Most Recent Articles
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Blog / ChangeThis
Alternative Answers: The Class Divide in Investing, and How You Can Close It
By Bob Rice
"Harvard's biggest single financial bet is on timber, not stocks. Yale has just 6% of its endowment in US equities; instead, it's long "absolute return," "private equity," and real assets. Each is up more than100% over the past decade. In the meantime, typical investors have, at best, treaded water. And that's no anomaly. In 7 of the 11 decades since 1900, the classic 60/40, stock/bond portfolio has returned an average real return of a whopping. . . 1%. Yes, those other four decades were big winners; but then those gains were walloped by the kinds of big crashes that are only becoming more frequent. Fact is, a class system has developed among investors over the past few decades. Elite money managers have used a proprietary set of tools to ride economic cycles up, but also to avoid big losses during downturns. Meanwhile, the rest of us all thought that "investing" was synonymous with simply buying stocks and bonds, with maybe a bit of real estate tossed in. [. . . ] Fortunately, times have changed—even if most people still don't know it.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Right or Kind? Navigating the Soft Skills Revolution
By Maxine Kamin
"Do we care about talking to each other anymore, or are we settling for mostly texts, emails, tweets, and electronic quickies? Is this like quickie sex, compared to romantic adventures with all the accoutrements of a love making session? Are we too busy to really connect? What is the draw of fast talk? We often think that quick communication saves time. This is true in some cases. Relying only on cursory communication though runs the risk of misunderstanding, and a lot of hoopla about 'what did she mean by that e-mail?' Once those questions get started, they take on a life of their own and end up as huge time wasters, not time savers, and the intent of the communication may be lost, and so badly misinterpreted that trust goes astray in the translation. Let's regroup and think about the advantages of face-to-face communication, what might get in the way, and types of skills that promote cooperation, even in difficult instances."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The First 20 Hours: Secrets of Rapid Skill Acquisition
By Josh Kaufman
"I'm willing to wager there's something in the back of your mind you've always wanted to learn how to do. [...] I'm also willing to wager you feel you don't have enough time to learn this particular skill. You're overworked already, and time is tight. You have work to do, family to take care of, friends to hang out with, and too many responsibilities as it is. By the time your work and family obligations are satisfied, you're tired: after you eat dinner and watch a little TV, it's time to call it a day. So much to do, and so little time. [...] I have good news for you: picking up new skills is way easier than you think. Believe it or not, you can pick up the fundamentals of any new skill in about 20 hours."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Your Time is Your Life—Invest it Well
By Elizabeth Grace Saunders
"Now is a time of revolution—or perhaps more precisely evolution—in the world of personal productivity. Time management no longer offers sufficient support for people overwhelmed with the onslaught of responsibility and opportunity in today's 24/7 world. The next step: Time Investment. Ironically, the people with the most time and autonomy can end up the most miserable because their relative freedom makes them hold onto the false notion that they can do everything. But the truth is that even if you have copious amounts of time and resources, you still need to make choices. Failing to do so will lead to an unsatisfying lack of depth and closure in your life."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Jazz-Leadership
By Penelope Tobin
"Traditional leadership has long looked like the orchestral conductor. But we're living within a whirlwind of change, and the authoritarian individual, working to a fixed, detailed plan from a detached position of control, isn't equipped to deal with it. To survive these new circumstances, we must all learn how to improvise (from the Latin "improvises", meaning "not seen ahead of time"). [...] We need leadership in a new groove—jazz-leadership."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
How to Get Employees to Manage Themselves
By Cali Ressler, Jody Thompson
"Employees don't leave companies. They leave managers. 70% of employees don't feel valued by their employers. 64% of Americans leave their jobs due to lack of recognition. This impacts the bottom line because customers feel the effects of employee success and either respond with loyalty, or get turned off by bad service or inferior products. There has to be a better way to improve employee and manager relationships in order to maximize business success. The answer is simple. Manage the work, not the people."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / News & Opinion
Two 100 Best Revisited
By Sally Haldorson
It's been four years since the printing of our book, The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. We're still proud of the comprehensive list of books we reviewed to help you "find solutions to your business problems. " Two of the books we included in our list are The First 90 Days by Michael D.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Hidden in Plain Sight
By Sally Haldorson
It must be a lot of pressure to live up to the billing of "James Bond of design research" and the "Indiana Jones of technology for the developing world. " I mean, what do you wear? A tux with a dusty brimmed hat?
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Ctrl Alt Delete
By 800-CEO-READ
There's a certain urgency to the new book by Mitch Joel, Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends On It.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
KnowledgeBlocks Giveaway: The One Thing
By Sally Haldorson
If I were to ask my husband to make a "to-do" list of the things he wants to get done over the weekend, the list would top out at around 20 items. On it would be anything from cleaning out the garage and going to the bank. .
Categories: news-opinion
