THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Personality

“Personality has the power to open many doors, but character must keep them open.” - Unknown

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Seven Personality Traits of Top Salespeople

If you ask an extremely successful salesperson, "What makes you different from the average sales rep?" you will most likely get a less-than-accurate answer, if any answer at all. Frankly, the person may not even know the real answer because most successful salespeople are simply doing what comes naturally.

Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of interviewing thousands of top business-to-business salespeople who sell for some of the world's leading companies. I've also administered personality tests to 1,000 of them. My goal was to measure their five main personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and negative emotionality) to better understand the characteristics that separate them their peers.

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How to Win Friends & Influence People
by Dale Carnegie

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Transformation

“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.” - Napoleon Hill

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Trend Hunting on the Periphery

One of the challenges facing market leaders is that transformational trends are only obvious when it is too late. Transformation typically starts in seemingly disconnected industries, or as innocent offerings targeting completely different customer segments.

To spot transformational trends early, companies need to follow the guidance of Wharton professor George Day and long-time McKinsey & Co. thought leader (and current Innosight board member) Richard Foster: they need to experience the peripheries of their industry.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

How to Win Friends & Influence People
by Dale Carnegie

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Behavior

“The strength of an ideal is measured by its influence on our behavior” - María Rosa Martínez F

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Twitter: Technology for Scaling Good

Three years ago, I developed "Random Acts of Shaqness" — Twitter stunts designed to help Shaquille O'Neal bridge the virtual and physical worlds by, for example by posing like a statue in Harvard Square so fans could take pictures with him. Shaq wanted to surprise and delight his fans, to connect with them and make smiles scalable. No doubt this was a brand play at the time, and one that worked. Random Acts of Shaqness has been wildly popular and helped change the nature of O'Neal's endorsement deals to include social media.

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I Have a Dream by Rashmi Bansal

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Survival

“It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value” - Unknown

TOPIC OF THE DAY

The Six Keys to Surviving on the Road

I was walking through the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose one day last week just before 6 pm, feeling a bit bleary after three consecutive weeks flying back and forth across the country to visit five different cities.

The question at hand was whether or not to attend a cocktail party being thrown by my corporate hosts. Then I spotted the spa. Impulsively, I walked in and asked if I might be able to book a massage. Minutes later, I was lying on a table, unbelievably happy to be there. When I walked out an hour later, I felt incredibly relaxed and rejuvenated.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

I Have a Dream by Rashmi Bansal

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Business

“Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in man.” - Unknown

TOPIC OF THE DAY

To Catch a Liar

In business, there is no shortage of lies. People tell them at all levels — sometimes to seek a payoff and other times to avoid responsibility, some lying with guilt and others lying with a habitual delight [PDF].

But the complexity of business makes lies hard to detect. In business settings, liars manipulate people and evade giving answers, so they easily fall under the radar. One way to deflect liars is to look for and understand their behavioral clues, or use what's called the entrapment defense, which is when the liar confirms a statement that the speaker merely assumes to be true.

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I Have a Dream by Rashmi Bansal

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Adversity

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn.” - Author Unknown

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Diagnose and Eliminate Workplace Bullying

As a turnaround strategist, I see a lot of companies in dire straits, where tempers flare easily and interpersonal problems have been allowed to flourish unchecked. Helping clients innovate while saving their companies frequently involves confronting a bully or bullying regime. In twenty years of experience, I've learned the differences between hard-charging bosses and executives who push for positive organizational results aggressively, and bullies who calculate patterns of fear to manipulate self-serving outcomes.

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Introduction To Data Mining With Case Studies (Paperback) by G. K. Gupta

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Survival

“If my survival caused another to perish, then death would be sweeter and more beloved. ” - Khalil Gibran

TOPIC OF THE DAY

The Six Keys to Surviving on the Road

I was walking through the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose one day last week just before 6 pm, feeling a bit bleary after three consecutive weeks flying back and forth across the country to visit five different cities.

The question at hand was whether or not to attend a cocktail party being thrown by my corporate hosts. Then I spotted the spa. Impulsively, I walked in and asked if I might be able to book a massage. Minutes later, I was lying on a table, unbelievably happy to be there. When I walked out an hour later, I felt incredibly relaxed and rejuvenated.

It was a powerful reminder of a core principle we teach our clients: The greater the performance demand, the greater the need for intermittent renewal. It's just common sense. If you're spending down more energy than usual, you need to refuel yourself more than usual.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

I Have a Dream by Rashmi Bansal

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Rest

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” - Chinese Proverb

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Go Ahead, Take that Break

Last weekend, like every weekend, I scrawled a long list of things to do on an old envelope. But unlike most weekends, instead of tethering myself to a computer and working, I sat in my backyard alongside my 10 year-old daughter in our collapsible camping chairs, reading novels. I wish I could tell you that this was a bona fide afternoon of rest and relaxation (R&R). Not quite. In flinging aside my agenda, my workaholic self felt more than a little bit naughty. In fact, a more accurate descriptor of that afternoon would have been rebellion — with a little relaxation on the side (R&r).

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LATEST ARRIVALS

I Have a Dream by Rashmi Bansal

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Happy

“Be happy for this moment.This moment is your life. ” - Omar Khayyam

TOPIC OF THE DAY

How IBM Is Changing Its HR Game

As IBM celebrates its 100th birthday, many observers are rightly calling attention to the many strategic changes the company put itself through to remain relevant amidst dramatic technological and economic change. But one of the biggest transformations IBM went through is less about computers and more about culture. Over the last decade and a half, the company has realigned its HR practices and strategies to move away from the analog ways of the past and to embrace a variety of 21st century approaches, including some highly unconventional ones.

A first step in changing its HR profile occurred back in the mid-1990s when the company dropped its famous dress code requiring a dark suit and "sincere" tie in favor of "business casual." Next, the company that grew powerful in the early 20th century largely by manufacturing punch clocks got rid of "badging in" for a substantial portion of its workforce. According to the company, a full 40% percent of IBM's 400,000 global employees now work remotely.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

I Have a Dream by Rashmi Bansal

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Smile

“Most smiles are started by another smile. ” - Frank Howard Clark

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Do You Want To Discover The Truth About Your Projects?

The different types of project review each have their own characteristics and benefits. For any review however it is important to decide what the overall purpose is, and who should gain what from the output. This step is missed out in many cases and the design of the review is not given sufficient attention. Standard methodologies for carrying out project reviews can be helpful, but must be supplemented by intelligent thought! In the author's experience a review should consider both the project management standards and the subject matter of the project. Mistakes in either or both of these can lead to disaster, and it can take considerable skill and knowledge to uncover the truth.

If you are responsible for a project's success then you need the truth, and you are responsible for setting the principles and scope that will govern how effective the review will be in uncovering that truth. In particular you need to pick the reviewer so that you understand what bias is likely to be reflected in the results. Bias can arise from background, review methodology or political interests; and may not be intentional.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

I Have a Dream by Rashmi Bansal

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Decision

“When one bases his life on principle, 99 percent of his decisions are already made.” - Unknown

TOPIC OF THE DAY

How to Make a High-Stakes Decision

Even the most decisive manager can be thrown into despair when faced with a high-stakes matter. We make decisions every day without noticing, but a career-making (or breaking) challenge requires thought and deliberation. It's unlikely that a single approach will serve you every time. However, there are key factors you should consider to ensure you reach a sound conclusion.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Managing and Leading Software Projects Richard E. Fairley

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Transformation

“The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it.” - Marcus Aurelius

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Trend Hunting on the Periphery

The other week, I was in Beijing facilitating a company offsite. The company had absolutely no operations in Beijing, and no plans to start operations there. It is a disciplined operator, so this wasn't a junket either. So, what was the company doing in Beijing? It was smartly spending time at the periphery of its industry.

One of the challenges facing market leaders is that transformational trends are only obvious when it is too late. Transformation typically starts in seemingly disconnected industries, or as innocent offerings targeting completely different customer segments.

To spot transformational trends early, companies need to follow the guidance of Wharton professor George Day and long-time McKinsey & Co. thought leader (and current Innosight board member) Richard Foster: they need to experience the peripheries of their industry.

Read on

LATEST ARRIVALS

India's economy By Shankar Acharya

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Strategy

“Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy. ” - Rudy Giuliani

TOPIC OF THE DAY

How to Create a Strategy: a Case Study

Clients often tell me they're not really clear about the concept of Strategy. It's a lot easier than you might think. Strategy is one of the steps in the planning process and cycle. The sequence in the business planning process is Vision, Mission, Goals, Strategy.

Vision is where you start and is the most abstract. Once clarified it become the guiding light toward which all your activities will be directed. Your Mission is what you do in your business to carry out your Vision. Goals are specific measurables that define what will exist when you've realized your Vision. The Strategy step is the thinking through of how you will achieve those Goals.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

India's economy By Shankar Acharya

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Logic

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ” - Albert Einstein

TOPIC OF THE DAY

The Paradox of Logic

The usual view of logic is that "natural logic" - sometimes called "native wit" - is inborn. Logic is the art and science of communication. Anything we believe or wonder about or disbelieve needs a logical base; everything thinkable has some initial credibility at first glance, but we are for this very reason required to further evaluate it, otherwise contradictories would be equally true.

Generally, our decision making involves the mind (or the brain) sensory mechanism, perception, cognition and the expression of results. We often will feel, perceive, think, remember and reason in an adaptive conscious and unconscious manner. In our daily lives, when we are faced with problems or just a situation which require a decision, we are often reminded to apply logic and reasoning for the most desired results. Hence, this is a basic reason why logic and reason are so essential in our lives


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Managing and leading software projects
By Richard E. Fairley

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Risk

“Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing. ” - Warren Buffett

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Ethics in the Workplace

We’ve all heard these rules to live by: Don’t hurt, don’t steal, don’t lie, and the more famous “Do unto others as you would have done to you.” In our personal lives most people try to follow these rules. Ethics are often thought of by many as something that is related to the personal side of life and not to the business side. In some businesses, having ethics may actually be frowned upon. This is usually due to the fact that business is about doing what’s best for the bottom line and not always about doing the right thing.

It is commonly understood that there are ethics and then there are workplace ethics. Often we don’t stop to realize that there is no difference between personal ethics and ethics in the workplace; ethics are the same whether at work or in personal life.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Future

“Without forgiveness, there's no future. ” - Desmond Tutu

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Creating Your Future

Creating the future for your company or association is the exciting work of strategic planning. Allen Liff, in "Learning How to Create the Future," published by Association Management, August 1997, outlines five important lessons in planning for the future.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Time

“Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities. .” - Daniel J. Boorstin

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Green Recruitment

Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at an organization or firm. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies.
The recruitment industry has five main types of agencies: employment agencies, recruitment websites and job search engines, "headhunters" for executive and professional recruitment, niche agencies which specialize in a particular area of staffing, or employer branding strategy and in-house recruitment. The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by advertising or other methods, and screening and selecting potential candidates using tests or interviews.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Views

“A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” - Muhammad Ali

TOPIC OF THE DAY

We Can't Agree to Disagree

"If [fill in the person] thinks I've bought in, they're crazy."

"Even if [fill in the group] doesn't believe in our current vision, they'll believe when they see it."

"I don't think [fill in the project] even matters to our customers."

These are not the kinds of comments any of us utter if we know "the boss" could hear them. But each of us can likely remember a time in our career where we said it, or heard it. It's tempting to think that people who aren't on board will eventually "self-select out of the organization" or, if you're the boss, you'll never have to be that hard-ass who says, "Sorry, but this is just how it is."

href="http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/05/we_cant_agree_to_disagree.html?cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-management_tip-_-tip080211&referral=00203&utm_source=newsletter_management_tip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tip080211"> Read on

LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Friend

“A friend is sweet when it is new. And it is sweeter when it is true. But you know what? It is sweetest when it is you.” - Unknown

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Crack the Hidden Job Market

I often hear British graduates expressing something like a physical revulsion at the idea that they might have to network their way into a job. The UK recently had a minor scandal about the fact that young people with great social connections find themselves in the top internships. Workers used to an equal opportunities culture often express ethical objections to the idea that you might talk your way into a short-list of one simply through opportunity or connections. Surely all jobs need to be advertised, if not just for fairness but to guarantee a strong talent pool?

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Consumers

“Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.” - Stanley Marcus

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Coca-Cola Marketing Shifts from Impressions to Expressions

A lot of us remember when the role of the CMO was much simpler. Information flowed in one direction: from companies to consumers. When we drew up our plans and budgets, the key metric was consumer impressions: how many people would see, hear or read our ad?

Today the only place that approach still works is on Mad Men. Now information flows in many directions, consumer touch points have multiplied, and the old, one-size-fits-all approach has given way to precision marketing and one-to-one communications. Perhaps the most consequential change is how consumers have become empowered to create their own content about our brands and share it throughout their networks and beyond. It has changed my role as the chief marketing and commercial officer at Coca-Cola, and the company's approach to consumer engagement as we work to double our business by 2020.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Time

“Nobody can manage time. But we can manage those things that take up our time.” - Manish Thakkar

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Business Customers Are Digital. Shouldn't Your Marketing Be?

Are you skeptical about using digital and social media in business marketing? Think it's only for consumers, and that business customers don't have time for it? Your competitors don't think so. And they are gaining competitive advantage by embracing new digital and social methods of connecting with their customers.

Those tools are fast becoming the single most important way to attract new business customers and sustain old ones. Search has become one of the most efficient ways to create and optimize leads. Customers are hungry for more and different kinds of digital content, and new ways to network and engage online.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Ethics

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. ” - Potter Stewart

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Ethics in Marketing Research

Abstract :

This article addresses the growing concern over violation of research ethics in marketing, in particular rights of human subjects in fieldwork, notably the right to informed consent; right to privacy and confidentiality; and right not to be deceived or harmed as a result of participation in a research. The Article highlights the interaction of the three main parties involved in most marketing research: the sponsoring organization (client or user), researcher, and participant in the survey, focusing on researcher's ethical responsibilities in interacting with human subjects in surveys.

Ethics in Marketing Research

Introduction: Today, it is far too easy to begin practicing marketing research. But unethical research practice relying on poor information to make major decision has resulted in loss of market share, reduction in profits, and, in some cases, bankruptcy.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Defining moments by Joseph Badaracco

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Safe

“If you play it safe in life you've decided that you don't want to grow any more. ” - Shirley Hufstedler

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Save Smart and Stay Safe!!

The irony is that while money is responsible for only a small piece of your overall happiness, it can rob you of happiness completely. Of course, you can lead a happy life provided you learn to control your hard-earned money.

M-O-N-E-Y C-O-N-T-R-O-L….some reality bites

* The more control you have over your finances, the fewer money stresses you have (and less stress of course translates to more happiness!).

* Many things about money are beyond our control, But a lot is within our control.

For eg. while you can't control the markets, you can control how much you invest. You can't control the company you work for, but you can choose to save some amount of cash and get a good night's sleep even if your industry is hit by layoffs.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Does the Elephant Dance? Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy by David M. Malone

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Leader

“A true leader is one who leads by example and sacrifices more than anyone else, in his or her pursuit of excellence.” - N.R. Narayana Murthy, Infosys

TOPIC OF THE DAY

The Study: Ramacharithamanasa and Leadership

Ramacharithamanasa is the story of leaders and their sacrifices. It is the story of different kind of characters and their different style of behavior, attitude, communication and leadership style.

Now day's leadership is the most happening topic. We have various definitions and philosophies on leadership. We are human beings and God has granted us some specific quality and virtue to perform our work, which may relate from our personal life or professional life. Being a human we have to perform various duties but it is always very difficult to divide ourselves for performing different roles. In the organization we play various roles: As a leader, an implementer while in the personal life we play the roles of a son, father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, friend etc. For playing these various roles perfectly we have to manage ourselves for in the modern world there are lot of stresses and pressures so it is very essential for us to manage ourselves and release stresses so that we can perform our work efficiently.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches by Becky M "Becky"

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Reality

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality. ” - John Lennon

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Choosing Our Reality

An optimist expects the best possible outcome and dwells on the most hopeful aspects of a situation. He or she believes that this is the best of all possible worlds, the universe is improving, and good will ultimately triumph over evil. An optimist believes no one ever ruined their eyesight by looking at the bright side of life. Research on Emotional Intelligence, Attribution Theory (see Martin Seligman's outstanding book Learned Optimism), and related fields show that optimists not only go farther in life, they also have a much better time on the trip. Optimists are generally healthier, happier, and leaders in their fields.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches by Becky M "Becky"