Blog / ChangeThis

Futureproof: 8 Ways to Win the Innovation Long Game

By Alice Mann

"The future is at your doorstep. It's a drone. And it's delivering the 3D printed bespoke shoes you ordered just a few hours earlier from your driverless car. Ok, that exact scenario may only play out in the virtual pages of Wired, but it's also likely to be a totally unremarkable event in three years. What is certain is that the kind of disruptions in supply chain, product design, material sourcing, and online retail that the drone delivery suggests are already happening. The future, it's also clear, doesn't have to arrive in glitzy packaging to have a major impact on how we do business. Technological innovations like intelligent buildings, AI, or robotics will transform energy consumption, leadership, and people practices in innumerable ways. Rapidly changing demographics and cultural norms will transform how we develop talent. Dynamic markets in the developing world and an era of regulatory uncertainty will make investing and planning more complicated. The future always looms large. So how do successful leaders plan for it.

Blog / ChangeThis

Taming Your Seven Crocodiles: Unlearn Fear & Become True Leader

By Hylke Faber

"Are you about to take on an inspiring new role and are looking for inspiration? Or maybe you are looking for a change? Maybe you feel overwhelmed by your to-do-list? Or maybe you are looking to inspire your team to its next level of excellence? Whatever your question is, if you were to have lived twenty-five hundred years ago in ancient Greece you may have taken it to the oracle in Delphi. You would have learned there to 'Know thyself.' It was written on the entrance gate to the oracle. I believe getting to know who we truly are is the core of effective leadership and a fulfilling life."

Blog / ChangeThis

What If Sellers Behaved as Leaders?

By Deb Calvert

"It is time we start making a shift. Research shows you can make more sales by abandoning sales-y behaviors buyers resist and replacing them with leadership behaviors buyers desire. Sellers do extraordinary things when they stop pushing people to buy before they're ready, and start guiding buyers by transforming values into actions, visions into realities, obstacles into innovations, separateness into solidarity, and risks into rewards."

Blog / ChangeThis

Don't Suck Up, Manage Up: How to Work Well with the Boss You Have, Not Wish You Had

By Mary Abbajay

"As much as we would love to believe that the workplace is (or should be) a meritocracy, where just being great at our job is all we need to succeed, reality tells a different story. The real (and inconvenient) truth is that the workplace is a social system—meaning we have to work with, among, through (and sometimes around) other people. And in a social system, relationships matter—a lot. Our ability to cultivate and manage effective workplace relationships is essential for career success. Positive, respectful, and collaborative relationships create positive workplace experiences and results. Poor relationships produce poor experiences and results. And at the end of the day, just being good at our job is not enough. We must deliver great work while simultaneously being good at relationships—up, down, and across the organization. Developing effective relationships with our colleagues is important for career success, but developing a positive and productive relationship with our boss is absolutely critical to our success.

Blog / ChangeThis

The Speed Trap: When Taking Your Time (Really) Matters

By Tom Peters

"Speed-for-speed's-sake is about the most counterproductive* approach imaginable. (*I use counterproductive because it's impolite to use "stupid"—which is what I really believe.) While we must indeed evolve and experiment rapidly, the process of getting things done (especially radical-ish things that upset apple carts) is all about people. And working with people to get those interesting things done effectively, well, takes time, in fact lots of time."

Blog / ChangeThis

Finding the Magic in "Tiny" Business

By Porchlight

"Maybe you have an idea, either brewing or formed. Maybe you're tired of selling little bits of yourself in order to buy lattes and avocado toast, or maybe, what you're doing isn't quite enough to pay the rent. Maybe you want to use your voice to make an impact, to 'create the change you want to see in the world.' Whatever your motivation, if you are ready to start something new, bring a new idea to life in the open market or challenge an existing idea, you are starting your entrepreneurial journey. Maybe you've learned some things in school or picked them up on the street. Maybe you're totally green and all you have is your enthusiasm. This is the day when, as Seth Godin says, you decide to 'pick yourself' and put your eggs in your own basket to proceed. Most people will say you have to 'go big or go home,' but why not 'go tiny' and be able to go home when you want?"

Blog / Excerpts

Next Is Now: 5 Steps for Embracing ChangeBuilding a Business that Thrives into the Future

By Porchlight

Lior Arussy, in this excerpt from his new book _Next Is Now_, discusses "The Secret to Employee Engagement."

Blog / Book Giveaways

Pick Three: You Can Have It All (Just Not Every Day)

By Porchlight

Randi Zuckerberg found that the secret to a more balanced life overall was, ironically, to live lopsided day to day—and she'll teach you how.

Blog / Editor's Choice

Would You Do That to Your Mother?: The "Make Mom Proud" Standard for How to Treat Your Customers

Book Review by Porchlight

Jeanne Bliss provides a single question that will make our businesses better, in every sense of the word "better."

Blog / Staff Picks

10 Books for New Graduates

Book Review by Porchlight

These ten books make perfect gifts for your new grads, as they begin to navigate the Rest of Their Lives.