Showing results by narrator "Fleet Cooper" in All Categories

Avoiding or delaying a difficult conversation can hurt your relationships and create other negative outcomes. It may not feel natural at first, especially if you dread discord, but you can learn to dive into these tough talks by reframing your thoughts.

We’d all like to spend our time at work on high-value activities: setting strategy, fostering innovation, mentoring promising employees, and more. But every professional faces a relentless deluge of niggling tasks — the overflowing inbox, the introductions you promised to make, the stack of paperwork you have to file, or the articles you really ought to read.

Wei Song noticed the fashion models first. Preening in chiffon-and-lace gowns, they flanked the entrance to Shanguang Jewelers’ flagship store on Nanjing Road. A vintage Eagle roadster was parked nearby, with a dozen well-heeled men and women clustered around it. Song could see many more people inside the store, sipping champagne. Many were trying on watches.

Two continents at war: the Three Kingdoms and Ishara have been in conflict for a thousand years. But when an outside threat arises - the reawakening of a powerful ancient race that wants to remake the world - the two warring nations must somehow set aside generations of hatred to form an alliance against a far more deadly enemy. 

Profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr has become one of America's leading commentators on current events in the Middle East, admired and welcomed by both media and government for his "concise and coherent" analysis (Wall Street Journal). In this "smart, clear and timely" book (Washington Post), Nasr brilliantly dissects the political and theological antagonisms within Islam. He provides a unique and objective understanding of the 1,400-year bitter struggle between Shias and Sunnis, and sheds crucial light on its modern-day consequences—from the nuclear posturing of Iran's President Ahmadinejad to the recent U.S.-enabled shift toward Shia power in Iraq and Hezbollah's continued dominance in Lebanon.

I used to be the prototypical young mathphobe: I flunked or barely passed any math course I was forced to orbit. For me, graduating from high school was thrilling in that I would never have to touch a math or science book again. Math not only didn’t make sense but was also worthless and painfully frustrating; the same went for technology.

The impact of female political leaders goes beyond their policies. One way it occurs is through the role model effect: Public exposure to women at the top has been shown to reduce social bias and improve living conditions for women. Studies have shown that female political leadership increases the likelihood that a woman is elected again, that crimes against women are less likely to go unreported, and that parents state higher aspirations for their daughters.

Sure to become a favorite of readers who love Chicken Soup for its stories of overcoming life’s obstacles, challenges, heartbreaks, and pain, this book emphasizes triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. A timeless testament to the indomitable human spirit, this collection is sure to encourage, support, comfort, and, most of all, inspire all readers for years to come.

For some networking meetings, the agenda is obvious: Your companies are considering doing business together, or you’re looking for a job and this person might help you get one. But many professionals find themselves in networking meetings where the goals are murkier. Perhaps a friend thought you’d hit it off with someone and introduced you, or you met the person briefly at an event and they followed up for indeterminate reasons.

The Stephen King Companion is an authoritative look at horror author King's personal life and professional career, from Carrie to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. King expert George Beahm, who has published extensively about Maine's main author, is your seasoned guide to the imaginative world of Stephen King, covering his varied and prodigious output: juvenalia, short fiction, limited edition books, best-selling novels, and film adaptations.

People hate to resign without another job lined up. Not just because employers prefer to hire people who are working, but also because it feels like failure. It seems as if you “couldn’t take it.” But there are times when it is very important to just let go.

I recently worked my way through Edmund Morris’s first two Teddy Roosevelt biographies, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex. Roosevelt wasn’t without flaws, but he was by nearly all accounts fascinating and intellectually voracious. He published his first book, The Naval War of 1812, at 23 and continued to write on everything from conservation to politics and biography.

Scholars are deeply gratified when their ideas catch on. And they are even more gratified when their ideas make a difference - improving motivation, innovation, or productivity, for example. But popularity has a price: people sometimes distort ideas, and therefore fail to reap their benefits. This has started to happen with my research on “growth” versus “fixed” mindsets among individuals and within organizations.

Perhaps you heard recently about a new algorithm that can drive a car? Or invent a recipe? Or scan a picture and find your face in a crowd? It seems as though every week companies are finding new uses for algorithms that adapt as they encounter new data. Last year Wired quoted an ex-Google employee as saying that “Everything in the company is really driven by machine learning.”

Twenty-three years ago, one of my employees — I’ll call him Dale — asked for a private meeting. Dale was serious and bookish and had very strong opinions. His work was fastidious. He rarely socialized with colleagues, but he was impeccable in his commitments to others. And he was skilled at his job.

Andrew Ng has likened artificial intelligence (AI) to electricity in that it will be as transformative for us as electricity was for our ancestors. I can only guess that electricity was mystifying, scary, and even shocking to them — just as AI will be to many of us. Credible scientists and research firms have predicted that the likely automation of service sectors and professional jobs in the United States will be more than 10 times as large as the number of manufacturing jobs automated to date. That possibility is mind-boggling.

In a world where we’re bombarded with email, it’s disproportionately effective to connect with people face to face. Conferences, if you choose them wisely, can be one of the best ways to accelerate this process, since you can meet large numbers of people in just a few days. In fact, author Tim Ferriss describes attending the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in 2007 as being the “tipping point” for his best-selling book The 4-Hour Workweek because he was able to meet so many bloggers who later promoted it.

Working in the family business can be fraught. When your manager is also your parent, sibling, or another relative, how do you keep things professional? Do you ask to be treated the same way as others, or accept that you will have a different sort of relationship at the office? Do you publicly call your mother “mom,” or your father “dad”? And what about getting candid feedback for your own growth and development?

Reach your financial goals and reduce the stress in your life with this audiobook of biblical principles by the New York Times best-selling author of The Blessed Life.  

How long will recruiters spend on your résumé before deciding to toss it in the recycle bin? Six seconds, says online job search site The Ladders. That’s about 20 to 30 words.