If you have the right attitude and qualities, joining an ambitious new business could be just the job.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before you take the plunge into this richly rewarding world.
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If you want to form and sustain a new habit you should adopt the “7S Model”, writes Steven MacGregor for European Business Review.
Forming a new habit is hard – making sure that new habit sticks is even harder. Here's MacGregor's a seven-step plan for forming and sustaining your new habit.
The way you think as a leader can leave gaps in the way your business and working relationships develop.
With awareness and know-how you can adapt your thinking mindset to suit the task in hand.
Here are three key strategies to help bring your thinking skills up to scratch.
Collaboration is a buzzword in modern business.
But it doesn’t happen overnight, especially if you are seeking to transform outmoded models of command and control, says Carol Kinsey Goman, writing for Forbes.
Executives spend nearly 23 hours per week in meetings. If your company’s meetings are badly run, that’s a lot of wasted time – and money.
It's time to institute systemic change. Here's how to escape the meeting trap.
The key to resolving a disagreement between members of your team is acting as an effective mediator, write Jeanne Brett and Stephen B Goldberg for Harvard Business Review.
People will always disagree with each other – it’s human nature. But if you have to step in, follow these five steps.
It’s time to ditch outmoded management models in favour of embracing a leadership style that attracts, retains and encourages creative thinkers.
Exposed to the ever-present risk of digital disruption, organisations need new ideas as never before.
But if modern management is about attracting and retaining clever people, leadership methods must change.
Charming a venture capitalist used to be an art, but now it’s a science.
Why do proposals that look good on paper fail to make it through the pitch stage? That’s what assistant professor at Babson College, Lakshmi Balachandra, decided to find out.
Harvard Business Review reveals the four key points she discovered.
Marketing is one of the most rapidly developing areas of the business world and your company needs a champion with the qualities to embrace that challenge for the long haul, writes David Clarke for Strategy+Business.
It’s not so many years since the extent of most companies’ marketing efforts was an advert in the telephone directory. Today it’s a specialised field.
Calculating your employees’ pay on an hourly rate can raise their psychological stress levels and eat away at their enjoyment of life, writes Martin J Smith for Stanford Business.
Workers who believe that every second counts in terms of the monetary value placed on their time are more likely to suffer from potentially damaging mental pressures, according to new academic research.
Is rising daily before the crack of dawn an essential to success as an entrepreneur? Apparently not. Sleep-loving Carol Roth has interviewed seven fellow millionaires for Entrepreneur to prove the point.
The successful American TV and radio personality, author and investor cites positive reasons why she and her interviewees get out of bed between 8am and 9.30am.
Commuting can negatively impact employees’ performance and wellbeing.
Workers with long commutes are more anxious, less satisfied with life and less likely to find their job and daily activities satisfying. They are also more exhausted and less productive at work, and more likely to get divorced. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to make your commute a more positive experience.
Detect the root cause of all those time-consuming meetings and messages and let your teams get down to the real work.
The old adage that two heads are always better than one has been taken to extremes in many modern businesses, and statistics show that an overdose of multiple collaborations is ultimately uneconomical.
If you want to build great teams, you need people who can read people
“Building up a team of emotionally intelligent employees can have a surprisingly powerful impact on your company’s overall performance.
Your company needs emotionally intelligent employees to foster positive relationships with both clients and staff, and to spot and troubleshoot potential sources of conflict early.
If you’re thinking about embarking on a company reorganisation, it’s worth bearing in mind that 80% of them fail to meet their objectives in the time planned. In fact, 10% of them do significant damage.
“How you go about your reorg is as important as – and sometimes more important than – what you do.”
Here’s a five-step process for getting it right:
When it comes to networking: bigger is better. Thanks to today’s virtual networking opportunities, you can easily build and maintain relationships with contacts around the world.
Face-to-face meetings are the perfect way to conduct business; the ideal way to read, get to know and understand your contacts. However, raising your international profile can also result in professional success.
Stress has become a modern obsession, but is trying to get rid of it really the best idea?
Some of us wear it in false modesty like an endurance medal, while others proclaim how hard they work to banish it through mindfulness or exercise.
The truth is that stress is inescapable. We should change focus and embrace it as a powerful tool, rather than fight a perpetual battle against it.
If you want to make a deal that works, pay close attention to the data.
Around “70% to 90% of mergers and acquisitions fail to achieve value for the buying company”, says Adi Gaskell, writing for Forbes. In the majority of cases, it’s the company being acquired that achieves most of the value out of the deal.
Traditional brainstorming is a source of groupthink and rarely leads to innovation.
The unwritten rules of a brainstorming session are that all ideas are valid and everyone can feel supported and safe from criticism, no matter how weak or unworkable their suggestions. But studies suggest that it’s better to think alone and share later.
Read on to find out how to brainstorm better.
Sometimes people lie in negotiations, but while you might might think you’re good at spotting a fib, research suggests you’re not as good at sifting fact from fiction as you think.
Multiple studies demonstrate that only a little over half of us can actually spot a lie. But you can learn to make life hard for liars, according to professor Leslie John, writing for Harvard Business Review.
Charisma isn’t always innate – you can learn it. Here's how you can increase your charm quotient to help you get ahead.
Becoming the authority in your field is a great way to grow your business, says Brian Horn, writing for Entrepreneur.com. The author outlines seven easy…
Have you got what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? Drew Hendricks, writing for Inc.com, gives the lowdown on ten habits you need if…
Professionals who collaborate with their colleagues on cross-disciplinary work generate more revenue, inspire greater client loyalty and give their firms competitive edge, says Heidi Gardner…
We know a great deal about what strategy is, but very little about how to make strategy work, write Donald Sull, Rebecca Homkes and Charles…
For some entrepreneurs, things seem to fall into place on their rise to financial success, observes Jayson Demers, writing for Entrepreneur.com. However, in spite of…
Learn to use your emotions and you will be a better negotiator, writes Shirli Kopelman for the HBR Blog Network. Many people fear acknowledging emotions…
Five common mistakes could be damaging your career potential, writes Cheryl Lock for Fast Company via Learn Vest. Learn what they are and how to…
Is it possible to invest in tomorrow without damaging performance today? Ken Favaro, writing for Strategy+Business, looks at short-term/long-term tension and how to get over…
Weak markets are not a valid excuse for a company’s slow growth, write Kasturi Rangan and Evan Hirsh for Strategy+Business. With the right market proposition,…
Time management is one of the biggest challenges in the modern workplace. Many leaders complain of being short on time or are looking for ways…
Think you want to be an entrepreneur? Lolly Daskal, writing for Inc.com, reveals what it’s really like to go it alone. Daskal reveals eight facts…
Ron Ashkenas discusses the difficulty of communication on his HBR.org blog, observing that large organisations in particular struggle in this area. The author admits he…
Human beings are generally "pretty lousy" at estimating the time they will need to complete a task, says Heidi Grant Halvorson on Fast Company –…
On HBR.org, Amy Gallo looks at ways of making sure your employees succeed in achieving their goals. The author observes: "It's common knowledge that helping…
Are you a good boss – or a great one? That's the question posed by Linda Hill and Kent Lineback, writing for Harvard Business Review.…
How should you prepare if you’re going to be interviewed for an executive role? Early careerists get plenty of interview advice, but those at the…
According to Lynn Russo Whylly, writing for ChiefExecutive.net, ignoring or missing a major consumer trend or behavioural shift can seriously damage a brand’s chances of…
You have a good career that pays well, but you want to strike out on your own. Should you quit your day job to pursue…
The right mentor can make a huge difference to your career, writes Katherine Reynolds Lewis for Fortune. Lois Zachary, author of The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating…
There’s only so much you can do to prepare for change, observes Geil Browning, writing for Inc.com. She insists the real leadership test is helping…
On MIT Sloan Management Review, Gerald C. Kane reports from the 2014 South by Southwest festival where he attended a session entitled Tomorrow Is Another…
On Business Insider, Dylan Love shares some innovation insight in the form of the most inspirational quotes from the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve…
Many people launch startups because the idea of being boss is more appealing than being employee. However, as Suzanne Lucas observes on Inc.com, the problems…
Leaders can miss growth opportunities because they are so far removed from the many day-to-day processes carried out in their organisations they lead, observe Jeremy…
Discussing money with employees can be uncomfortable, as Amy Gallo points out, writing for HBR.org. Even if you’re sharing the good news of a bonus…
As Amina Elahi points out, writing for the Chicago Tribune’s Blue Sky section, innovation doesn’t just happen – it’s created. Leon Segal, an innovation psychologist…
Whatever kind of enterprise you’re launching, an online aspect of your business is essential nowadays. Even if you aren’t actually selling online, a web presence…