How to give a TED-style presentation June 16, 2014 Embrace the power of storytelling and always remember that practice makes perfect The TED conference is considered the gold standard in public speaking. Limited to 18 minutes, the presentations have been viewed more than 1bn times online. After analysing 500 talks (150 hours), and interviewing the most popular TED speakers for my book, I’ve discovered [...]
City & Gild: Catching a cab, or catching up? June 13, 2014 I wrote recently about the sharing economy and the fact that hotels in New York are in court with Airbnb. Surprise surprise, now the black cabs are on strike because of Uber. As the hoteliers of New York claim their grievance is with Airbnb not paying hotel tax, the cabbies are apparently upset because they [...]
Boost efficiency with a weekly plan June 12, 2014 Ride the Tuesday productivity surge and use the 80/20 rule for a better working week We are what we repeatedly do,” said Aristotle; excellence is a habit, not an act. It’s common to think of productivity as purely a function of on-task effort, but successful chief executives and political leaders often rely more on a [...]
How to make a good first impression June 11, 2014 There’s more to showing your best side than a winning smile or the right footwear RECENT Princeton University research found that the window of opportunity to impress is even shorter than previously thought: humans make judgments on someone’s trustworthiness within the first 500 milliseconds of hearing their voice. So if it takes a mere half [...]
Four ways to blow your own trumpet June 10, 2014 Treading the line between self-promotion and narcissism is crucial to career progression IN SMALL doses, bragging can be effective – it’s the inconvenient truth of business. It’d be nice to think that quietly toiling away, completing work quickly and efficiently, is all that matters. But the evidence suggests otherwise. A 2012 study published in the [...]
How to master the art of negotiation June 9, 2014 From the “win-win” approach to more unusual strategies, here are some key deal-making tips FEW OF us could forget Cuba Gooding Jr’s infamous line, “Show me the money!” in the 1996 Oscar-winner Jerry Maguire. But most negotiations will require a little more nuance. Even sports agent Leigh Steinberg (on whom Tom Cruise’s eponymous character was [...]
How to manage your next promotion June 8, 2014 The transition to more senior positions can be challenging, especially if you believe all the myths YOU’VE finally got that promotion. You’ve worked hard, gained recognition for your efforts, your salary is rising, your team is expanding, and so is your responsibility. What next? Promotion anxiety, executive coach Gill Corkindale told the Harvard Business Review [...]
City & Gild: Is baring all bad for your brand? June 6, 2014 Last week I found myself on a short-haul flight to Sweden, and forced to break with my long held belief that travel should be conducted in total silence when the person sat beside me tried to strike up conversation. Now my normal mode on these occasions is to smile politely, shrug my shoulders as though [...]
How to be more creative at work June 5, 2014 Creativity can be elusive, especially in businesses short on time and under pressure to deliver financially. Albert Einstein gave a pessimistic view when he said that “the secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” But in an increasingly crowded corporate environment, genuine originality has never been so important. Private equity manager and [...]
How to avoid distractions at work June 4, 2014 Christopher Columbus’s mantra that, “by prevailing over all distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination” may have guided him across the Atlantic (four times), but most of us find the slightest interruptions can quickly derail our productivity. Of course, Columbus had less to contend with – is it any wonder our [...]