Work Archives

Your Brain at Work: How to Work Smarter All Day Long

What’s the best way to start your work day? How should you handle stressful situations at work? How can you break through a creative impasse? In Your Brain at Work, David Rock argues that, by understanding the neuroscience behind the brain’s functions, you can increase your productivity by working with your brain’s natural rhythms. He shares the neuroscience you need to know and some strategies to optimize this knowledge. Keep reading for our overview of this interesting and practical book that will help you get the most out of your work day.

You Are Responsible for Your Own Actions, No Matter What

Do you believe that you are responsible for your own actions, even if the outcomes aren’t what you intended? Do you feel justified in making excuses? Courage involves saying and doing the right thing. This includes taking responsibility for your words and actions, even when they lead to negative outcomes. Ryan Holiday writes about this aspect of Stoic courage in his book Courage Is Calling. Continue reading to understand how you must accept responsibility for what you say and do, no matter what.

The Importance of Managing Transition in the Workplace

What is the importance of managing transitions in the workplace? How can you handle change with grace? Organizational leaders must learn how to manage transitions effectively. Susan and William Bridges’s book Managing Transitions says it’s important that everyone is on the same page during the transition, which is largely a leader’s job. Read below to learn why you need to effectively manage transitions in the workplace.

The Importance of Personal Growth in the Workplace

Why is personal growth important in the workplace? How can leaders encourage personal growth among employees? Many companies don’t encourage personal growth because they can’t easily measure its effectiveness. Instead, those companies expect employees to focus on their day-to-day tasks and to do them “by the book,” with no room for personal growth. In doing so, they stifle people’s potential and enthusiasm. With this in mind, here’s how you can inspire a commitment to personal growth among your employees.

How to Learn From Mistakes: 2 Ways to Flip the Script

Do you ever make mistakes on purpose? If you do, what do you learn? What if your mistake is a solution to another problem? When you fail at solving a problem, you can set yourself up for success next time if you analyze why you failed and think about what you can do to prevent failure in the future. Specifically, you can make intentional mistakes, and you can investigate where your mistake might be a different problem’s solution. Read more to find out how to learn from mistakes.

How to Brainstorm Ideas for Writing: The 2 Essential Steps

Do you know how to brainstorm ideas for writing? Why is it important to brainstorm? Before you pick up a pencil to start writing, it’s important you brainstorm your ideas first. In The Pyramid Principle, Barbara Minto says this is crucial because you must know your purpose before anything else. Read below to learn how to brainstorm ideas for writing papers or any other prose.

Barbara Minto’s Writing Advice for Struggling Writers

What is Barbara Minto’s best writing advice? How can her suggestions help you? In The Pyramid Principle, Barbara Minto shares a form of writing called the Conclusions-First Pyramid. She developed this writing approach when she noticed that her colleagues were producing unclear reports that failed to reflect the strength of their ideas. Learn more about Minto’s writing style below.

The Evolution of Ideas: Why It Matters Where Ideas Come From

Does it matter where ideas come from? How could that understanding help you solve problems? When you understand where an idea came from, you’ll better understand the idea in the present and where it could go in the future. In The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird explain how you can leverage this understanding to improve your problem-solving abilities. Keep reading to learn how to understand the evolution of ideas and to use history as a guide to the future.

Unclear Writing: Causes and How to Avoid It

What’s the problem with unclear writing? Why will the traditional writing process fail you? According to Barbara Minto in her book The Pyramid Principle, people often produce unclear writing that’s time-consuming and mentally taxing to read. This is because the typical writing approach fails to meet readers’ needs. Below we’ll look at why the typical writing and reading process leads to unclear writing.

Job Elimination in Big Tech (Amazon, Facebook, & Google)

What effect do Amazon’s automated processes have on jobs? How are Facebook and Google eliminating jobs? The products and services from Amazon, Facebook, and Google fulfill some of our deepest human needs. However, they’re taking away our livelihoods, says Scott Galloway. He argues that these companies destroy more jobs than they create. Keep reading to learn how job elimination in their own and their competitors’ workplaces is caused by Amazon’s emphasis on automation and Facebook and Google’s massive advertising capabilities.