Their bosses seem to expect that they work long hours and stay glued to cell phones at night, but then show little appreciation or, worse, micromanage them. No one likes it; but what alternatives are there when employers have deadlines to meet or products to develop? Perigree, 2014, 352 pages Plenty, according to psychologist Ron Friedman. In his new book, The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace. Friedman, a psychologist and business consultant, distills decades of research on motivation, creativity, and performance to provide both business leaders and their employees with useful tips for restructuring work environments t... posted on Apr 21 2015 (193,159 reads)

up some stranger. Bob: Yeah, exactly. RW: So what happened? That’s thirty years. Bob: Well, I’ve been thinking—why wasn’t I there earlier? I just turned 70. That’s a long time to not get what you’re cut out to do, artistically. RW: Yes, it’s a long time. But you know what? A lot of people never get to something like that. Bob: It’s fabulous. Many people have said that. It’s extremely rewarding. Anyway, a year later I was on a business trip to Washington D.C. and saw a Karsh exhibit there at the Portrait Gallery. I was blown away by his prints and spent a good bit of time studying what he’d done, technically. I couldn... posted on Jun 13 2015 (16,085 reads)

saw the play structure outside. With a grant and 400 volunteers, we were able to build that in six hours. Many of the volunteers are parents and community members—like our merchants from across the street, our pastors from down the block. We are very much a community school. So the parents also say what they need. RW What kind of enrollment do you get with parents? Ida: Well, we’re building it up; enrollment varies. We will be offering a class on how to start your own small business, because many of our moms actually make things and sell them. If they get help with actually making these efforts into a business, they can bring in more for their families, and that need is ... posted on Aug 24 2015 (7,672 reads)

home. Everything went pretty well for the Love Kitchen through the 1990s. By then, the number of volunteers helping the sisters had grown substantially. The organization had begun not only serving meals at its facility but also preparing take-home meals for those who could pick them up, as well as making meal deliveries for those who were homebound. Love Kitchen depended upon the good graces of concerned people in the community who were willing to devote time and energy for free as well as businesses and organizations willing and able to provide funds and food. The economy was good and Love Kitchen had all it needed for the time being. Unfortunately, times have a way of changing. The... posted on Sep 5 2015 (12,424 reads)

with this loss was even more difficult for Mr. Pradeep Tanna and Mrs. Damyanti Tanna, as Nimesh was their only child. Nimesh Tanna was a passionate photographer with a compassionate soul. The couple’s life came to a complete halt as they would sit the entire day in front of Nimesh’s photo, remembering him. Barely able to recover from this huge loss, Pradeep faced another setback when he lost the sweet shop he owned in Mulund because his partners cheated him in the business. Kintan, who had always been there for the family during their tough times, yet again provided a helping hand. He advised Pradeep to start a new venture and he quit his own family business... posted on Nov 4 2015 (15,836 reads)

actually do see that the people who wait until the last minute are so busy goofing off that they don't have any new ideas. And on the flip side, the people who race in are in such a frenzy of anxiety that they don't have original thoughts either. There's a sweet spot where originals seem to live. Why is this? Maybe original people just have bad work habits. Maybe procrastinating does not cause creativity. To find out, we designed some experiments. We asked people to generate new business ideas, and then we get independent readers to evaluate how creative and useful they are. And some of them are asked to do the task right away. Others we randomly assign to procrastinate by da... posted on Apr 28 2016 (29,424 reads)

family, and they need me much more than patients in an office.” Little did Lupin know that a decade later, his encore venture would grow from a one-doc shop into a thriving multigenerational practice. With seven doctors and a nurse practitioner on board, along with a cadre of medical assistants, Housecalls for the Homebound has brought essential medical care to more than 4,000 patients in the greater New York City area. Lupin's grandson Daniel Stokar, 29, manages the business with a system created by Avi Stokar, Lupin’s son-in-law and Daniel's father, 53. Lupin, now 77, oversees the unconventional family business. With Housecalls for the Homeboun... posted on Jun 18 2016 (36,185 reads)

perspectives, and then dictate the way the new people are allowed to engage, they often douse the creativity and passion they’ve said they want to support. The erosion of organizational integrity and effectiveness is a typical outcome in organizations with a steep hierarchy, where a small number of people hold large amounts of power. That’s the bad news—but there’s good news, too. According to Ann Tenbrunsel, professor of business administration at Notre Dame and research director of the Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide, “Our research shows that if you frame your decision to include values, you&... posted on Oct 1 2016 (17,750 reads)

the body. I lost my mind and landed in a psych ward in D.C. I was mandated to stay for twenty-one days and be in the care of a psychiatrist. He said, “I want you to read this book, Man’s Search for Meaning.” I said, “Get out of here with that book, I know all about that book, it’s not going to save me now!” But he told me, “Your life parallels his and someday you’ll realize it.” That was true. He let me out when I wrote up my “business plan” for a new life. At that point, I was safe from suicide. At fifty-eight, I wasn’t fond of change. But, six weeks later, I had sold my house, moved to a sunny place across the... posted on Apr 14 2017 (58,519 reads)

that the people who seem wisest about the necessity of placing limits on the newest technologies are, often, precisely the ones who helped develop those technologies, which have bulldozed over so many of the limits of old. The very people, in short, who have worked to speed up the world are the same ones most sensitive to the virtue of slowing down. But what impressed me even more were the two people who greeted me as I waited for my digital ID: the Chief Evangelist for Google+, as his business card would have it, a bright-eyed, visibly spirited young soul from India who was setting up a “Yogler” program whereby the many Googlers who practice yoga could actually be train... posted on Apr 30 2017 (17,668 reads)

you give away 90 per cent of your salary? Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, did just that and shared it among his staff. It’s a commendable move but will it pave the way for wider pay equality? In April the CEO of a US tech company did something with barely any precedents in the modern business world. He gave away 90 per cent of his own pay to raise the salaries of his employees to a minimum $70,000 a year. Dan Price, CEO of Seattle-based Gravity Payments, recalls the moment when he announced the decision to his 120 staff: “There was a moment of stunned silence. Some people were looking around at each other, a few jaws had dropped, and then someone actually asked me... posted on Jun 5 2017 (34,931 reads)

the past ten months I have chaired and co-facilitated MIT’s IDEAS China program—a ten month innovation journey for a group of 30 or so senior Chinese business leaders. This year the IDEAS China program enrolled executives of a major state-owned Chinese bank. One goal of this team was to reinvent the future of their organization in the face of big data and other related disruptive changes, which provided me with a little more exposure to that aspect of the world economy. For example, Jack Ma, the visionary founder of Alibaba, says that “In five years, we anticipate that the human era will move from the information technology era to the data technology era.” But... posted on Oct 4 2017 (10,671 reads)

never too late to reinvent yourself. Take it from Paul Tasner -- after working continuously for other people for 40 years, he founded his own start-up at age 66, pairing his idea for a business with his experience and passion. And he's not alone. As he shares in this short, funny and inspirational talk, seniors are increasingly indulging their entrepreneurial instincts -- and seeing great success. I'd like to take you back about seven years in my life. Friday afternoon, a few days before Christmas 2009. I was the director of operations at a consumer products company in San Francisco, and I was called into a meeting that was already in progress... posted on Mar 11 2018 (55,985 reads)

in my line of work [of cultivating U.S. spies and thwarting foreign ones] … I’ve had to think not only in terms of convincing someone to do something, but inspiring them to want to do it. Luckily for me, I was surrounded by some great Jedi masters of interpersonal communication and leadership. I was able to synthesize what they were doing down from a subjective art form to a very cognitive [system]. Knowledge@Wharton: Cameron, is building trust a prevalent problem in business culture today? Cameron Stauth: Huge. Since the Great Recession alone, trust in America’s most fundamental institutions, which are business, government and media, dropped by a combine... posted on Feb 5 2018 (12,723 reads)

York Times bestseller The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment. In 1971, while pursuing his doctoral work in economics, Michael experienced a deep inner awakening and went into seclusion to focus on yoga and meditation. In 1975, he founded the Temple of the Universe, a yoga and meditation center where people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience inner peace. Through the years, Michael has made major contributions in the areas of business, the arts, education, healthcare, and environmental protection. With Sounds True, Michael Singer has created a new eight-week online course called Living from a Place of Surrender: th... posted on Dec 22 2017 (48,132 reads)

is more to life than increasing its speed. – Mahatma Gandhi It’s the status symbol no one talks about, woven into our work, play, homes, and family lives. It takes up space on our calendars, to-do lists, and endless roster of appointments and meetings. It can leave us exhausted or invigorated, constantly tugging at our drive to do more, give back, and leave our mark. It can be a source of increased stress and frequent complaints one minute, and unbridled joy the next. Busyness is the new currency by which we measure our success, our fulfillment, and ultimately, the richness of our lives. “In certain cultures, spending your time relaxing, spending your ti... posted on Dec 26 2017 (21,247 reads)

that you teach in all of your books?" That saying, "We tend to teach what we need to learn,"—I must have needed to learn a lot with 17 books. The answer to that question—"Have I mastered everything?"—is no. Absolutely not. But, I'm sincerely practicing and that's all I can ask of anyone. I'm probably a good example of what I've realized, embodied, and I teach. Not a perfect example, but a good one. If I weren't, I'd have no business talking about it. So, that's the first thing that comes to mind when you ask that. And if you could repeat the question, I would like to— TS: It had to do with "thes... posted on Jul 13 2018 (13,951 reads)

daily life that will enhance our personal well-being. For some inspiration, we decided to ask the experts—the researchers who are actually studying well-being—about their favorite happiness practices. Many of their nominations align with this year’s International Day of Happiness theme around relationships, kindness, and helping each other. You’ll also discover research-based happiness practices on our website Greater Good in Action. Jane Dutton, professor of business administration and psychology at the University of Michigan: My favorite research-based happiness practice is to be alert to high-quality connections (HQCs) that I have with other people... posted on Aug 8 2018 (23,797 reads)

well-being of all people, not Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or average national income. She advocates creating an economy that recognizes the interdependence of people with each other and the planet, and works toward achieving the goals of reducing inequality, sustaining the planet, and supporting a meaningful life for all people. In the economy she envisions, societies choose their social-environmental outcomes, while the government provides social services, structures markets, and regulates business in order to achieve these goals. In our current economic system, however, powerful private interests manipulate the economy and politics to maintain—and increase—their power and e... posted on Jun 22 2018 (9,221 reads)

follows is the transcript of an On Being interview between Krista Tippett and Michael McCarthy: KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: I have rarely discovered a book that so delighted and galvanized me at once. The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy is written by the English naturalist and journalist, Michael McCarthy. “The sudden passionate happiness which the natural world can occasionally trigger in us,” he writes, “may well be the most serious business of all.” We could stop relying on the immobilizing language of statistic and take up joy as a civilizational defense of nature. With a perspective equally infused by science, reportage, and poetry, he reminds u... posted on May 28 2018 (6,725 reads)