How to Prepare for a Difficult Conversation You Can’t Have In Person

by murika Comment Closed
There's no easy way to handle a difficult conversation. Whether you're facing a high-stakes negotiation, delivering delicate feedback, or seizing a new opportunity, the words we share can have unmistakable impact. And with so many daily interactions now forced online, the physical distance and emotional detachment can make these virtual exchanges even harder. Delivering a well-placed message takes skill and savvy, but good communication starts with clear thinking, careful planning, and calibrated emotions. Here are four ways business owners and leaders can prepare for tough conversations with greater intention and reflection, especially when they can't have them face to face. ...
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Don’t Become an Entrepreneur If You Want Passive Income

by murika Comment Closed
Entrepreneurship isn't passive. It is very active. Since becoming an entrepreneur, I have met a handful of hopefuls looking to do the same.  When I ask why, they often respond with some indication that they want to generate a means for passive income and recurring revenue. The reality is, there is no guarantee that becoming an entrepreneur will grant you this financial security and revenue each month.  But it does gives you something else. If you're considering joining the entrepreneurial world, make sure you want it. I have found the lifestyle of an entrepreneur brings three unique gifts, ones that are far more valuable than income. ...
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Beware of burnout, workers warned

by murika Comment Closed
Are you in a people-helping ministry like teaching, counselling, social work or healthcare? Then watch out for burnout, warns Mutheu E. Talitwala in her book, Burnout. Subtitled ‘How my Past Defined my Drive in Life and into Burnout and my Bounce Back to Wholeness’, Burnout is more than just Mutheu’s personal struggle. It provides insight into a condition that has caught the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO). In May 2019, WHO recognised burnout as a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”....
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What to Say When People Ask Why an Employee Was Fired

by murika Comment Closed
1. What to say when people ask why an employee was fired I just fired someone. It was necessary, and I've got no regrets. But while this person was terrible in many ways, they did have a great relationship with some staff members they worked with. And those staff are asking us (no doubt influenced by personal contact from the fired employee) why we did it so "suddenly" (it wasn't sudden), and how we could deprive them of someone so wonderful. Of course, our official stance is to say, "this is an HR matter." But wow, does that response not fly and people are pushing to know more. When, if ever, is it acceptable to give more information internally? Green responds: I'd say this: "I don't want to get into the details of Jane's situation--just like I wouldn't share confidential information about your employment with others here--but I can tell you that when someone is let go, it's never sudden or a surprise. It comes after multiple conversations with the person about what...
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Surviving Job Redundancy: Career and Emotional Advice

by murika Comment Closed
Redundancy in the workplace refers to when an employer decides to let go of staff because the roles they hold are no longer needed due to a reshuffle of company focus or downsizing. Redundancy only applies to a role that completely disappears in a company. If someone else is brought in to take the place of the laid-off employee, that is not redundancy. Redundancy at work might catch you when you least expect and upset your life and plans. The important thing to always remember is that redundancy doesn’t necessarily reflect on your professional value, just the lack of value to that particular company. Additionally, you will discover that it is easy to get back on your feet. That being said, it is not uncommon to experience negative feelings like discouragement, disillusionment and a sense of being malicious targeted.  Even though losing your source of income abruptly can be upsetting, it is important that you get over the negative feelings fast and...
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The only five money principles you need to know

by murika Comment Closed
Principle #1 Spend less than you earn One of the most important personal finance principles is to spend less that you earn. No matter how much you earn, if you spend all of it as soon as it lands in your account, you will be stuck in the perpetual payday-to-payday cycle. Making sure that your monthly expenses are less than your income is the only way to ensure that you have something saved for the future. Although you should save as much as possible, most personal finance experts recommend aiming to save at least 20 per cent of your income. The best way to ensure that you spend less than you earn is by creating a budget and sticking to it. You can use a budgeting app if you don’t know where to start. Principle #2 Earn more to save more You can start saving with your current income, no matter how little. However, to boost your saving rate, you actually need to earn...
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This Mental Bias Could Derail Your Career if You Don’t Actively Work Against It

by murika Comment Closed
Psychologists say the worst time to make a long-term decision is in the middle of a dramatic crisis like the pandemic because a powerful mental bias called the availability bias makes it very difficult to step outside of the moment. As a leader, understanding the availability bias is the key to minimizing its potentially damaging impact. Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist, and his research partner, Amos Tversky, identified what they called the "availability heuristic." It simply means that we form a picture of the world based on examples, events, and experiences that come readily to our mind. If everything you see, read, and hear is bad, then you're more likely to expect the future will be bad, too. The problem, according to Kahneman in his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, is that events we experience vividly today do not provide the most useful information to make wise decisions about your future....
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Your Personal Brand Is Just as Important as Your Business Brand

by murika Comment Closed
So, you’re a founder and you’ve created a brand for your company that you’re proud of. But what about your personal brand? Many founders hide behind their company, but consumers are responding more than ever to founders who share their personal lives on social media, and it’s translating to sales. One report from the Impact Learning Center found that consumers are 82 percent more likely to trust a company if the CEO is active on social media, but as it stands now, only one in five CEOs use social media to connect with their consumers. While building trust is the core benefit of creating a robust personal brand, the implications ripples far beyond increased sellability. Here are four reasons why personal branding is critical for founders....
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How Brené Brown Runs Emotionally Intelligent Zoom Meetings

by murika Comment Closed
Now that many meetings have quickly gone virtual, there's no lack of advice about how to run them productively and efficiently. But there's an emotionally intelligent step that can easily be missed. Have you checked in with your teammates to ask how they're feeling? Since you can't check in with your team in-person or read body language, it's important to ask. Brené Brown, the vulnerability researcher and professor whose TED Talk is one of the most-viewed in the world, has a masterful way to ask this question so people will give an honest answer. ...
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Why the Most Successful Leaders Don’t Care About Being Liked

by murika Comment Closed
There's nothing wrong with wanting to be liked at work. According to Tim Sanders, author of The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life's Dreams when your colleagues, direct reports and bosses like you, you have a better chance of getting promoted, being assigned special projects that interest you, having people go above and beyond for you, getting timely responses and feedback, and having the kind of social capital that you draw on to get what you want and need from others. ...
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How Color Theory Can Influence Your Customers

by murika Comment Closed
There's more to color than meets the eye. Top brands leverage color theory -- the science of how different colors mix, match and contrast -- to shape our emotional responses and persuade us to trust certain products. This matters because some studies suggest that people subconsciously make a judgment about a product within 90 seconds - and up to 90 percent of that assessment is based on color alone. So, how do you use color theory to rise above the competition? I built an agency that uses color theory and design psychology to help some of the world's biggest brands succeed. Here are four simple tips all entrepreneurs and business leaders can use to leverage color like a pro: ...
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A New Study Reveals What Workers Really Think About HR (and It’s Not Good News)

by murika Comment Closed
Throughout our careers, most of us have encountered workplace issues that were either plain annoying or downright criminal. The question is: Do workers have confidence that HR will iron out workplace issues when things get serious? Or do most Americans view HR departments as being inconsistent, unhelpful, and determined to follow draconian policies? The career experts at Zety decided to dive into the topic and polled 926 employees across the U.S. to see what they think of HR, whether or not they trust HR professionals to fight their corner, and what issues they are or aren't willing to report to them. Sexual Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace For starters, it turns out that a full 37 percent of workers wouldn't report sexual harassment in the workplace, and another 43 percent would hesitate to report discrimination. The reason?...
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There Are 2 Types of Leaders: Water and Rock. Here’s Why Both Are Important

by murika Comment Closed
Researchers are keen on the idea that there are different leadership styles--autocratic, visionary and servant, for instance. Arguably, however, no matter which style you lean on most naturally, when it comes to flexibility, I've come to believe through my personal experiences that there are just two main types of people. You are either a rock or water leader. The traits of rock leaders. Rock leaders, as you might guess, are overwhelmingly firm in their decisions. What they do often serves as a foundation for the behaviors of everyone else, and others recognize their exceptional strength. ...
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3 Major Opportunities That Will Come From This Pandemic

by murika Comment Closed
What good can come from all this bad? There’s reason to be optimistic. Throughout history, terrible events have led to great transformations. The bubonic plague of the 1300s led to the modern employment contract. Cholera epidemics of the mid-1800s gave us urban parks and radically improved infrastructure. The 1918 Spanish Flu revolutionized healthcare. What are we in for this time? I started calling some smart people for a podcast titled "The Good That Comes From A Pandemic", and their answers thrilled and inspired me. Here were three big things I learned: 1. Crisis will pop our bubble — in a good way!...
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