you money if you don't know what to watch out for. Here's how to avoid unexpected fees and other problems that can arise when using a prepaid debit card."

Why We Fail Financially and How We Can Stop

Why We Fail Financially and How We Can Stop: "Over the years we’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people improve their finances, in many cases breaking cycles of financial failure.  Every single person has a unique story and unique circumstances, but they all share one thing in common:  they approach their finances like a painful diet, nagging and punishing themselves with a long list of things they “should do” and then rebelling against it by doing the wrong things despite better judgment.  Things like spending instead of saving, investing emotionally instead of rationally, borrowing money from their 401(k) when they should be contributing to it, putting off their taxes even though they know that they’ll end up missing important deductions.  The list goes on and on."

Three Challenges for CSR Executives

Three Challenges for CSR Executives: ""All my life I wanted to avoid a job title with 'social' or 'relations' in it. I've always been in finance, I enjoy it, and I'm good at it!""

5 Ways to Break Through the Clutter and Land Your Dream Job

5 Ways to Break Through the Clutter and Land Your Dream Job: "In the reputation economy, every move you make can build or erode your personal brand. By making the right branding decisions, you can become more employable, charge more for your services, and have leverage over your career. In this current workplace climate, there is no job security, no guarantee that a degree will turn into a job, and no single path to the top. 84% of workers want to quit their jobs and find new opportunities this year. You need to become the CEO of your own company, You Inc. In a March New York Times article, Paul Krugman notes that "It's no longer true that having a college degree guarantees that you'll get a good job, and it's becoming less true with each passing decade." Aside from the competition for jobs, the amount of noise online is increasing exponentially. For example, there are now 140 million tweets per day and Twitter is growing at 460 thousand accounts per day. Simple put: traditional career strategies are becoming ineffective and need to evolve with the times."

Raising Seed Capital Now: 10 Tips

Raising Seed Capital Now: 10 Tips: "Investors and entrepreneurs who won at the fundraising game during and after the Great Recession offer advice on landing equity money"

What Does a Good Job Interview Look Like?

What Does a Good Job Interview Look Like?: We need to rethink what a good interview looks like, what a good review looks like. This is an educational curve we are yet to conquer.
How can companies execute integrated talent management processes that work? In a new reality of a globalized workforce and an expectation that CSR is everyone''s job, what challenges face the HR team?

A Better Use Of Best Practices: Start Adapting And Quit Adopting

A Better Use Of Best Practices: Start Adapting And Quit Adopting: "One of the central tenets of 20th century business was "best practices." Let’s dissect this veritable oxymoron:"

How To Ace Your Interview

How To Ace Your Interview: "Do not curb your enthusiasm. Win Sheffield, 56, a coach for the last seven years with the career counseling firm The Five O'Clock Club, says a lot of job seekers forget that one of the most crucial parts of interviewing is convincing the hiring manager that you truly desire the job. Interviewers don't just look for applicants who have the requisite skills and will fit in with a company. Now more than ever, they want candidates who want them."

Job Search Strategy Myths

Job Search Strategy Myths: "Here’s another piece from New York City career coach Win Sheffield, on job search myths. This piece has to do with strategizing your search."

6 Ways to Empower Others to Succeed

6 Ways to Empower Others to Succeed: "Have you ever been to a restaurant and had your food come to the table either cold or the wrong meal delivered and then had the waitress or waiter bend over backwards to correct the situation (even if it wasn’t their fault)?  Many companies are spending more time training managers on how to “empower” their employees.  But what does empowerment really mean?"

How To Conduct A Virtual Meeting

How To Conduct A Virtual Meeting: "Virtual meetings are both a necessity in these straitened times -- and a curse. Once you cut out the visual elements of meeting face-to-face, the interpersonal bandwidth shrinks from fast to dial-up. But there are ways to make virtual meetings more productive. Today, I'm linking to a [...]"

How To Prevent Burnout?

How To Prevent Burnout?: "Burnout is a toxic combination of emotional exhaustion and diminished interest in work. It takes hold when a job no longer provides psychologically rewarding experiences--most notably ones that bolster self-esteem. Here are five ways to get oxygen to the flame."

Can you communicate?

Can you communicate?: "It’s time we learn to communicate better."

Cultural Change is a Team Effort

Cultural Change is a Team Effort

In Pictures: How To Follow Up After A Job Interview

In Pictures: How To Follow Up After A Job Interview: "Send a strong e-mail to the hiring manger--even if you flubbed the interview."

Imitation With Innovation Reduces Risk in Startups

Imitation With Innovation Reduces Risk in Startups: "If you are an entrepreneur starting a business for the first time, I recommend that you find a product concept that is already accepted and improve on it, rather than tackling that ultimate disruptive technology. Notice that I’m not suggesting that you steal someone else’s idea, but simply limit your risk by adding innovation to a proven entity."

Top Money Mistakes We Pass On To Our Kids

Top Money Mistakes We Pass On To Our Kids: "Self-made millionaire and personal finance expert David Bach created a career based on what he learned around the dinner table: money. His grandmother helped him buy his first stock in McDonald’s at age 7. His dad was a financial advisor. Now, the author of bestsellers like Smart Women Finish Rich and Debt Free for Life hopes to instill the same money curiosity in his 7-year-old son."

What's Your Personal Brand?

What's Your Personal Brand?: "Do you have a personal brand?  When people hear your name, do they immediately think of certain qualities that you have?  Do colleagues, friends and family know what they can count on from you?  Does your reputation extend beyond those who know you personally – and if so, what do they think about you?"

Balance? No Thanks. 30 Ideas For Self-Fulfillment

Balance? No Thanks. 30 Ideas For Self-Fulfillment: "People keep asking me, “What does it feel like to turn 30 and how have you been so successful being so young?” And my response: “It feels the same as I felt yesterday; and all I focus on is learning.""

To Lead Better, Lose Confidence

To Lead Better, Lose Confidence: "Yes, to lead better lose confidence. That's the implication of a study led by Zakary Tormala of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, as just reported in Canada's Financial Post. Why would this be so? Because expressing uncertainty, as opposed to utter confidence, "draws people in," Tormala says. "And as long as the arguments in a message are reasonably strong, being drawn in leads to more persuasion.""

Can CSR Retain Employees?

Can CSR Retain Employees?: ""Employees don't stay with a company because of benefits. It is the long-term relationship-building that attracts people to stay.""

The Case For Pursuing Multiple Passions

The Case For Pursuing Multiple Passions: "For my husband’s 40th birthday earlier this year, he ran a marathon in Mobile, Ala. He’s got a goal to run a marathon in all 50 states. This takes up a lot of his time."

How can I get over stage fright or nervousness?

How can I get over stage fright or nervousness?: "I’d like to be able to tell you something comforting—“It’s going to be fine!” or “You’ll do great if you just believe in yourself!” I wish I could tell you to just chat positive affirmations or picture your audience naked or visualize a standing ovation. The problem is that none of
those things will prevent you from giving a lousy presentation, so they shouldn’t help ease your anxiety either."

How To Deal With A Spotlight Hog Boss

How To Deal With A Spotlight Hog Boss: "After a keynote I did last week, a woman came up and asked me if she should find a way to get credit for the work she does but for which her boss claims the glory, or if she's just being petty and should drop it."

4 Steps to Getting Back to Work

4 Steps to Getting Back to Work: "Key Actionable Items for Getting Back to Work: The Job Search Process"

How Saying 'No' Saved My Business

How Saying 'No' Saved My Business: "Overcommitted and unable to follow sales leads, a young entrepreneur retooled to focus on core clients."

Say What?! The Impact of Words on the Workplace

Say What?! The Impact of Words on the Workplace: ""Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs." --Pearl Strachan"

Leadership's #1 Challenge: Transforming Management

Leadership's #1 Challenge: Transforming Management: "My fellow Forbes contributor, John Kotter, has an interesting post entitled, Corporate Culture: Whose Job Is It? He asks: who is responsible for corporate culture?"

My Dad: Lessons in how NOT to own a Small Business

My Dad: Lessons in how NOT to own a Small Business: "Today is the anniversary of my dad’s passing. I learned a lot from him, many lessons to share with all of you about small business ownership. In summary: do not do it the way my Dad did!"

Need Funding? They'll Make You Pay

Need Funding? They'll Make You Pay: "Lendio advises entrepreneurs looking for loans. Is the advice worth the price?"

Better Management: A Business Planning Test

Better Management: A Business Planning Test: "Having a simple plan for internal management can be key to business success. Do you have one?"

Is Everyone In Your Organization Running The Same Race?

Is Everyone In Your Organization Running The Same Race?: "Picture the following scenario."

How To Focus In A World Of Multitasking Distraction

How To Focus In A World Of Multitasking Distraction: "In past blogs I’ve written about the problems inherent to multi-tasking. Our brains just can’t function at peak performance doing more than one thing at a time. But the real-time impact hit home when I was playing tennis on my Wii one rainy Saturday morning."

Personal Blogging at Work Increases Productivity

Personal Blogging at Work Increases Productivity: "What if your employees sat around writing about their personal lives on your company’s internal blog? Like the worker who tapped out 700 words on hiring his wedding photographer (“You want to put these precious memories in the hands of someone you can trust”), or the employee who composed an 800-word blow-by- blow on his adventure at Six Flags (“I found myself swinging like a pendulum. Ding - dong- ding.”) Seems like a colossal waste of time, does it not?"

A Growing Startup Should Only Hire Entrepreneurs

A Growing Startup Should Only Hire Entrepreneurs: "Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. What they should be doing is hiring more “entrepreneurs,” meaning people who think and act as if this is their own business."

Practicing For Retirement

Practicing For Retirement: "Is your retirement still a few years away? Start playing at it while you work."

Spring training: 5 steps to better your workplace results

Spring training: 5 steps to better your workplace results: "If you're interested in a little 'spring workplace training', here are some helpful tips courtesy of the American Management Association."

How To Make Or Break Your Credit Score

How To Make Or Break Your Credit Score: "A few simple steps can put you on the path to creditworthiness--or prevent you from falling off."

Is Body Language Really Necessary - 3 - How To Manage Your Own Body Language

Is Body Language Really Necessary - 3 - How To Manage Your Own Body Language: "I began this series on body language by urging you to turn over body language chores to the most powerful part of your mind – your unconscious. I outlined a 3-step process for doing that in order to decode other people’s body language. It remains to talk about how to control your own."

How To Read Others' Body Language In 3 Simple Steps

How To Read Others' Body Language In 3 Simple Steps: "Part 2 of the series, Is Body Language Really Necessary?"

How To Read Others' Body Language In 3 Simple Steps

How To Read Others' Body Language In 3 Simple Steps: "In the first blog in this series I recommended turning over your body language chores – monitoring your own body language and others’ – to your unconscious mind. Here are 3 easy steps to accomplishing the second half of that – monitoring others’ body language. I’ll cover how to handle your own body language in subsequent blogs."

Better Ways to Handle Business Conflict

Better Ways to Handle Business Conflict: "Instead of litigation, dispute resolution expert L. Randolph Lowry urges entrepreneurs to manage conflict themselves or take advantage of mediation"

5 Brainpowered Tools -- Endless New Jobs

5 Brainpowered Tools -- Endless New Jobs: "Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chair, challenged leaders in today?s Associated Press, for US organizations to view a new economy with stronger job creation. Bernanke warned the White House to come up with a plan for job creation."

Are the People in Your Organization Too Smart to be Creative?

Are the People in Your Organization Too Smart to be Creative?: "A career-limiting move can be something as overt as challenging the boss.  Or, it can be as subtle as driving the wrong make of car, not belonging to the right country club or being a little too indiscrete on Facebook.  In one organization I?ve worked with, conventional wisdom was that [...]"

Do You Suffer From Workplace Anxiety?

Do You Suffer From Workplace Anxiety?: "Amy Lemley, 46, has spent most of her life feeling like a fraud. She remembers debilitating performance pressure even as a young child. When she believed she wasn?t strong in a subject, such as science or math, she?d avoid it, once refusing to do homework for months."

How To Swim in Office Politics Without Drowning: Part One

How To Swim in Office Politics Without Drowning: Part One: "When the topic of office politics comes up, I?m accustomed to hearing moans and groans. ?I want to stay above the politics? many remark."

5 Ways to Keep Prospects from Picking Your Pocket

5 Ways to Keep Prospects from Picking Your Pocket: "As I moved from sales into management, I also moved from the sell side to the buy side of the proverbial “street.” And as a buyer I became involved in a strange ritual. At the end of each month my phone would ring incessantly as sales reps desperate for business eagerly tried to outdo each other offering me discounts."