Once you understand your own intuition, it’s time to teach others. You’re a successful woman. You’ve worked hard to get where you are (and where you’re going!) and a good part of that is by learning how to listen to and analyze your intuition. I’m sure that you have employees that you rely on to help you finish projects and handle various tasks and I’m sure that there are one or two that you would like to mentor and teach some of your “secrets” so that they can find success as much as you have. Well, one of the things you’re probably going to have to teach them…
Enchantment
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Most Topular Stories
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Coaching Others to Develop a Strong Intuition
Karen Keller, Ph.D.8 May 2012 | 5:17 am -
eCairn Conversation™ Updated
Influencers & Community Marketing7 May 2012 | 8:41 amToday, we’re thrilled to announce that eCairn Conversation™ has been improved with numerous new and updated features. The benefits our users have been experiencing with blogs for several years are now available on Twitter and Facebook and they are now available through a brand new Influencer-centric interface. More than ever, eCairn is the most powerful solution to find and work with influencers. Here’s a short video about it In this update, you get: A completely revamped influencer-centric community tab so that you can: Browse at a glance your favorite influencers. Research… -
Selling raffle tickets
ChangingMinds Blog10 May 2012 | 7:00 pmHere's a method I used to sell loads of raffle tickets! -
She’s lost control
Mind Hacks15 May 2012 | 7:38 amAn article in Slate claims to have detectected a ‘logic hole’ in how much sympathy we feel for people with mental illness as both psychopathy and autism are ‘biological disorders’ that people ‘can’t help’ but we feel quite differently about people affected by them. The ‘logic hole’, however, doesn’t exist because it is based on misunderstanding of the role of neuroscience in understanding behaviour and a caricature of what it means to have ‘no control’ over a condition. Here’s what the article claims: In the piece… -
How To Encourage People To Change Their Own Minds
PsyBlog9 May 2012 | 10:08 amSelf-persuasion: let people talk themselves around to your point of view. Changing people's minds is hard. We resist having our attitudes adjusted by others, especially when the message isn't directly relevant to us and we aren't paying that much attention. But what if you could get people to change their own minds? People will listen to themselves and will automatically generate arguments that have personal relevance for them. It's not as crazy as it sounds. Actually people are being encouraged to persuade themselves all the time. Here are a few examples: When a parent wants to change a…
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Influencers & Community Marketing
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eCairn Conversation™ Updated
7 May 2012 | 8:41 amToday, we’re thrilled to announce that eCairn Conversation™ has been improved with numerous new and updated features. The benefits our users have been experiencing with blogs for several years are now available on Twitter and Facebook and they are now available through a brand new Influencer-centric interface. More than ever, eCairn is the most powerful solution to find and work with influencers. Here’s a short video about it In this update, you get: A completely revamped influencer-centric community tab so that you can: Browse at a glance your favorite influencers. Research… -
Liquor.com CEO talking about Social Marketing and eCairn!
23 Apr 2012 | 4:14 pmListen to how Liquor.com believes the next big thing in Social Media Marketing is Advanced Social Influencer Marketing using eCairn ( at 55m40s if youtube does not bring you right there) As a thank you back, here are some data points about the share of voice of three top brands in the Cocktail community. Diageo comes first with 0.55 share of voice, then Pernod Ricard with 0.53 and 0.33 with Bacardi. Pretty interesting to compare with respective 2011 revenues. -
We Have Moved to a New Office!
23 Apr 2012 | 2:04 pmWe are excited to announce that the team here at eCairn US has moved to a new location in Mountain View! Over the past year we’d moved within the same building from upstairs, to downstairs, to two doors over. Our old office served us well, and looking back we’ve accomplished a lot and had great memories there, including winning the Forrester Groundswell Awards, being featured by influencers such as Guy Kawasaki, and Brian Solis, as well as speaking at Blogworld LA. This is a few weeks after the team at eCairn France also moved to a beautiful location in Grenoble. Here are a few… -
Digital Influence Renaisance
22 Mar 2012 | 2:32 pm“Resonance is a result of reach and relevance and determines how long something stays alive in the stream before attention dissipates.” –Brian Solis (The Rise of Digital Influence, 2012) In Brian Solis‘s new report, “The Rise of Digital Influence“, he sheds new light into the realm of influence. As one of the hottest trends in social media, influencer marketing is often misunderstood. The constantly evolving landscape makes it difficult for companies to find points of engagement in the social web, but at this time we seem to have reached a renaissance era… -
Facebook Fan Pages: What Changed and What Does It Mean?
7 Mar 2012 | 6:24 pmThis is a guest post by Andreas Ramos, Director of Search Strategy at Acxiom. andreas.com facebook.com/andreas.work Andreas Ramos develops strategies and tactics for social media at Acxiom. Author of “Search Engine Marketing” (McGraw-Hill) and six other books on web technology. His book was also published by Tsing Hua University (Beijing), which also uses his courseware. Andreas has been in Silicon Valley for 15 years, where he has worked at SGI, SUN, Brio, and other companies. ——————- On March 1st, Facebook (FB) rolled out the biggest change in several…
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ChangingMinds Blog
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Selling raffle tickets
10 May 2012 | 7:00 pmHere's a method I used to sell loads of raffle tickets! -
Attentional bias and religion
3 May 2012 | 7:00 pmSome religions encourage detail, others encourage big picture thinking. Interesting! -
The limits to advertising
26 Apr 2012 | 7:00 pmMore ads is not the answer and in the end, you will find the economic limit. -
Selling the house
19 Apr 2012 | 7:00 pmThe way houses are sold in the UK is changing... -
Assertion or Persuasion in Politics
12 Apr 2012 | 7:00 pmThe USA Republicans are talking assertively. Should they be more persuasive?
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Mind Hacks
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She’s lost control
15 May 2012 | 7:38 amAn article in Slate claims to have detectected a ‘logic hole’ in how much sympathy we feel for people with mental illness as both psychopathy and autism are ‘biological disorders’ that people ‘can’t help’ but we feel quite differently about people affected by them. The ‘logic hole’, however, doesn’t exist because it is based on misunderstanding of the role of neuroscience in understanding behaviour and a caricature of what it means to have ‘no control’ over a condition. Here’s what the article claims: In the piece… -
A look inside digital humanity
11 May 2012 | 7:25 amBBC Radio 4 has just started an excellent series called The Digital Human that looks at how we use technology and how it affects our relationship to the social world. It’s written and presented by psychologist Aleks Krotoski and the first two episodes are already online. The first discusses the tendency to capture and display personal media through sites like Flickr and YouTube but, so far, the stand-out episode has been the second which discusses the presentation of self online and how much control we have over it. I think it’s going to be a six-part series so there should be… -
Sex survey a let down in bed
9 May 2012 | 3:27 pmA ‘saucy sex survey’ has been doing the rounds in the media that claims to be one of the largest studies on the sex lives of UK citizens. Unfortunately, it seems to be a bit of a let down in bed. The study has been carried out by an unholy alliance between one of the country’s most respected relationship counselling charities, Relate, and the Ann Summers chain of sex shops but, sadly, it seems the commercial fluff has won out over the genuine insight. I’m a big fan of Relate. They provide sex and relationship counselling regardless of status, sexuality or income and do… -
How the British missed a trip
8 May 2012 | 8:18 amThe first ever medical report on the effects of magic mushrooms is featured in an article in Current Biology. The excerpt is from a 1799 report entitled ‘On A Poisonous Species of Agaric’ from an issue of The London Medical and Physical Journal. The psychological effects of hallucinogenic, or ‘magic’ mushrooms were first documented in the medical literature in 1799: a forty year-old father of four, JS, collected wild mushrooms in London’s Green Park and cooked them as a stew for breakfast for himself and his four young children. The apothecary Everard Brande described… -
As addictive as cupcakes
7 May 2012 | 6:51 amIf I read the phrase “as addictive as cocaine” one more time I’m going to hit the bottle. Anything that is either overused, pleasurable or has become vaguely associated with the dopamine system is compared to cocaine. In fact, here is a list of things claimed to be as addictive as the illegal nose powder in the popular press: World of Warcraft Power Nicotine Junk food High-Fructose Corn Syrup Ice cream Cannabis Love Gambling Fatty foods Porn Facebook Sugar Cupcakes Running Stories And here is a scientifically verified list of things genuinely addictive as cocaine: Cocaine In…
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PsyBlog
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How To Encourage People To Change Their Own Minds
9 May 2012 | 10:08 amSelf-persuasion: let people talk themselves around to your point of view. Changing people's minds is hard. We resist having our attitudes adjusted by others, especially when the message isn't directly relevant to us and we aren't paying that much attention. But what if you could get people to change their own minds? People will listen to themselves and will automatically generate arguments that have personal relevance for them. It's not as crazy as it sounds. Actually people are being encouraged to persuade themselves all the time. Here are a few examples: When a parent wants to change a… -
Five Effortless Postures that Foster Creative Thinking
27 Apr 2012 | 4:28 amLiterally sitting outside a box, rather than in it, makes you more creative, according to new psychological research. There are lots of metaphors floating around in creativity. We talk about 'thinking outside the box', 'putting two and two together' and 'seeing both sides of the problem'. But are these only metaphors or can we boost our creativity by taking them literally? We know our minds interact in all sorts of interesting ways with our bodies, so what if we enacted these metaphors physically? That's the question Leung et al. (2012) examine in a new study published in the journal… -
What “The Love Bridge” Tells Us About How Thoughts and Emotions Interact
17 Apr 2012 | 12:11 pmHow much control do you have over your emotions? Have you ever wondered why one person can speak in public without apparent nerves while another crumples under pressure? Or why one elite athlete can shake off their nerves to win Olympic gold while another chokes? Even with ample experience some people never seem to learn to cope with their emotions. A key insight comes from a controversial psychology study carried out on a rickety bridge by Dutton and Aron (1973). The love bridge Men crossing the bridge were approached by an attractive woman who asked them to fill out a survey. The men were… -
Do Posh People Cheat More Than the Lower Classes?
3 Apr 2012 | 12:24 pmWho cheats more: the lower classes to escape poverty or the upper classes because they feel entitled? Imagine two people: one from the upper classes and one from the lower classes. Let's say our lower class individual works in a factory, lives in a small house in an average area and receives a relatively small salary. Our upper class individual, though, has inherited money, lives in a large house in a beautiful area and doesn't need to work for money. Now let's say both these individuals are driving along in their cars (one cheap, one expensive), when they approach a pedestrian crossing… -
Want to Improve Your Attention? Wear a White Coat
30 Mar 2012 | 11:39 amThe power of 'enclothed cognition': how what you wear affects how you think. It's surprising how much simple movements of the body can affect the way we think. Using expansive gestures with open limbs makes us feel more powerful, crossing your arms makes you more persistent and lying down can bring more insights (read more here: 10 Simple Postures That Boost Performance). So if moving the body can have these effects, what about the clothes we wear? We're all well aware of how dressing up in different ways can make us feel more attractive, sporty or professional, depending on the outfit, but…
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Neuromarketing
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Finally: 2012 Super Bowl Ad Neuro-Rankings
15 May 2012 | 10:04 amEvery year, we look forward to how the Super Bowl ads stacked up from a neuromarketing standpoint, courtesy of Sands Research. It’s taken a little longer this year, but the results are in! Pepsi Dominates One company, Pepsi, swept the top two spots this year. Their “Kings Court” and “Pepsi Max Checkout” ranked #1 and [...] CommentsWhich one is the “Brotherhood of Man” ad? I thought that ... by RezwanThe precision of determining an actual emotion (vs. magnitude ... by Roger DooleyI wonder if they have the ability to differentiate between ... by A. -
Our Brains Make Facebook Worth $90 Billion
10 May 2012 | 1:03 pmThose of us involved in social media know that people love to talk about themselves. They seemingly enjoy sharing the trivial, the personal, and occasionally the weird, details of their lives. Sometimes they overshare – as a longtime online community builder, I’ve found that “poster’s remorse” is common – people post something too personal and [...] CommentsThis reminds me of Dale Carnegie's principles, and the number ... by SamuelI've always been curious as to why people answer questions at ... by JamesNoting though that all individuals are a… -
Does Your Domain Say “Trust Me?”
9 May 2012 | 6:38 amDo web searchers pay attention to the domain where the link in the search results leads them? A few years ago, I would have said “no.” For years, I’ve operated or advised websites that ranked at or near the top for various brand names, and found many users assumed the site WAS that brand. Even [...] Comments[...] in No TimeBuild Trust With Your Domain NameThis week, one ... by Red Paper Clip » Build Trust With Your Domain Name » Red Paper Clip[...] on http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com Share ... by Does Your Domain Say “Trust Me?” « Things I grab,… -
When Encouragement Can Hurt Your Child
2 May 2012 | 6:54 amHere’s another rare foray into neuro-parenting. In How to Praise Your Child, I described research that showed telling your child he/she is smart could actually backfire and have negative effects on performance. It turns out there’s another kind of encouragement that can hurt performance rather than improve it. Group vs. Individual New research published in [...] CommentsI agree. I believe praising the effort is the better thing to ... by frivWhat's really going in a situation like this? Could telling a ... by SamuelI have found comparing a child's progress to other groups… -
Neuromarketing Proof? UCLA Brain Scans Predict Ad Success
27 Apr 2012 | 6:55 amFor years neuromarketing firms have been selling their services to help advertisers optimize TV commercials, product packaging, and other media. While these companies all claim success in helping their clients boost sales, there’s been little in the way of published academic research that demonstrates measuring consumer brain activity can reliably predict subsequent behavior. A new [...] CommentsAmazing how little we really know about how our brains work. I ... by Samuel[...] [3] ... by Open science « Isabellemitchell's BlogRoger, exactly my point: It all depends on the…
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Webcredible blog
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Webcredible are recruiting 2 UX consultants!
15 May 2012 | 3:10 amWe’re currently looking for 2 very talented people to join our growing consulting team in London. If you have 1-2 years experience and have a desire to work on a variety of challenging usability, design & IA projects check out our UX consultant role. If you have at least 3-4 years under your belt delivering outstanding UX projects we’re also recruiting a senior UX consultant. Have a read through the job descriptions, send over your CV to uxjobs@webcredible.co.uk and you could be working here sooner than you think! -
What is engaging content?
11 May 2012 | 4:53 amOur clients sometimes want to know how to make their content engaging. This is the Holy Grail – publishing content that site visitors will want to stay for. So, content writers are duly called in, UX designers make the content easy to find, and visual designers make it look appealing. And the result is…well, often it’s dull. This isn’t just because it’s hard to make some corporate messages or offerings exciting when they’re inherently unexciting, although that is sometimes the case. So a new rallying cry is delivered from boardrooms: Set up a Facebook page, invite comments from… -
Insight led innovation
8 May 2012 | 7:46 amDriving innovation through customer experience and insight is a great way for brands to gain new competitive advantages, improve customer loyalty and deliver on business and marketing goals. At the Digital Health Check event run by Figaro Digital in March I explored this subject area in a presentation to demonstrate how insight led innovation can actually be done, and the benefits that can be reaped by implementing it. I really hoped you enjoyed the presentation but if you missed it here’s the slide deck for you to look through to help inspire your next insight led innovation with real… -
The Voice: The Voting Nightmare
4 May 2012 | 7:47 amHaving never been much of a fan of TV talent shows, it was something of a surprise to me that I got sucked in by The Voice. Maybe it’s the fact that contestants are judged on their voice, not their image. Or the judge/coaches: lovable Action Man figure Will.i.am, sassy Jessie J telling it how it is, feisty Danny O’Donoghue delivering the blarney and Sir Tom Jones presiding over them all as benevolent National Treasure. Or perhaps it’s the contestants: belting out power ballads as if their lives depend on it. Anyway it’s hard not to be swept up in the whole hype of it all. You could… -
What’s happening at Webcredible
1 May 2012 | 5:39 amWith the Easter holiday washed away by the April rain showers we are unbelievably already in May… the Olympics are really coming round fast and we’ve heard that if you don’t have tickets yet they’ll be releasing some more tickets some time after May 6th (ready, set, website crash!) It has been a great month at Webcredible, we’ve been exploring some really interesting business options, our training academy has been really busy either side of the Easter break and, we had our first ever occurrence of Birthday bread (one of our senior UX consultants can’t…
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Copyblogger
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What Does it Take to Write a Billion-Dollar Marketing Story?
16 May 2012 | 6:00 amIn 1984, two artists used a simple process to create a story that captivated an audience for years and generated billions of dollars in revenue. That same process is being used today by a master copywriter to attract hundreds of thousands of paying subscribers. With companies creating millions of web pages of content marketing, finding an untold story or a new angle can feel like an impossible task. Especially when you want to avoid creating a story so unique nobody understands it … or wants to pay for it. So how do you create a story that cuts through the noise and strikes at the heart… -
How to be a World-Changing Writer
15 May 2012 | 6:00 amAs a copywriter, you know that words have power. You know words can influence, inform, and inspire. They can persuade your fellow humans to do some amazing things (or to do the wrong things, but we won’t go there today). What you may not realize is that your words can change the world. Here’s something else that’s really cool that you might not have realized … The keys to world-changing writing are also the keys to damn good copywriting. But as you know, good writing doesn’t happen all by itself. So let’s talk about what it takes to be damned good …… -
WordPress Hosting That Means Business
14 May 2012 | 10:00 amDid you know Copyblogger Media has a WordPress hosting division? Many people don’t, because it’s been a bit under-the-radar. The whole thing started with our frustration with web hosting in general. Specifically, the fact that a lot of “WordPress hosting” amounts to generic one-click installation of the CMS on a standardly-configured box — which simply doesn’t cut it for optimal performance and security. So, last year we decided to manage our high-traffic network of content and product sites ourselves. We did this by bringing into the family a team of people who themselves… -
The Truth About Making Money While You Sleep
14 May 2012 | 6:00 amWant to hear about the day in the life of a so-called “successful entrepreneur?” Yesterday, I stayed in bed until about 2 PM. I watched the last few episodes of Mad Men. Around sunset, I took a leisurely stroll down the beach. When I got back, I hung out with a friend for a couple of hours, ate dinner, and went to bed. In other words … I goofed off. And while I was goofing off, my business generated a pretty decent chunk of revenue. You want to know the coolest part? I did absolutely nothing to “earn” it. I didn’t check my email. I didn’t talk to… -
7 Instructive Content Marketing Links
12 May 2012 | 8:00 amThis week on The Lede … Are Content Publishers Waking Up from Their App Dreams Nightmares? An Email Marketing Autoresponder Schedule that Sells 3 Quick Tips To Conquering Your Fear of Public Speaking Does Your Domain Say “Trust Me?” Why “Freemium” Fails for Startups: 3 Business Lessons from the Band New Order 5 Basic SEO Truths We Can Learn from Star Wars Peter Shankman on the Value of an Audience If you want to grab more useful links (than the seven we highlight here) every week, follow @copyblogger on Twitter. Are Content Publishers Waking Up from Their App Dreams…
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Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel
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Flexibility Steers You Toward Increased Sales
16 May 2012 | 4:30 amPutting a professional foot forward each and every time we conduct business is certainly ideal. But one of the best things you can do for yourself is to recognize everyone is human and we all make errors; yes, even us. Have you ever been late to show up at a meeting or phone someone, or even worse, double booked and needed to reschedule. Mistakes happen Should we be the one making the error, the best strategy is to quickly apologize to get past the embarrassment and heal the wound. The next step is to then ask for forgiveness. In the case where you recognize ahead of time you will be late,… -
Be My Guest: Hosting Guest Bloggers
15 May 2012 | 12:30 pmIf you are an expert in your field, chances are you are taking advantage of commenting on other blogs in your area, searching for opportunities to write for other outlets, and posting links to your blog to every possible social network in your name. Each of these strategies aims for one goal: to build your personal brand by increasing online traffic. A reversal to the common approach of building brand awareness by seeking out opportunities to be featured as a guest blogger for other sites within your area of expertise may be one to reflect on. Guest blogging has been proven to build brand… -
Why Fear Leads To Career Fouls
15 May 2012 | 4:30 amAt Pegasus Media World, I publish an author who deals with the silent killer of success: FEAR. It’s the stealth nature of fear that makes it so dangerous. You don’t typically recognize the majority of times when the deadliest emotion you can have in business is exactly what’s behind the self-sabotaging actions (or lack of actions) you take. Fear is often hard to recognize, because you think fear should feel like quaking in your boots – like how most people feel about public speaking. People who fear speaking to groups, feel this hair-raising, gut wrenching, dry mouth, heart pounding… -
How To Get Clients From A Conference Or Trade-show
14 May 2012 | 2:00 pmOver the course of a year, my company spent over $25,000 on conferences and trade-shows. Quite a lot of money for a start-up, but something that we found to be absolutely necessary to generate enterprise-level client leads and expand our pipeline. To see a return on our investment, we would need to generate over $25,000 worth of deals from these conferences. A feat that we achieved with flying colors. My company has built recognition in the franchise restaurant world because my team and I hustled extremely hard at each conference. We didn’t let the business come to us; instead, we… -
Creating Good Karma For Your Personal Brand
14 May 2012 | 4:30 amManaging your personal brand is essential to your success. You want to stand out among the crowd, be noticed, be invaluable. You don’t want to be someone who is easily replaced and easily forgotten. You want to be someone who people will listen to, look up to, and most importantly be remembered. To be a strong and successful personal brand, one of the most important things you need to have is a network of contacts. And it’s essential that you manage your relationship with those contacts well, to ensure that you have a smooth and hassle-free working relationship. As your brand or small…
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Forum One Blog Posts - All Blogs
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Mobile Solution: Responsive Design on ictQATAR
8 May 2012 | 10:31 amictQATAR is the website for the Supreme Council of Information Communication and Technology for the Government of Qatar, which is in charge of technology innovation and implementation throughout the country. Forum One has worked with ictQatar since 2010 to design, develop, and launch their current English-Arabic bilingual site on the Drupal 6 platform, and has continued to support them with usability and site enhancements since. ictQATAR is the website for the Supreme Council of Information Communication and Technology for the Government of Qatar, which is in charge of technology… -
Nonprofit Technology Conference 2012: Our Reflections
3 May 2012 | 11:07 amAfter sometime to reflect on the ongoings of NTEN's 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference, we wanted to share our thoughts on what we learned, gained and enjoyed about the conference. After sometime to reflect on the ongoings of NTEN's Nonprofit Technology Conference, we wanted to share our thoughts on what we learned, gained and enjoyed about the conference. read more -
GovTech Reports on Drupal Adoption
27 Apr 2012 | 11:31 amWith over 150 federal government sites powered by Drupal, the open-source CMS is more than ever meeting the needs of big sites. GovTech.com, a top source of government IT news, reported today on the many new government sites that are confidently adopting Drupal as their CMS. Agencies have overcome concerns about security, integration, and departure from Microsoft products. They are now realizing that Drupal’s flexibility make it the most cost-effective solution. Our own CTO, Kurt Voelker, was quoted in the article: With over 150 federal government sites powered by Drupal, the… -
Drupal Tutorial: Pushing Drupal 6 Core Auto-Complete
23 Apr 2012 | 4:20 pmRecently I had the task of creating a form that utilized an auto-complete text field that filtered on a specific field of a table. This seemed like a great candidate to use the core auto-complete and after a sprint of information gathering I had what I thought would be enough. After delivery I learned that there was one surprise feature. The auto-complete text field needs to be able to have filters applied to it via-form filter dropdown. Recently I had the task of creating a form that utilized an auto-complete text field that filtered on a specific field of a table. This seems like a great… -
Mapping County Health Rankings: Mapnik, Node.js and PostgreSQL
16 Apr 2012 | 8:38 amThe third launch of County Health Rankings has been the most exciting out of any of the three due to the mapping component that serves as the primary way to access the rankings. The third iteration of the County Health Rankings website has a great set of new functionality to get the mapping in place. Mapnik, and Node.js and PostgreSQL — oh my! read more
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Sources of Insight
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Leadership is Who You Are
14 May 2012 | 8:00 amEditor’s note: This is a guest post from Alan Shelton on Awakened Leadership. Alan is a leadership coach, blogger, speaker, and the author of Awakened Leadership: Beyond Self-Mastery. The idea behind Awakened Leadership is to transcend beyond trained behaviors to awareness, and lead a life of authentic leadership. In other words, to be a more effective leader, you have to be more of who you already are. I’ve been reading Alan’s book. It’s entertaining and deeply engaging. The stories really bring Alan’s insight to life, as we follow him along on his journey to… -
Don’t Wait for the Facts to Change
12 May 2012 | 1:22 pm“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Are you waiting for the economy to change? Are you waiting for your job to change? Are you waiting for the weather to change? Don’t wait. Work with what you’ve got. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of playing the waiting game. Especially if it’s a situation you don’t like. The problem is, while you wait, the world passes you by. It keeps moving forward. When you “just wait and see,” it takes your power away. … -
Richard Branson Quotes
11 May 2012 | 12:37 pmThis is my collection of Richard Branson quotes. Richard Branson lives to challenge himself, make a difference, and have fun in the process. As you read through these Richard Branson quotes, you’ll find some common themes: adventure, brand, business, entrepreneurism, fun, quality, and purpose. While putting together my Richard Branson quotes, one pattern that really stood out for me, is how deeply Richard Branson cares about both sides of the equation. He cares deeply about the people that wok for and with him, just as deeply as he cares about the people he builds his businesses to… -
Kindle for Mom
10 May 2012 | 10:47 am“A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go.” — Author Unknown One of the best gifts I got my Mom is the Kindle Touch 3G . It’s a gift that keeps on giving. She uses it all the time, and now I can easily get her books as gifts for the holidays, like Mother’s Day. I’ll share my Kindle review experience here. I’ll also share my thought process. My experience might help you perform your own Kindle review, whether as a gift, or for yourself. There are a lot of Kindle reviews, but I actually had a hard time figuring out what really mattered until I… -
Happiness is a Skill
9 May 2012 | 11:39 amThe foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” — James Openheim That’s one of my favorite happiness quotes. It reminds me that happiness is a skill. While some people seem to be born happy, others have to work at it. Some have to work harder than others. Rather than work harder, we can work smarter. Luckily, with all the focus on happiness, we now have a better body of knowledge to draw from. Carlin Flora shares a collection of patterns and practices for skilled happiness from a variety of sources in her article, The Pursuit of Happiness, in…
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R&R Partners: Build the Brand, Protect the Brand
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Join us for #RRchat this Friday
2 May 2012 | 12:51 pmAs our society becomes more engaged in social media, we turn to digital avenues to raise awareness for everything from stating our point of views on hot topics to promoting our businesses. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have replaced traditional means of getting our message across, reaching more people than ever before. Join us for this Friday’s #RRchat on Twitter from 1-2 p.m. to talk about how Social Media is helping to drive awareness on topics such as your health status and the upcoming election season. Check out the questions below for a sneak peak of the discussion… -
Broadcast trends – ‘talk’ isn’t cheap
25 Apr 2012 | 2:00 pmThis fall’s new daytime talk shows have a few things working in their favor, notably the recovering ad market. The absence of Oprah means advertisers have millions of dollars in play for high quality daytime talk shows. Katie Couric’s new show is expected to fetch ad rates just shy of Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, who have the highest ratings and rates of the daytime talk genre. Couric is the most recognizable of the new hosts and is very well liked by TV viewers. Jeff Probst is expected to fetch the next highest rates and ratings with his new CBS produced show. Working in his favor is the… -
Join us for #RRchat this Friday
25 Apr 2012 | 11:52 amFacebook is taking over the world…literally. During last week’s #RRchat, we talked about how Facebook recently expanded into the photo sphere by purchasing Instagram. Now, the social media giant is “branching out” to reach a more professional audience with BranchOut, a professional networking app. Similar to LinkedIn, the new app allows you to find out which companies your friends work for and find connections in your career field, connecting you digitally to hundreds of thousands of professionals. (Maybe the six degrees of separation theory isn’t so far off after all.) Join us for… -
Follow #RRchat this Friday
18 Apr 2012 | 12:51 pmCalling all music fans! Take a short break this Friday afternoon to chat with industry professionals about how brands are using social media to promote music. Use the hashtag #RRchat on Twitter and join us on Friday from 3-4 Pacific Time to voice your opinions and comments. It’s fun! 1. The Tupac hologram “performed” @Coachella with @SnoopDogg and @DrDre. More than 23,000 people have followed @HologramTupac on Twitter. If you could bring a musician back from the dead, who would it be and why? 2. @MySpace trumps @Spotify’s collection of free music with 42 million songs. Do you… -
This week in Travel and Tourism – 4/9/12
14 Apr 2012 | 5:53 pmDOMESTIC Atlantic City, N.J., group plans $20M campaign to draw tourists Nonprofit group Atlantic City Alliance is launching a $20 million marketing campaign aimed at promoting the New Jersey city’s nongaming tourist attractions to leisure travelers. Carrying the tagline “Do Anything. Do Everything,” the initiative will include advertisements in major cities. “We have to reposition Atlantic City as a tourism destination,” said Liza Cartmell, president of the alliance. Delta breaks ground on $160M LaGuardia hub makeover Delta Air Lines Inc. broke ground Wednesday…
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Checkmate
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To differentiate, don't make these 7 mistakes
3 May 2012 | 11:28 amMost companies make the same mistakes when trying to differentiate their brand, products and services: They look inward, not outward – Differentiation isn’t about “making up” your company’s difference, it’s finding what objectively, authentically sets it apart. Understanding what customers / consumers need and discovering how your product / service fulfills them (or not) is the best place to start. Successful brands spur conversations and build movements. They don't engage – Despite all the lessons learned from social media, only 16% of companies… -
8 lessons from Bruce Springsteen on staying relevant
29 Mar 2012 | 8:53 amI witnessed the fourth show of Bruce Springsteen’s new Wrecking Ball tour last night. “Witnessed” is a carefully chosen word because it conjures the fervor of his concerts. He performs, yes, but he also testifies, and his adoring, faithful congregation (ranging from teens to octogenerians) responds in kind. It’s something to behold: a single hand movement from Springsteen yields an instant, intended response. The dozen or so times I’ve seen him, I’ve marveled at the obvious: his energy level, powerful voice, under-appreciated guitar playing,… -
Do these 10 things to improve thought leadership
6 Mar 2012 | 10:00 pmCompanies create thought leadership to forge a differentiated position for themselves. By developing compelling high-level ideas, the organization creates competitive advantage because the marketplace perceives its creator as a visionary seer and interpreter: a company shaping the agenda vs. responding. Great thought leadership campaigns create an offensive vs. defensive position and build brands. Here’s what you need to know to become a thought leader: 1. Look outward, not inward – Begin by creating a big picture idea with relevance to targeted stakeholders. The idea… -
Rapid content response - can you do it?
22 Nov 2011 | 9:40 amCommunications organizations need to act fast these days – like the bicycle maker that recently pounced on a green gaffe by General Motors. Here’s how it went down. GM put out this ad, targeted at college kids… …showing a poor sap on a bike in front of a cute co-ed who was riding in a … wow, car! …and then there was this part: “Yep. Shameless,” wrote BikePortland.org publisher/editor Jonathan Maus. “But just more of the same from the auto industry.” Cyclists went ballistic. The auto company – a recent beneficiary of… -
Saying goodbye to greeting cards
4 Aug 2011 | 3:19 pmI’ve done a lot of things I haven’t enjoyed. I worked in a fish-processing plant. Endless blocks of frozen cod came rolling down the line. We’d cut and pack it for millions of consumers longing for six-month-old sea catch. At least I got a uniform – a dashing cross between fast-food counterman and computer chip lab technician. My hairnet made the plant girls swoon; or maybe it was the oppressive heat. Later, I found work in management. I managed toilets at an industrial company that cleaned uniforms, tablecloths and towels. The laundry bundles were rank with ketchup,…
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Lee's new-look Better Communication Results blog
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How to build your audience on Facebook (or anywhere, for that matter).
30 Apr 2012 | 11:29 pmI’ve just been revisiting The Cluetrain Manifesto as part of the book I’m writing on social media ROI. Some of the original 95 theses are thus: 2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors; 3. Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice; 4. Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived; 5. People recognise each other as such from the sound of this voice; 32. Smart markets will find suppliers who speak their own language; 75. If you… -
Measuring Social Media ROI: benchmarks and metrics for determining the success of social media initiatives
22 Apr 2012 | 10:24 pmAm I missing anything? What else should I write about in this report/book? Executive summary The days of will Social Media (SM) work for us? How do we use it? and Who will do this for us? have gone. Today, any organisation that is client-centric, innovative and competitive considers social media as a part of core business strategy. Social media has become a business necessity. It being used to communicate, to generate business, to recruit, and to network; it’s now ingrained in organisations as a fundamental part of all strategic initiatives. But how can you tell if it is really working? -
Lights off, somebody home
21 Apr 2012 | 1:25 amI recently signed another report/book contract with Ark Group Publishing, this time to write on Social Media ROI. This is my third report/book with Ark; the first two were Social Media: The New Communication Landscape and Making Social Media Work for Your Business. I’ll have my head buried in my computer for the next five weeks; except for possible occasional ‘must-blog-this’ moments I’ll next see you in June. Technorati Tags: ark group, book, publishing, report, social media, roi, business communication, lee hopkins Tweet -
Never let it be said that politicians aren’t up with the times…
16 Apr 2012 | 10:46 pmNews reaches me from the excellent blog AllFacebook that the US Republican Party has a yearly competition to see who uses social media the best. Now in its third year, the first two contests were won by John Fleming of Louisiana. How effective? In January 2009, only 30 percent of House Republicans were on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Today, more than 85 percent of House Republicans are using these platforms. There’s rules for the competition, of course: 2. The three ways to score points are: Adding new Page Likes (Facebook), Profile Followers (Twitter), and Channel Subscribers (YouTube). -
5 teenage girls and the GOBS 2012 furore
4 Apr 2012 | 8:09 amFive teenage girls from an Adelaide all-girls high school have done themselves a tremendous amount of ill-fortune by filming themselves offering sexual acts. In an obvious spoof of the phenomenal KONY 2012 video the allegedly 14 year old girls created a GOBS 2012 video. I bet they didn’t expect, nor understand, why they suddenly got so much attention from their peers, the media and the police. I was interviewed by Channel Seven’s Today Tonight program about their disastrous foray into social media. The video is from the Sydney program; the Adelaide version had me interviewed by the…
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Dr. Nancy Snow: Persuasion with Principle
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Tokyo Nancy Snow
6 May 2012 | 8:40 pmI'm teaching this spring on my second Fulbright fellowship at Sophia University in Tokyo. I've created a course website for my two undergraduate courses in American Foreign Policy & Politics and American Culture. It's called Tokyo Nancy Snow. You can check out my regular posts that I upload for class discussion. I've also included a category called "Brand Japan," for lack of something sexier, but it's a general reference to Japanese public diplomacy, most notably in the post-3/11 period. The week of May 7-12, I'll be speaking at two Japanese universities on the subject of "The… -
Propaganda Uses and Abuses
13 Mar 2012 | 10:40 amThat's the Way It Is: Media Propaganda and Its Impacton American Democracy Friday, March 308:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.Holliday Forum, Journalism Building, LSU -
Propaganda, Inc.
30 Dec 2010 | 5:49 pmPropaganda, Inc.: Selling America’s Culture to the WorldBy Nancy Snow New York: Seven Stories Press, 2010. 144 pp. ISBN: 9781583228982.A Book Review by Dennis MurphyConcordia University, CanadaGlobal Media Journal, Canadian Edition, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp. 115-117 (used with permission)Nancy Snow’s book was originally published in 1998. Her third edition discusses what is at stake for the United States and for its propaganda/public diplomacy in the current global context. A decade earlier her focus was America’s shift in public diplomacy post Cold War (1989) until 1999.Snow’s third… -
Remembering Phil Taylor
8 Dec 2010 | 6:34 amShortly after September 11, 2001, I contacted a person I knew only through reputation in influence and propaganda studies.His name was Phil Taylor and he was professor of international communications at the University of Leeds.I had just read one of Phil’s books, Munitions of the Mind, and was struck at how prescient it was in describing the “new normal” of 9/11. His online presence, “Phil Taylor’s Web Site” was a treasure trove of material.It identified its purpose as a “One Stop Shop for matters relating to international communications and strategic communications.” … -
The Murrow Doctrine in Public Diplomacy
2 Nov 2010 | 3:48 pmTruth is the Best Propaganda: Murrow, USIA, and the Kennedy Years by Nancy Snow When CBS first hired Edward R. Murrow in 1935 as Director of Talks, it was for public diplomacy purposes, not journalism.Murrow had no journalism experience.He had majored in speech communication at Washington State College. His national stature had grown from his ability to move audiences through words-- speeches he gave as President of the National Student Federation of America, and his most recent position as Vice President of the Institute of International Education in New York where he worked with President…
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Healthy Influence - Persuasion Blog
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Selling Light?
15 May 2012 | 11:20 pmLamps. Candles. Light bulbs. Green light bulbs. Maybe windows. White paint. Anything that makes things lighter. Try this persuasion play. We asked participants to recall and describe in detail either an ethical or an unethical deed from their past and to describe any feelings or emotions associated with it. Okay. Think about something I shouldn’t have done. Now, the persuasion outcome part. Ask me to rate the room for how light or dark it is and then ask me if I want: a jug, a lamp, crackers, a candle, an apple, and a flashlight. As expected, participants in the unethical condition… -
Counting on Facebook with GM
15 May 2012 | 11:10 pmI’m warning you. (MoneyWatch) General Motors (GM) will cease running paid advertisements on Facebook, according to a source close to the situation who spoke to CBS MoneyWatch.com on condition of anonymity . . . The move by GM, the third-largest advertiser in the U.S., to back away from Facebook comes at an awkward time for the social network. Facebook is expected to go public on Friday in stock offering that could value the company at more than $100 billion. Facebook is a Count that produces no Change. Get in on the morning of the 18th and out by the afternoon. -
Mining Change
14 May 2012 | 11:13 pmThis is just a haphazard sampling, but with an Effect Size this Stupendous, even a focus group will demonstrate it. Start with a recent article about the Obama re-election effort. CHICAGO — With a “chief scientist” specializing in consumer behavior, an “analytics department” monitoring voter trends, and a squad of dozens huddled at computer screens editing video or writing code, the sprawling office complex inside One Prudential Plaza looks like a corporate research and development lab — Ping-Pong table and all. Now, the popularity of hiring statisticians in business. Arcane… -
the Least of the Mohicans . . . er, Cherokees!
14 May 2012 | 11:03 pmElizabeth Warren, Democratic candidate for US Senate in Massachusetts, is getting stomped over her careless handling of her ethnic heritage. Warren reports a family history with an honorable Native American in the past . . . somewhere back there. Documentation is available to indicate a 1/32 trace which is faint mark in that column for the US Census report. Even Democrat allies like Joe Trippi, Howard Dean’s campaign manager in 2004, are ripping Warren. “There’s nobody watching this that doesn’t think she’s in big trouble,” one well-known Massachusetts Democrat said. … -
Need For Speed
13 May 2012 | 11:13 pmLet’s feel the need, the need for speed (YouTube). Consider speed as WATTage switch. Thirty-six university students were randomly assigned to read aloud a series of one-sentence statements of trivia (e.g., “A pilot light continually remains lit in a gas stove”; “In ring toss, players throw a ‘hoop’ over a ‘peg’”). The statements were presented on a computer monitor at either a fast pace (40 ms per letter with 320-ms intervals between sentences; i.e., about half the normal reading speed for this population) or a slow pace (170 ms per letter with 4,000-ms intervals between…
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Influence PEOPLE
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A Persuasion Trump Card
14 May 2012 | 7:17 amAre you a fan of Donald Trump’s show “The Apprentice?” When it first aired I watched it religiously because I learned some business tips but I don’t watch it so much anymore because there’s usually too much drama and too few tips. That said, I was watching an episode recently where Donald Trump’s new cologne, “Success by Trump,” was introduced. Each celebrity team’s challenge was to design an in-store display and come up with a slogan for the new fragrance which will be carried by Macy’s. The teams were judged by Trump and Macy’s executives on the creativity of their… -
Influencers from Around the World - A Nightmare on Persuasion Street
7 May 2012 | 4:30 pmThis month our Influencers from Around the World guest post comes from across the pond from my old Irish friend Sean Patrick. Sean owns a sales training company, Sales Training Evaluation, and writes a blog, Professional Persuader. Sean is a big fan of Dr. Cialdini and attended the Principles of Persuasion workshop I led when he visited the States in October 2010. Always thought-provoking, Sean’s post this week is no different.Brian, CMCT influencepeople Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.A Nightmare on Persuasion StreetPersuasion is one of my life long… -
A Positive Mental Attitude is an Essential Persuasion Tool
30 Apr 2012 | 4:30 pmIf you follow me on Facebook then you know I broke my right ankle back in March when I stepped on my wife’s boot heel the morning after our 24th anniversary celebration. When this all happened I passed out so Jane called an ambulance and I was subjected to 12 hours of tests and waiting (more waiting than tests) in the emergency room. I was there so long because doctors were concerned with my unusually low heart rate coupled with the passing out incident. I could go on and on but you get the picture; not exactly a great way to start the 25th year of marriage. Did I mention I was in a walking… -
Ethical Influence for Business Coaches
23 Apr 2012 | 4:30 pmA few months ago I had the privilege of addressing several dozen business coaches from the Central Ohio Chapter of the International Coach Federation at The Ohio State University. My hour-long presentation focused on how they could use certain principles of influence to help their clients obtain better business results.I opened the presentation sharing about PEOPLE – those Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical. I also spent time on three of Dr. Cialdini’s six principles of influence – reciprocity, authority and… -
Keynote Speaking and Training
17 Apr 2012 | 4:58 am"When Brian Ahearn speaks, people listen. That is so because he knows his material thoroughly, and he knows how to present it superbly. The upshot is that the genuine insights he provides are not just immediately understandable, they are also immediately actionable and profitable." – Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D., author of Influence Science and Practice Wouldn't you agree; most of your professional success and personal happiness come about when others say "Yes" to your requests? For example:Prospects become clients when they say "Yes" to your proposals.Ideas become projects…
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Psychology Blog
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What is having ECT like?
14 May 2012 | 3:09 amLucy Tallon describes her own experiences of ECT in a recent article in The Guardian and says the experience is nothing like it is portrayed on screen, for example recently in the programme Homeland. See Lucy’s article here. The photograph is from Homeland. -
ARE YOU ADDICTED TO FACEBOOK?
11 May 2012 | 5:48 pmThanks to a group of researchers in Norway, people can now measure the severity of their Facebook addiction using the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS). It is thought to be the first time psychologists have formally recognised social media dependency as a real addiction, and the scale is the first of its kind in world. The BFAS consists of six statements, which users respond to by grading their social network dependency. The statements are: • You spend a lot of time thinking about Facebook or planning how to use it • You feel an urge to use Facebook more and more • You use Facebook… -
Drugs therapies don’t cure mental disorder
11 May 2012 | 3:17 amOne of the common criticisms made about the use of drugs to treat mental disorder is that they don’t act as a cure, they simply offer temporary relief from disabling symptoms. New research challenges this. Prof Shitij Kapur and his team at King’s College London (Vernon et al. 2012) have produced evidence that certain drugs change brain structure. In this study rats were given treatment with either lithium (used for bipolar disorder) or an antipsychotic for 6 weeks. Brain scans showed an increase in cortical grey matter for the lithium rats and a decrease for the antipsychotic… -
Psychic healers may have synesthesia
6 May 2012 | 5:08 amSynesthesia describes the experience that some people have, where the stimulation of one sense results in other senses being stimulated. For example words take on different colours and may create a sensation of certain smells. A recent study by Milán et al. (2012) found that many psychic healers who claim to see the aura of their patients are actually synesthetes. This condition would explain why they think they may be able to heal people, however it doesn’t explain why seeing an aura would lead to healing. The occasional success of psychic healing may be explained in terms of a… -
Social change
21 Apr 2012 | 7:02 amMany AS AQA A students will be familiar with Rosa Parks and the effect she had on the American Civil Rights Movement. One day, while travelling home from work she refused an order from the bus driver to give up her seat to a white person. Her civil disobedience led to a bus boycott and inspired others to take action against an unjust law. This case is used as an example of how the actions of one individual can bring about social change, especially when they (in this case Rosa Parks) have risked their own liberty (the augmentation principle). This week President Obama visited the museum where…
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BA Business Life
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Athletes and their sponsors
15 May 2012 | 8:00 pmThe association between business and sport is the most mutually advantageous relationship since Morecambe met Wise. Talented athletes striving to be the best desperately need sponsorship in order to devote their time and energy to training, unencumbered by the need to hold down a job. And companies of all kinds are stumping up the funding because they know that in return for being linked with a popular athlete, they can enhance their image, boost brand awareness, increase sales, develop customer loyalty and improve community relations. Sponsorship varies from providing a promising young… -
Ten tips on giving a presentation
15 May 2012 | 6:22 am#01 Use the three Ws Who, what and why? Whether you are going to speak at a networking lunch or deliver the keynote speech at a conference , ask yourself these questions before putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard. Who is my audience? Find out as much as you can about them, their knowledge of your subject and any questions they are likely to raise. What is the purpose of the presentation ? It could be to convince, inform, motivate or entertain. Why is the audience there? You need to address this in order to ensure you make a connection. #02 Prove your purpose Having… -
Four of the best European hotels for shopping
14 May 2012 | 8:00 pmMILAN Armani Hotel "This is my act of love for the city," says Armani of his second hotel (Dubai was the first), which opened in late 2011 and has an oh-so-tasteful palette of neutrals, with Armani Casa linens, fabrics and furniture. The 95-room palazzo is in the same building as the Armani Privé boutique and Armani/Nobu restaurant, near the shopping areas of vias Della Spiga and Montenapoleone. A rooftop spa and gym offer city views, as do the glass restaurant and bar on the seventh floor. Guests are assigned 'lifestyle managers' who can arrange a personal shopper — not that… -
Think like... a pirate
13 May 2012 | 8:01 pmWhy aren't there any painkillers on pirate ships? Because the parrots eat 'em all. Yes, the pirate is a funny guy, with his comedy outfit, yo-ho-ho, bottle of rum, love of the sea and tendency towards violent, bloodthirsty looting. The pirate has often been used as a metaphor for a certain type of businessperson — the language of 'corporate raider' being one prime example. However, it's not all nasty on the Spanish Main, wherever that is, and the pirate can teach us some good (and perfectly legal-ish) ways to behave in order to improve business. For one, he (literally) runs a… -
Premium but popular: the new BMW 3-series and Audi A4
11 May 2012 | 5:29 amAbout the only thing that might disturb the slumber of the bosses of BMW and Audi , whose sales and profits are running at turbocharged levels, is how to keep the gravy train rolling. Audi made a record £4.4bn operating profit last year — equivalent to almost half of owner VW's total operating income. It works out at about £3,400 per car . And BMW had a record year too, reinforcing its position as the world's top seller of premium vehicles. The BMW Group made an operating profit of £6.6bn. Almost 1.67 million cars were sold, including Mini (up 21 per cent) and…
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Best Practices
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How to Get Feedback When You're the Boss
15 May 2012 | 8:55 amThe higher up in the organization you get, the less likely you'll receive constructive feedback on your ideas, performance, or strategy. No one wants to offend the boss, right? But without input, your development will suffer, you may become isolated, and you're likely to miss out on hearing some great ideas. So, what can you do to get people to tell you what you may not want to hear? What the Experts Say Most people have good reasons for keeping their opinions from higher ups. "People with formal power can affect our fate in many ways — they can withhold critical resources, they can… -
How to Negotiate Your Next Salary
6 Apr 2012 | 10:00 amNegotiating a salary can be an uncomfortable process. You want to get what you're worth but you also don't want to offend or scare off your future employer. This situation is only more complicated in a tough job market. When offers are few and job seekers are plenty, you might be tempted to take whatever is offered to you. But, that's rarely the smartest thing to do. What the Experts Say Regardless of the state of the job market, you should always negotiate. "You don't ever want to just say thank you," says Katherine McGinn, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and… -
Accept the Job Offer or Walk Away?
26 Mar 2012 | 12:02 pmThe hiring manager calls with great news: the job is yours. Phew, the hard part is over, right? Maybe not. Determining whether to take a job offer can — and should — be a difficult decision. In a bad economy or if you're eager to get out of your current job, it can be tempting to accept any offer. But before you take on job, you need to evaluate the situation carefully. What the Experts Say "Over the last 40 years we've transitioned from an economy where you work for 30 years and retire with a gold watch to something that is much more transactional," says Boris Groysberg, a… -
How to Keep a Job Search Discreet
1 Mar 2012 | 8:32 amLooking for a job while you already have one can be stressful, especially in the age of social media when privacy is scarce. You don't want to rock the boat at your current company but you want to find the next great opportunity. Should you tell your boss you're looking? How do you handle references? If you get an offer, is two weeks notice really enough? Since how you leave your current job can be as important to your career as how you perform in the next one, you need to know the answers to these questions. What the Experts Say The job market may be bleak, but that doesn't mean you're… -
Stop Email Overload
21 Feb 2012 | 1:02 pmComplaints about email abound. Perhaps you've heard some of these or uttered them in pain yourself: I receive hundreds of emails a day. I can spend my whole day responding to incoming messages. I can't find anything in my inbox. In response, some companies are taking drastic steps to help workers manage the number of messages they receive. The CEO of Atos, a French IT services company, has vowed to ban internal email by 2013. Volkswagen in Germany has agreed to stop sending emails to certain employees after work hours. If these companies are taking radical action, is it time for you to do the…
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Eva Rykr
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Respect in the Workplace
14 May 2012 | 7:14 amRespect and how it is displayed can be highly individual and vary among cultures. One thing that is common for all of us, though, is the feeling that disrespect evokes. It feels rude, unjust, and hurtful. When we are disrespected, we feel unappreciated, undervalued, and threatened to some degree. When we fail to receive respect in our work lives, our jobs become unbearable and relationships deteriorate. One interesting question is whether all persons are worthy of respect at some level. What about in your workplace? Are all of your colleagues worthy of your respect? When does one become… -
7 Memory Flaws
7 May 2012 | 7:12 amA few years back, Harvard University psychology professor, Daniel Schacter, published an article called The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience.In it, Schacter used information from several research studies to organize the fallibility of our memory into seven broad categories. I believe knowing how our minds work can be powerful tool in self-awareness and increasing our own productivity as well as improving our relationships with others. With that in mind, here are the seven sins of memory, and how they affect us in the workplace: Transience What it… -
Gamification for Employee Engagement
30 Apr 2012 | 7:58 amGamification is the use of game elements in everyday activities. The idea is that it brings in an aspect of fun, therefore making the activity more engaging. The main use of gamification has been for consumer marketing purposes on the Internet and on mobile devices. The desired end result has been encouraging certain behaviors or increasing exposure to a certain message. But gamification can also be used to make our own jobs more exciting and to encourage a higher level of performance in others… turning work into play. Why gamification works (why games are fun): Constant feedback… -
What Motivates People at Work?
23 Apr 2012 | 7:52 amWhat is motivation and how are we motivated? As a basic definition, motivation is what drives us to accomplish goals. Motivation determines where we direct our behavior. There are many, many different ways we become motivated to act. Money is clearly a universal motivator, since it provides means to obtain food, maximize comfort, and avoid unpleasantries. On the other end of the spectrum are things that motivate us intrinsically, such as our careers and hobbies. These vary drastically by each individual. Somewhere in the middle is another aspect of motivation: personality-based motivation. -
Turn a Mistake into an Opportunity
16 Apr 2012 | 7:48 amNo matter how much education we have, no matter how many training courses we take, no matter how much motivation we have to succeed, and no matter if we have all the right tools for the job, it is a frustrating fact of life that we all make mistakes. What is the best way to move forward after a mistake has been made? If it was your mistake, you can step up and take ownership. But what if the mistake was made by someone else? Don’t Blame the Person First and foremost, realize most errors are not intentional—keep this in mind. On the contrary, most errors occur whilst the person was…
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Karen Keller, Ph.D.
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The Connection Between Happiness and Success
15 May 2012 | 5:01 amLink your happiness with your success So many people are laboring under the impression that in order to be successful, you have to give up a little piece of your happiness. Whoever told you this is full of it, because I am a proud believer that we can all have a happiness and success at the same time. Finding success and happiness at the same time isn’t necessarily the easiest thing in the world. It takes time and dedication and the ability to ask for what you deserve. And what we all deserve is a fulfilling career, right? Here’s how: F: Fully embrace your career U: Unapologetically… -
Power: What Women Do Right
10 May 2012 | 5:41 amAre you using your power to lead or direct? I recently came to a realization the other day that we (including myself) spend a lot more time focusing on all of the possible negative outcomes of women getting power. Now, while I maintain that you always need to be careful with the power that you have, there is absolutely nothing negative about women in positions of power. In fact, I’d say it’s pretty darn awesome to see a lady with some real responsibility. So, what are all of the great things that we, as women, do with our power that we may overlook? Help others. One thing that most… -
Coaching Others to Develop a Strong Intuition
8 May 2012 | 5:17 amOnce you understand your own intuition, it’s time to teach others. You’re a successful woman. You’ve worked hard to get where you are (and where you’re going!) and a good part of that is by learning how to listen to and analyze your intuition. I’m sure that you have employees that you rely on to help you finish projects and handle various tasks and I’m sure that there are one or two that you would like to mentor and teach some of your “secrets” so that they can find success as much as you have. Well, one of the things you’re probably going to have to teach them… -
Top 10 Ways to Know if You’re Becoming Arrogant at Work
3 May 2012 | 7:16 amWhen we find success it’s important to avoid getting an over inflated ego. Forget David Letterman, ladies, because today, we’ve got a top ten list that you do not want to miss. When you’re at the top of your game, it can be really hard to keep your feet on the ground and remain level-headed. I thought I would keep this light, but remember; only you can prevent your own big ego. And now, without further ado, the top ten ways to know if you’re becoming too arrogant at work. 10. You assume anyone coming into your office is there to talk your coffee or lunch order. Even if it’s… -
The Importance Getting Organized at Work
1 May 2012 | 6:00 amDon’t let a disorganized life keep you from success. If you’re reading this in your office (at home or work), stop for a moment and take a look at the desk in front of you. What do you see? Is it a mess of receipts, sticky notes, reminders, food wrappers, business cards and other clutter? Can you even see your desk through the mess? If you said yes, it’s ok. You aren’t alone. Many of us experience disorganization in our lives. We handle so many other tasks that keeping things organized is usually at the bottom of our list of things to do. But there are several reasons why…
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Experience Optimism
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Heading toward The Optimist
16 May 2012 | 11:26 amWith three district tournaments having already been played in South Florida, Tennessee, and Atlantic Central and with two more events being held this weekend in North Carolina and British Columbia, I think we can say the race to the 2012 Optimist International Junior Golf Championships (The Optimist) is on. Junior golfers hope to advance to The Optimist from the Pacific NW District Tournament in British Columbia The Optimist takes place near the end of July each year. With more than 5,000 junior golfers participating in qualifying tournaments each year, The Optimist has… -
Share love, share optimism
13 May 2012 | 10:27 amDo you know who the ultimate optimists are? Mothers. Every day, 24/7, they hope for, work for and expect only the best for their children and families and when the nucleus is nurtured, the whole body flourishes. Mothers do all of that with love. Our message today: Love (is all you need) For Mother's Day at Experience Optimism, I hope you enjoy this simple message along with The Beatles and "All You Need is Love." Share optimism and you share love. I learned that from you mom. Happy Mother's Day. Experience Optimism has provided a "Share Optimism" poster every day… -
The virtue of respect
12 May 2012 | 6:19 pmI thought about many good words to share with you today such as tolerance, understanding, awareness and acceptance, but on further reflection, it occurred to me that none of those words are needed when there is respect. Therefore today's message is respect. Respect should be given to all people, ideas, places and things. Respect should be two-way and automatic. I'm not one who buys into the concept that respect has to be earned for that implies a hierarchical culture where someone is always passing judgment from above. I wouldn't want that job; would you? I do believe, however, that… -
Today's message: Express gratitude
11 May 2012 | 11:54 amWilliam Arthur Ward said, "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." That's why today's message, like all messages this week, is not merely about feeling, it is about doing. In other words, don't just be grateful. Express your gratitude, say 'thank you' and mean it. If I might share a word of caution, please don't be indiscriminate in your thankfulness for that takes meaning away from it. I once had a supervisor who would say to me, "Thanks a ton," about everything I did. I fully believe that he thought he was showing appreciation, but in my mind,… -
How to grow optimism
10 May 2012 | 2:36 pmToday's message: Be kind. When I considered the message that I wanted to share with you today, my mind went straight to flowers for the graphic display. Depending on when they are given, flowers might symbolize love, hope or respect. They might be a sign of sympathy or gratitude. Flowers are even used to say I'm sorry. Tending to flowers in a garden requires a gentle touch and enjoying them growing in the wild suggests a gentle nature even in the gruffest of characters. I don't think there is any doubt that each of those actions are done with kindness. However, before I was able to post my…
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Neuro-Linguistic Programming | NLP | Sales Training Techniques
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How to Get the Voices in Your Head on Your Team
16 May 2012 | 12:18 pmAll of have voices in our heads that provide both insight and criticism on our thoughts and actions. Don’t worry – it’s not a type of mental illness. In fact, these voices are actually our subconscious minds chiming in on whether or not we’re behaving in ways that are consistent with our core values and [...] -
Assertive versus Aggressive: Which Side are You On?
9 May 2012 | 1:06 pmLearning to behave more assertively is an important part of being successful in life. Whether your newfound assertive behaviors enable you to push for that big salary raise you’ve deserved for years or simply to command more respect from your peers and colleagues, identifying and modeling assertive behaviors is a great way to improve your [...] -
Affirmations: BS or Valuable Personal Development Technique?
1 May 2012 | 1:06 pmIf you’ve read my past posts, you know I think that the “Law of Attraction” – by itself – is pretty much bogus. I mean, really – you can sit around on the couch all day, wishing and hoping for a fit body, a million dollars and a supermodel girlfriend. But until you actually take [...] -
Fake it ‘Til You Make it: How to Convince Others You’re Confident
26 Apr 2012 | 10:13 amAre you frustrated by feelings of low self-esteem, inadequacy and shyness? Do you struggle seeing “naturally” confident people and wish that – just once – you could feel like they do throughout your daily life? Well get over yourself! Really, there are very few people in the world who are born confident. For the rest [...] -
3 Techniques That’ll Get You a Date
24 Apr 2012 | 10:12 amIn today’s ultra-connected society, getting a date just isn’t as easy as it used to be! Pick up lines are overplayed, while the constant stream of information provided by popular dating websites makes screening potential partners easier than ever. So if you’re struggling to find love in this frustrating situation, consider the following NLP techniques: [...]
