Category Self Improvement

The Science of Productivity: How to Get More Done in a Day

by Kayla Schilthuis-Ihrig for HubSpot It’s estimated that a shocking 60% (or less) of work time is spent productively, according to Atlassian. Time is our scarcest resource, yet we spend so much of it doing things that are unproductive — usually without meaning to. Emails, meetings, endless notifications... We’re indeed being pulled in more directions than ever before, but it’s not just technology holding us back from making the most of our time. In many cases, we are the ones responsible for our own lack of productivity. As a freelance remote worker, I’ve had to tango with my self-sabotaging productivity quirks more…

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5 Steps Leaders Can Take to Unleash Their Team’s Strengths

By Tyana Owings for HR Daily Advisor It’s not unreasonable to say most of us in leadership probably got there because we were really good as individual contributors, and someone saw potential in us to lead others. Alternately, and statistically more likely, we were thrown into leadership in the hope we could duplicate ourselves or at the very least – keep things moving along and it was an adventure in “just figure it out” as a new leader.  Zenger/Folkman has conducted research that most managers don’t receive any kind of training for their first 10 years in leadership. It’s a common…

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The Impact of Excessive Screen Time and How to Support Better Working Habits

By Dr. Ronald Benner for HR Daily Advisor It’s no surprise people are spending more time on screens. In fact, millions of Americans are exposed to excessive screen time every day (7+ hours), particularly those who work in office jobs. While technology has many benefits, spending prolonged periods on computers and other digital devices requires the eyes to work harder up close, and this “heavy lifting” can cause vision problems in the long run–problems that may affect workers’ performance and ability to do all the things they need to do online. As little as two hours of screen exposure per…

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AI-powered content management: How to make your workflows more efficient

by Julia McCoy  for Search Engine Land The digital world thrives on content. But managing that content for various channels and platforms can be a monumental task.  Enter generative AI – artificial intelligence technology so advanced and humanlike that it has changed how we create, manage and deliver content. AI technologies such as natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML) and computer vision are becoming integral components of modern content management systems (CMS). These technologies empower businesses to analyze vast amounts of data, extract valuable insights and automate repetitive tasks with remarkable accuracy and speed. Streamlining content management workflows In…

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The Best 30-60-90 Day Plan for Your New Job [Template + Example]

by Erica Santiago for HubSpot I remember my first day at HubSpot. I was so nervous and had a million concerns swimming around in my head. Will I adapt to my new job? How long will it take for me to get the hang of things? Can I manage the workload and maintain a good rapport with my coworkers? Fortunately, my outstanding manager at the time prepared a comprehensive checklist to be completed over a few months, and it helped me slowly but steadily adapt to HubSpot. Fast forward a few years, and I'm a rockstar at my job. The…

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Why Do Salespeople Avoid Prospecting?

BY GEORGE BRONTÉN for MEMBRAIN If there’s nothing else to do, salespeople should default to prospecting. That’s a pretty decent rule of thumb, one we’ve all heard more than once. After all, effective prospecting is the key to keeping the pipeline full and sales results consistent. But do salespeople use their downtime this way? Not usually. In fact, making “cold calls” is often the most-avoided critical task in sales. We procrastinate, we delay, we get busy, and we ignore its necessity. The result is a roller coaster pipeline, up and down, and unpredictable sales forecasts. But why? Paul Fuller, our CRO, had an interesting conversation with Frank Kniekamp recently, and…

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Do you have career blues?

by ELENA VERNA for Elena's Growth Scoop Every 2 years on the job, like clockwork, something happens in my brain: All of a sudden I’d start to get antsy. You probably know what I mean. That phase where your current job turns into yesterday's leftovers, and new opportunities look like a five-star dinner. And the recruiting pitches never help. Constantly painting an enchanting picture of a bustling 'hyper-growth' company with a stellar culture where you’re apparently "the chosen one" the hiring manager has been dreaming about (or some other bullshit narrative). Consequently, you start nitpicking at your current role—those pointless…

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The Biggest Changes in Collaboration Over the Last Decade and What to Expect in the Decade Ahead

By Ajay Kaul for HR Daily Advisor There is no denying the workspaces we once knew underwent profound transformations over the last several years. From physical space revolutions to digital solutions and remote working frontiers and beyond, each dramatic advance has one cornerstone in common: collaboration.  Cutting-edge technology enabled individuals and teams to work from nearly anywhere using an endless array of powerful tools to support ever-flexible adaptability, connectivity, and innovation. Collaboration has reshaped in ways we once thought unimaginable – and will continue down a path that promises to be even more dynamic and transformative, with challenges and opportunities…

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Can a Single Question Unlock Behavioral Change on Your Sales Team?

BY GEORGE BRONTÉN for Membrain I’ve been reading Sharon-Drew Morgen’s latest book, HOW? Generating new neural pathways for learning, behavior change, and decision making, and I’m fascinated by her contention that the right questions can unlock behavioral change that can otherwise be unattainable. In sales, we focus a lot on changing the behaviors that inhibit sales effectiveness. We talk about coaching and supporting the right behaviors on our teams. Yet even when we get all of that “right,” salespeople have a habit of “rubber banding” back to old behaviors, or simply avoiding correct ones, even when they know what to do, how to do it, and…

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How to build a killer sales pitch

by APRIL DUNFORD for Lenny's Newsletter I suck at selling. I bet you do too. But that’s no excuse. We saw in last week’s post how important founder-led sales is in the early days of a startup, and as we’ll see in next week’s post, it only gets more important as you grow. Thus, I’m always on the lookout for actionable advice on how to get better at sales. When I heard that April Dunford (frequent collaborator, and author of the amazing bestseller Obviously Awesome) was working on a new book about sales, I knew it would be outstanding (it is). I convinced her to write…

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