Want to Avoid Being a Bad Boss? Here Are 5 Ways to Take Your Leadership from Good to Great

No one wants to be a bad boss. Unfortunately, there appear to be more bad bosses out there than good ones. Research shows that 90 percent of people lack natural leadership skills, and 60 percent of employees plan to leave their company because of a bad boss. This does not have to be the case at all. Shane Metcalf is chief culture officer and co-founder of HR tech company 15Five. 15Five recently launched Best Self Academy, a free online education platform that provides managers with the tools and training to unlock the potential of each and every employee, effectively increasing employee retention, productivity, and their overall contribution to the company. Here are 5 ways Shane Metcalf suggests that you can take your leadership from good to great: ...
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How to Make Money When You Can’t Leave Your House

It wasn’t that long ago that working from home was merely a pipe dream. But throughout history, there has always been some type of “working from home.” Of course, today, working from home with ease has been with a big thanks to advancements in technology. The work from home requirements have become a necessity in a pandemic where you can’t leave your house. Maybe in the past you have worked from home because you can’t afford childcare, have a medical condition or you may be introverted and just prefer to stay at home. But, today, you are complying with stay-at-home orders due to Covid-19....
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Self-made billionaire Jack Ma: How to be successful in your 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond

When Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma was a young adult, he applied to over 30 jobs and got rejected by all of them. Today, the 53-year-old’s e-commerce company is valued at $519 billion, although Ma didn’t start achieving career success until his 30s. “In life, it’s not how much we achieved, it’s how much we’ve gone through the tough days and mistakes,” Ma recently said to a group of young leaders invited to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “If you want to be successful, learn from the other people’s mistakes, don’t learn from the successful stories.” As an alum of the Young Global Leaders network, Ma shed light on what the room of young adults should focus on within the next 30 years. “When you are 20 to 30 years old, you should follow a good boss [and] join a good company to learn how to do things properly,” Ma said. ...
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I Lied on My Resume–Now What?

I Lied on My Resume–Now What?

1. I lied on my resume. I recently applied for a prestigious company looking to fill a role that's rarely open -- and I lied on my resume. Specifically, I lied about where I went to school. The company hires people from top-caliber schools and I thought swapping the name of my college would help me get my foot in the door. The company had already called me in for a series of in-person interviews with key players in the department. My interaction with the team has reinforced my confidence in wanting the job and guilt about lying where I attended college (at least two people have remarked what a wonderful place it is, so it hasn't gone unnoticed). ...
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Before Launching a Business, Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

Q: I have a startup idea…but how do I know whether it’s worth my time to pursue — Nia, Chicago That’s a very important question. In fact, it might be the most important question — and many entrepreneurs bypass it on the road to independence. We’re so excited by our 2 a.m. epiphany that we don’t want to know the answer. We fear that this is our one and only shot, and that another great idea may never come. But if you skip this self-audit, you may face massive consequences for years to come....
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How to Help Frazzled Employees Refuel for Another Stretch of Uncertainty

Several months into the pandemic, Peter Newell's Palo Alto, California-based innovation consulting firm BMNT hadn't skipped a beat. Business was up as more clients sought its advice on how to adapt to a world grappling with Covid-19 and his already distributed team made the remote work transition seamlessly. Still, Newell faced the same challenge all leaders faced, that of supporting a team that's juggling work, child care, and countless other challenges. Now six months into the pandemic--with no discernible end in sight--that task is all the more urgent. "Hope has pretty much worn off ... that an immediate solution to [Covid-19] is coming," Newell says of his team. "There has been a mixture of responses, everything from people exhibiting superhuman behavior to make everything work for everyone around them, to 'I'm burning out,' and everything in between." ...
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21 Ways to Quickly Fund Your Business Growth

In a 2020 Small Business Credit Survey released by a collective of Federal Reserve Banks, it was reported that 66 percent of businesses faced financial challenges in 2019. Yet 57 percent did not apply for financing or third-party funding. The top reasons given by those that either did not apply or approved funding but declined it included: Cost/interest rate too high Unfavorable repayment terms Amount offered was too small Collateral requirements Debt-averse Found enough funding from other sources When business owners used other funding methods,...
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Virtual Meeting Etiquette Guide for Hosts and Attendees

Even before COVID-19, remote meetings were becoming increasingly popular. However, amid this crisis, people have spent more than 5.5 billion minutes attending virtual meetings. While some people may still be concentrating on the effectiveness of meeting remotely, prior research shows that video conferencing can boost both productivity and collaboration among teams. You need to make sure that everyone in attendance is following virtual meeting etiquette. Here are some tips to help you do just that....
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Building a New Habit Starts with These 5 Steps

If you’re like most people, you probably have countless goals and aspirations: eating a more balanced diet, saving money, exercising more, being a more engaged parent. Prepared to make a major life change with your sights set squarely on perfection, you fail — if not immediately, within the first few weeks. According to Marti Hope Gonzales, an associate psychology professor at the University of Minnesota, 80 percent of people who set New Year’s resolutions fail or have forgotten about their resolutions by the second week of February....
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Why Starting a Business Late in Life May Be Smarter Than Starting Early

In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Brian Tracy says it is never too late to realign your thinking and shoot for success, so start by telling yourself just that: It's not too late. Next, write down your goals. By seeing your goals on paper, you will crystallize the things you want to do and breathe life into the idea. You don't legitimately know what your goal is until you can describe it on paper. Don't forget to make a plan. Tracy says that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. A designated structure helps to determine if a goal is possible according to a set timeline. Moreover, a plan helps you to see all the moving parts and weigh the upsides and downsides of each; this judgment is more cemented when you start a business at a later age, says Tracy....
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22 Hidden Chrome Features That Will Make Your Life Easier

Browsers offer us a window into the magical world of the internet, and they do far more than you realize. It's not just about visiting web pages anymore — browsers function as something of an operating system in their own right, which is really not all that far off with Chrome OS now powering Google's Chromebooks. While there is still plenty of debate over which web browser is the best, there's certainly something special about the sleek, minimalist package known as Google Chrome. And the data shows that most users agree: According to Net Applications, most internet users are on Chrome, and it's not particularly close....
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How to Become a Brand, Not an Employee

When you’re an employee, you often think you’re expected to only do what you’re told, and you don’t always see your knowledge as valuable. The employee mindset doesn’t challenge leadership or other team members to enhance or create a new, innovative way to perform an existing process. When you have a branding mindset, on the other hand, you think of your expertise and knowledge like a product or service. Brands offer unique products or experiences that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s the same in the professional world: You have to go to work and provide expertise and unique experiences with your team members or clients that no one else offers. This personal branding can be experienced in the way you deliver your task, how you dress, or how you conduct yourself in meetings. People with a brand mindset present their best selves every day and constantly work to enhance their knowledge....
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