How to Rock the First 90 Days of a Job
by Guy Kawasaki There are two components to getting off to a great start on a new job: what to avoid and what to accomplish. This post explains both components. First, there are four ways to blow it. They form the acronym LAST (Lazy, Arrogant, Stupid, Tacky). Second, let me provide 10 tips to climb…
Start Onboarding the Day the Offer is Accepted
by Ilie Ghiciuc The state of onboarding is that it often does not work. 30% of new hires quit within the first 6 months. Around 16% of them stated that they had left the job between the first week and the third month. A Bersin study found that 22% of turnover occurs with the first…
How to Leave a Job You Love
by Gianpiero Petriglieri Maybe you fell head over heels. Maybe your feelings grew over time. All you know is that you have what everyone is looking for, but few seem to get: A job you love. And you are about to leave it. How do you even start explaining? The work is great. So is…
The Benefits of Laughing in the Office
by Betty-Ann Heggie It turns out that a series of studies shows the positive impact humor can have in the office. “According to research from institutions as serious as Wharton, MIT, and London Business School, every chuckle or guffaw brings with it a host of business benefits,” writes Alison Beard in the HBR article, “Leading…
How To Create A Culture Of Gratitude In The Workplace
by Karl Sun With the holidays in full swing, it’s easy to think of reasons you’re grateful. But what happens when the lights come down, the Christmas trees sit discarded on the side of the road, and the New Year’s resolutions diets begin? According to UC Davis psychology professor and author Robert Emmons, gratitude is…
4 Ways Busy People Sabotage Themselves
by Alice Boyes You’ve left an important task undone for weeks. It’s hanging over you, causing daily anxiety. And yet instead of actually doing it, you do a hundred other tasks instead. Or you’ve been feeling guilty about not replying to an email, even though replying would only take 10 minutes. Or maybe the last…
What Not to Do When You’re Trying to Motivate Your Team
by Ron Carucci When I speak to large groups about leadership, one question I often ask is, “How many of you have ever received a compliment from your boss that actually offended you?” Without exception, more than two-thirds of the people in the room raise their hands. When I probe further on what people found…
Drowning in Work? Here’s How to Ask a Colleague for Help.
by Heidi Grant Raise your hand if you have an insurmountable pile of projects on your to-do list and an inbox so terrifying to behold that you can hardly bear to behold it. Cue the sea of arms waving wildly. You have too much to do. You can’t do it alone. You need people to…
From the Classroom: A Strategy for Applying the Growth Mindset Concept to Your Business
by Shirley Tan Conceptualized by Stanford University’s Professor of Psychology, Carol Dweck as a means of changing the educational process in today’s schools, the growth mindset is a concept designed to change how children and teachers approach learning and development. Although it was developed decades ago, it has continued to be considered a way of…
Why It’s Important to Work Hard
by Joshua Becker If the goal of work isn’t to earn more and more money so we can buy bigger and bigger houses and fancier and more expensive cars, then what’s the point? If we’ve chosen to measure life’s success in more important terms than material possessions, why would we choose to continue working hard?…
How to Hire for Soft Skills
by Ray Bixler What are soft skills? While many hiring mangers focus on hard skills, those abilities that are teachable and easy to identify (Can she code? Can he operate a forklift?), fewer focus on soft skills. Soft skills are subjective and much harder to list on a resume or explain in a cover letter….
Many Employees Have a Mid-Career Crisis. Here’s How Employers Can Help
by Serenity Gibbons The “midcareer crisis” is a real phenomenon for many workers; research has shown that career satisfaction bottoms out when people are in the middle of their careers. For many managers, the problem is seeing those employees through to the other side. Many companies and leaders have failed to develop plans for the…
When You Start a New Job, Pay Attention to These 5 Aspects of Company Culture
by Allan H. Church and Jay A. Conger When you join an organization, you have a short window of time to adapt to its culture. It’s the old 90-day rule. And we know too many talented individuals who have stumbled in their new company because they failed to read the cultural tea leaves. This happens…
5 Smart Ways To Deal With Workplace Stress
by Nancy Collamer Feeling stressed at work? Sorry to say, you’re in excellent company. According to an American Psychological Association survey, Americans are more stressed than at any time during the past decade. But I’m happy to share five helpful coping strategies I picked up from two experts while attending the recent Indeed.com conference on…
Research: When Managers Are Overworked, They Treat Employees Less Fairly
by Elad N. Sherf, Ravi S. Gajendran and Vijaya Venkataramani Fair managers can reap big dividends. Extensive research finds that employees who feel fairly treated are better performers, helpful to colleagues, more committed to their workgroups and the organization, and less likely to steal or be rude to others. Acting fairly is not always easy….
How to Succeed With Your New Boss
by Michael Watkins Your new boss will have more impact than anyone else over whether you succeed or fail. Your boss establishes benchmarks for your success, interprets your actions for other key players, and controls resources you need. Building a productive working relationship with him or her while you establish your mandate and negotiate for…
How to Lose Your Best Employees
by Whitney Johnson You want to be a great boss. You want your company to be a great place to work. But right now, at this very moment, one of your key employees might be about to walk out the door. She has consistently brought her best game to work and has grown into a…
What Does “Character” Even Mean?
by Christian B. Miller Consider some famous names from the business world in recent years. Bernie Madoff. Ken Lay. Bernie Ebbers. What do they all have in common? One thing is that they each demonstrated a tremendous failure of character. They acted viciously with no signs of a moral compass, and as a result, they…