Essential Edge

US bank, Wells Fargo, recently disclosed that ​they fired more than a dozen employees​ for faking keyboard activity to make it appear they were “working” (assuming they were working remotely). While we don’t really know if there were any other details missing for the firings, taken at face value, this clearly showed many companies and […]

Everyone experiences nerves and anxiety if you need to speak in public and/or make presentations. When that happens, there’s tendency to start saying “um” and “ah”. If you want to tighten up your speaking and presentations to stop saying these filler words, ​try this​.

Slack messages and notifications. Email pings. Social media messages and notifications. The world we currently live in is out to suck our attention. How do you stay focused and do any kind of deep-thinking then? Here’s some tips summarized by “A Book a Week”, from the book, Stolen Focus: Why you can’t pay attention and

…then do this one thing.

If you run one-to-one meetings, it might be disheartening to know that around half of one-to-one meetings fail. Here’s some tips for running better one-to-one meetings: How often should you have one-on-one meetings? What’s the purpose of one-on-one meetings? Benefits of one-on-one meetings Tips for a great first one-on-one Leading effective one-on-one meetings One-on-one meeting

Are you finding it harder to get up in the morning feeling motivated to go to work? Here’s some tips for maintaining your self-motivation: Understanding Self-Motivation The Science of Self-Motivation Overcoming Procrastination Building Self-Motivation Additional Strategies By applying these strategies and understanding the underlying psychology of self-motivation, you can develop the skills and mindset needed

What’s the one resource we all seem to never have enough of? I guess the title already gave it away, but yes, it’s time. We seem to never have enough time. This is a great summary of the four main principles from the book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.

“Early feedback is usually better than late criticism.​Delaying the conversation or stringing someone along with indirect feedback won’t make them feel better once the real issue is finally addressed.​Nobody likes getting bad news, but everyone appreciates clarity.” James Clear Being an effective leader, you’re going to encounter hard decisions and difficult conversations. While it’s easier

Managers are people. We suffer through emotions. We go through ups and downs of life. So, how do you make proper decisions when you’re feeling angry or sad or fearful? According to Nick Huber: Surround yourself with smart people who aren’t YES MEN. Nick Huber Huber goes on to say: “It is tempting (especially as

LEADERSHIP If you take pride in being a leader, then having a positive impact is something you’re most likely focused on, here’s 10 strategies for you to consider: [Read the detailed explanation of each of these strategies here.] AI IN BUSINESS ChatGPT goes enterprise. That is OpenAI has launched an Enterprise plan to access its

I remember as a youth trying to apply for entry-level jobs that required “x-amount of experience”. (Nothing much has changed by the way…). There are lots of great hires to be found who don’t have the requisite “experience”. I’ve found quite a few for my own hires and you feel real good about being able

The AI hype train is not going to end. It’s not a passing trend or fad (hello NFT’s!), it’s here to stay. Think along the lines of the Internet, email and social media. The development and advancement of AI doesn’t mean humans won’t have jobs, in fact, skills that only humans can have are going

CAREER If you want to get ahead and climb the career ladder, you MUST learn to promote yourself and demonstrate your value. Here’s how you can do that. AI IN BUSINESS A deep dive essay looking at AI and the future of work.

CAREER You can’t change nor control how your (bad) boss behaves. But you CAN manage how YOU handle your bad boss. Here’s four strategies for handling a bad boss. AI IN BUSINESS Klarna made a splash in the news recently because they replaced 700(!!!) support agents with AI. Resulting in potential savings of $40m. This

CAREER Hop between jobs too quickly and you’re seen as a “job hopper”. Stay too long, potential employers think there’s something wrong with you or you have no ambition. How do you balance how long you should stay at any one job? Here’s some insight into what you should do. AI IN BUSINESS Want AI

MANAGEMENT Can you guess what ONE skill leaders lack that result in your team: Have your guess and we’ll share the answer next week. AI IN BUSINESS In another sign that AI is not just a fad, the In-House counsels from top firms such as Adobe, Intel and Ford are getting together to discuss and

MANAGEMENT Many companies are starting to mandate and force a return-to-office policy for those who are working from home (remote). While there ARE some jobs that are NOT conducive to remote work, many are and the global pandemic demonstrated that it is possible for workers and companies to thrive in such a hybrid environment. But,

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT As massive layoffs and upheaval is happening around the tech and banking industries, if you’re one of the lucky ones to retain their job, then here’s what you can do amidst the chaos of change in your workplace. AI IN BUSINESS AI is an inevitability in the workplace and business. Here’s how you

MANAGEMENT Mark Cuban is known for owning an NBA team and his business wisdom. He shares his 12 mantras for success: Read the full article above for more. AI IN BUSINESS We made an announcement in our sister email newsletter, The AI Edge, that we’ll be merging any AI-related content in business with the Essential

If you’re lucky you’ll have gone through your career without encountering a “bad boss”, count your blessings. For those who have or currently working with bad bosses, here’s how you can handle working with these bosses.

Ever since the global pandemic, there has been a clear shift in the workplace setting. But it’s clear many managers and leaders are “stuck” in decades-old ways and mindset that’s not going to survive going into the future. Here’s 6 workplace trends you should be aware of in 2024.

Poaching internal talent is tricky situation, but if you want to attract the BEST internal talent to your team, here’s some great tactics & strategies without resorting to questionable methods: [Source: Adam Grant]

Sometimes your role as a leader could conflict with your values and feelings, here’s what you can do if you encounter this conflict: Read more here

Unless you’re the CEO, it’s likely you have a boss you report to. This “boss” shares his tips for how you can impress your own boss.

Leading with an iron fist usually doesn’t work very well in the long-run and is really only good for a Netflix show. Building a positive atmosphere and showing appreciation where earned is a great way to foster inspiration and satisfaction in your workplace. Here’s some tips for building a culture of appreciation within your team.

We live in an era where workers value a balance in life and understand the need to protect your own mental health and well-being. So, what do you do if your employee comes to you and tells you they’re burned out? Here’s some tips to start.

We’re all not born negotiators and when it comes to negotiating within your workplace, it might be even more nerve-wracking. Fear not, here’s some tips if you need to negotiate within your workplace.

Teams don’t always work in harmony, and sometimes conflicts arise that require you, as a manager, to step in help resolve. Here are 8 tips for you to handle workplace conflict.

If you’ve followed us for a while, you know meetings (mostly unnecessary and pointless ones) are my biggest pet peeves. Here’s a nice strategy to help you spend much less time in meetings but still get things done.

It’s time to accept that hybrid work environments are the new normal. Navigating this hybrid environment requires new approaches. Here’s how you can make it work with staff who work remotely and those who are in-the-office.

Being an authentic leader, leading with authenticity…what does all this really mean? It’s one of those “soft-skills” that doesn’t usually have much tangibleness to it. Here’s an attempt at showing you how to be an authentic leader.

I have a HUGE aversion to meetings (especially unnecessary ones). Recently Spotify has been highlighted as a company that has been strict about holding meetings. Now, Zapier, a 100% remote company, is sharing what happened when they cancelled ALL meetings for an entire week.

The pandemic opened our eyes to the potential of work-from-home/remote work and hybrid work. While this writer has worked remotely for over sixteen years and wouldn’t trade that for anything, the reality is hybrid work is most likely the compromise between workers and managers. So, if you want to avoid being stuck in rush hour

Ever have one of those managers or team members that expect you to be able to read minds? There’s always one of those right? Hopefully, you’re not of them. But just in case, you want to boost your communication skills with your team, here’s what you can do to be more effective.

A common objection whenever it comes to money exchange, is the person you’re trying to persuade to part with money says, “Your price is too high.” If you ever encounter this, then watch this to know how to respond. (I’ve done sales and marketing for over two decades and this is one of the better

Being a good communicator is often mentioned as a key skill to have to be an effective leader, so using “silence” to be a better communicator seems counter-intuitive. Here’s how you can leverage the use of “silence” to be communicate better at work.

What you choose NOT to do is just as important as what you choose to do with your time. Knowing how to say “No” to tasks, projects and meetings is an art and sometimes you don’t always get to choose. But knowing how to say “No” is still one of the best methods to leading

Susan Cain, author of Quiet, is one of my favourite authors. Her book, Quiet, really helped me in accepting my natural character and Introvertedness. I’m sure there are many of you out there who are “closet” introverts and when it comes to making presentations and speaking in public, it can be a daunting task. Susan

Leadership skills is not a one-size fits all. There’s so many different ways to achieve the outcomes we want depending on your personality, your character and your experience. I came across this interesting angle at leadership, using the principles of Quantum Mechanics to manage your team.

You don’t always get to choose the people you work with. There’s a good chance you’ll encounter colleagues who are “difficult” to work with. Here’s some tips on how to work well with anyone.

If you feel like you run around work like a headless chicken due to all the tasks on your list, it might not be a problem with how many hours in the day you. have but more an issue with how you’re prioritizing your tasks. Here’s some tips for how to prioritize your tasks when

While the battle between which is better: in-office work or remote work (work-from-home), there are a few myths and lies about working from home that can be debunked. Software powerhouse, Hubspot, found their remote workers to be more engaged and just as productive as workers being in the office.

Being decisive and making decisions while under pressure is a keystone skill for any leader. Unfortunately, most of us are not taught HOW to make decisions properly. This CEO shares his tips for making better decisions while under pressure.

This is a superpower trait of leaders that’s proven to be quite valuable in the long run. “Curious” to know what it is? Do you have this trait? (You’ll see what I did there).

I’ve been fortunate to be a part of very close and friendly teams, but also experienced times when there were individuals who created tensions and toxicity within an otherwise harmonious work environment. As a manager, pretending it doesn’t exist or trying to sweep bad behavior under the rug can result in you losing the entire

Email is still a vital tool in many ways. But when it comes to productivity, email can be the bane of focus and productivity. I’d be willing to wager many executives are at the mercy of email and it’s time to shift your mindset and approach to email so it no longer becomes a anchor

You’d think asking for 110% effort from your team is the way to produce a top performing team. But it looks like thats the wrong way. This is the most ideal amount of effort to reach top performance.