Entries by First Sun Team

#Leadership : The Pernicious Myth of the 80-20 Rule…While it’s Easy to See Why Managers Still Believe That 20% of a Company’s Workforce does 80% of the Work, the 80-20 Rule is a Corrosive Myth that Often Does More Harm Than Good.

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Management Consultants Insist that a 20% Vital Few really Matter in Companies, a Large Middle Just do their Jobs, & Another 10%  or 20% Should be Encouraged to Leave or Be Fired.   Back in the late 19th century, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 80 percent of the land was owned by 20 percent […]

#Strategy : 4 Ways Big Data Will Change Every Business…If You’re Still Saying, “Big Data isn’t Relevant to my Company,” You’re Missing the Boat.

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It Doesn’t Matter What Field you Operate In or The Size of your Business; as data collection, analysis, and interpretation become more readily accessible, they will have an impact on every business in several important ways.   If You’re Still Saying, “Big Data isn’t Relevant to my Company,” You’re Missing the Boat. I firmly believe that […]

#Leadership : We Don’t Need The Best People, We Need The Best Teams…Having the “Smartest Guys in the Room” Won’t Do you Much Good If they Can’t Work with Others Effectively. We Need to ReThink How we Approach Talent.

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All of this Points to a Major Change in How we Need to Recruit, Train & Manage People.  Many long-held practices, such as individual performance assessments and compensation will have to be reassessed. The best performers are no longer the hard driving executives that can impose their force of will, but those who can engender […]

#Strategy : The 22 Books you Should Read Before you Quit your Job to Start a Business…“If I Stay in this Job, I Will Never be Able to Live like This.” I spent $237.91 on 22 Books, a Hefty Investment for Me at the Time, & Got Reading.

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I Don’t have an MBA. I Never took a Business Studies Class in High School. What Do I Know about Running & Growing a Business? I wasn’t about to quit my job, join an MBA program, and then start a business. I didn’t have the time, patience, or money for that. I spent $237.91 on 22 […]

#Leadership : The Daily Habits of 19 High-Achieving CEOs …Success in Business & Life is All about Being Intentional About How you Use your Time.

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Think about the Most Successful People you Know. Chances are they Didn’t get Where they Are Because of a Lucky Break, but rather possess characteristics or a state of mind that sets them apart from people leading average lives.   Check out these quotes from 19 successful CEOs who credit simple daily habits for helping them […]

Your #Career : 7 Technology Trends That Will Make Or Break Many Careers …No Matter What Field you Work In, If you’re Hoping to Get Ahead in your Career, You Need to Be Mindful of Technology Trends.

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By Educating Yourself on What is New, What is Growing, What is Likely to Be the Next Big Thing, you Can help Tech-Proof your Career. Below I’ve outlined some of the technology trends I see that will have the greatest impact on a wide variety of jobs and industries — well outside the people in the […]

#Strategy : 6 Ways to Respond to your #Boss Yelling at You …Your Reaction to your Boss Yelling at you Should be Contingent on Why They are Yelling at You.

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Getting Yelled at By a Boss: We’ve All Been there, Right? It’s hard to know exactly how to react and what you should say and do when your boss yells at you, First & Foremost because they’re your Boss. Unless they’re harassing or bullying you (in which case you should skip the reaction and go straight […]

#Strategy : A New Drug could Enhance your Performance at Work — and One Doctor Says the Side Effects Aren’t any Worse than Too much Coffee

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If you Could Take a Pill that Will Make you Better at your Job, with Few or No Negative Consequences, Would you Do it?   In a meta-analysis recently published in European Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers from the University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School concluded that a Drug called Modafinil, which is typically used to treat sleep […]

#Leadership : 31% Of Execs Say A Colleague Has Tried To Make Them Look Bad…So What’s the Best Way to Respond when a CoWorker Sabotages You?

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“Some Professionals are So Competitive that They’ll Do Just about Anything to Get Ahead,” says Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group, in a press release. “Being able to handle challenging or difficult coworkers—and maintaining healthy working relationships—is  crucial for career success, particularly in environments that require a great deal of collaboration.” If you […]

#Strategy : How To Deal With A Workplace Bully: Advice For Victims, Bosses, & Co-Workers…Bullies are Often Reluctant to Change their Behavior Because it Works for Them.

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While Most People Think of Bullies as Kids, Bullying Doesn’t End with High School. Childhood bullies often grow up to become office bullies. In fact, the Workplace Bullying Institute, estimates that up to one-third of employees may be victims of workplace bullying.   What Workplace Bullies Do Workplace bullies behave similarly to teen bullies. In addition […]