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BNET Insights Most Recent
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The View from Harvard Business
Metrics and the Entrepreneur
Want to improve the usability of your metrics? Look to the three A's -- Actionable, Accessible, Auditable -- for best results.
Feb 9, 2010 9:31 AM
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Sterling Performance
Gap Year a Bad Idea for Confused Graduates
Predictions on the state of the graduate job market are conflicting, but one thing is certain, the year out is no longer seen as a useful character-building alternative to real work.
Feb 9, 2010 9:20 AM
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Business Hacks
Learn to Use the Office Ribbon by Thinking Like a Gamer
Microsoft has released an experimental add-on for Office apps which treats learning how to get around the ribbon like a computer game.
Feb 9, 2010 7:00 AM
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The View from Harvard Business
We Aren't Even Close to Gender-Parity at Work
There are pockets of progress. But if truth be told, women are still in The Man's pocket when it comes to gender-parity in the workplace. Results of a new Bain & Co. survey prove it.
Feb 9, 2010 6:44 AM
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Back to B-School
Are Analytics Responsible for the Financial Crisis?
Last week I spoke with Analytics at Work author and Babson College professor Thomas Davenport about the ways in which analytics can benefit organizations. This week, the conversation turns to why it's imperative to use analytics responsibly.
Feb 9, 2010 6:00 AM
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Sales Machine
Increase Sales Geometrically...in 5 Easy Steps
Want to double, and then redouble, your sales revenue? Believe it or not, that's not just possible... it's easy. Turns out that sales pipelines are like compound interest. Small increases in efficiency, applied simultaneously at different points in the sales cycle, result in geometric increases in final sales results. Here...
Feb 9, 2010 5:30 AM
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Business Hacks
Is Internet Addiction Sapping Your Productivity?
Last Friday, I got out of bed to discover that my Internet cable service was out. Not only couldn't I get any e-mail in Outlook, but I was unable to see any Web pages.
Feb 9, 2010 5:00 AM
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Entry-Level Rebel
How to Tame Your Out of Control Social Media Life
Facebook. LinkedIn. Twitter. All these social media communities can be immensely useful (and immensely fun), but they can also be a giant time suck. So how can you be smart about your social media world, maximizing the benefit you get out of staying connected and ensuring all those feeds and...
Feb 9, 2010 4:57 AM
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Aussie Rules
Five Tips For Successful Cold Calling | BTalk
[podcast] Art Sobczak gives us a taste of the advice from his new book "Smart Calling" with five tips that will lead to more successful business prospecting over the phone.
Feb 8, 2010 12:21 PM
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Sales Machine
Five Rules for Effective Cold-Calling
Cold-calling is always a challenge. Here are five rules to help you make the process as productive as possible: RULE #1. Know your target. Based upon your previous sales rates, figure out how many prospects you need in order to generate the number of sales needed to fulfill your quota....
Feb 8, 2010 11:30 AM
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Business Hacks
Lessons Learned From the Google Commercial -- and How to Make One of Your Own
Google spent millions to buy Super Bowl ad time, but almost zero to create its commercial. Yet it was one of the best of the night. I made a knockoff in about 45 minutes using free tools.
Feb 8, 2010 10:48 AM
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The Corner Office
'Undercover Boss': What Cleaning Toilets Can Teach Execs
A new reality show, Undercover Boss, has CEOs of big companies posing as entry-level employees to see what's really going on in the trenches. Sounds good on paper, but it could easily be a train wreck in practice. Here's my take on how it went down at $13 billion Waste...
Feb 8, 2010 9:43 AM
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Sterling Performance
BAE Shows Manufacturers Are Too Big to Fail
Yet again, UK and US regulators are bending over backwards to prop up mega-corps, this time in the manufacturing sector, to safeguard constituents' jobs and the wider economy.
Feb 8, 2010 7:36 AM
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Business Hacks
Smaller Teams, Less Communication Equals Better Productivity
Organizationally, we have a tendency to over communicate. Andc by adding nonessential participants to projects, we dramatically slow down the overall process.
Feb 8, 2010 7:00 AM
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Sterling Performance
The Pinch Closes Down Baby Boomers' Justifications
Author David Willetts deftly expresses the plight of Millennials, who will have to support their Baby Boomer grandparents: the laziest generation in history.
Feb 8, 2010 6:51 AM
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The View from Harvard Business
Thanks for the Bonus -- I Quit!
A bonus check may satisfy a worker's financial needs, but not psychological ones. 20 seconds a week can help you soothe both, and retain more employees.
Feb 8, 2010 6:43 AM
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Back to B-School
Google Takes Top Spot in Kellogg's Super Bowl Ad Review
While a good deal of the water cooler talk today will be about the historic first Super Bowl win by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, many of us will also be talking about the Super Bowl ads. Find out which ones were ranked as best and worst by the...
Feb 8, 2010 6:00 AM
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Entry-Level Rebel
Does Taking a Temp Job Hurt Your Future Earnings?
If you're out of work and your savings are bleeding away, taking a temporary gig may seem like a financial reprieve and a good first step towards getting your mojo back. But that temp job might also have unexpected repercussions. While many might not be in a financial position to...
Feb 8, 2010 5:57 AM
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Sales Machine
Are You Spending Enough Time Selling?
Selling is a complex business. In addition to speaking with customers, you must work with sales technology, learn about products and services, keep track of email and other correspondence, keep your firm apprised of your activities, perform research into prospects and customers, travel from place to place, etc. All of...
Feb 8, 2010 5:30 AM
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Business Hacks
Turn Your iPhone into a Personal Assistant That You Can Talk To
Siri responds to voice recognition, interprets your plain English commands, and leverages a slew of Web sites and services to actually do useful work for you.
Feb 8, 2010 5:00 AM
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Business Hacks
Best Posts of the Week (Feb. 8, 2010)
There are studies indicating that every March, during the NCAA basketball tournament, nationwide office productivity takes a hit. I suspect it's the same during the week leading up to the Super Bowl. So we understand if you spent the better part of last week choosing your squares in the office...
Feb 8, 2010 4:30 AM
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Aussie Rules
B2B vs B2C Marketing. What's the Difference? | BTalk
[podcast] B2C marketing is all about big budgets, exciting TV campaigns and immediate results. B2B marketing tends to rely on lower budgets, little in the way of broadcasting channels and a longer sales cycle. So are there any similarities between the two?
Feb 7, 2010 1:02 PM
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Sales Machine
Podcast: 9 Common Sales Mistakes
Every Friday, I summarize the high points of the previous week’s posts in a podcast. In this podcast, I review the nine most common mistakes that sales reps make -- and how to avoid them. It's based upon this post: Nine Easily Avoidable Selling Mistakes As usual, I've added some...
Feb 5, 2010 12:02 PM
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The Corner Office
Fiorina's Demon Sheep Ad: Feels Like Old Times
Have you seen Carly Fiorina's YouTube ad that characterizes her republican rival as a cheesy wolf in a sheepskin rug with demon eyes, trolling the pasture for helpless constituents to slaughter. It brings back memories of the bullet HP dodged when it put its then rock-star CEO out to pasture....
Feb 5, 2010 11:17 AM
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The Service Economy
The John Lewis Secret to Customer Service
John Lewis is a champion of customer service. The trick is embracing it at the core of your culture, alongside other elements of good business practice.
Feb 5, 2010 9:12 AM
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BNET Intercom
Google Cyberattack Opens the Door to Big Brother in U.S. Business
So Google (GOOG) plans to team up with the NSA to investigate the recent cyberattacks emanating from China. This is probably the first of many such arrangements, as the nature of hacking against American businesses has fundamentally changed in the last few years.
Feb 5, 2010 8:25 AM
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Business Hacks
Do You Still Use Voicemail?
Like the fax machine, voicemail seems to be dying a slow but steady death. We say: good riddance to this outdated, inconvenient technology. Keep the e-mails, IMs, and text messages coming!
Feb 5, 2010 8:00 AM
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Sterling Performance
Business Brief: Sexual Harrassment Claims
It's probably the least popular task of any manager but a complaint of sexual harassment has strong legal implications and must be dealt with swiftly and delecately.
Feb 5, 2010 7:31 AM
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Entry-Level Rebel
Gen Y "Enslaved" by Explosion in Unpaid Internships?
According to the NY Times hiring is increasing in one area at least: low-paid or unpaid internships. Unpaid internships may be on the rise, but are they fair?
Feb 5, 2010 7:20 AM
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The View from Harvard Business
Aging Brains Better for Problem Solving
Good news for the aging manager. Your brain, growing less sharp in short-term memory, is actually improving in ways that make you a much better leader.
Feb 5, 2010 7:05 AM
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Business Hacks
Quickly Move a Paragraph in Word (Without Using the Mouse)
I frequently find that I need to rearrange paragraphs in a document that I have written. Often it's as simple as wanting to move a paragraph (or a "graf," in writer lingo) up or down a little, swapping positions with the neighboring paragraph. Sure, it's easy to do by selecting...
Feb 5, 2010 7:00 AM
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Back to B-School
Kellogg's Super Bowl Advertising Review to Rank Best Commercials
Super Bowl parties can be fun for sports and non-sports fans alike. For the Kellogg School of Management students taking part in the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review, the commercials are the main attraction.
Feb 5, 2010 6:00 AM
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Sales Machine
World's Most Absurd Sales Close
I love Hollywood movies about selling, mostly because they're so ridiculous. Of all the ridiculous sales scenes, however, this closing scene from the movie "Boiler Room" (starring, of all people, Vin Diesel) absolutely takes the cake. I don't know about you, but just once, I'd like to see a sales...
Feb 5, 2010 5:30 AM
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Business Hacks
The Apple iPad, Explained Succinctly
you'll permit me one final post on the Apple iPad, here's a bit of Friday levity for you. Last week, Seth Myers summed up the iPad about as well as any journalist or pundit I've yet seen.
Feb 5, 2010 5:00 AM
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BNET Intercom
Best Buy Still Trying -- and Failing -- To Make Magnolia Bloom
A decade after buying into the high-end home theater business with its acquisition of Magnolia Audio Video, Best Buy continues to tinker with the brand as it tries to make the $87 million purchase pay off. The Orange County Register reports Best Buy will open a new iteration of its...
Feb 5, 2010 5:00 AM
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BNET Intercom
Toyota Recall Aftermath: The Japanese Automaker's Big Disconnect
As the Toyota-recall scandal grows, the company doesn't just face the deep embarrassment of recalling most of its most-popular cars. The Japanese auto giant has made some key mistakes in managing the crisis that could cost it even more than the brand black-eye it's getting from its mechanical problems.
Feb 4, 2010 5:27 PM
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The Corner Office
Can Toyota Avoid Brand Disaster?
It took 15 years for Audi to recover from the "sudden acceleration" recall of 1985 that was linked to six deaths and 700 accidents. The parallels to Toyota's current accelerator pedal crisis are obvious, but the damage of a "lost generation" to the Toyota brand would be enormous.
Feb 4, 2010 1:09 PM
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Business Hacks
Poll: Has Windows 7 Caused Problems With Your Laptop Battery?
There's mounting anecdotal evidence that Windows 7 is either misreporting available battery life or actually damaging laptop and netbook batteries. Have you had any problems?
Feb 4, 2010 12:38 PM
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Aussie Rules
Innovation Made Simple | BTalk
[podcast] Businesses can be fearful of innovation and try to create it with committees and complex processes. Naomi Simson says the way to to create innovation isn't really that complicated.
Feb 4, 2010 12:10 PM
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Business Hacks
Should You Start a Side Business? Yes, Yes You Should
Whether you're suffering job burnout or just looking for a new challenge, a side business might be the perfect answer. Here are five reasons to consider starting one.
Feb 4, 2010 11:40 AM
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Sales Machine
Sales Jobs: Safe Haven in Tough Times
Conventional wisdom says that working in Sales is really tough, especially during tough economic times. However, while it's definitely harder to make your quota when customers are fewer and further between, Sales remains a good place to be when the going gets tough, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics...
Feb 4, 2010 11:30 AM
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Sterling Performance
Engagement Could Be a Management Blind-Spot
Research has found many managers are unwilling to accept they may have problems with employee engagement in their own teams.
Feb 4, 2010 9:41 AM
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The View from Harvard Business
What Makes a Successful Business Tweet?
We are starting to understand what ingredients go into a successful tweet to your followers. But what makes an engaging BUSINESS tweet?
Feb 4, 2010 7:14 AM
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Business Hacks
5 Resources for Free or Cheap Legal Advice
The next time you need to get a legal question answered, try one of these free or inexpensive Web sites.
Feb 4, 2010 7:00 AM
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Sterling Performance
M&S Hello Bonus Breaks Retailer's Golden Handcuffs
The new Marks & Spencer CEO's transfer payout undermines the value of bonus incentives offered to managers to stick out their employment contracts.
Feb 4, 2010 6:47 AM
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Back to B-School
Readers Weigh In On MBA Student or Customer Debate
Almost two weeks ago, I asked readers to weigh in on a subject broached recently in a New York Times' Room for Debate feature: Should MBA programs treat their students like customers? Many readers wrote in about the shortcomings of this either/or approach.
Feb 4, 2010 6:00 AM
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Sales Machine
Does an MBA in Sales Make Sense?
Ever feel slighted because the marketing guys have MBAs and you don't? Not to worry. An increasing number of colleges and universities now offer degrees in Sales, according to the University Sales Education Foundation. Unlike most MBA curricula, these programs include opportunities to obtain classroom training and hands-on experience specific...
Feb 4, 2010 5:30 AM
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Business Hacks
Prevent Repetitive Stress Injuries with Enforced Breaks, Simple Exercises
You can wait until you feel a sharp, debilitating pain in your wrist, or proactively work to preserve your body right now, before you damage anything. If you choose the latter, then I've got a program for your PC that will help you stay healthy.
Feb 4, 2010 5:00 AM
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Entry-Level Rebel
Seven Signs It's Time for a Career Change
Often dissatisfaction at work is just burn-out and can be fixed by adjusting your mentality or taking a decent vacation, but sometimes there's something wrong that's more fundamental -- you're in the wrong role, wrong industry or wrong career path entirely. Telling one from the other can be tricky, however,...
Feb 4, 2010 4:31 AM
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Aussie Rules
The Write Stuff Wins
I recently caught up again with Paul Jones from Magneto Communications and we had a lively discussion on the topic of writing mistakes and how to avoid them. In this short video, Paul shares some straightforward tips to help all manner of business writing. Whether it's crafting newsletter and article...
Feb 3, 2010 10:25 PM
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