David Phillips was rushing up and down the supermarket aisles within seconds after seeing Healthy Choices “Early Bird Special.” He bought up all their 90-cent soups in the store. Then he raced over to a discount outlet to get all the brand’s 25-cent chocolate pudding cups. No time to pause. ... Views: 667
After the priest moved to a new parish he approached his superior to ask, "Would you mind if I smoked while praying?" and was turned down. It is wise for us to learn how to ask for something in a way that enables others to agree. For example, the priest might have said, "Would you mind if I pray ... Views: 664
1. Specificity Boosts Clarity and Accountability
The more concrete the agreement, the more clear the obligation and the more difficult it is for someone to misunderstand. "Please get right on that" does not create as much clarity nor accountability as, "Please finalize your choice of vendors by ... Views: 662
When told to tackle the widespread child malnutrition in Vietnam in 1990 as an employee of Save the Children, Jerry and Monique Sternin could easily have become overwhelmed. Plus the country’s foreign minister told them, “You have six months to make a difference.”
Instead of looking at the ... Views: 658
“We are not only ‘bowling alone,“ suggests Stanford professor, Jeffrey Pfeffer, “We are increasingly working alone.” Yet we still long for meaningful work and a sense of belonging – and individuals and organizations that support those very human desires are more likely to spur high performance ... Views: 656
It is easier to stick a new idea in others’ minds if you can attach it to something that is already happily familiar to them. Hint: Become more frequently quoted by employing this Familiarity Effect. Here’s one way to do so: What familiar and respected product embodies the valuable trait for ... Views: 654
To this day I’m mortified when I see a box of chocolates. I was in the Antwerp airport, heading back to San Francisco. Before settling into a seat at my gate I bought two indulgences for the flight home, John le Carré’s Our Kind of Traitor and a box of Pierre Marcolini truffles, one of the most ... Views: 653
Instead of trying to change your feelings (as cognitive therapy attempts to do), change how you choose to view your thoughts. Practicing this way, we can notice what's without immediately reacting, thus become better to choose how we want to react.
Breandan and Emma, the couple up the hill ... Views: 649
David Phillips was rushing up and down the supermarket aisles within seconds after seeing Healthy Choices “Early Bird Special.” He bought up all their 90-cent soups in the store. Then he raced over to a discount outlet to get all the brand’s 25-cent chocolate pudding cups. No time to pause. ... Views: 643
14 Simple Ways to Jump-Start Your First Cross-Promotion
Look for the most frequent patterns in your customers to find the most beneficial partners. Then consider which business offers the best quality of product or service like the one your kind of client might use.
Propose a simple, low-risk ... Views: 637
When things go wrong, we tend to blind ourselves to other’s feelings. We are more likely to fall into a destructive behavioral trap. Sadly, when we do, we cannot be empathic. We weaken that human bond that’s vital to re-grouping and resilience. These blinding mindsets make us feel dumb, ... Views: 637
While happiness books are all the rage, none begin by showing us the inescapable first step to connecting with others. Yet having social ties is the single best predictor of a longer, healthier, more satisfying life.
When hired by Disney to observe what infants and toddlers paid the most ... Views: 635
Hint: what’s not revealed is sometimes most revealing. You never really know somebody until you see the choices she makes. As a nurse, you’ve long known that it is usually not the “medical” but the “people” challenges that determine how well you can do your job.
We instinctively pigeon hole ... Views: 634
• It is harder to argue when you are holding hands.
• Know that showing appreciation and attention, especially when you least want to show them and the other person most needs them, will always bring you closer than asking for them.
• Look to the other person’s positive intent as you hear ... Views: 630
Was it the butterscotch-colored walls, light coconut scent wafting through the door as I opened it or the cushy island of deep blue carpet under my feet as I stepped into the boutique hotel? I don’t know yet I instinctively sighed with relief. And that was before I saw the the smiling doorman ... Views: 627
When you most want to smash someone in the face or run out of the room, remember this irony. Cooling off someone else’s anger can be a way to actually bring that person closer. Warning: Don’t add fuel to the fire by suggesting that they calm down. Here are five ways to not only dampen their ... Views: 624
When things go wrong, we tend to blind ourselves to other’s feelings. We are more likely to fall into a destructive behavioral trap. Sadly, when we do, we cannot be empathic. We weaken that human bond that’s vital to re-grouping and resilience. These blinding mindsets make us feel dumb, ... Views: 618
Here are some quick, sometimes surprising clues: All Jokes Come Down to One of Four Themes
Anywhere in the world, all jokes can be reduced to just one of these themes, according to professor Richard Wiseman, a British psychologist who, via his LaughLab, conducted mass-participation experiments ... Views: 617
She’d been fidgeting for some while. Suddenly, she turned and started talking to me. For two hours we’d sat silently, side-by-side at the airport gate, waiting for our small commuter airplane. Leaning on the narrow metal armrest that divided our seats, she looked hesitant yet determined. “Now I ... Views: 604
Even though it’s been over a decade ago, I vividly recall my shock when sitting in a committee meeting for a non-profit. The chair asked us each to report back on the task we agreed to do. The second told us that she hadn’t started on her assignment because it had been a very busy month at work. ... Views: 602
A client once called us to order 5,000 copies of a slender book I wrote years ago. He said that he wished he'd called sooner, before the sides had hardened between the people in his corporation. Now several squabbling people were proving themselves right about why the others were wrong. ... Views: 601
With a warm smile on his face an elderly gentleman came up to speak to me after hearing my keynote on Ways to Live a More Meaningful Life and asked if he could tell me about an experience he’d had the previous week that made him decide not to retire for awhile after all. He told me he’d been a ... Views: 600
Even though it’s been over a decade ago, I vividly recall my shock when sitting, as a board member, in a committee meeting for a major non-profit. The chair asked us each to report back on the task we agreed to do. The second told us that she hadn’t started on her assignment because it had been ... Views: 595
We can all make wiser decisions by understanding these common mental traps we sometimes fall into:
1. The Confirming-Evidence Trap
This trap is the bias that leads us to seek out information to support our existing point of view while avoiding information that contradicts it. This bias not ... Views: 593
What do these stories have in common?
“Train hard, laugh harder” could have been the motto of the U.S. national soccer team when two-time Olympic gold medal winner, Julie Foudy, was captain, “the team’s comic relief and its social conscience” according to a New York Times article that cited her ... Views: 592
Try six research-based tips for turning the page to the next chapter of the adventure story we are truly meant to live.
1. Live Your Greatest Passion Despite Inevitable Risk
"Life is like a 10 speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use," Charles M. Schulz once wrote. Gretchen Rubin ... Views: 592
Five men are walking across the Golden Gate Bridge on an outing organized by their wives who are college friends. The women moved ahead in animated conversation. One man describes the engineering involved in the bridge's long suspension. Another man points to the changing tide lines below. A ... Views: 587
The Confirming-Evidence Trap
This trap is the bias that leads us to seek out information to support our existing point of view while avoiding information that contradicts it. This bias not only affects where we go to collect evidence to reinforce a current stance or perspective, but also how ... Views: 584
What’s it take to stay relevant in work today? That often cited and disputed study made famous by Malcolm Gladwell, it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery, is based on a study that covered those whose skills required repeated practice - surgeons, violinists, and athletes — notes Rookie Smarts ... Views: 582
#1. Tap the Little-Known Secret to First Impressions for Building Interest
Vala Afshar intuitively practices a little-known secret for attracting talented people as friends and colleagues. It’s an obvious truth, once stated. I saw it vividly demonstrated at Pivotcon.Via Twitter, I noticed how ... Views: 580
Get on the good side of prospective customers. Be seen where they are in a good mood. They’re more likely to buy your product, research shows. It’s the Halo Effect of being associated with people, products or situations that make them happy.
My friend, for example, gets excited about her ... Views: 577
What makes gatherings truly meaningful and memorable? It’s not necessarily how much money was spent, but rather how many positive, memorable moments an attendee recalls.
To get a handle on some of the positives and negatives of your meeting, start your planning with a “sensory exposure ... Views: 572
Q. Want to live faster or slower? A: Yes.
Want to savor food (or fashion) slowly but grow your career or business faster? Then, for your work, try a Speed Coaching event. From Hong Kong to Anaheim, this wildly popular format is being adopted to serve diverse crowds quickly. They range from ... Views: 569
When I was a Wall Street Journal journalist, I was sent to cover a football game in Barcelona. Later during the game in the stadium I was startled to see many spectators in the stadium yelling racist insults down at the renowned Brazilian footballer, the flying fullback Dani Alves. Capping it ... Views: 566
“Bad collaboration is worse than no collaboration,” Collaboration author, Morten T. Hansen emphatically concluded, yet you already knew that. Involving others in smart ways has sparked greater success in these five proven ways:
1. Combine Methods or Models From Different Domains
Richard ... Views: 563
That’s how Applebee’s attracted more customers – many first-time visitors – to their family restaurants one summer, without advertising more. When Weight Watchers designed and branded several low-cal menu items for Applebee’s, followers of the Weight Watchers program (and those who were thinking ... Views: 562
These three true stories share a vital trait that can you can adopt to boost your mood — and your value and visibility with others — as an individual and for your organization: Thief Apologizes And Returns Money To Nashville Market 11 Years Later, How Google Maps Led To the Rescue of A Los ... Views: 559
During a packed stadium game, several spectators yelled racist insults down at the renowned, Brazilian footballer, Barcelona’s flying fullback, Dani Alves.
Capping it off, an angry spectator who had been yelling epithets threw a banana down in front of Alves as he was walking back onto the ... Views: 557
When you most want to smash someone in the face or run out of the room, remember this irony. Cooling off someone else’s anger can be a way to actually bring that person closer. Warning: Don’t add fuel to the fire by suggesting that they calm down. Here are five ways to not only dampen their ... Views: 555
When you most want to smash someone in the face or run out of the room, remember this irony. Cooling off someone else’s anger can be a way to actually bring that person closer. Warning: Don’t add fuel to the fire by suggesting that they calm down. Here are five ways to not only dampen their ... Views: 553
After being honored in a tribute a tribute at the Kennedy Center Way back in 2013 the renowned musician, Carlos Santana, was interviewed by several eager reporters. He was often asked about the musicians he most admired, the turning points in his life and how it felt to be popular again. Yet, ... Views: 552
Coincidences are often signs of synchronicity, yet they aren’t as obvious as
some you may see, unless you are looking for patterns. Then you can notice what you are choosing to notice. Ironically I discovered Daniel Johnson’s article online about meaningful coincidences by accident because ... Views: 546
Sunny Summer is past. The upcoming holidays are times of great loving and loneliness and we often don’t know who is experiencing which. For many it is a bit of both. For us all this can be a prime time for kindness, sometimes simply by sharing what we have.
And kindness is often unspoken. ... Views: 545
1. TRUST AND LIKEABILITY GO HAND-IN-HAND
Adopt a proven, counter-intuitive way to seem likable to others. One of the biggest misconceptions about connecting is seeking, first, to be liked. In fact, the counter-intuitive way to get someone to like you is in knowing this core truth: If they like ... Views: 544
These three true stories share a vital trait that you can adopt to boost your mood — and your value and visibility with others — as an individual and for your organization: Thief Apologizes And Returns Money To Nashville Market 11 Years Later, How Google Maps Led To the Rescue of A Los Angles ... Views: 542
Why do we instinctively like some people and find others irritating or worse?
What makes us agree, buy, help . . . or not? Do your gut instincts help or hinder your “LQ” – Likeability Quotient? From an expert on gut instincts, gain insights about how to say it better next time. Answer this ... Views: 536
“The smaller the coffin, the heavier it is to carry,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told CNN host Christiane Amanpour. Then he went on to describe a Taliban massacre where many children were killed. As if didn’t try to evoke an emotion with grand generalizations. Instead he generated ... Views: 524
Get on the good side of prospective customers. Be seen where they are in a good mood. They’re more likely to buy your product, research shows. It’s the Halo Effect of being associated with people, products or situations that make them happy.
My friend, for example, gets excited about her ... Views: 522
There is widespread anxiety these days about technology taking away our jobs. There are several dire and comforting scenarios ahead points out Derek Thompson in a fascinating, in-depth article in The Atlantic: “A World Without Work.” Yet in his compelling book Humans Are Underrated, Geoff Colvin ... Views: 521
There is widespread anxiety these days about technology taking away our jobs. There are several dire and comforting scenarios ahead points out Derek Thompson in a fascinating, in-depth article in The Atlantic: “A World Without Work.” Yet in his compelling book Humans Are Underrated, Geoff Colvin ... Views: 520