10 Secrets to Influencing Absolutely Anyone

How to get people to do what you want–no arm twisting, blackmail, or other slimy trick required.

Ever wish you were better at getting people to do what you want? You can be. All it takes is practice and desire.

I know this from experience. When I first got involved in the American Society of Journalists and Authors, I quickly learned a few things about freelance writers. They’re (mostly) brilliant. They’re creative and articulate, accustomed to living literally by their wits. But for the most part, they are not joiners. They’re self-motivated, self-directed, and not inclined to go with the flow (or else they’d be working in an office somewhere). They’re individualistic and can be cantankerous. And here I was, trying to get them to follow my lead. Continue reading

Malcolm Gladwell Explains How ‘Strategic Disadvantages’ Can Make You A Great Leader

Do some disadvantages come with a hidden upside?

Malcolm Gladwell, popular author of books like “Outliers” and the recent “David and Goliath,” thinks the answer is a resounding yes. In a conversation at the World Business Forum he discusses how “strategic disadvantages” such as a learning disability can be instrumental to your future success because they force you to adjust your learning strategies and work around obstacles from an early age. Continue reading

Invasion of the VUCAns

by Kathy F. Bernhard

 

What, another generation of Star Trek extraterrestrial humanoids to contend with?

Mercifully, no.  Look carefully, and you’ll see we’re not talking about Star Trek Vulcans; rather it is a real life, non-fiction uber-challenging force facing all of our organizations, the advent of the VUCA world. Continue reading

Does Your Company Make You a Better Person?

by Robert Kegan, Lisa Lahey and Andy Fleming

When we hear people talk about struggling to maintain work-life balance, our hearts sink a little. As one executive in a high-performing company we have studied explained, “If work and life are separate things—if work is what keeps you from living—then we’ve got a serious problem.” In our research on what we call Deliberately Developmental Organizations—or “DDOs” for short—we have identified successful organizations that regard this trade-off as a false one. What if we saw work as an essential context for personal growth? And what if employees’ continuous development were assumed to be the critical ingredient for a company’s success? Continue reading

Want Your Team to Perform Better? Try Positive Reinforcement.

By Bill Sims, Jr.

Are you keeping up with your New Year’s resolution? If you’re like most folks, you’re probably hard at work on that new diet or workout program.

While you’re doing those next 25 crunches, ask yourself these questions: What’s my New Year’s resolution for my business? What are the exercises that will help me and my team perform better at work this year?

That answer is positive reinforcement. Continue reading