LinkedIn has emerged as the leading social media site for professional connection in the U.S. and around the world. Whereas a decade ago, many viewed LinkedIn as a place to post career information — something of an online Resume — today it is a site where 610 million users go for professional presence, connection, communication, advice, education, references and more. But the vast majority are only scratching the surface of LinkedIn for their business efforts and career success, and too many don’t understand the dos and don’ts of using LinkedIn. Are you using it wisely? Continue reading →

It’s been said that seeing is believing. We tend to trust what we can see with our own eyes. In truth, one’s eyes should not be trusted. What we “see” is not always what we get. Or rather, what the brain perceives through its senses cannot always be trusted. There can be a big difference between a perception and reality. But, in business, perception often becomes reality. So, it is important for entrepreneurs, leaders and managers to understand such distortions and perception errors, and how that could work for and/or against them. Continue reading →

False Consensus Effect is a pervasive type of thinking error. In this distorted pattern of thinking, people overestimate the degree to which their own behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and viewpoints are shared by others. In business, the False Consensus Effect may seem benign but it can actually be quite harmful to companies whose leaders make decisions based on this. Those decisions can lead to mistakes in product development, market direction, hiring and acquisitions, and result in the loss of staff and revenue. It even kills companies! Here are real world examples and how to combat this common, but often unrecognized, decision-making problem. Continue reading →

Employees are prone to mistakes, mishaps and miscalculations. No one is perfect. Therefore, companies – which are comprised of people – make mistakes too. The issue isn’t “if” a business will err, but rather “when” it will err. It happens. When someone makes a mistake, how is it handled? Minimizing the frequency of mistakes and managing such issues well – even when trying valiantly to avoid errors altogether – is what elevates some companies above others. When things get jumbled, there is a better way to deal with it. Continue reading →

Is your company introducing a new blog or drip campaign? Getting ready to deploy a new product? Developing a new marketing campaign? Launching a new division? Great. Is the information you are sharing “sticky”? It should be. Sticky is good. Sticky means memorable, relatable and impactful. According to Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Made to Stick, there are six basic principles to follow to ensure that any new idea, message, product, campaign or brand sticks to your target audience. Before you deploy, make sure your next big effort passes the “sticky” test. Continue reading →

Captains of industry are always looking for ways to help staff relieve stress, combat boredom, boost engagement, increase well-being, collaborate more, be creative, amp up analytical precision, and raise productivity. Sounds challenging. But what if the best way to accomplish all that is actually simple… just encourage employees to laugh, smile and have fun! There is ample evidence that a serious, highly-focused, intense workplace is exactly the wrong atmosphere to generate big ideas and even bigger results. So how does a leader get people to lighten up at work yet still deliver results? Continue reading →

Time is precious… the only finite resource. And you are now considering spending seven minutes of that precious commodity reading this. You should because every minute of time is not spent equally well. Some investments of time generate a better return than others. Seven minutes now might save you hundreds or thousands of minutes down the road. Unless you already manage your time with the perfectly-calibrated precision of a Swiss clock and the efficiency of a U.S. Marine Drill Sergeant, reading this might be the best time investment you make all year. Continue reading →

It turns out the best managers – those who consistently extract the work excellence from direct reports — are those who are the best teachers. And, the best teachers are not those who are busy directing, giving feedback and correcting work… nor those pushing people to “get out of their comfort zone” or focus on improving the things they do badly. Nope. The best teachers quietly watch… waiting to spot and praise excellent work and then leverage those instances into teachable moments and improvement opportunities. That is how the best managers get excellence from every employee leaving competitors in the dust! Want to try it? Continue reading →

Employers want employees to do excellent work. And, most employees inherently want to do excellent work (if recognized and rewarded for it). But, in reality, most work is not “excellent” and can be improved. Helping employees improve their work is where things get tricky. Countless entrepreneurs, leaders, managers, professors, HR specialists, psychologists and economists have spent a lot of time and energy trying to figure out how to help people do excellent work. Praise? Criticism? Rewards? Reprimands? Focus on failures? Pushing people out of their comfort zone?
Just what promotes excellence? Here’s what works and what doesn’t! Read more. Continue reading →

The “Halo Effect” is a cognitive bias in which a person’s overall impression is influenced by assumptions based on unrelated, concrete information. If a person likes one aspect of something, he is predisposed to think positively about other aspects of it, even if totally unrelated. For example, “I love iPhones. Therefore, Apple is the best company for computers.” While the Halo Effect can certainly be damaging in some areas of business, imagine if that bias could be harnessed and channeled on behalf of a brand. It can and has. Here’s how! Continue reading →