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Professionals

How to Be Smarter

By Steve Tobak, Author and Managing Partner, Invisor Consulting

 

When we’re young, life just seems to happen without us having much say in the matter. Then responsibility begins to shift from our parents to us. From that point forth, our own decisions and circumstance dominate our lives. Those two factors are largely responsible for how things turn out for us. And the two are intimately related.

We often observe how successful people make their own luck, but that’s really just another way of saying they make smart decisions when it comes to taking risks and creating or capitalizing on opportunities. So success in business – and in life, I would argue – is primarily a function of making smart decisions.

Since every decision you make is based entirely on your own thoughts and feelings –how your brain processes experiences, events, and information from a variety of sources to draw conclusions – it’s actually not that complicated to determine how to make smarter decisions. This is how you do it.

Be present in the moment.

The first time I told the story of how an ex-girlfriend’s father took me in his Porsche to visit his startup company, where I learned about the coming wave of digital electronics (that was the late 70s, mind you), I remember thinking, what if I hadn’t been paying attention to the guy?

There have since been maybe seven or eight similarly critical random events that changed my life. And if I hadn’t been engaged in the moment they would have simply passed me by. I never even would have known I missed them. And where would I be today? It’s a sobering thought.

Trust your instincts.

Using the same example, what if that simple event hadn’t resonated with me the way it did? What if I hadn’t jumped right on it without hesitation and capitalized on the opportunity? I never would have gone back to grad school, gotten into the high-tech industry, and had an awesome 20+ year career.

When it comes to decision-making, listen to what smart, knowledgeable people say but, in the end, you have to make the right call. If you learn to trust your gut, you won’t hesitate when what you’re hearing is right. And when you do hesitate, you’ll know it isn’t right.

Think critically.

The more you allow yourself to be overloaded by information, interrupted by communication, and bombarded by distraction, the less time and attention you have left to focus on what really matters and question the accuracy, efficacy, and applicability of what you’re learning and experiencing.

Let me say it another way. By opting for quantity of information, communication, and possessions over quality, you sacrifice deep understanding through logical reasoning in favor of the next shiny object, inspiring post, or other feel-good nonsense that grabs your ever-shrinking attention span.

You would not believe how much dumber that makes you. Without logical constructs like deductive reasoning and the scientific method, our society would never have progressed. There would be no technology. We’d all be stuck back in the dark ages. Stop and think about that for a minute … without checking your phone.

Stay sharp.

Every time I see some popular and unsubstantiated nonsense about a miracle diet, pill, vitamin, or nutritional supplement that’s supposed to do magical things like make you thinner or smarter, it drives me nuts. None of that stuff works, folks. They’re all scams – moneymakers courtesy of our quick-fix culture.

Look, your brain is part of your body, right? Think. Just eat a good variety of reasonably healthy stuff, don’t eat too much, get out and exercise once or twice a week, and you’ll be fine. If you keep your body in pretty good shape, guess what? Your mind will come along for the ride and maintain its plasticity as you age.

One last thing. There’s been some negative stuff about caffeine from questionable sources, lately. Don’t believe it. It’s an amazing and, read my lips, naturally occurring stimulant. For the vast majority of you, a cappuccino or a few cups of tea a day will not harm you. And it will make you sharper. No kidding. As with anything, just don’t overdo it.

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Professionals

10 Behaviors of Smart People

Image source: Paramount Pictures

 

“Stupid is as stupid does.” The great irony of Forrest Gump was how insightful his simplistic sayings really were. In case you don’t know, Gump’s line means you are what you do. In other words, it doesn’t matter how intelligent you think you are or are supposed to be, if you consistently do dumb things, you’re still dumb.

Smarts are ridiculously important and we’ll tell you why. Smart people make smart decisions and that’s the most important factor in how things turn out for you.

One of the smartest choices you’ll ever make is to seek out smart people in your work relationships. Just to be clear, we don’t mean those who think they’re smart but do dumb things. We mean the real deal. Since people don’t have smart meters built into their foreheads, here’s how to tell if someone’s smart, starting with the obvious:

They make smart decisions.

Smart people know their actions have consequences. They also know that they have to earn business results one decision at a time. In other words, a few smart calls won’t make you omnipotent. Consistently making good decisions takes discipline and focus.

They learn from their mistakes.

From our first steps to our last, we learn everything in life by trial and error. We all make mistakes because that’s how we learn. Smart people learn from theirs. After all, if you don’t face reality and judge yourself honestly, you’ll never do better next time.

They don’t have all the answers.

There’s an old saying, “Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do.” It’s a funny line but if you say it in earnest, that’s pretty annoying. Smart people don’t need to constantly reinforce the fact by acting like know-it-alls. They’re smart enough to know how much they don’t know.

They surround themselves with smart people.

No man is an island. Individuals may be smart but small teams do the best work. Steve Jobs may have been a control freak, but he made sure the eight or nine people on his leadership team were the most talented he could find and taught them to do the same with their teams. That’s smart.

They are resourceful.

Since human intelligence is an evolutionary advantage — we didn’t evolve an enormous neocortex for no reason – intelligent people are generally more adaptable and creative in the way they make use of their surroundings to achieve results.

They can reason.

Even when presented with irrefutable evidence that they’re wrong, many people will consistently hold their ground as if their life depended on it. Without critical thinking, logical reasoning, causality, and the scientific method, we’d still be living in the dark ages.

They don’t follow fads.

We live in the golden age of fads and pseudoscience. Frankly, nothing speaks louder to the dumbing down of society that was portrayed so accurately in Mike Judge’s futuristic spoof Idiocracy. Urban Dictionary calls it a “movie that was originally a comedy, but became a documentary.” Truth.

They don’t live beyond their means.

We all stretch ourselves somewhat when we’re young. But once you’ve achieved something you don’t want to lose, it’s not very bright to squander it needlessly by living beyond your means.

They’re often their own worst enemy.

As developed as our frontal lobes are, everyone has at least one emotional blind spot that haunts them. Oftentimes that’s just the flipside of whatever it is that makes them smart to begin with. Like yin and yang, they need each other to coexist.

As entrepreneurs, they’re not always successful.

When it comes to business success, intelligence is necessary but not sufficient. We’re not talking about shysters who sucker people or someone who made a fortune off a single smart trade. To found and run a successful business over the long haul, you’ve got to be smart. Period.

Professionals

The 8 Signs of a Bad Leader

It’s an interesting conundrum. Say you’re a manager, a senior-level executive, or a human resources employee; your job is to be a leader, yes, but also to pick out leaders, to select who will be promoted, given extra responsibility, head up a project or team. How do you know who will make a great leader in a given circumstance?

There are loads of articles floating around about attributes that make great leaders great, but what makes a poor leader? We can all pick them out after the fact (hindsight is 20/20 after all), but what traits set these people apart even before they assume a leadership role?

Any one or more of the following traits would be a red flag that a person might not be ready for a leadership position:

[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]1. Lack of empathy.

Lack of empathy is a key indicator of a poor leader. If the person cannot seem to put him or herself in another person’s shoes and see things from a different perspective, they will never be a truly great leader.

2. Fear of change.

Hey, change is scary for everyone, especially when it involves loads of money and/or people’s jobs. But leaders who cannot embrace change are destined to be left behind.

3. Too willing to compromise.

The ability to find a win/win situation is a gift for a leader, but anyone who is too quick to compromise his or her ideas or ideals is not going to be a benefit to the team. It’s a fine balance between understanding when to give in and when to stand your ground.

4. Too bossy.

It’s a common misconception that bossy people make good bosses. Actually, the opposite is true. Someone who simply orders others around is unlikely to engender any loyalty or make subordinates feel empowered. True leaders have followers who want to be led by them.

5. Wishy-washy.

Leaders must make decisions, and so if a person always seems to vacillate on choices big and small — from who should handle a certain client to where to go for lunch — they will probably have difficulty in a leadership position. It indicates a lack of self-confidence.

6. Poor judge of character.

A person who has a blind spot when it comes to friends and coworkers, making excuses or being unable to see another’s true character, won’t surround himself with the kinds of people who will help him rise to the top.

7. Out of balance.

Someone who is the first into the office every day and the last to leave might seem like a great candidate for promotion, but ask yourself if they have any balance in their lives. A lack of balance can be a precursor to burnout, and can also signal that they may have unreasonable expectations of the rest of the team.

8. Lack of humility.

The person who acts as though they can do it all — and are the only one who can do it right — is unlikely to rise to be a great leader, because they’ll be too busy doing everyone else’s job. Micro-managers need not apply.[/box]

This is not to say that having one of these characteristics automatically bars anyone from assuming a leadership position. In fact, I believe people can learn to overcome any of these bad habits and become a better leader.

But if someone exhibits more than one trait on this list, it’s a good bet that they’re not ready to lead at this time. If you are in a position to help them grow, take the time to constructively point this out to them, and give them the opportunity to improve. You’ll be modeling how a great leader really works.

 

 

Professionals

Psychologists Say Power Does 4 Crazy Things to Your Mind

Image credit: House of Cards | Netflix
Image credit: House of Cards | Netflix

Who doesn’t desire power?

There’s a little Frank Underwood in all of us.

At the beginning of “House of Cards,” Kevin Spacey’s character explains why power beats money.

Money is the McMansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years. Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries. I cannot respect someone who doesn’t see the difference.

But should you find and hold power — as Underwood so deliciously does — it’s going to do some really weird things to your perception of yourself and others.

Here’s what the research says:

1. If you feel powerful, you’re more inspired by yourself than anybody else.

According to a 2015 study led by Gerben A. Van Kleef at the University of Amsterdam, powerful people find themselves more inspiring than anybody else. In a study of 140 undergraduates, he found that people who agreed highly to statements like “I can get others to do what I want” were more inspired by talking about their own life-changing experiences than hearing other people discuss theirs.

To Research Digest blogger Alex Fradera, it’s indicative of self-sufficiency.

“As a matter of course, powerful people don’t expect others to fulfill their needs, and may therefore find it difficult to consider anyone else a worthy source of inspiration,” he writes. “It’s a little like a child for whom no one in the playground is up to scratch, so they become their own best friend.”

2. If you feel powerful, you’re the first to act.

In a 2003 study led by Columbia University psychologist Adam Galinsky, people who felt more powerful than their peers were more likely to take a card in a game of blackjack, fix an annoying fan in a room, and take action in social dilemmas. A 2007 study coauthored by Galinsky added to that theme, finding that powerful people are more likely to act first in a negotiation.

In 2012, the University of Texas’ Jennifer A. Whitson found an explanation as to why: Powerful people are less likely to perceive — and remember — constraints to their goals.

It’s like how eagles and alligators evolved to have their eyes close together.

“The vision of predators is fixated on their object of pursuit — their prey — leaving little visual room for unexpected danger or potential threats in their surroundings,” she and her authors write. “This directed focus allows them to pounce into action to secure their meal.”

Same for CEOs.

3. If you feel powerful, you’re more likely to cheat.

According to a 2011 study led by Joris Lammers at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, it’s that powerful people are more likely to cheat.

His team surveyed 1,561 professionals, asking how high up in their organizations they were and their history or interest in cheating.

“Results showed that elevated power is positively associated with infidelity because power increases confidence in the ability to attract partners,” they wrote. “This association was found for both actual infidelity and intentions to engage in infidelity in the future.”

Gender didn’t matter.

Powerful women were just as likely to have or pursue affairs as powerful men. This goes against a commonly held assumption about cheating. It’s not that men are inherently more likely to cheat than women; it’s just that men are more likely to hold powerful positions.

“As a social psychologist, I believe that the situation is everything and that the situation or instance is often stronger than the individual,” Lammers said in a statement. “As more and more women are in greater positions of power and are considered equal to men, then familiar assumptions about their behavior may also change.”

4. If you feel powerful, you feel distant from other people.

According to Joe Magee at New York University and Pamela Smith at the University of California at San Diego, powerful people feel more socially distant than non-powerful people.

It happens for a few reasons:

  • People become close to one another when they are “symmetrically dependent” on one another and have repeated interactions, Magee and Smith say. You and your boss aren’t symmetrically dependent; you depend on her approval more than she does yours. But you and the other people on her team are symmetrical, so you’re likely to become close over time.
  • Research indicates that powerful people don’t need to associate with others in the same way.
  • Powerful people have to think more abstractly than everybody else. They’re concerned with meeting goals more than developing relationships.

So the isolation is a result of the social situation that power puts you in — and the need to get things done.

It works for Mr. Underwood.

Books

10 Incredible European Libraries Every Booklover Should Visit

“The world is a book, and those who don’t travel only read one page.” – Augustine of Hippo

 

1. Stuttgart City Library

Location: Stuttgart, Germany.

Characterized by its cube shape and clinical white interior, this great crystalline building stands a whopping 9-storeys high over the German city of Stuttgart.

Stuttgart City Library
Flickr: schubi74 / Creative Commons

2. Mafra Palace Library

Location: Mafra, Portugal.

Situated inside the Mafra National Palace, the library is open to scholars, researchers, historians and members of the public by appointment. Unsurprisingly, many rare works furnish its shelves.

Mafra Palace Library
Flickr: anijdam / Creative Commons

3. TU Delft Library

Location: Delft, Netherlands.

At the heart of Delft University lies its library, whose unique cone shaped structure forms the focal point of the campus. The roof of the library is covered with grass, allowing visitors to graze above the library’s book filled central space.

TU Delft Library
Flickr: tudelftlibrary

4. Sainte-Geneviève Library

Location: Paris, France.

This magisterial library contains around 2 million documents and was a reading place of Marcel Duchamp and James Joyce. The building’s iconic architecture served as the inspiration for the deign of the Boston Public Library.

Sainte-Geneviève Library
Flickr: jastrow / Creative Commons

5. Malmö City Library

Location: Malmö, Sweden.

Located in the heart of the multicultural Malmö, this library is filled with books in some 60 different languages and attracts almost 1 million visitors each year.

Malmö City Library
Flickr: infomastern / Creative Commons

6. The Codrington Library

Location: Oxford, UK.

With its modern collection comprising of some 185,000 items, about a third of which being produced before 1800, the prestigious Codrington Library attracts scholars from around the world.

The Codrington Library
Flickr: biker_jun / Creative Commons

7. Wiblingen Abbey Library

Location: Wiblingen, Germany.

The majestic hall of Wiblingen Abbey’s library still holds some original manuscripts, despite most of the books having been transferred to other libraries. Besides, the main reason this library to visit is to marvel at the main hall, which remains in its original form.

Wiblingen Abbey Library
Flickr: volzotan / Creative Commons

8. Halmstad City Library

Location: Halmstad, Sweden.

Standing near the beach of the river Nissan, the unique shape of the building was inspired from the trees that stand on the site.

Halmstad City Library
Flickr: jacobwod / Creative Commons

9. Strahov Monastery Library

Location: Strahov, Czech Republic.

Completed in 1679, Strahov Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries still in existence in the world. During its long history many important personalities have visited, amongst which are admiral lord Horatio Nelson and Napoleon´s wife Marie Louise.

Strahov Monastery Library
Flickr: paulcoyne / Creative Commons

 

10. Handelingenkamer

Location: The Hague, Netherlands.

Handelingenkamer is the name given to the Dutch Parliament’s library. It’s unique design with its open cast-iron staircases and balustrades are designed to allow daylight to filter down the four storeys and illuminate the more than 100,000 volumes that line the shelves.

Handelingenkamer
Flickr: suasso / Creative Commons

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Professionals

5 Ways You Can Look Like a Millionaire

Saying you would dress better if you made more money is a sad excuse to be sloppy, says image consultant Sylvie di Giusto, who has consulted with executives and corporations like McKinsey and BMW through her company, Executive Image Consulting.

You can gain an air of confidence and stature typically associated with the wealthy regardless of how much money you make.

With the help of Di Giusto, along with inspiration from business author, Vicky Oliver, a guide was created to help you look and act like a millionaire, even if you’re not.

Professionals

10 Behaviors of Genuine People

Whether you’re building a business, a network, or friendships, you always want to look for people who are genuine. After all, nobody wants to work or hang out with a phony. On the flipside, that goes for you, as well. Bet you never considered that.

In case you’re wondering, genuine means actual, real, sincere, honest. Genuine people are more or less the same on the inside as their behavior is on the outside. Unfortunately, it’s a tough quality to discern. The problem is that all human interactions are relative. They’re all a function of how we perceive each other through our own subjective lenses.

Being genuine is also a rare quality. In a world full of phony fads, media hype, virtual personas, positive thinkers, and personal brands – where everyone wants what they don’t have, nobody’s content to be who they are, and, more importantly, nobody’s willing to admit to any of that – it’s becoming more and more rare all the time.

To help you identify this rare breed — in yourself, as well — this is how genuine people behave.

They don’t seek attention. They don’t need constant reinforcement of their own ego. Where attention seekers have a hole that constantly needs to be filled, genuine people are already filled with self-confidence and self-awareness.

They’re not concerned with being liked. The need to be liked is born of insecurity and narcissism. It creates a need to manipulate your own and other’s emotions. Confident and authentic people are simply themselves. If you like them, fine. If not, that’s fine, too.

They can tell when others are full of it. Perhaps naive folks can be easily fooled, but genuine people are not naive. They’re grounded in reality and that gives them a baseline from which they can tell when things don’t add up. There’s a big difference.

They are comfortable in their own skin. In his late 70s, actor Leonard Nimoy said he was closer than ever to being as comfortable with himself as Spock appeared to be. Most of us struggle with that. As Henry David Thoreau observed, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

They do what they say and say what they mean. They don’t tend to overreach or exaggerate. They meet their commitments. And they don’t parse their words or sugarcoat the truth. If you need to hear it, they’ll tell you … even if it’s tough for them to say and for you to hear.

They don’t need a lot of stuff. When you’re comfortable with whom you are, you don’t need a lot of external stuff to be happy. You know where to find happiness – inside yourself, your loved ones, and your work. You find happiness in the simple things.

They’re not thin-skinned. They don’t take themselves too seriously so they don’t take offense when none is intended.

They’re not overly modest or boastful. Since they’re confident of their strengths, they don’t need to brag about them. Likewise, they don’t exhibit false modesty. Humility is a positive trait but it’s even better to just be straightforward.

They’re consistent. You might describe genuine people as being weighty, solid, or substantial. Since they know themselves well and are in touch with their genuine emotions, they’re more or less predictable … in a good way.

They practice what they preach. They’re not likely to advise people to do something they wouldn’t do themselves. After all, genuine people know they’re no better than anyone else so it’s not in their nature to be self-righteous.

All those seemingly different behaviors have the same thing at their core: self-awareness that’s consistent with reality. Genuine people see themselves as others would if they were objective observers. There’s not a lot of processing, manipulating, or controlling going on between what’s in their head and what people see and hear.

Once you get to know them, genuine people turn out to be more or less consistent with the way they initially hold themselves out to be. What you see is what you get. It’s sad that, in today’s world, such a positive quality is at risk of becoming endangered. Not only is it harder to find in others, it’s becoming harder to be genuine ourselves.

Professionals

7 Life Rules That Will Position You for Greater Success

Your standards of work, ethics, personal development and responsibility set your course in life and business. Follow the seven tips below and remember to think as big as you can, expect nothing less than the best, have courage and most importantly, be kind.

1. Collaborate with others.

At its core, success is about relationships. Involve customers and colleagues in the creation and direction of your business pursuits. With them, set standards for the work that needs to be accomplished in each person’s area of responsibility. Make these standards challenging but achievable. The result will be the high-level productivity and service you aim to perform.

You can only go so far in business alone. You need others for your own success, empowerment and completeness. In business, choose your aims and equip your team to get your business where it needs to go, rewarding the team members along the way.

2. Never neglect.

Personal power and complacency cannot co-exist in the pursuit of success. Dedicate time and energy wherever necessary to ensure that no important areas of focus, personal or professional, are neglected.

Complete tasks and assignments and work hard to overcome obstacles, focusing on what you can gain, learn and improve upon to make life and business flow more effortlessly. Make lists of things which need to be done with expectations for performance and dates of completion. Focus your efforts on what is most important for the bigger picture, not on what is urgent. Urgency creates an irrational mind. Let those elements settle while you focus on what you can control.

3. Choose possibilities, not problems.

With personal power you possess the deep belief there are available solutions for problems. When you approach challenges from a solutions-focused perspective it engages the creative process of examining and architecting alternate routes in lieu of staying stuck in false beliefs of why things cannot be done.

If you cannot find a solution, open your thoughts to others, seek their ideas and suggestions. Solution-focused minds reward and inspire each other. When solutions are the focus you learn to fail and adapt, moving away from the fixing and failing approach.

4. Self-check.

To grow in personal power use the motivational mindset of consistently monitoring, evaluating and adjusting your own work, attitude and beliefs to stay clear of complacency so you may continue meeting your higher standards.

One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated in reaching your higher standards is to write things down and define your direction. Describe what superior performance would be in light of your chosen aims, and then describe what complacent performance would be and actions steps to stay away from lower level habits.

Personal power means you set performance standards somewhere between complacency and superiority.

5. Manage your time.

The power of now. To uphold your personal power examine where you spend most of your time. Do you get the most important tasks out of the way first or do you typically get through the small, tedious things which seem more urgent? Getting caught in the small, urgent tasks pull you from the more important aims requiring your attention. Focus on what is most important and work from there.

When it comes to relationships, be on time or early to all events, business and professional, as this gives your commitments the feeling of importance. When you can make another feel significant, this is power. How you are with time says much about your commitment and character as a person and leader.

When you respect your time and that of others, you and everyone around you, will work to much higher standards.

6. Accept responsibility.

Whatever happens in your life or career the best path to the development of your personal power is to accept responsibility for the outcomes, both positive and negative, which are the result of your efforts. If you make a mistake, see it as a self-created learning experience and figure out what needs to shift for you and your efforts to be more effective. Taking responsibility allows you to be flexible and change your approach.

Power is understanding mistakes gift you with more than they take. It is from mistakes all new directions arise.

Powerful leadership is not about ego. It is about humility and a willingness to learn. Inspire in others the willingness to accept personal responsibility for the outcomes of their work. To instill this you must first demonstrate these behaviors publicly, powerfully and consistently yourself.

Elevating another person to live at a higher level of existence is the gift your personal power inspires.

7. Be kind.

There is no greater a value to offer as a human being than the simple power of kindness. Kindness does not mean you are a “yes” person or a pushover. Kindness which is success generated is the kindness that can deliver good and bad news with grace. Kindness that is geared toward higher standards is the kindness which gives feedback rather than criticism. Kindness that inspires hard work is the kindness that sees possibilities not problems.

Be kind. Be good to yourself and the people you work with and for. Create the emotional environment around you to be infectious, contagious and advantageous to all who are blessed to be a part of it. Kindness will take you further in success than any other human attribute.

To have and to lead from personal power means you embrace your inalienable right to think for yourself, to speak your mind, to pursue happiness, success and financial gain, to seek inner awareness and a sense of peace, and to do so without having to conform to anyone else’s small standards including your own. Empower yourself by being yourself. Take advantage of what it means to have opportunity, to organize your pursuits, to be kind in your leadership and to strive for that beautiful and attainable sense of personal freedom.

In your freedom lies your power.

Professionals

6 Steps to Starting a Business From Zero

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.

Once you have figured out what you want to do, here are some important things to keep in mind while starting your business from zero:

1. Research your market.

Knowing what the competition knows won’t cut it. Go deep. Dive in to your market and study it like an expert.

Search Google for keywords that are related to your industry. Don’t get discouraged if the market seems flooded. You can use this to your advantage. It means that it is working for those people and you can make it work for you. There is money there.

2. Set a tangible financial goal.

Set new goals every six months and always stretch your initial mark. Work backwards and figure out what you need to do each day to get to where you want to be. Set a goal that is a stretch for you and look at the steps you need to take every day to accomplish that goal.

3. When you create a website, make the content shareable.

It’s great to reference some the leaders in your space, but when you are developing your own brand, it’s important to create unique content on a single hub. A site that your readers and viewers can reference back to, for more of your incredible content.

4. Build a list.

Email is best form of currency online and building an email list is one of the most important tools in building a business. As you develop your shareable site, begin building a list of emails of the people that visit your site. Then continue to provide them with value. This will translate into buyers for the future launch of your product or service.

Adding in an opt-in form on your website and having a place to store your emails are the first two steps to building your email list. Free resources like HelloBar.com and AppSumo.com allow you to collect email information on your website. To store email addresses, try the program Aweber, which even offers a free 30-day trial.

5. Launch a product or service you can sell.

If you have a financial goal that you’ve set out for the next six months, then you have to sell something. Take the time to figure out the biggest challenges your audience is facing and build your relationship with them. Then create something that solves their problem. This is easier said than done, but it’s critical. Your leads come from your list; you convert them to customers, follow up and build a relationship.

6.  Start NOW and improve as you go.

A lot of people waste time thinking about making things perfect before they launch their business: the logo, the website, the copy — everything. This is a waste of time. Sell your product before you make it by offering a pre-order. Focus on getting sales and attracting leads. Successful companies launch all the time and they aren’t perfect.

Think of Facebook and all the changes and improvements it has made. Start with a small product and always be improving.  Launch online you can sell over and over and not have to trade time for dollars.

The most important thing is to enjoy the process and know that you don’t have to make it perfect. Start today. If not now, when?

Professionals

Mark Zuckerberg: I Would Only Hire Someone to Work For Me If I Would Work For Them

prof

When it comes to onboarding new employees with whom he’ll work directly, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg bears in mind a single guiding principle that he says has never steered him wrong.

“I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person,” Zuckerberg told an audience gathered in Barcelona yesterday for the fourth installment of ‘Q&A with Mark,’ an ongoing series of town hall-style discussions.

While employers generally have more work to do than staffers to get it done, Zuckerberg says business owners should resist the urge to settle for lesser candidates in the name of manpower. “Over the long term,” he said, “you’re only going to be better if you get someone really good.”

Sherly Sandberg is the perfect example of the kind of employee that, in an alternate universe, Zuckerberg says he would be happy to serve. Rather than mentors outside of the company, he said, the most influential figures in his life are the colleagues he sees on a day-to-day basis. “Sheryl would be at the top of that list,” he noted, adding that she is largely responsible for the fact that 2 million businesses advertise on Facebook today.

If selecting candidates is one thing, attracting them is another. The key to wooing top talent, Zuckerberg said, is “just being upfront about what you stand for.” Facebook, for instance, is bullish on its mission to connect the world — which he acknowledges isn’t a value or priority shared by everyone.

And finally, Zuckerberg had some wisdom to share in the realm of delegation. His management style, he says, is fairly flexible. “[Employees] need the ability to fully exercise all their creativity and all their capacity, or else they’re not going to be having the biggest impact that they can have on the world, and they’re going to want to go do something else.”

At the same time, Zuckerberg has always striven to keep a streamlined team and to do as much work as possible himself. Facebook serves over a billion people, for instance, but counts a team of fewer than 10,000. “My first move when I was building Facebook wasn’t to hire a team of engineers to go build a product,” he explained. “I generally each step along the way have tried to do as much as I can myself.”

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