No Vacation Nation
Last year, fewer than half of all Americans took a week off or less for vacation. Compared with the five weeks of paid vacation Europeans get, Americans seem woefully overworked and under-rested. Doctors have been researching the ill effects of too much work, and some claim that a lack of vacation can have real health consequences. Dr. Sarah Speck calls the stress from too much work the new tob... posted on Nov 15 2009, 5,865 reads

To Be A Better Leader: Give Up Authority
In chaotic times, an executive's instinct may be to strive for greater efficiency by tightening control. But the truth is that relinquishing authority and giving employees considerable autonomy can boost innovation and success at knowledge firms, even during crises. Our research provides hard evidence that leaders who give in to the urge to clamp down can end up doing their companies a serious dis... posted on Feb 03 2010, 6,326 reads

5 Ways to Start a Kindness Revolution at Work
We spend around 2,000 hours a year with our coworkers. Given how much time we spend with them, a little bit of kindness can really go a long way. It doesn't require any money or training, and you can start right away either individually or as a team. That's the beauty of it! Leading by example, putting an end to petty criticism, welcoming new employees with open arms and recognizing the strengt... posted on Feb 19 2010, 8,872 reads

Six Keys to Making Good Decisions
"On my first day in a class called 'Decision Analysis' at Stanford, I was shocked when Prof. Ron Howard said that you couldn't judge a decision from the outcome. I walked up to him after class and said, 'Professor, this is what I have read in spiritual texts - that we are only competent in the action, and the outcome is not in our hands. Your principle is ancient.' Prof. Howard replied, 'It may be... posted on Jun 22 2010, 15,167 reads

The Miracle of Mistakes
Do you remember the first time you rode a bicycle? Can you relieve the exhilaration of riding free, the sense of triumph as you broke free to the crutches of support? Now step back. How many times did you fall off the bike before that first ride? Today, fear of making mistakes is deeply ingrained in our psyche. At home, mistakes lead to admonishments. At work, mistakes have serious repercussions. ... posted on Jul 27 2010, 7,362 reads

Forget Brainstorming, Boost Creativity
Brainstorming in a group became popular in 1953 with the publication of a business book, "Applied Imagination". But it's been proven not to work since 1958, when Yale researchers found that the technique actually reduced a team's creative output: the same number of people generate more and better ideas separately than together. In fact, according to University of Oklahoma professor Michael Mumford... posted on Aug 06 2010, 5,266 reads

Six Keys to Excellence
Until recently, Tony Schwartz accepted the myth that the potential to excel is predetermined by our genes- that some people are born with special talents while others aren't. Lately though, his work with dozens of executives reveals that it's possible to build any given skill or capacity in the same systematic way we build a muscle: push past your comfort zone, and then rest. Talent, then, may act... posted on Aug 30 2010, 10,524 reads

Boost Creativity with a Power Nap
If you see a co-worker catching 40 winks in her cubicle or a student dozing in the library, don't roll your eyes. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour's nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter. Conversely, the more hours we spend... posted on Sep 08 2010, 5,212 reads

You've Made a Mistake. Now What?
Anyone who has worked in an office (or anywhere, really) for more than a day has made a mistake. While most people accept that slip-ups are unavoidable, no one likes to be responsible for them. The good news is that mistakes, even big ones, don't have to leave a permanent mark on your career. In fact, most contribute to organizational and personal learning; they are an essential part of experiment... posted on Sep 22 2010, 8,458 reads

The Myth of Multi-Tasking
The rise of the social web has created a flood of information over the past few years. With this influx of life and data streams comes a desire to stay on top of it all. For many people, this means multi-tasking. While it's intuitive to think that handling so many tasks at once makes us more productive and efficient, multi-tasking actually does quite the opposite. According to Stanford Professor C... posted on Oct 05 2010, 6,494 reads