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Working on the right side of the brain – with Dan Pink

Number-crunchers, engineers, and computer programmers continue to be some of the most sought after professionals in business today. We need them to calculate possibilities and prove potential, we need them to build new structures and technologies, and we need them to write the code that makes it all shareable on our laptops and smartphones. But …

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The profit and his three P’s

CNBC’s small-business TV program, The Profit, features Marcus Lemonis as he uses his own money, and tough love, to fix struggling small businesses. Lemonis, 42, knows what he’s doing. He’s the CEO of Camping World/Good Sam, a $3 billion national retailer of recreational vehicles and camping supplies that employs over 6,000 people. The show is fun …

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Trapped in the elevator (pitch) and how to escape

It’s been drilled into all of us since the beginning of our careers – you need a great elevator pitch – that succinct little summary of your business that can be shared in the time span of an elevator ride. First, if you’re pitching your business in an elevator you’re probably trying too hard. Get …

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Stop following up, start following through

These are probably some of the most annoying phrases in business. You’ve seen them in email, you’ve heard them on the phone, and you’ve probably even used them yourself. I know I have. “I just wanted to check in.” “I thought I’d touch base.” “I’m following up.” I had the chance recently to watch a slightly comical, …

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Why deadlines are our friends

Deadlines stir fear and agita in the bravest among us. We schedule them, we change them, and sometimes we even blow right through them. And while deadlines may not be our favorites, there are good reasons to embrace them. Deadlines turn promises into products. They make goals real, and they drive forward progress. They help …

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The 10 commandments of solving problems

Issues and problems pop up daily and there are a thousand ways to solve each one. Being stuck and being perfect are the enemies of progress and problem-solving, but how do you guard against those man-made traps? Gino Wickman is the designer of EOS®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, which is a set of simple business-building …

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How to have difficult conversations

Joseph Grenny is a four-time New York Times bestselling author and leading social scientist for business performance. One of his most popular books is “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High.” So what’s a crucial conversation? Grenny defines it as a moment when opinions differ, the stakes are high, and emotions are strong. In his 25 years of studying …

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10 rules for brilliant women

The internationally-acclaimed COO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, may be the best-known champion of women executives in the world, but author and women’s business coach Tara Mohr is making significant contributions to the cause as well. Mohr’s book “Playing Big:  Find Your Voice, Your Mission, and Your Message” is about the tools she’s used with thousands …

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High-performing salespeople have these strengths

High-performing salespeople do a lot of things very well. Finding and expecting the same for other roles in your company may be able to lift performance levels for everyone.   If you buy in to the idea on some level that we’re all in sales no matter what we do, then the following findings may …

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Solve like Sherlock using more mindfulness

What we can learn about better concentration — and problem-solving — from the quintessential unitasker and mindfulness master, Sherlock Holmes. Multitasking has become a badge of honor and esteem in our modern lives. Many of us pride ourselves on our multitasking prowess, and even strive for higher levels of frenzied activity. The remedy for our overloaded senses …

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