Keep It Short: In writing, brevity works not only as a function of space on a page, but the time that an audience is willing to spend with you

MARCH 24, 2014, 9:00 PM  122 Comments

Keep It Short

By DANNY HEITMAN

In my first daily newspaper job some 25 years ago, I learned a few lessons about brevity that I’m still using today. Back then, among other editorial chores, I contributed to a weekly feature called “Books in Brief.” Each review could be no longer than 200 words — less than a fourth the length of a usual article. Imagine a slender column of type slightly taller than your middle finger, and you’ll get some idea of the word limit. Read more of this post

React to the Reality, Not the Image of It; Sometimes things are much better than they appear, but the truth is we don’t know what’s going on with other people’s finances

React to the Reality, Not the Image of It

By CARL RICHARDSMARCH 25, 2014

Years ago, a friend came home with a new, top-of-the-line road bike. My first thought: How can he afford that? It seemed like such a big purchase based on what I thought I knew. We lived in the same neighborhood, were close to the same age and both had young families. His life looked a lot like mine — at least I thought it did. Read more of this post

Creating Product Addicts

Creating Product Addicts

by Ian Gordon | Mar 26, 2014

Corporate attempts to boost customer loyalty, or move customers to go to great lengths to repeat purchase behaviour, can be seen as creating a form of addiction without a pejorative connotation

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Economics and the foundations of Artificial Intelligence

Economics and the foundations of Artificial Intelligence

by Colin Lewis , March 19, 2014

For the longest time, people thought that humans could not run a mile in less than four minutes. Then, in 1954, Sir Roger Bannisterbeat that perception, and shortly thereafter, once he showed it was possible, many other runners were able to achieve this also. Read more of this post

This Is Google CEO Larry Page’s Grand Vision For Changing The World

This Is Google CEO Larry Page’s Grand Vision For Changing The World

MEGAN ROSE DICKEY TECH  MAR. 25, 2014, 12:08 AM

Google CEO Larry Page is one of the smartest, most powerful people in the world. As CEO of Google, his job is to imagine the future. This month, Page gave a talk at TED to discuss how Google plans to change the world. It’s a great insight into where Google is going.  Read more of this post

Chart Shows The Most Successful Startups Ever Founded By People Who Apparently Skipped Their Midlife Crisis

Chart Shows The Most Successful Startups Ever Founded By People Who Apparently Skipped Their Midlife Crisis

ROB WILE STRATEGY  MAR. 25, 2014, 4:48 AM

Venture capitalist Fred Wilson has posted a nifty chart showing six mega-companies that were founded by folks who evidently sailed through any notion of a mid-life crisis. Read more of this post

Likeable Leadership: A Collection of 65+ Inspirational Stories on Marketing, Your Career, Social Media & More

Likeable Leadership: A Collection of 65+ Inspirational Stories on Marketing, Your Career, Social Media & More [Kindle Edition]

Dave Kerpen (Author), Jeffrey Hayzlett (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2013

“When it comes to cutting through the clutter and making his voice heard, Dave has always been a thought leader and a truly creative promoter. His new book is an invaluable tool for any business leader who hopes to navigate today’s fast changing social media landscape. Moreover, Dave’s cogent advice and instructive (and humorous!) anecdotes are as likeable as he is!”  Read more of this post

The 16 Differences Between Successful People and Unsuccessful People

The Differences Between Successful People and Unsuccessful People

March 19, 2014

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Here Is The Letter Sir Winston Churchill Wrote When He Resigned As Prime Minister

Here Is The Letter Sir Winston Churchill Wrote When He Resigned As Prime Minister

JULIE ZEVELOFF THE LIFE  MAR. 25, 2014, 9:55 PM

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Game Theory, Pharmacies, And Why CVS Stopped Selling Cigarettes

Game Theory, Pharmacies, And Why CVS Stopped Selling Cigarettes

ESTIMIZE FINANCE  MAR. 26, 2014, 1:31 AM

To sell smokes or not to tell smokes, that is the $2 billion question. In early February CVS Caremark (CVS) became the first national drugstore chain to voluntarily give up selling cigarettes and other tobacco products by October 1st. CVS was the first brick to fall due to mounting pressure coming from 28 state and territory attorney generals. These AGs have not yet threatened any legal action, but the case certainly brings the NYC sugary drinks ban to mind. Read more of this post

25 Fascinating Charts Of Negotiation Styles Around The World

25 Fascinating Charts Of Negotiation Styles Around The World

GUS LUBIN STRATEGY  MAR. 26, 2014, 1:47 AM

Language is only the most obvious part of the global communication gap. Different cultures also have distinct approaches to communication during meetings and negotiations, as described by British linguist Richard D. Lewis, whose best-selling book, “When Cultures Collide,” charts these as well as leadership styles and cultural identities. Read more of this post

Arianna Huffington Explains Why You Need More Than Money And Power To Be Successful; In 2007, she found herself in a pool of blood in her home office. She had collapsed from exhaustion, cutting her eye and breaking her cheekbone in the process

Arianna Huffington Explains Why You Need More Than Money And Power To Be Successful

DRAKE BAER STRATEGY  MAR. 26, 2014, 2:22 AM

Arianna Huffington has met almost every measure of worldly success: She launched and sold the Huffington Post, pocketing $21 million. She lives in a luxury loft in Soho, one of New York’s wealthiest neighborhoods, and is a well-known media personality, followed by millions on Facebook and Twitter. Read more of this post

Marc Andreessen Calls Warren Buffett An Old White Man Crapping On Technology He Doesn’t Understand

Marc Andreessen Calls Warren Buffett An Old White Man Crapping On Technology He Doesn’t Understand

ROB WILE MARKETS  MAR. 26, 2014, 4:05 AM

Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s Warren Buffett (C) walks during a visit of TaeguTec in Daegu, about 300 km (189 miles) southeast of Seoul, October 25, 2007. Read more of this post

Regulators will get the blame for the stupidity of crowds; Naivety is as much of a problem as criminality, particularly when investors lack cynicism

March 25, 2014 3:10 pm

Regulators will get the blame for the stupidity of crowds

By John Kay

Naivety is as much of a problem as criminality, particularly when investors lack cynicism

Crowdfunding has wide appeal. For libertarians on the political right it demonstrates the power of individual action, free from the constraints of institutions and regulation. For geeks it is a demonstration of the vitality of the internet. Much of the public welcomes the sidelining of traditional financial institutions. Read more of this post

Tea, sex and one last cavalry charge: The centenary of the first world war has not gone unnoticed in India

March 25, 2014 6:17 pm

Tea, sex and one last cavalry charge

By Victor Mallet in New Delhi

The centenary of the first world war has not gone unnoticed in India

India is full of surprises, and I have rarely been more surprised than to be invited, in the midst of a very 21st-century election campaign, to the British high commissioner’s residence to learn about centenary commemorations for the Indians who fought in the first world war. Read more of this post