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Why Elon Musk Spends 80 Percent of His Time on This 1 Activity
He is a designer at heart<p>Elon Musk is doing right by design. Musk, who in a recent interview on Y Combinator, often called world's #1 start-up incubator, explained that he spends 80% of his time on engineering and design, developing next generation products, is what I call a designers' CEO.<p>Musk's …
Elon Musk6 Unique Things You'll Find Good Leaders Doing Every Day
These are the signs of leaders assured of their position, their identity, and their destination.<p>Being a good leader can be a lonely place. For those that choose to make the courageous journey, it's walking the higher road of integrity and moral authority. There are no shortcuts. That's where mere …
LeadershipNot Even Starbucks Was Built in a Day. How to Slow Down to Grow Fast
There are a few things you're going to have to do before reaching big business stardom.<p>Entrepreneurs are told to go big or go home. Stop obsessing over scale, and perfect the basics.<p>Last year, I met a first-time entrepreneur who was opening a tea shop. We'll call him John.<p>At the time, he had a …
StarbucksBreaking the Silence in the Boardroom, Even When You'd Rather Not
Assert yourself in a room full of men with these 3 essential habits.<p><i>By Kirsten Blakemore Edwards (@KirstenBeMe), MA CPCC, Consultant at Partners In Leadership</i><p>Did you know that men do a whopping 75% of the talking during the average business meeting? Preliminary results from Partners In Leadership …
Leadership3 Mental Toughness Traits That Separate Olympic Swimmers From the Rest of Us
Consistently performing at a high-level isn't about talent or the number of hours put it. It comes from embracing these three qualitative factors everyone can commit to.<p>You don't often hear people say they are striving for mediocrity. But even though most of us want to achieve excellence in what we …
Self-improvementWhy You Should Turn Your Company A Platform
Sharing information and taking advantage of new forms of employees has allowed platform companies to move to the next level.<p>Organizational structures and management styles come and go with the times, but some seem to stick around for longer and produce more successful companies. The latest version …
EmploymentMcDonald's Just Announced Something You Never Thought McDonald's Would Do
You will really want these.<p><i>Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.</i><p>McDonald's sometimes feels like a wolf in bull's clothing.<p>A frozen wolf, that is.<p>The company wants to be something more than it appears to be and it needs you to …
MarketingHey, Parents, Meet the Safest Bike for Your Children (the Secret is in the Brakes)
If you've had doubts about getting your kid a bike because of safety, relax. This company just might have the safest bike design on the market.<p>Bikes are a quintessential part of American childhood, but given the number of accidents that happen, there's a legitimate reason for parents or guardians …
ParentingGet Free Food From Chipotle for Making Your Own Song Right Now. Here's How
It's one of the more innovative promotions in a while.<p>Promotions that turn into disasters are a dime a dozen these days, or would be if the companies didn't spend so much money on them. But there is the occasional brilliant use of technology to take marketing to a new level. That's exactly what …
FoodThese 10 Companies Show Why Conventional Retail is Far From Dead
Sorry Sears. You're not one of them, no matter what you do with Amazon.<p>It's becoming more widely understood these days that companies and entire industries are struggling to maintain their conventional retail presence. Take Sears for example, which seems to have been hovering near bankruptcy for …
eCommerce6 Overlooked Metrics That Can Help You Recruit a Dream Team
Dig out of the data avalanche and focus on key areas to out-recruit the competition.<p>During a period of low unemployment, competition for candidates becomes particularly fierce. The best job candidates know how to stand out in the crowd; it's important that companies and recruiters are able to do …
Let's Align Habits To Organizational Values
Companies spend a lot of time and energy developing statements of purpose and values for their people to live by. Yet often these efforts don't bring about any change in behaviors.<p>Companies spend a lot of time and energy developing statements of purpose and values for their people to live by. Yet …
Marketing3 Traps to Avoid on the Road to a Successful Startup
The sooner you can get to $1 of free cash flow, the more control you have over your destiny.<p><i>What are the most common mistakes new businesses and startups make when trying to be profitable? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others</i> …
StartupsWhat Does Today's Workspace Look Like?
How and where do busy entrepreneurs work best? We share examples from EO's members.<p><i>Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) members Brian Scudamore, Franziska Iseli, Jeff Martin and Tilio Lagatta dish about their desks and what makes their workspace work for them.</i><p>You need only watch an episode of <i>Mad Men</i> …
Follow This Trick to Become a Better Leader or Public Speaker: Get a Coach
How coaches can make you a better leader faster.<p>In sports, you can recruit all the best raw talent, but without a world-class coach, you'll never win a championship.<p>The same is true in business. People talk about the genius of entrepreneurs--CEOs like Larry Page, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos. As …
Jeff Bezos3 Ways to Stop Someone Who Is Hijacking Your Meeting
No leader likes having their power usurped during a meeting. Here's how to prevent this from happening.<p>Picture it. You're sitting in a conference room ready to lead the charge on a major project for your company. The project is innovative and has the potential to position you as a sought after …
Enhanced Security Screening for Electronics in Effect for U.S.-Bound International Flights
Last month, the Homeland Security Department told airlines to "step up" security for international flights.<p>Travelers flying to the U.S. from nearly 300 international airports, including those in Mexico and Canada, are now subject to stepped-up security measures that include stricter screening for …
ElectronicsSilicon Valley's Latest Scandals Show that This 1 Thing Still Matters
We tend to revere innovation, vision, and grit in our business leaders. But something else matters much more.<p>In the last few weeks, the reports of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior have been coming out fast and furious from some of Silicon Valley's most celebrated firms, from …
Silicon ValleyHow to Use TACT to Build Great Business Relations
Vastly improve your relationship success rate by following a simple sequence: tell, ask, connect, and talk business or TACT.<p>When you're trying to do business with someone in a way where ultimately you'd like him or her to purchase something from you, there is a little secret you can use to vastly …
RelationshipsThis Steve Jobs' 5 Second Strategy Is A Master Class In Leadership
One of the simplest and most powerful things you can do as a leader takes almost no time at all.<p>I have a confession. I'm a pain in the ass (arse for my colleagues speaking proper English) to work with. I thrive on impossible challenges and expect those I work with to do the same. Growing up my …
Steve Jobs4 Things to Do When Making the Jump From Corporate to Entrepreneur
Corporate careers can be very different from being an entrepreneur--do these things to help smooth the transition.<p>After two decades in the workforce, Ohio businesswoman Deborah Wasylko found herself faced with the prospect of having to move to keep her job while dealing with challenges in her …
EntrepreneurshipYour Feedback Is Only Making Things Worse. Here's When to Avoid Giving It
Performance feedback helps, unless it makes things worse. Here are five times to skip giving feedback until you have a smarter strategy.<p>Perhaps your company still engages in traditional annual performance reviews. Or maybe you have ditched the formalities for "just in time" feedback. Or possibly, …
Study Finds Startups With Unique Names Get More Early-Stage Funding
The study also found that easily pronounceable names fare better all around.<p>As if having an awesome product isn't hard enough: A study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Venture Capital has found that a startup's name can seriously affect how a company is perceived by investors.<p>Names …
Startups1 Photo You Won't Be Able to Un-See (And What It Says About Hard Work)
The leg photo that went viral... and what it means to you.<p>Most people feel they go the extra mile, are willing to pay the price for achievement, who understand one of the brutal truths about success... and then there's Pawe Poljaski, a pro cyclist on the BORA-Hansgrohe team who is competing in the …
Tour de FranceElon Musk Wants a Base on the Moon
The SpaceX founder says establishing an outpost on the moon is important to capture public attention, but doesn't want his company to build it.<p>It's no secret that Elon Musk thinks Mars is a promising destination for people to live in the future. But that's not the only far-out location where he'd …
MoonHow To Get "Discovered" By Your Ideal Audience on LinkedIn
LinkedIn recently rolled out some new features aimed at helping you get "found" more easily by potential employers and prospects alike.<p>There are millions of users and billions of data points on LinkedIn, but most people still miss the mark in fully grasping how to leverage their profile to grow …
LinkedInScience Says Top Leaders Exhibit these 7 Attributes, but There's One More
If you have at least two of the qualities on the list, you're on your way to long-term, leadership success. If you look within yourself, you just may find something even more valuable.<p>Did you ever wonder how much physical good looks contribute to success at work? Ever look in the mirror and wish …
Leadership2 Reasons Using an 'Out of Office' Message Might Be a Big Mistake
Revealing too much in your "out of office" message can lead to cyber-crime and be detrimental to your career.<p>As the Summer holiday season gets underway, you may well be tempted to leave a jaunty 'out of office' message on your email. But after reading this, you might think twice before you do.<p>So …
Network SecurityHere's Why Hot Weather Makes You Cranky, According to Science
Here's hard evidence to back up your instinct that it's way harder to be nice when it's hot out.<p>Here's the weather this week (and basically every week in July and August) in my part of the world:<p>><p>A bit warm, right? Want to know how I feel about it? I feel like I will punch anyone in the face who …
Climate ChangeWhy Even Ambitious People Rarely Become Successful
Success is not extrinsic.<p>Success is not extrinsic.<p>It's not measurable.<p>"Success" can only truly occur internally, because it is based on emotion. At the most basic level, success if your relationship with yourself. Most people are living a lie. They purposefully ignore and distract themselves from …
Creativity