Why a Few Laughs at Meetings Can Improve Team Performance

Why a Few Laughs at Meetings Can Improve Team Performance

Worker teams that experienced humorous interactions, such as a joke followed by laughter followed by another joke, during meetings tended to be rated by supervisors as better at hitting their targets, according to a study of 54 teams in two German industrial organizations by Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock of VU University Amsterdam and Joseph A. Allen of the University of Nebraska. The apparent reason is that these humorous interactions triggered important problem-solving behaviors, such as team members’ raising questions and talking about new ideas. The interactive nature of the humor is important; there was zero effect on teams’ performance from incidences of isolated humorous statements that weren’t followed by group laughter or subsequent jokes, the researchers say.

Do You Self-Gift for Therapy or as a Reward?

Do You Self-Gift for Therapy or as a Reward?

Experiments suggest that when buying gifts for themselves, shoppers (male or female) tend to choose feminine-seeming items such as slippers and lotions when the aim is to cheer themselves up but masculine-seeming items such as tools and pencils when attempting to reward themselves, says a team led by Suri Weisfeld-Spolter of Nova Southeastern University. The contrasting ideas of self-therapy and rewarding seem to suggest different gender identities, with the former priming a feminine identity and the latter priming a masculine identity, leading to the different choices of purchased items.59% of shoppers report engaging in self-gifting when shopping, the researchers say

Work Schedule for work from home self employed guys

Stay Focused When Working from Home

Working outside an office, without supervision, can be challenging. Set a schedule to give your day structure and keep you motivated. Start the day as you would if you worked in an office: Get up early, get dressed, and try to avoid distractions once you sit down to work. This requires setting clear boundaries so your work life doesn't blur into your home life, and vice versa. Set aside a separate space in your home for work, and make sure your loved ones understand that even though you're home, you are off limits during work hours. It may be tempting to work nonstop, but you need to take regular breaks. Give your brain time to recuperate after draining tasks. And schedule regular coffees and meetings with colleagues, clients, and work peers so you don't feel too isolated. 

Use Structured Debates to Avoid Groupthink

Use Structured Debates to Avoid Groupthink

To help your team respond to emerging threats and opportunities while avoiding the dangers of “groupthink” — teams or organizations operating on autopilot — hold frequent, structured debates. Randomly assign different team members to argue opposing points of view. Then, at a regular team meeting or an offsite, set up a debate with scenarios such as: “Our organization’s mobile app will be obsolete within two years. Here’s what will replace it, and here’s what we need to do now to survive and thrive.” Ask half the team to argue why the current mobile app is sufficient, and the other half to argue how and why the mobile app needs to be changed. Debates like this can help overcome people’s reluctance to ask and answer tough questions about how the world has changed or is changing, and how the organization needs to evolve accordingly.

Become a Better Learner

Become a Better Learner

Staying within your comfort zone is a good way to prepare for today but a terrible way to prepare for tomorrow. To sustain success, you must develop the capacity for rapid, continuous learning. Enlisting a coach can be an invaluable way to do it. But if you don’t have a coach, ask some colleagues for feedback on how you performed on a recent task. Don’t get defensive when you hear their answers — remind yourself that you’re trying to learn new things. Then make time for reflection. Get into the habit of asking yourself questions like “What have I learned from this experience?” and “What turned out differently than I expected?” Leaders who demonstrate and encourage reflection both learn more themselves and lay the foundation for higher levels of learning agility in their teams and organizations

Make More Time for Your Top Priorities

Make More Time for Your Top Priorities

Sometimes, small shifts in how you use your time can make the difference between feeling focused and productive at work and feeling exhausted. Give yourself permission to prioritize what’s most important to you, then align your schedule accordingly. For example, put “must do” activities on your calendar and relegate “would like to do” items to a separate list. Block out chunks of time to move ahead on important projects and activities. Try to group meetings together on certain days so that you can have one or more meeting-free days to get work done, and close your email and silence your phone (or at least the random alerts) so you can focus. Outside of work, try to have at least half of a weekend day that’s unscheduled. Reclaiming some time for yourself can bring more calm and focus to your work routine, and your life.

Election-Day Rain Affects Future Voter Turnout

Election-Day Rain Affects Future Voter Turnout

Rain on a presidential election day decreases voter turnout not only in the current election but also during future elections, suggesting that voting today is associated with voting in the future, according to a study by Thomas Fujiwara and Tom Vogl at Princeton and Kyle Meng at UC Santa Barbara. Matching daily weather data with county-level U.S. presidential election returns from 1952 to 2012, they found that election-day rainfall reduced voter turnout — their data suggests that one millimeter of rainfall decreases turnout 0.05–0.07 percentage points — and this effect persists in future elections. Their main estimates imply that a one-percentage-point decrease in past turnout lowers current turnout by 0.6–1.0 percentage points. The evidence suggests that habit formation may occur by reinforcing the value of voting, the researchers say.

Practice Mindfulness When Conflict Occurs

Practice Mindfulness When Conflict Occurs

Conflict wreaks havoc on our brains: the amygdala sounds an alarm and releases a cascade of chemicals in the body. But practicing mindfulness can override the automatic responses of our nervous system. When your body jumps into fight-or-flight mode, notice that you’ve been provoked. Focus on whatever sensations arise in your body; feel them naturally, just as they are, not trying to control or change them. Take deep, consistent breaths: paying attention to our body reestablishes equilibrium faster, restoring our ability to think, listen, and relate. Doing all this takes practice, but eventually we can retrain ourselves to respond rationally to conflict rather than simply reacting.

Help Your Team Voice Their Concerns

No one wants to upset the boss. That’s why it can be difficult to get candid opinions from your employees. But you need to encourage them to speak up if you want to know about minor issues before they become big problems. If some people are uncomfortable airing concerns in large group settings, initiate more casual one-on-one conversations. You should keep an open door policy, but don’t wait for people to come to you — go out and talk to them yourself. You can get people in the habit of speaking up by routinely asking if there are any issues you should be aware of. Offer regular financial updates so people will know what’s working and what’s not. If they feel that they have a stake in the success of the organization, they’ll be more willing speak up. 

Avoid Common Traps When Measuring Customer Turnover

Avoid Common Traps When Measuring Customer Turnover

Acquiring new customers is expensive, which is why you want to attract and keep the right customers. One way to measure whether you’re doing this is to calculate your customer churn rate — just make sure you avoid these common mistakes:

• Don’t look at churn as simply a number or metric. Think about the behavior behind the number. Ask: What are we doing to cause customer turnover? What are our customers doing that’s contributing to their leaving? How can we better manage our customer relationships to make sure it doesn’t happen?
• Don’t believe there’s a magic number. What’s acceptable varies by business model and depends on how quickly and efficiently a company can acquire customers and how profitable they are in the short and long term.
• Don’t assume you have a retention problem. Often, a high churn rate is because you’re attracting the wrong kinds of customers in the first place.

Managing a Project Means Making Trade-Offs

Managing a Project Means Making Trade-Offs

A project’s scope, schedule, and budget all affect what you can achieve. So if you tweak one of these factors, you’ll have to change something else. For example, if your time frame for developing a new database is cut, you’ll have to hire more people (up the budget) or deliver a system with fewer features (reduce the scope). You’ll face many similar trade-offs when managing a project. The point is: don’t panic. If you know from the start which of these three is most important to stakeholders, you’ll be able to make the right trade-offs. A less ambitious or even lower-quality product isn’t necessarily a bad thing — as long as the functionality meets the needs of the end users and fits the budget and schedule. Just keep your stakeholders in the loop. You’ll spot trade-offs long before they do, so tell them when you want to make changes and negotiate to reach a solution

A Social Climber? No, Not Me

A Social Climber? No, Not Me

Participants in a study consistently reported less striving for status in themselves than in others (5.02versus 5.66 on a 1-to-7 scale), suggesting that people don’t like to admit to this yearning, say Hee Young Kim of Rider University and Nathan C. Pettit of New York University. Although it is well accepted that people desire high status, striving for it is seen as stigmatizing. In fact, displaying a desire for status may undermine a person’s efforts to attain it, the researchers say.

Build Trust with Your Type A Boss

Build Trust with Your Type A Boss

It's not easy working under high performers. While Type A bosses are driven and successful, they're also demanding and more likely to micromanage. But you can improve your relationship, and make your job more enjoyable.

• Speak up. If you disagree about something or have other concerns, be direct. Show that you're not afraid to voice opinions, and your boss will respect you.
• Get to know your boss. Build an outside-of-work relationship by sharing some of your personal passions and goals. Do you both have kids? Play tennis? Finding similarities can help you two build trust.
• Know that it's not you. If your boss is piling more work on you and not giving enough credit, try to push your frustrations aside and ask how she is doing. Chances are she's not trying to be dismissive; she's just lacking sleep or has a big decision weighing on her.

Hate Income Taxes? Consider the Alternative

Hate Income Taxes? Consider the Alternative

Revenue from resources such as oil may fill government coffers, but in reducing the need for income taxes it diminishes countries’ incentive to create the political and civic institutions that simultaneously enable taxation and support a market economy with large, efficient companies that benefit the entire population, say Timothy Besley of the London School of Economics and Torsten Persson of Stockholm University. A 1% increase in the share of natural-resource revenue in government income is associated with a 1.4% lower share of taxation in GDP. This contributes to resource-dependent countries’ remaining hamstrung by powerful elites, a large informal economy of street vendors and village shops, and weak civil rights.

To Get Candid Feedback, Ask for It

To Get Candid Feedback, Ask for It

Getting honest, useful feedback is the fastest route to better performance.

 But people are sometimes too nice to share the full picture or too intimidated to be fully truthful.

 You need to be clear that you want honest feedback.

 If you say, "Don't be nice, be helpful," people will be less likely to hold back.

 Instead of asking what you did wrong, ask what you can do better going forward. 

Try not to judge any feedback you receive, whether it’s positive or negative.

 Just thank people for being honest with you and let them know that you find their observations and opinions helpful.

 Try to write down what they say.

 A little silence communicates that you’re taking feedback seriously, and it gives people time to think about what else they might add. 

And don’t just ask once. Give people multiple opportunities to give you real feedback. 

Thoughtful Ways to Thank People in Your Network

Thoughtful Ways to Thank People in Your Network

Showing gratitude to people in your personal network can be pretty easy — and fun. An old-fashioned, handwritten thank you note on nice paper still goes a long way. Just be sure to include sincere appreciation for something personal and specific. Sending a small gift that really means something to the other person can be even more memorable. And don’t forget to pick up the phone on a regular basis. Keep a list of people whom you want to check in with periodically; when you have a few minutes, call the next person on the list. Even leaving a voicemail provides an opportunity to say thanks, to tell someone you’re thinking of them, and to offer a little encouragement. Small, regular practices of gratitude like this can make all the difference in important relationships.

Estimating the English-Language Premium in Ind

Estimating the English-Language Premium in India

Individuals who are more likely to have training in English earn significantly higher relative wages and have better occupational outcomes, according to a study by Tanika Chakraborty at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Shilpi Kapur Bakshi at The Energy and Resources Institute in India.

 Studying a policy intervention in India that abolished teaching English in public primary schools, the researchers found that a 10% lower probability of learning English in primary schools leads to a decline in weekly wages by 8%.

 On average, this implies 26% lower wages for those exposed to the policy change. The high English-language premium in the labor market is driven at least in part by the lack of occupational mobility for individuals with little or no English skills but otherwise similar educational attainment, they say.

Negotiate with Your Boss and Get What You Want

Negotiate with Your Boss and Get What You Want

Whether you’re seeking more money, higher status, increased visibility, additional resources, or more time off, you likely won’t get it if you don’t ask your boss for it. Make your request a win-win by using phrases that imply joint success, such as “How can we both do well?” Then respond with “what ifs.” For example, if your boss says that you need more experience before you can advance, you might reply with an exact strategy: “What if I take the lead on our communications strategy with the sales team?” Even if you get an initial no, you can still leave the negotiation with a small win that may put you on the path to an eventual yes.

Give People Time and Space to Be More Creative

Give People Time and Space to Be More Creative

Creativity takes time, requiring people to struggle down several blind alleys before finding the right solution. That’s why a lot of creative activity may look suspiciously like loafing around until a breakthrough happens. But if an organization truly wants creativity, it has to start by hiring more people than it needs to complete the tasks required for the company to stay afloat. Managers also need to provide some flexibility for employees to alter their schedules when an interesting idea begins to develop. And they need to reward employees for engaging in tasks that ultimately lead to creative solutions, like learning new things, developing new skills, having wide-ranging conversations with colleagues, and trying out ideas that don’t work.

Can Repeating Information in a Meeting Help Get Others to Side with You?

Can Repeating Information in a Meeting Help Get Others to Side with You?

Repeating information in favor of a decision can help bring others on board, according to a study led by Stefan Schulz-Hardt at Georg-August-University Goettingen. In two experiments, the researchers demonstrated that selectively repeating information in favor of a particular decision changed the listener’s preference ratings in favor of it and made the decision more likely. Two explanations are plausible for why a repetition bias has a decisional impact, say the researchers. First, repeating information might increase its salience: if someone selectively repeats information in favor of Alternative A, the recipient might selectively remember information in favor of A when making up their mind. Second, it is possible that a recipient who is exposed to selective repetitions in favor of Alternative A might infer that the sender has a preference for it, which might lead them to exhibit compliance or conversion.

Save time in office meetings

Set Boundaries to Protect Your Time

We’re all too busy. And we can’t stand people who distract us at work and derail our productivity. There may be no escape from other people, but you can take steps to regain control of your time and schedule.

• State your preferred method of communication. Limit aggravation by proactively informing colleagues about the best way to reach you, whether it’s via phone call, text, email, or tweet.
• Require an agenda for meetings. Vague or rambling meetings eat up too much of our time. Insist on seeing an agenda before you commit to attending meetings so that you can contribute fully. Model the practice by creating an agenda for any meetings you chair and offering to share the template with others.
• Make others prepare. Before you commit to a meeting, ask if people have done their research and if the real decision-makers will be present.

Sharing Financials Helps Employees Make Smarter Decisions

Sharing Financials Helps Employees Make Smarter Decisions

Frontline employees are responsible for keeping customers happy. But when people focus on delivering great customer service, they can forget that the business has to make money too. Should I schedule yet another service visit? Should I forgive this bounced-check fee? Should I honor that expired warranty? If you’re going to ask frontline workers to make these difficult decisions, teach them about key financial indicators so they’ll know the costs. Think about creating a daily or weekly dashboard showing relevant customer-feedback scores and comments, along with key financial numbers – variance to budget, cost per customer, etc. Employees will learn to track the short-term tradeoffs and will naturally try to keep costs under control. This can also help in the long term. If they schedule extra service visits, for example, or regularly honor those expired warrantees, the costs of service may rise. But there will be a payoff in greater customer loyalty. 

Encourage Employees to Help Each Other

Company incentives are often tied to individual productivity. Workers feel pressured to focus on themselves and achieve their own goals because that's how they're judged and ultimately rewarded. But that makes them lose sight of the larger picture and hurts group productivity. For example, employees might be reluctant to help one another, because they don’t want their individual productivity to suffer. So it’s important to remind people that they’re working toward common goals. Restructure financial incentives to reward that behavior and create bonuses based on group targets. Promote people who are great enablers along with the high performers. Encourage people to share information and work together to help the entire company succeed — this can include things like having lunch together and taking coffee breaks. Companies should work to build sharing, relationships, and communication into their DNA.

Dig deeper into your data

Data Management 
" Be Skeptical of Your Data " 

Managers shouldn’t take important analyses at face value, even if it is easy to be seduced by good news. 

In fact, when it comes to data, err on the side of skepticism.
For example, if a company sees that its website traffic is up, it might be tempted to celebrate and 
continue doing what it’s doing. But if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
A deeper dive might reveal that mobile traffic is actually flat, and if that company is interested in 
mobile platforms, it should look closely at its strategy. 

Always dig as deeply into the data as you can, make sure it is accurate, and make sure you understand the 
REAL LIFE PROCESSES & WORK that produced it ! 
Seek confirmatory data sources and develop new ways to explore the conventional wisdom.
When the time comes to make a decision, do so. 
Then see what happens and reevaluate. 

Don’t Put Off Addressing the People Issues on Your Team

Don’t Put Off Addressing the People Issues on Your Team

People issues often pose the most difficult challenges in project management.

 Rather than trying to ignore, deny, or avoid them, you need to address them quickly and decisively before they get too big. 

Specify the problem, think about possible causes and the impact it’s having on your team, and then take action. 

For example, if conflicts of personality or working styles are wasting time and lowering productivity on your team, propose solutions, not blame. 

Focus team members on project goals, not on personal feelings. 

If team members become too friendly, reorganize subgroups to disrupt cliques and emphasize that social gatherings are for after work. 

Pay attention to small signs, like a team member’s increased irritability, loss of enthusiasm, or difficulty making decisions. Raise these issues quickly. 

The only way you’ll squash problems is through frequent, daily communication—not weekly staff meetings. 

Keep High Performers Happy by Offering More Feedback

High performers are immensely valuable to any company (they can be four times as productive as average performers), but managers need to look out for their wants and needs to keep them from seeking greater challenges, growth, and rewards elsewhere.

 One big contributing factor to their job satisfaction is feedback. How often do you sit down with your employees to discuss their performance? Chances are, not enough.

 Many high performers say they expect at least a monthly sit down with their managers, but only 53% say their managers deliver on their feedback expectations.

 So if you’re relying on annual or semi-annual performance reviews as the primary feedback mechanism with your employees, your high performers will likely begin to feel underappreciated.

 Set up regular check-ins and ask how you can support their learning and development. Lay out their options for career advancement, and give stretch assignments to help them gain diverse experience. 

Don't Let a Group Dynamic Quash Critical Thinking

Don't Let a Group Dynamic Quash Critical Thinking

People often censor themselves when working in groups because they don't want to be punished for voicing an opinion that differs from everyone else's. Leaders sometimes even promote this self-censorship by expressing their own views early on. (People don't like challenging the boss.) So you need to show that you're willing to hear different perspectives and disagreements. Try not to take a firm position at the outset to make space for more discussion and debate. And encourage critical thinking as soon as your group comes together so members will be more willing to contribute and less likely to keep silent. If people still aren't participating, try restructuring incentives to reward group – not individual – success. People will be more likely to jump in if they know that they have something to gain from a good group decision. 

The Right Way to Finish a Project

The Right Way to Finish a Project

The final stage in the life cycle of a project is the phase out, during which your team completes its work. If all went as planned, it’s time to celebrate. But if you (more likely) hit some rough spots along the way – say, the project ran past deadline or exceeded the budget – it’s still important to recognize the team’s efforts and accomplishments. Before the team moves on to other projects, debrief and document the process together so that lessons learned can be shared. Conduct a post-project evaluation – one last meeting to identify what went well and what went wrong. Make a list of best practices to help future projects go more smoothly. Discuss how to improve the process and avoid problems during the next project. Since people can lose perspective after working so closely together, consider bringing in an outside facilitator to objectively assess the information. 

Use Your Commute to Practice Mindfulnes

Use Your Commute to Practice Mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness, which is all about being in the present moment., can boost creativity, lower stress, and improve concentration. But people miss out because they think they’re too busy to meditate. Consider using your daily commute to practice mindfulness. When you get in the car, take a few deep breaths. Buckle up and become aware of your body. Feel your hands on the steering wheel and your foot on the pedal. As you drive, notice what you are looking at: the road, your windshield, your mirrors. Notice the sounds you hear. Avoid sinking into autopilot. This sounds basic, but concentrating isn’t easy.

 Our minds wander and we’re tempted to check our phones. Brush these distractions aside and focus on making the most of your time in the car, on a train, or however you travel. You’ll arrive at the office refreshed and ready for the day, and you’ll get home ready to enjoy the evening. 

Build the Confidence to Ask for a Raise

Build the Confidence to Ask for a Raise

Asking for a raise is especially challenging if the voice inside your head wonders whether you really deserve it. If you’re facing this situation, it’s important first to understand and acknowledge your self-worth — and then learn how to sell it within your company. Start by researching salaries online to get a sense of what competitors are offering for your position. Establish a lower and upper pay scale. Then do a personal assessment. Look for documented instances where you’ve exceeded goals. Include detailed performance statistics, initiatives you’ve undertaken, and key areas where you’ve demonstrated your loyalty and commitment. And finally, prepare for pushback. Practicing with a coach or trusted colleague can help ensure you respond to objections without getting overheated and end the conversation on a positive note.

Prioritize Good Communication on Your Global Tea

Prioritize Good Communication on Your Global Team

Global virtual teams are becoming more common. And because it’s harder to keep people in different regions of the world on track, you need to make sure that people are communicating as effectively as possible. Here are some ideas to try:

• Make email a priority. Instant messaging relies on everyone being there at the same time. Email, on the other hand, can be totally asynchronous as it fits time zone differences and keeps teams in rhythm together.
• Be intentionally positive. It’s easy for things to sound negative in an email. Sarcasm and humor can come across the wrong way, but being friendly and approachable is always welcome…even if it means using emoticons.
• Offer suggestions, not critiques. “I don’t get it” can steer the conversation into a dead end. People should always suggest an alternative instead of simply sharing their dislike for an idea.

Before Sending a Foreign Colleague That Sympathy Card, Ponder This

Before Sending a Foreign Colleague That Sympathy Card, Ponder This

Comparable selections of sympathy cards in the U.S. and Germany contained an average of 2.90 and7.30 negative words each, respectively, and 3.50 and 1.35 positive words each, supporting a hypothesis that American culture encourages people to be more positive in the face of sadness, say Birgit Koopmann-Holm and Jeanne L. Tsai of Stanford University. The American cards were also aboutone-sixth as likely as their German counterparts to include images of death.

 While Germans are largely descended from people who have remained in Europe and accepted their lot over the centuries, many Americans are descended from emigrants who left their negative environments and focused on a brighter future, and these outlooks seem to be evident in the two cultures’ present-day values, the researchers suggest.

Stay Motivated with or Without the Boss’s Help

Stay Motivated with or Without the Boss’s Help

Some bosses just aren’t that inspiring. The good news is you can motivate yourself to stay on top of your goals and improve your skills. But you have to know what drives you personally and professionally. Ask yourself: When was the last time I felt a sense of purpose at work? What made that happen? Then make a career plan to help you track your projects and results and set goals for your own development. Some of these might align with your role, but others can focus on learning and exploring interests outside of your job description. Evaluate your own performance and ask for feedback. You can get feedback directly by asking your boss, “How did you think the meeting went? Is there anything I should do differently next time?” You can also look for support elsewhere. Find mentors within your company to give guidance and perspective. 

Assign New Challenges to Keep Your Employees Satisfied

Employees don't just want their skills used, they want them stretched. If your team members are spending a lot of time fixing other peoples' problems or have become increasingly, but inexplicably, negative, it might be time to make them feel challenged again. Just remember, the goal is to stretch them, not break them, so offer guidance along the way.

• Increase the difficulty. Try giving them higher-stakes work that addresses more complex problems and a more diverse set of stakeholders.
• Turn them into rookies. Invite people to tackle projects in which they don't have the full knowledge and skills required. Their comfort zones will expand, and they'll take pride in mastering new things.
• Pivot them to a new problem. Have people point their existing expertise at new problems.

An Explanation for China’s “Missing Girls”

An Explanation for China’s “Missing Girls”

An unintended consequence of the adoption of low-cost diagnostic ultrasound in China in the 1980s was the technology’s role in allowing families to selectively terminate pregnancies if fetuses were female, according to an analysis led by Yuyu Chen of Peking University. Roughly 40% to 50% of the increase in sex imbalance at birth during the 1980s can be explained by the local access to ultrasound, the researchers say. The pattern apparently continues: In 2010 the sex ratio at birth in China was 118males to 100 females.

Use Better Metaphors to Win an Audience Over

Use Better Metaphors to Win an Audience Over

If you're trying to engage an audience, using well-chosen metaphors can offer a shortcut to understanding.

 You just have to pick the right ones.

 Dig for connections that make an idea clearer in your mind.

 The brighter the idea shines for you, the more likely it is to resonate with your audience. 

Very few people, if any, can come up with a brilliant metaphor on the first try. Brainstorm some ideas. 

Write down obvious choices right away to get them out of your head and to make room for more creative ones.

 For example, to illustrate partnership, steer clear of the cliché handshake in front of a globe, and go for something like a photo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. To illustrate a goal, avoid the bull's eye and opt for something more unique, like a maze. The more unusual the metaphor, the more it'll stand out in people's minds. 

Make Job Interviews Less Stressful for Candidates

Make Job Interviews Less Stressful for Candidates

People find job interviews stressful because of the many unknowns. What will my interviewer be like? What kinds of questions will he ask? What should I wear? People don’t perform as well when they’re stressed, so if you want to be able to assess potential quickly, you should take preemptive steps to lower their cortisol levels. Tell people in advance the topics you plan on discussing so they can prepare. Say who – and how many people – will be interviewing them, so they won’t be surprised. Be willing to meet at a time that’s convenient for him or her. And explain your organization’s dress code. You want to make the person comfortable so that you can have a productive, professional conversation. Then you’ll have more time to evaluate whether he or she is the right person for the job – and to sell the role and company. 

Delegate Your Work Without Fear of Resentment

Despite the benefits, many managers feel uneasy about delegating work to their teams. One main concern is that your staff will resent the additional work. If you want to build a foundation for effective delegating, you can’t just dump grunt work on people; you have to manage their expectations with open discussions. Let them know they’ll get opportunities to do new and interesting work. Explain how new projects will expand their capabilities, and that you’ll support them as they make their own decisions. When you do have dull administrative work or a beastly project, such as organizing a cluttered image library, be upfront about it: acknowledge that it may be beneath your employee’s abilities, but it has to be done. Give the reasons why. Providing a larger context will lessen the sense of drudgery and motivate your employee to complete the work without resentment. 

Use a Contest to Encourage Innovative Thinking

Use a Contest to Encourage Innovative Thinking

Holding an internal competition can be a good way to drive innovation in your company. It can teach employees new skills, connect them across multiple departments, and amplify the company’s overall creative ambience. If you want to create a contest to crowd source ideas, follow these tips:

• Frame the competition around a specific need. Create a challenge statement or question that focuses on an issue your company would benefit from solving. "Design the next big thing" is not a good challenge statement.
• Lay out a step-by-step process for how to participate. Instead of asking for a 50-page business plan, have participants first submit a one-page pitch. Once you narrow the candidate pool, finalists can work on full-fledged proposals for judges to review.
• Provide resources. Give people access to the data and assets they need to explore their ideas. Incorporate classes, workshops, and mentoring into the competition program.

Biz Stats "Companies Divert Huge Amounts of Cash Out of Africa"

Biz Stats 
"Companies Divert Huge Amounts of Cash Out of Africa"

Large corporations conduct vast scams to avoid paying taxes levied by African governments. 

 Because the governments lack the expertise and enforcement clout to halt such practices, companies frequently underreport the goods they import or sell in order to avoid taxes, and the resulting profits are typically diverted overseas, with the result that as much as $60 billion is illegally moved out of Africa annually, the report says.

Courtesy : according to a joint UN–African Union report cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Learn How to Read Emotions Across Cultur

Learn How to Read Emotions Across Cultures

 

We learn to “read” people’s emotions by evaluating their facial expressions, tone of voice, and overall demeanor.

 But these things often don’t translate across cultures.

 For example, someone from the U.S., where enthusiasm is admired, may have trouble reading someone from China, where self-control and modesty are the norm

. It’s important to understand how different cultures show emotion. 

Observe whether people express their emotions readily or downplay them–or whether it varies by the situation. Treat emotions as a language you need to gain fluency in. And learn how to respond constructively when you encounter emotions that are different from your own.

 If you suggest an idea to your boss and are met with a blank stare instead of a smile, ask a follow-up question to make sure you understand what she thinks.

Focus on Problem-Solving, Not Innovatin

Focus on Problem-Solving, Not Innovating

With everyone rushing to be innovative, it’s easy to lose focus on why we need it in the first place: customers. Innovation isn’t an end-goal in and of itself – it’s a byproduct of trying to solve interesting and important problems. Rather than trying to innovate in order to “keep up with other companies,” focus your innovation efforts on meeting customer needs. Encourage your team members to ask: “What’s going on with our customers? What are they happy about? What aren’t they responding to? How can we better serve them?” Great innovations happen when people are inspired by a problem. If you want your team to start producing truly innovative outcomes, get out of the building and go talk to your customers. Listen to their challenges. Come up with ideas about how you can help them, and then figure out which ones you can act on. 

What That Cigarette Says About a Person’s Financial Decisions

What That Cigarette Says About a Person’s Financial Decisions

The good news for smokers is that smoking is associated with a greater willingness to take risks. The bad news is that it is associated with lower conscientiousness, a lower willingness to delay rewards, and poorer decision making in the realm of personal finance, leading to lower credit scores: Smokers are nearly twice as likely to experience credit denials than nonsmokers, says a team led by Scott Adams of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The research, based on an analysis of two large databases, including one that covered more than 1,000 trainee truck drivers, doesn’t suggest that smoking causes any of these negative results, only that observed smoking behavior could be useful in predicting financial decision making, the researchers say.

Don’t Bring Up Money During a Job Interview

Don’t Bring Up Money During a Job Interview

When you’re job hunting, don’t start talking about money until the time is right. Companies don’t hire people who put money or benefits first. They want to know what you’e going to contribute, not what you want. Hold off on asking about compensation until you have an offer. The best time to talk salary is when you have leverage, and you have leverage once you’ve won them over. Of course, you might be asked salary requirements before or during the interview, and that&rquo;s not an easy question to dodge. Prepare a short, professional response: “My requirements are negotiable.” If you’re pushed, be a little more specific: “This is roughly what I’m currently making, but the job you’re interviewing me for is obviously different.” If the hiring manager wants more, say, “Well, I’m being interviewed for jobs paying X.” This projects where you see yourself in the marketplace. 

Avoid giving feedback, on these occasions

Don’t Give Feedback When You Don’t Need To

While feedback should be a regular part of work, not every behavior warrants input. For example, you shouldn’t offer corrective feedback just because someone has a different work process — even if it stresses you out. So before you deliver feedback, think about what you’re trying to achieve. And avoid giving it when:

• You do not have all the information
• It concerns something that the recipient can’t control
• The person appears to be highly emotional or especially vulnerable
• You don’t have time to explain it thoroughly
• It’s based on a personal preference, not a need for more effective behavior
• You haven’t come up with a solution for how the person can move forward

Set a Bedtime and Stick to It for Better Productivit

Set a Bedtime and Stick to It for Better Productivity

Many of us don’t get enough sleep. And this isn’t just an inconvenience – it worsens our mood, weakens our memory, scatters our focus, and makes us more susceptible to anxiety. To perform at our best, we need rest. Enough said. Since most of us can’t sleep in later, the only option is to get to bed earlier. And yet we don’t. We stay up late because it’s our only downtime. Start tracking how you spend your time after work. Think about what you can cut back on (mindless Facebook scanning), so you can do the activities you enjoy (watching TV) earlier. Identify an exact time when you want to be in bed. Then give yourself 30 minutes to wind down before attempting sleep. Create a relaxing pre-sleep ritual. Read something that makes you happy, lower the temperature, and avoid blue light (the kind emanating from your smartphone and computer screen). 

Give your Team, ' Range Goals' , instead of single number goals

To Motivate Your Team, Stop Using Single-Number Goals

When you set goals for your team, they need to be both challenging and attainable. If they're too easy, your employees won't be inspired, and if too daunting, they'll become discouraged. People want the sense of accomplishment that comes from working hard to reach something, but you need to strike the right balance. Single-number goals (e.g., how many contracts a sales team must sign, or how many stars a customer must give) are often either too easy or out of reach. To truly motivate your team, shift from single-number goals to high-low goals. These are goals that, rather than targeting a single number, have a high-low range that averages the same. For example, instead of asking people to open 20 new client accounts, give your team a range for success – ask them to open 18 to 22 new accounts this quarter. Evidence shows that these goals can lead to greater success. 

Make Good Writing a Part of Your Skill Set

Make Good Writing a Part of Your Skill Set

Good writers distinguish themselves at work. 

We write all the time – proposals to clients, memos to leaders, emails to colleagues – but we often don't think about improving our writing.

 To communicate effectively and win business, learn to write simply, clearly, and precisely.

 The mistake many people make is writing prematurely. 

They work out thoughts as they're writing, which makes their argument meandering and repetitive.

 Ask yourself: What should my audience know after reading this?

 Make your point up front, and don't use three words when one would do.

 For example, there's no need to say "general consensus of opinion," when "consensus" works. 

Similarly, avoid jargon. If you rely on $10 words too much, readers will think you're on autopilot or don't know what you're saying. 

Avoid terms like "actionable," "core competency," "impactful," and "incentivize."

 And don't be afraid to ask someone for feedback. 

Build the Right Virtual Team

Build the Right Virtual Team

Virtual teams are hard to get right. If you want to effectively lead and manage one, start by assembling the right team.

 You won't get anywhere without hiring and developing people suited to virtual teamwork, putting them into the right-sized groups, and dividing the labor appropriately.

 When building a team, conduct behavioral interviews and personality tests to screen for qualities like good communication skills, high emotional intelligence, an ability to work independently, strong resilience to recover from snafus, and sensitivity to other cultures.

 If you inherit a team, use the same tools to assess people's strengths and weaknesses, and then train them in the skills they're lacking. 

The most effective virtual teams typically have fewer than 10 people, so keep it small.

 If a project is too complex and requires more people, divide everyone into sub-teams that can focus on a narrower goal. 

Autonomy Is Key for Better Motivatio

Autonomy Is Key for Better Motivation

The question of how to better motivate employees has stumped many leaders.

 But if you focus on three universal psychological needs – autonomy, relatedness, and competence – you may find that it's not that complicated.

 Take autonomy.

 People need to believe that they have choices and that they're in charge of what they're doing.

 The way you frame information and situations influences whether someone will feel autonomous.

 So when discussing goals, don't make them seem like dictates or measures by which to hold someone accountable – frame them as essential for the person's success and an opportunity to fulfill a meaningful goal.

And don't apply pressure to perform.

 Sustained peak performance is a result of people acting because they choose to, not because they feel they have to. 

Add Social Fluency to Your Leadership Skill

Add Social Fluency to Your Leadership Skills

Leaders are increasingly expected to have a strong social media presence.

 Yet many still view social media as a broadcast channel, not as a way to connect.

 To become a truly social leader, start using it to listen to your customers.

 Social monitoring and engaging with followers is the best way to collect real-time market intelligence. Focus on connecting instead of promoting.

 You want to be spreading the good word about your company while also interacting with others and answering questions from concerned stakeholders.

 So put down the digital megaphone and think about building relationships. 

You’re also building your personal brand whenever you engage on social media, and, as the company’s number one brand ambassador, you can also improve the company’s image.

 Be authentic and generous. 

Make Office Politics Less Persona

Make Office Politics Less Personal

One of the reasons office politics makes so many of us uneasy is that complex situations are difficult to read and impossible to control. When personalities and motivations intertwine, anything can happen. One tactic for handling office politics is to make its challenges less personal. If you begin to look at politics like a game – you win some, you lose some – you'll become more resilient and have smarter responses when something takes you by surprise. If a situation starts to feel too personal, try to avoid looking your opponent in the eye. In many business situations eye contact is crucial, but in this case, averting your gaze can help you remain calm and avoid the fight-or-flight impulse that rises when you feel under attack. Keeping an even keel enables you to react more thoughtfully, offer productive suggestions, and regain control of the situation.