Your best ideas will go nowhere unless you can communicate them to others. Whether you’re trying to do so to your employees or potential investors, you must be able to make other people understand exactly what your idea is and what it can do for them. Try these tactics: Practice pitching. Start by explaining your idea to your family, friends, [...]

When employees share in setting their own goals, they’re more committed and involved in achieving them. Follow this four-step process for participative goal setting: Take the lead. Yes, you’re working together, but as a manager you still have the main responsibility for identifying performance targets. Start by suggesting a goal. Ask your employee to evaluate it for anything that’s unclear [...]

To be a capable leader, you have to understand what employees want from you and your organization. Your team may not tell you out loud, but you’ll do a better job of managing people if you address these basic needs: “I want to feel important” - No one wants to feel like a number. Get to know your employees as [...]

Keeping your financial papers in order is satisfying but it can be difficult to achieve. If you devote a few hours to getting organized, you’ll save endless hours in the way with these tips: FIND A HOME FOR YOUR PAPERS - Set up a home financial center where you store your bills and receipts—whether it’s in the corner of your [...]

The world of books, reading, and words is full of surprises. Take a look at some of these stories about writers and other creative people (from the Buzzfeed website): Green Eggs & Ham - This Dr. Seuss classic was written on a bet. Publisher Bennett Cerf wagered $50 that Ted Geisel couldn’t write a children’s book using fewer than 50 [...]

When you can’t solve a seemingly impossible problem, do you just throw your hands high in frustration and walk away? Most of the time that’s not an option. Try reframing the problem with these suggestions from Tina Seeling, author of Inside Out: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World (HarperOne): Revise your question. Turn the problem around [...]