Resume Cliches To Ditch

Resume Cliches To Ditch: Ten over-used phrases to delete from your job-hunt lexicon.

Business Trends and Opportunies: Seven Big Ideas for 2012

Business Trends and Opportunies: Seven Big Ideas for 2012: One of the best 'Trends' lists I've found this year comes from an article entitled '30 Big Ideas, Trends and Predictions for 2012,' from U.S.-based site BusinessNewsDaily.com . Author Cynthia Bunting......

Leadership - Why "Yes" is a Better Answer than "No"

Leadership - Why "Yes" is a Better Answer than "No": Have you ever worked for a boss who always said no? If you have, my first guess is it was a frustrating experience. My second guess is you don't hold said boss in high regard as a leader. I've always been amazed at the number of well known axioms espousing the benefits of learning to use the word "no" with greater frequency. In fact, there are some very bright people who believe you simply cannot become a good leader without developing a mastery for using the word no - I couldn’t disagree more. I've never been a big fan of telling people no, but I'm a huge proponent of the advantages of helping people learn how to get to a yes. Smart leadership creates an environment where yes is not viewed as a weakness, but as an opportunity.

Top 5 Career Investments for 2012

Top 5 Career Investments for 2012: It’s almost New Year’s, and it’s time to get serious about investing in yourself, your career and your immediate future.  January is just around the corner – and that’s reason enough to take action – and hold yourself accountable for a fresh beginning.

Leadership Lessons from the World's Top Companies: 2011 Year in Review

Leadership Lessons from the World's Top Companies: 2011 Year in Review: Happy New Year! As you undertake a new job or assignment in 2012, keep in mind the three steps which will help you succeed in a new job or initiative:

10 Financial Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before 2012

10 Financial Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before 2012: As 2012 approaches, many people are putting pen to paper on the usual New Year’s Resolutions: Eat healthier, go to the gym, save more money. Good intentions, to be sure, but those promises often fall by the wayside before January is even over. So forget the resolutions this year, and instead ask yourself some questions that will actually encourage some change. Below are 10 questions you should ask yourself to get your wallet, your portfolio and your future primed and ready for a successful 2012.

6 Great Resources to Kick-start Your Career in the New Year

6 Great Resources to Kick-start Your Career in the New Year: Hard to believe it's already nearly 2012. The holidays are always a good time to take stock of the past year and your accomplishments so, before you crack open the champagne, you may want to think about your goals for the coming year. Where do you want to go? How can you get there? Who can you rely on to help you? What kind of advice do you need to guide you?

Are You Really "Overqualified" Or Is Something Else Going Wrong?

Are You Really "Overqualified" Or Is Something Else Going Wrong?: Reader question:  In my recent job searches, I frequently hear that I'm over-qualified for a position, even though I am applying (and sometimes recruited) for VP-level jobs. How do I respond to this so I can still stay in the running for a position? I have 20+ years in the North American media industry and have held positions from Senior Director to EVP and COO.

Resisting rigor mortis in your business

Resisting rigor mortis in your business: Building constant innovation into your company means building success into your company says Claudio Feser.

How to Liquidate After a Business Fails

How to Liquidate After a Business Fails: Determine how much time and effort you want to devote. Then talk to your accountant and research which services or venues make sense

Seven tips for maximizing your investment in trade shows

Seven tips for maximizing your investment in trade shows: Trade shows are not dead but your company may go unnoticed if you don't follow these guidelines.

Rethinking Marketing Strategy in 2012

Rethinking Marketing Strategy in 2012: Getting ahead in what looks to be another tough year means juggling difficult trade-offs and contradictory priorities

Six Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Seeking Venture Capital

Six Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Seeking Venture Capital: Learning how to pitch investors is an invaluable skill. Avoid these blunders, which are sure to make a bad impression--and could kill the deal.

There’s an art to delivering that killer pitch

There’s an art to delivering that killer pitch: When the Dragons’ Den producer told Scott Lim he’d get to pitch for $150,000 on the CBC reality television show, Lim almost lost his breakfast — he had no experience with public speaking. Zilch.

10 Financial Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before 2012

10 Financial Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before 2012: As 2012 approaches, many people are putting pen to paper on the usual New Year’s Resolutions: Eat healthier, go to the gym, save more money. Good intentions, to be sure, but those promises often fall by the wayside before January is even over. So forget the resolutions this year, and instead ask yourself some questions that will actually encourage some change. Below are 10 questions you should ask yourself to get your wallet, your portfolio and your future primed and ready for a successful 2012.

Five Big Trends in Business Innovation in 2012

Five Big Trends in Business Innovation in 2012: This article is by Rita McGrath, an associate professor of management, at Columbia Business School and co-author of The Entrepreneurial Mindset (2000), MarketBusters: 40 Strategic Moves That Drive Exceptional Business Growth (2005), and Discovery Driven Growth: A Breakthrough Process to Reduce Risk and Seize Opportunities (2009).

Five Tools for Social Entrepreneurs

Five Tools for Social Entrepreneurs: Want to start a business, plus do some good in the world? Here's a list of resources.

Follow Your Passion Is Bad Career Advice For Most People

Follow Your Passion Is Bad Career Advice For Most People: I recently spoke on a panel on “How to Advance At Every Stage in Your Career” generously hosted by Google for diversity professionals in advertising. Topics ranged from job search to career progression to mentorship and giving back, and at every turn, most of the

Mark Cuban's 12 Rules for Startups

Mark Cuban's 12 Rules for Startups: The billionaire tech entrepreneur offers his best advice from hiring passionate employees to never hiring a PR firm.

Workers of the future will need different skills than in the past. Are you ready?

Workers of the future will need different skills than in the past. Are you ready?: According to the results of an American Management Association (AMA) survey, executives say the typical knowledge and skills in the areas of reading, writing, and arithmetic (the three Rs) are no longer sufficient for managers. To ensure success in the workforce of the future, the three Rs need to be fused with four other skills (the four Cs): 1) critical thinking and problem-solving skills, 2) communication skills, 3) collaboration skills, and, 4) creativity and innovation skills.

Four Key Success Factors for B2B Marketing in 2012

Four Key Success Factors for B2B Marketing in 2012: As we’ve been helping clients develop their marketing plans for 2012, four key themes have surfaced. These themes have been present in most of our marketing planning conversations with our B2B......

The Top 10 Business Plan Mistakes

The Top 10 Business Plan Mistakes: If you're thinking about writing a business plan, consider this list of common mistakes people make and expert advice for steering clear of them.

How to Get Hired: Insights from the Other Side of the Desk

How to Get Hired: Insights from the Other Side of the Desk: I want to combine two worlds in this post to produce something that I hope will be useful.  Outside of writing for science and technology pubs (and a new book), I've also been a marketing communications manager at a few large and mid-sized organizations over the last couple decades, roles that have included recruiting, interviewing and hiring staff.

Why We Resist Change, and What Leaders Can Do About It

Why We Resist Change, and What Leaders Can Do About It: Don’t you just hate dealing with people who fight against every plan for organizational change? You know the type: They’re disruptive, set in their ways, and highly resistant to change, even when it is obviously in the best interest of the business. Well guess what? New research suggests that those trouble-making, inflexible, change resistors are . . . all of us!

This One Leadership Quality Will Make or Break You

This One Leadership Quality Will Make or Break You: One of the most often overlooked aspects of leadership is the need for pursuit. Great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom, or common performance. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo. Leadership is pursuit – pursuit of

Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Lost My Job

Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Lost My Job: Earlier this month, I posted a story about millionaires collecting unemployment benefits. In the story, I noted that the issue of unemployment benefits remains controversial. Shortly after the post, a reader contacted me to tell me that part of the problem is that nobody wants to hear the

5 Signs that Employees are in Survival Mode

5 Signs that Employees are in Survival Mode: Today’s workplace is a reflection of the times: uncertain and unstable. As employees navigate this short-term, fast-paced, tension-filled terrain, they develop an attitude that creates an uneasy environment:  survival mode.

When credit is cheap and plentiful, debt can spiral out of control

When credit is cheap and plentiful, debt can spiral out of control: Meet Joe Debtor. Typically, he’s 41 years old and married, with a monthly income of $2,400 after taxes. He has built up $60,000 in unsecured debt and he often has a $200,000 mortgage on top of that.

Are You Really in Charge of Your Business?

Are You Really in Charge of Your Business?: Business ownership is all about being your own boss and getting to call the shots, except when investors, partners, your spouse or even your mom butt in. How do you stay in control?

Why every manager should think and act like a CEO

Why every manager should think and act like a CEO

How to Get a Raise When Budgets Are Tight

How to Get a Raise When Budgets Are Tight: My friend Dave* mentioned to me that he just received the results from a medical exam and was surprised and disappointed by his numbers. His cholesterol was high. Especially, he told me, given how he eats.

Tough questions for job hunters

Tough questions for job hunters: Career website lists 25 strangest interview questions asked by big employers in 2011

Five Signals of Momentum Shift

Five Signals of Momentum Shift

Great Ideas: Slow gets the sale

Great Ideas: Slow gets the sale: It’s conventional wisdom that good salespeople practise great customer service, which makes clients happy and generates additional sales and referrals. Veteran sales executive Danny Sabatani agrees with this view. But where he parts company with the norm is the order in which you should take these steps.

20 Brands That Help You Start a Business

20 Brands That Help You Start a Business

A Quick Guide to Naming Your Business

A Quick Guide to Naming Your Business: How to decide what your business name should say about you and your company.

How Entrepreneurs Become Visionary Leaders

How Entrepreneurs Become Visionary Leaders: As a child I experienced firsthand the severe effects of poverty and illiteracy, especially upon women and children. My parents taught me the importance of education and that it was a key to improving an individual’s life. Very early, it made me understand that success is simply not doled out but it must be earned through hard work, persistence, educational commitment, and even a little good luck and timing.

A Complete Resource Guide to Start a Business in 2012

A Complete Resource Guide to Start a Business in 2012: Use this list of free -- or almost free -- tools to turn your business idea into a reality in the new year.

How To Leave An Unsatisfying Job And Pursue Your Dream Career

How To Leave An Unsatisfying Job And Pursue Your Dream Career: How-to guides are regularly published about the process of pursuing new careers. I, however, don’t believe a guide can show you exactly how to do that. You have to first believe in yourself, and then take a risk. Otherwise, you will stay in a dead-end job afraid to step away

How The Best Salespeople Make The Sale

How The Best Salespeople Make The Sale: How The Best Salespeople Make The Sale There are a lot of misconceptions about how to sell effectively. Some people dive in with just one goal in mind: to close the deal. Others wing it and hope that their charm, talent and knowledge

5 Ways To Spot A Bad Boss In An Interview

5 Ways To Spot A Bad Boss In An Interview: A boss can literally, make or break your career. Here are five ways to spot the bad ones before they become yours. A great boss can make you feel engaged and empowered at work, will keep you out of unnecessary office politics, and can identify and grow your strengths. But a

Protect yourself against technology disasters

Protect yourself against technology disasters: Like taxes and regulations, technology can prove to be a real nightmare for small businesses. In fact, a recent study by online backup provider Carbonite found that 48 percent of American small businesses with between two and 20 employees experienced data loss this year, up from 42 percent in 2010.

Don’t sweep your mistakes under the rug

Don’t sweep your mistakes under the rug: Smart managers learn from dissecting their mistakes so don't hide your failures, analyze them.

Work smarter, not harder, in 2012

Work smarter, not harder, in 2012: Work smarter in the new year by implementing these time-saving management strategies.

Be a kick butt entrepreneur

Be a kick butt entrepreneur: Need some inspiration for the New Year? These entrepreneurs overcame incredible odds to create and run successful businesses.

Can You Survive Today's Business World?

Can You Survive Today's Business World?: Innovation may be the buzz word, but it’s no panacea. Professor Morten Hansen and Jim Collins’ new book 'Great by Choice' shows what else you need to stay alive and ahead of the rest.

When working from home just doesn't work

When working from home just doesn't work: There's no denying that working remotely provides tremendous benefits, but more organizations are finding that virtual collaboration also comes with significant limitations.

5 Strategies For Avoiding Unnecessary Risks

5 Strategies For Avoiding Unnecessary Risks: Outflows from domestic equity funds totaled $6.67 billion last week. This was the largest estimated amount of weekly withdrawals since August 10, 2011, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Five Resolutions for your Business - Choose One

Five Resolutions for your Business - Choose One: New Years' resolutions are for repentant smokers; Real entrepreneurs know that they should be aiming for self-improvement all year round.

8 Ways to Kick-Start Your Workday

8 Ways to Kick-Start Your Workday: When December gets into full swing, it gets harder and harder to flip the switch from holiday festivities to emails and spreadsheets. Take it from me: I work from home as a freelance writer. While I love the flexibility and freedom of this arrangement, it can be challenging to get motivated without a team of colleagues and a conventional office environment to show up at every day, especially at this time of year.

End-of-the-Year Checklist for Marketers

End-of-the-Year Checklist for Marketers: The month of December offers marketing leaders an important opportunity to look back and reflect, even while we set our sights to the future with plans to do even better.

Ten Ways To Get More Done At Work

Ten Ways To Get More Done At Work: Work smarter, not harder. Here’s how.

12 ways to reduce your debt in 2012

12 ways to reduce your debt in 2012: Canadians are facing record levels of personal debt in recent years. How do you plan to combat it? Steve Bucci with Bankrate.com has these 12 suggestions to keep you in the clear.

Tackle your debt, and play yourself first for financial success

Tackle your debt, and play yourself first for financial success: While Christmas saving and spending - and over-spending - has been stealing headlines since just before Halloween, the other 364 days of the year need to be paid for as well.

Want to Start Your Own Business? Get a Business Mentor

Want to Start Your Own Business? Get a Business Mentor: Lots of boomers are eager to start their own businesses.

Establishing an Employee Retirement Plan

Establishing an Employee Retirement Plan: Business owners should rethink what they "know" about sponsoring retirement plans, says the founder of a firm that administers 401(k)s for small companies

Growing Your Business Through Practicing Gratitude

Growing Your Business Through Practicing Gratitude: It’s the time of year we all give thanks for our many blessings. It’s a good practice in our personal lives, and an equally good practice in our business lives.

Why Aren't Leaders Delivering the Basics?

Why Aren't Leaders Delivering the Basics?: What is it with business leaders these days?

How To Communicate Effectively At Work

How To Communicate Effectively At Work: The title of Karen Friedman's latest book isn't exactly subtle. Shut Up And Say Something: Business Communication Strategies to Overcome Challenges and Influence Listeners lays out her no-nonsense philosophy about how to best get your point across, drawn from ...

Adopt the three pillars of financial well-being in 2012

Adopt the three pillars of financial well-being in 2012: If you’re like most Canadians — with lots of debt and not a lot of savings — you might want to add some financial resolutions to your New Year’s plans. For Coast Capital Savings certified financial planner Anthony Windeyer, financial well-being consists of three tenets: protect, save, invest.

Resources for Veterans Running Businesses

Resources for Veterans Running Businesses: From training to financing, programs abound for individuals who have served in the military and are now managing their own ventures

To Sell More, Answer These Questions

To Sell More, Answer These Questions: Many business owners fail to master basic sales concepts. Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson suggests ways to improve

Trying to find a job? Here are the top entry-level resume characteristics for obtaining an interview

Trying to find a job? Here are the top entry-level resume characteristics for obtaining an interview: According to a recent study by researchers Emily Johnson and Joanna Lahey, “post-high school education and training, such as from a community college or a computer training program, are primary factors in determining whether a woman receives an interview.”

7 Simple Techniques To Build Customer Loyalty

7 Simple Techniques To Build Customer Loyalty: Sometimes you don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for an MBA to obtain a valuable lesson in building customer loyalty.