   
CEO Picks - The most popular editorials that have stood the test of time!
Your Emails Are 36 Percent More Likely to Get a Reply If You End Them This Way
 How you sign off on business emails seems like a small thing, but it has a big impact on their effect.
As any salesperson, PR rep, or entrepreneur can tell you, the rate at which people open and respond to your emails can be the difference between accelerating your career and the pit of despair.
No wonder we all spend so much time obsessing about subject lines, exact phrasings, and crafting the perfect ask. But according to research from email software company Boomerang, there's one part of your messages you're probably not putting enough thought into -- your closing.
Most of us slap a pleasant-sounding "Best" or "Regards" on the end of our emails and call it a day. But when Boomerang trawled through 350,000 emails to see how particular closings impact whether a message gets a reply, they discovered how you sign off matters a surprising amount.
Continued here
|
� | � |  | Sputnik V: How Russia's Covid vaccine is dividing Europe
 It's no coincidence that Russia has christened its Covid vaccine Sputnik V. The first time the world learned the meaning of the Russian word Sputnik was in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into orbit.
At the height of the Cold War this startling evidence of Moscow's scientific and technical capabilities came as a huge shock to Western powers, which had assumed they enjoyed a comfortable technological lead over the Soviets.
Critics of the Putin administration were sceptical when the vaccine was given regulatory approval in Moscow as early as last August.
That scepticism, though, has faded. Because once again Russian scientists have surprised the West.
An Eastern European diplomat, from a country that regards Russia as a clear and present threat, put it to me like this: "The search for vaccines in 2020 was rather similar to the race for space flight in the 1950s. Once again many outsiders have underestimated Russia. This is potentially the most powerful tool of soft power that Moscow has had in its hands for generations."
Continued here
|
| � | | An Oxford researcher says there are seven moral rules that unite humanity
 In 2012, Oliver Scott Curry was an anthropology lecturer at the University of Oxford. One day, he organized a debate among his students about whether morality was innate or acquired. One side argued passionately that morality was the same everywhere; the other, that morals were different everywhere.
"I realized that, obviously, no one really knew, and so decided to find out for myself," Curry says.
Seven years later, Curry, now a senior researcher at Oxford's Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, can offer up an answer to the seemingly ginormous question of what morality is and how it does - or doesn't - vary around the world.
Continued here
|
3 Signs You Possess a Skill Most Don't Have (and How to Capitalize On It)
 When you recognize where your gifts are, you're one step closer to finding ways to leverage them in business.
There are many things that can give entrepreneurs an advantage over their competition. Unique life experiences. Strong leadership capabilities. Or even being able to assemble a high-performing, driven team.
But like so many other aspects of life, you are your most valuable asset. This is especially true when you bring unique skills to the table--abilities most people don't have.
The challenge, of course, is recognizing where your gifts lie and then finding ways to capitalize on them. Though this certainly isn't easy, here are three signs to look for to start the process.
Continued here
|
| � | | High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here's How to Create It
 "There's no team without trust," says Paul Santagata, Head of Industry at Google. He knows the results of the tech giant's massive two-year study on team performance, which revealed that the highest-performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety, the belief that you won't be punished when you make a mistake. Studies show that psychological safety allows for moderate risk-taking, speaking your mind, creativity, and sticking your neck out without fear of having it cut off - just the types of behavior that lead to market breakthroughs.
Continued here
|
| � | | The Japanese art principle that teaches how to work with failure
 Your cracks and flaws make you more amazing - if handled artfully.
Like a favorite cup or plate, people sometimes crack. We may even break.
Obviously, we cannot and ought not throw ourselves away when this happens. Instead, we can relish the blemishes and learn to turn these scars into art - like kintsugi (é‡'継ãŽ), an ancient Japanese practice that beautifies broken pottery.
Kintsugi, or gold splicing, is a physical manifestation of resilience. Instead of discarding marred vessels, practitioners of the art repair broken items with a golden adhesive that enhances the break lines, making the piece unique. They call attention to the lines made by time and rough use; these aren't a source of shame. This practiceâ€"also known as kintsukuroi (é‡'繕ㄠ), which literally means gold mendingâ€"emphasizes the beauty and utility of breaks and imperfections. It turns a problem into a plus.
Continued here
|
| � | | How to work with someone who isn't emotionally intelligent
 If you ever worked with someone who is volatile, temperamental, moody, or simply grumpy, you will understand the difficulties. Here are ways to cope.
Few psychological traits have been celebrated more during the past 20 years than emotional intelligence (EQ). Loosely defined, it's the ability to keep your own emotions under control, as well as read and influence other people's emotions. Ever since Daniel Goleman wrote a best-selling book on the topic (popularizing earlier research by two Yale psychologists), organizations are placing increasing importance on EQ when hiring and developing employees and managers.
Sadly, many managers have low EQ, which is a common cause of anxiety and stress for their employees. If you ever worked for someone who is volatile, temperamental, moody, or simply grumpy, you will understand the difficulties of putting up with a low EQ boss. Even if organizations make progress in developing EQ in their managers, you are always going to have to learn how to deal with low EQ individuals, including, at times, a boss. No amount of coaching can turn someone with chronic anger management problems, severe empathy deficits, and lack of social skills, into Oprah Winfrey or the Dalai Lama.
Continued here
|
| � | | Debranding Is the New Branding
 From Burger King and Toyota to Intel and Warner Brothers, major brands are discarding detail and depth. Why now, and what's the rush?
Advertising's oldest cliche has the client asking: "Can you make the logo bigger?" But the internet has forever constrained the dimensions of design. In a pre-Web world - when the smallest canvas for many brands was the business card - intricacy could be embraced. Nowadays, corporate identities must "click" inside an ever-expanding warren of tiny boxes, from 120-pixel iPhone buttons to 16-pixel browser "favicons."
The difficulty of ensuring that any logo (let alone an intricate, dimensional logo) stands out from the kaleidoscopic eye-candy of ads, apps and open tabs is one driver behind "mobile first" design. Here identity and functionality are conceived from the outset inside the tightest constraints - for what works on a cellphone will surely work on a water-tower.
Continued here
|
| � | | 'A wonderful escape': the rise of gaming parents -- and grandparents
 Video game popularity soared during the pandemic, as people sought distraction and ways to connect with loved ones
Helping his seven-year-old daughter Romy set up the Nintendo Switch she got for Christmas, Paul Cliff managed to get himself hooked on Animal Crossing. "I've somehow played over 600 hours on it since January," says Paul, 56, of the life simulation game where villagers carry out daily activities such as gardening, furniture arrangement and gathering fruits.
"I love the collecting in it, it's so gentle and oddly rewarding," he says, recalling an afternoon spent fishing together when Romy finally caught the Stringfish she'd been trying to catch for ages. "She couldn't wait to show me. We've been amazed at each other's achievements and creativity," Paul says. "I've found it an immersive and relaxing experience. I love my wee island, it's a wonderful escape from what's going on outside our four walls."
Continued here
|
| � | |
 | TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives |
