Influence vs manipulation

Emotions are woven into all decision-making processes in many ways in which we are not conscious. Leaders who see themselves as making decisions in a purely rational manner could be setting themselves--and their organizations--up for potential disaster because they may end up believing that they are right when they are wrong. However, you can gain control over some of these emotions by becoming more aware of their source and more analytical and fact-based in your approach. And you’ll feel a lot surer in your gut.

Just beware that intuition is the true intuition, and not the intuition of experts (or System 1 according to Kahneman)

Good tip:

"Have a pre-mortem. Imagine you have made a decision and it’s failed.
List all the reasons why it happened. This keeps you from avoiding anyone or anything that challenges your narrative about the competency of your decisions and instead dealing with potential pitfalls before they happen"

A research psychologist's curious look at human behaviour.

Cooperation is more complicated than folk-theory would have it. Cooperation and competition co-evolve: Let's you and I cooperate to compete against them. And it seems that deception and cooperation also co-evolve.

Your dignity may be attacked, ravaged and disgracefully mocked, but it can never be taken away unless you willingly surrender it.  It’s all about finding the strength to defend your boundaries.

What is persuasive writing?

In persuasive writing the writer presents his or her opinion and tries to convince the reader to agree. If you are a blogger and try to convince people with your ideas, you may use this kind of writing style to reach your audience.

These notes will help you to start with persuasive writing. Give your writing the needed structure and "mix in" some tools.

Be creative!

Holding on is being brave, but letting go and moving on is often what makes us stronger and happier.

Thousands of years ago, the great Chinese general and philosopher Sun Tzu offered a timeless piece of advice that is as true in warfare as it is in the business of our lives: Know thy enemy. When it comes to the battle of growing into the kind of leader you want to be and others deserve to see, we must learn that one of the greatest enemies of our effectiveness is allowing hypocrisy to displace honesty in how we govern our lives.

Bob Burg, the author of the Go-Giver (http://tinyurl.com/cuwkdoc) is an inspiration.  This book actually made me feel like God was talking to me through the story.  I was going through an extremely difficult time and the universal lesson of giving first, before expecting to receive, was the most influential reminder I could have gotten at that time.  

Since then, my life has improved consistently.  Not only do I look to GIVE first, I am also OPEN to receiving!  

This is a great article that showcases Bob's philosophy and his ongoing work.  

Thank you Bob Burg!!!

Great resource

Enjoyable, indeed!

I agree with AlGonzalezinfo's insight: Very Good Scoop David!  

Nice musings on the importnace of giving feedback appropriately from Blair Glaser.

Not only asking the right questions - but asking if the other person is open to feedback - critical to success.

Conflicts are an inevitable part of running a small business. In fact, effectively resolving conflicts within your company can actually build a strong and diverse team that will keep fresh ideas and creativity flowing. If everyone agrees with the boss's point of view, your company's direction and efforts will get stale fast. That being said, too much conflict isn't desirable either. To achieve the delicate balance, you need to have the skills to intervene when a healthy debate goes awry.

An older artcile but still very true today.

Nice musings on the importnace of giving feedback appropriately from Blair Glaser.

Not only asking the right questions - but asking if the other person is open to feedback - critical to success.

from article : "When you are about to “be honest”, ask yourself, what is my intention in expressing my truth right now? What is the impact I want to have?"

Great question and good research.  In my experience with most people earning a reasonable (probably above minimum wage) wad, money is one of these  "and another thing...' things. E.g, "They don't value, me praise me, give me a purpose worth believing in, and another thing, they don't pay me enough!'

You're more likely to like your job if you focus on the work itself, and less likely to enjoy it if you're focused on money

Does money actually motivate or demotivate people? This is a good overview of some research on HBR blog.

Although, the author cannot give a clear conclusion, he does say this: "The fact that there is little evidence to show that money motivates us, and a great deal of evidence to suggest that it actually demotivates us, supports the idea that that there may be hidden costs associated with rewards." Interesting stuff!