10 Reasons to Pick Up the Phone

Today fewer people get on the phone, preferring to text, chat, and e-mail. Here are 10 scenarios where a live voice is still the best option.

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I've noticed recently that the Millennial generation's trend of phone avoidance is quickly spreading to people of all ages. It started with smartphones. Texting replaced leaving voicemails and whole conversations now take place with our thumbs. Calling someone has now become low on the communication priority list and even frequently disparaged.

Certainly written communication has its advantages.

• You can get your message out whether or not the other person is available.
• You can respond without concern for time zones or sleep patterns.
• You don't have to waste time with unwanted chatty gossip.

But the phone has benefits that text and e-mail will never overcome. It's still an important tool for business etiquette and should be considered equally in today's communication environment. Here are 10 scenarios where a phone call does the job best.

1. When You Need Immediate Response

The problem with text or e-mail is you never know when someone will get back to you. You like to think the other person is sitting there waiting for your message, but it's not always true. These days when someone sees your name on the ringing phone, they know you are making an extra effort to speak to them. Of course if they are truly busy, in a meeting, sleeping, or hiding from you, the caller ID will tip them off and you go to voicemail, which they rarely check anyway. At least now you can express yourself with heartfelt emotion.

2. When You Have Complexity with Multiple People

My wife Van was recently coordinating an overseas engagement for me and there were six different people in multiple time zones involved in the logistics. After five cryptic e-mail conversations that created more confusion, she was literally screaming at the computer. Finally I suggested a conference call. In 30 minutes, all questions were answered, everyone was aligned, and Van went from frustrated to relieved. She is now a newly recruited phone advocate.

3. When You Don't Want a Written Record Due to Sensitivity

You never know who will see an e-mail or a text. True, phone calls can be recorded...but not legally in most states without prior notification or a judge's order. Unless you are absolutely comfortable with your message getting into anyone's hands, best to use the phone for conversations that require discretion.

4. When the Emotional Tone is Ambiguous, But Shouldn't Be

Sometimes a smiley face is not enough to convey real emotion. Emoticons help broadly frame emotional context, but when people's feelings are at stake it's best to let them hear exactly where you are coming from. Otherwise they will naturally assume the worst.

5. When There is Consistent Confusion

Most people don't like to write long e-mails and most don't like to read them. So when there are lots of details that create confusion, phone calls work efficiently to bring clarity. First of all, you can speak about 150 words per minute, and most people don't type that fast. Second, questions can be answered in context so you don't end up with an endless trail of back and forth question and answers.

6. When There is Bad News

This should be obvious, but sadly many people will take a cowardly approach to sharing difficult news. Don't be one of those callous people. Make it about the other person and not you. Humanize the situation with empathy they can hear.

7. When There is Very Important News

Good or bad, if there is significance to information, the receiver needs to understand the importance beyond a double exclamation point. Most likely they will have immediate questions and you should be ready to provide context to prevent unwanted conclusions.

8. When Scheduling is Difficult

After going back and forth multiple times with a colleague's assistant trying to find an available date and time, I finally just called her. Now I didn't have to worry that the time slot would be filled by the time she read my e-mail. We just spoke with calendars in hand and completed in five minutes what had exasperated us over three days. Later that day I watched one of my foodie friends spend 20 frustrated minutes using Open Table and finally suggested he simply call the restaurant. In three minutes he had a reservation and a slightly embarrassed smile.

9. When There is a Hint of Anger, Offense, or Conflict in the Exchange

Written messages can often be taken the wrong way. If you see a message that suggests any kind of problem, don't let it fester--or worse try and repair it--with more unemotional communication. Pick up the phone and resolve the issue before it spirals out of control.

10.  When a Personal Touch Will Benefit

Anytime you want to connect emotionally with someone and face-to-face is not possible, use the phone. Let them hear the care in your voice and the appreciation in your heart.

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An Inc. 500 entrepreneur with a more than $1 billion sales and marketing track record, Kevin Daum is the best-selling author of Video Marketing for Dummies. @awesomeroar

3 Things You Don't Know About Sales

Ideas are great, but no start-up can survive without sales--and a mastery of the psychology behind selling. (Hint: manipulation skills are not required.)

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Sales can be a daunting task for any young entrepreneur.

If you're working on a start-up, you're spilling your heart and soul into your idea. Now, you somehow have to convince others to buy into--and literally purchase--your idea too. The truth is, most entrepreneurs don't know the first thing about getting an effective sales process up and running, let alone how to pitch customers.

Since we created ElasticSales, which is essentially a sales team on demand, I've had the opportunity to work with several different young companies. I always start by teaching them about the psychology behind sales. Why? Because most people think a sale is about manipulating or pushing people into making a decision. That couldn't be further from the truth. 

Here are the most important things I tell my clients (and my own salespeople) again and again about the psychology of sales:

1. People don't buy products or services. They buy emotions.

By "emotions," I mean: A desired feeling. Superiority. Love. Comfort. Excitement. Security. Or sometimes, the opposite--fear.

These and more are all emotions around which you can position your product or solution. However, you have to know what emotion your customers are actually looking for. If you don't, you won't understand how to sell to them.

The best way to determine this is to ask the customer what's important to them and what they need. Once you know this, you can position your solution around their needs and then sell your benefits--NOT your features.

2. Emotional states dictate buying (and all other) decisions.

Have you ever been in a "shopping rush?" A state in which you wanted to buy something desperately, though the feeling has very little to do with what you are about to buy?

This phenomenon happens in both consumer and enterprise sales. Make sure you pay attention to what emotional states your customers are in before selling them anything. Are they depressed? If so, they really shouldn't be making a big purchasing decision. Are they in that "shopping rush" where they have no idea what you're offering? Then the last thing you want is your customer to feel buyer's remorse because you pressured them into a purchase.

Above all, make sure you're in a good state for your customers as well! Customers can pick up if you're not in a good state to sell them your business.

3. Communication is all about tonality and body language--it has little to do with content.

This is a very old truth, but it's still surprising to most people. If your lips are saying "buy!" but your body and voice are communicating "don't do it," you won't win many deals. Listen to your phone calls or record yourself conducting a presentation. Make note of your tone and posture and ask yourself, "Would I buy from this person?"

If the answer is "no," then you have to adjust your pitch. Be conscious of your tone and body language to make improvements everyday. After a few weeks, you'll see improvements in your tonality, body language, and sales.

Steli Efti is a high school dropout, self-taught entrepreneur, anonymous learning addict, and owner of a one-way ticket that took him from Europe to San Francisco where he founded Supercool School, VibaTV and SwipeGood. As an alumni of Y Combinator, Steli recently launched Elastic. This post is adapted from a Q&A on Quora.com.

The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invitation-only organization composed of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program. @TheYEC

The True Cost of a B-Player

Here's how mediocre employees can take down a business. Don't let it happen to you.

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I recently attended VatorSplash here in San Francisco, and I had the fortune of listening to Renaud Laplanche, CEO of Lending Club speak about a variety of topics. The one that struck me most wasn't about innovation (which is one thing Vator is all about) it was about hiring. My ears perked up.

There's no shortage of information about hiring on Inc.com; Tony Hsieh let us in on the hiring snafus at Zappos. So I'll add this article to the list because it seems so obvious but it's not. It's about how a B-player can ruin your business, or at least take years away from where your business "should be."

Renaud laid it out simply: when you hire a B-player, they'll do an okay job and there's not really a reason to fire them. But B-players can do a few damaging things to your business:

1. They'll either hire mediocre people just like them or even worse, C-players, making an increasingly larger portion of your business run by them.
2. Your A-players will leave because they don't want to work on a mediocre team and they get sick of the general feeling of not being able to get things done.

You've got to nip your B-players in the bud. Either get them to "A" status by coaching and mentoring them, or cut them loose. You don't want to look back and think about where your business "could have" been.

How have you dealt with B-players on your team? I'd love to hear your challenges and successes.

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Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service email and event marketing, online surveys, social media, and direct mail solutions. The company was ranked No. 2,802 on the 2012 Inc. 5000. @janinepopick

4 Places to Find Big Ideas

Need to stop fighting fires and find time to think deeply? Here are four activities that can help even the busiest people make space in their schedule for big ideas.

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Business owners face a conundrum: The day-to-day functioning of your company keeps you super busy, so busy in fact that you generally have little time for the type of deep, strategic thinking on which the long-term success of your business depends.

You have to fight fires now, but saving your business from the current flames can leave it vulnerable to a slow death by stagnation over the long term. 

So what can you do to find time in your hectic day to clear you brain and think deep deeply about the future of your business? Author and entrepreneur Ben Casnocha has a few suggestions based on the psychological truth that we often get our best ideas when our brains are engaged in minimally taxing activities. A reality many of us experience in real life as the shower inspiration effect.

A steaming bathroom is just relaxing enough, and remembering to put the conditioner on after the shampoo just mentally engaging enough, that the rest of your brain is free of tension and self-policing chatter and can range widely to come up with your most creative ideas. (If you want the details of the neuroscience, this post is for you.) It worked for Archimedes and no doubt it's worked for you. Plus, even the busiest entrepreneur definitely finds time to squeeze a shower into their schedule now and then.

So what are some other ways to get into that chilled out but slightly engaged mindset? Casnocha seconds the usual suggestion of the extra long shower ("You're free from distraction, you're engaged in a monotonous activity that doesn't require active focus, and you're in a different environment. Sounds like the perfect place for a creative thought," he writes) and then offers four more activities that actually fit into your schedule and which you can re-imagine not as chores or lost time but as opportunities for inspiration:

Drive to and from the office. Driving a familiar route = good thinking time. 'When Joan Didion moved from California to New York, she realized that she had done much of her thinking and mental writing during the long drives endogenous to the Californian lifestyle,' Steve Dodson once noted. I'm the same. I can't tell you how many decent thoughts I've concocted in my head while driving on the 101 or 280 freeways in the Bay Area.

Take your dog for a walk. Same as driving, but safer.

Stare out of airplane windows. Travel journeys of any sort are the midwives of thought. 'Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships, or trains'Introspective reflections that might otherwise be liable to stall are helped along by the flow of the landscape,' says Alain de Botton.

Organize your office/room/house. Tidy up documents, pick up around the floor, rearrange books. It's an excellent foil to serious thinking.

What activities double as deep thinking time for you, and should you make better uses of these pauses in your day?

 

Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer based in London with interests in unconventional career paths, generational differences, and the future of work. She has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch, GigaOM, and Brazen Careerist. @EntryLevelRebel

Want a Solid Online Reputation? Curate Yourself

The Web is a one-stop shop for people who want to learn about you. Make sure they find the best version of you with these tips.

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At one point in time, the word "curate" was associated solely with what goes on inside museums to create the perfect experience for their patrons.  

Now, everyone has gotten into the business of curating--from restaurants to retailers--and it's one bandwagon you should hop aboard. 

Why? 

If the Internet is the one-stop shop for people researching you, this is the way to ensure they get the best, most accurate and current information possible. 

Seriously, go curate yourself. Here's where to start: 

Decide what defines you.  

What should people know about you? Maybe it's just the based-in-fact basics. Perhaps it's the professional you--establishing your expertise in a certain field or niche industry knowledge. Maybe you want to include a passion for a certain hobby (like serious amateur photography). It's easy to narrow down with a simple litmus test: Is this the primary information I want people to know about me? Then, make sure everything you do online reinforces how you want to be known. 

Embrace the Big Three.  

If you're not one of the 200 million professionals on LinkedIn, what's stopping you? It frequently shows up well in search results--and a clean, well-organized profile says you're savvy about self-presentation. Actively reaching out to others and building your connections says you're smart about networking. Likewise, another no-brainer: Twitter and Facebook profiles that align with your communication goals. 

Explore other options. 

Use good judgment but invest some time in developing yourself on other sites; there is no shortage from which to pick. For example, Resume.com is a free online resume builder with a great interface that tends to rank well in search results. Hardcore hobbyist? There's guaranteed to be a Web community to join, whether you're a knitting enthusiast (hello, Ravelry!) or a tea tippler (here's looking at you, Steepster). 

Set up your site.  

I've said it before but it bears repeating: It's cheap, easy, and effective to buy your own Web domain. And it's even simpler to point a blog you establish to that domain name. Your easiest option? Set up a Tumblr account, which can be as low maintenance as posting a photo with a caption, and link it to your personalized website. WordPress and Blogger are also good choices.  

Once you're up and running, your work is not over.  Update, update, update!  Current content is king when it comes to your search results.

 

Michael Fertik founded Reputation.com with the belief that businesses and individuals have the right to control and protect their online reputation and privacy. He is credited with pioneering the field of online reputation management. @michaelfertik

Does Collaboration Actually Hurt Productivity?

In some offices the insistence on collaboration is forcing people to take creative measures to focus. What's the new etiquette when it comes to connection vs. concentration?

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Collaboration is all the rage (so much so that some are even speculating it might be the new greenwashing), but this trendy we're-all-in-it-together ethos doesn't just set off some folks' hype sensors, it also presents other dangers.

Let's be honest: collaboration can kill productivity and focus. 

Open plan offices and helpful, chatty workplace culture definitely have their advantages, but according to many people's personal experience and a recent New York Times article, they can also drive you batty if you're actually trying to put your head done and plow through some concentrated work. John Tierney opens the Times article with an explanation of the problem and one of the coolest quotes on office culture you're likely to hear for awhile:

The walls have come tumbling down in offices everywhere, but the cubicle dwellers keep putting up new ones. They barricade themselves behind file cabinets. They fortify their partitions with towers of books and papers. Or they follow an "evolving law of technology etiquette," as articulated by Raj Udeshi at the open office he shares with fellow software entrepreneurs in downtown Manhattan.  

"Headphones are the new wall," he said, pointing to the covered ears of his neighbors.

No one may be mourning the death of the beige cubicle farm, but that doesn't mean they're not looking for new ways to get a bit of what cubes offered ' privacy. Headphones may be the simplest way to go (just about everyone has an iPod in their bag these days), but for those who find music distracting or are faced with truly persistent colleagues, other measures to keep would-be collaborators at bay may be in order.

Marissa Feinberg, owner of Green Spaces, a New York co-working space for socially conscious start-ups, observed this first hand. "In any open, collaborative environment, people must always fight interruptions. Therefore, collaborative work spaces, for start-ups, or for major companies like Accenture or Google, are going to need a new best practice for focus, and a new set of etiquette for connection," she told Inc.

Her low-tech solution to interruptions mania? A little gizmo called Flockd that sits on your desk. Turn it one way and it displays a big red X to colleagues warning them you're engaged and uninterested in connecting at the moment. Turn it another way and it becomes a little pyramid-shaped announcement to the world that you're open for collaboration.

Not only does Flockd serve as a visual signal beckoning co-workers to connect with you when you're in the mood, but Feinberg also believes that, by demanding old-school manual manipulation, it helps workers be more conscious of what sort of work they're doing and how much collaboration time is optimal of them.

"I may put [headphones] on and then forget I am wearing them. Consequently, everyone around me thinks I am busy and no one approaches me for the entire day. And I can get too deep into my head to remind myself that human connection is important. It's not healthy to be heads down all the time," she says.

Feinberg mentions "a new etiquette for connection." What are your rules for respectful collaboration? 

 

Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer based in London with interests in unconventional career paths, generational differences, and the future of work. She has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch, GigaOM, and Brazen Careerist. @EntryLevelRebel

How to Recover From Your Worst Mistakes

Leaders sometimes make big mistakes that threaten their careers and companies. Here's how they recover and survive to lead again.

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We all make mistakes. Over the course of your professional life, you can count on making a few bad career choices. It comes with the territory. Still, those mistakes can really drag you down. And recovering from them is definitely not a trivial matter, as I know all too well.

I once accidentally erased my boss's entire PC hard drive. After he calmed down, he said, "You can make mistakes; just don't make any you have to live with." Indeed, he had messed up in ways that continued to haunt him. But his comment turned out to be surprisingly prophetic for me, as well.

The following year I was courted by two high-tech companies: one an established leader, a public company; the other a start-up, a spinoff from that same company. Offers in hand, I chose the start-up. Just a few months later, I knew I'd made the wrong choice.

Hat in hand, I called the hiring VP of the company I'd turned down. He graciously declined to reengage. If I heard a note of satisfaction in his voice, it was drowned out by my disappointment. Actually, I felt a lot worse than disappointed. I felt like a failure.

There's nothing worse than failing by your own hand, your own hubris, your own stupidity. Now I knew what my old boss had meant. I would have to live with this.

It's Not the Failure That Matters...

But here's the thing. Jazz great Miles Davis once said, "When you hit a wrong note, it's the next note that makes it good or bad." To this day, I marvel at the wisdom behind that simple notion. If you just add a little self-confidence and courage, it's all you need to recover from even the worst blunders, career or otherwise.

In my case, I decided to take the song--I mean my career--in a whole different direction. A former associate had been after me to make the jump from engineering management to sales by joining his sales rep firm. So I took him up on it. After all, I had nothing to lose and nowhere else to go.

Looking back on it, that segue into sales turned out to be the smartest career decision I ever made. It expanded my horizons, taught me skills I needed, and opened a path that would soon lead to executive management and a successful and rewarding career.

Everything Comes Full Circle

That single mistake--the risk I took by joining a start-up instead of an established company--and more importantly, the decision to double down and take an even bigger risk, would ultimately make all the difference in my career.

Not surprisingly, I've since used Miles Davis's wisdom over and over throughout my career, and not just for me. I've used it to help executives and management teams overcome all sorts of issues, from relatively minor missteps to strategic blunders that threatened entire companies.

After I show the quote on a Powerpoint slide I've used too many times to count, I tell them this: We all make mistakes. If we don't, we're not taking enough risks. Executives with big responsibility sometimes make big mistakes. It comes with the territory.

Don't wallow in it or lament what could have been. Just pick yourself up, gain whatever wisdom you can from the experience, accept it as the new reality, and go from there. You're still in the band. Play your next note.

Steve Tobak is a management consultant, executive coach, and former senior executive of the technology industry. He's managing partner of Invisor Consulting, a Silicon Valley-based strategy consulting firm. Contact Tobak; follow him on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. @SteveTobak

How to Find the Perfect Co-founder

To head off problems down the road, any prospective partner must bring a lot more than talent to the table. Here's what else to look for.

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With artists for parents, Maida Fortune is intimately aware of the trials and tribulations creative types go through to sell their work. So her idea, Cureeo--an online marketplace for original art--made a lot of sense to her.

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business MBA candidate is smart, though, and knew better than to set off on her own. For one thing, while dreaming up Cureeo Fortune worked as a venture capital associate for Hyde Park Angels and OCA Ventures and saw firsthand that investors are skeptical of solo acts.

"You have to have serious traction or present a very, very good case for yourself and even then the next question they ask is 'Who are you adding to your team and when?'" she says.

So she started looking for a partner. She considered peers from her MBA program, but they were too much like her. She interviewed people she found at tech meet-ups, but with no luck. Finally, she tried Founder2be, an online service that helps entrepreneurs find co-founders. There, she met Abid Ali, who now shares the Cureeo helm and is the company's CTO.

The partnership is going swimmingly, Fortune says, although if you want to emulate her successful matchmaking, there are several things you should consider.

Don't waste your time interviewing people until you vet their proven track records.

Fortune says she interviewed all too many programmers who claimed to be able to build a platform, but when it really came down to it, many of them hadn't coded in years. Before even talking to Ali, she scoped out his recent work and found it to be rock solid.

Be brutally honest with yourself.

When Fortune worked in venture capital she saw it all the time--arrogant entrepreneurs who think they have all the skills they need to hit a home run, yet nothing could be further from the truth. "Successful business owners are really good at recognizing what their own weaknesses are and building up a team around those weaknesses. And they're also humble enough to bring on people that are better than they are," she says.

Put expectations down on paper in the beginning.

How long are team members going to work on a start-up before giving up? What kinds of things might pull people away from focusing on the business? At what point will people quit their full-time jobs? These kinds of questions need to be asked right away, and their answers put to paper. While nothing is set in stone, and it's not a legally binding document, Fortune says it's helpful to know a year into it if everybody is doing what they said they would. (On her bookshelf: The Partnership Charter, by David Gage.)

Understand one another's risk profiles.

Everyone has a different sense of risk that they're willing to absorb, she says. For example, if one person can go without a salary for six months and the other person can go a year without pay, the first person might get distracted about four months in, thinking about how he or she is going to pay the bills.

"Or, say there is one path for the business with a higher probability for making money in the short run, but less payout overall," Fortune says. "Say the other path is less certain, but the potential payout in the end is higher. The company can't execute both strategies. The person with the higher tolerance for risk may be more inclined to try for the second option, while the person with lower tolerance would prefer the first option. This can ultimately lead to conflict.

Understand personality types.

Through their Chicago incubator Fortune and Ali took a personality test thanks to research the Kauffman Foundation was funding. While the duo knew they were polar opposites, the formal assessment gave them a starting point for discussing their differences. "You don't want a team of people who are all similar to one another because then you have groupthink problems and affirmation bias and all that junk," she says. "You want people who are different. You've got to learn how to work together and you can't work together unless A) you respect one another and B) you have to have a vernacular to talk about things."

Christina DesMarais is an Inc.com contributor who writes about the tech start-up community, covering innovative ideas, news, and trends. Have a tip? Email her at christinadesmarais (at) live (dot) com. @salubriousdish

How Competition Makes You Better

A famous rivalry shows us how competition can be both inspiring and productive.

Henri Matisse (left) and Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso couldn't have created his masterpiece Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907 if it weren't for the looming presence of Henri Matisse.

Picasso was angered, frustrated and inspired by the French artist's revolutionary style and the way he deserted classical artistic norms. He was angered because he wanted to be the one to break the mold Matisse was hammering away at, frustrated because he struggled to find his own, unique voice in what was to become modern art, and inspired by Matisse's monumental courage. It was Matisse, after all, who was one of the first modern artists to put his chin out and produce 'ugly' art, to the chagrin and bemusement of critics and audiences.

Matisse pushed Picasso to break completely from an earlier artistic legacy to create new, exciting, challenging, and maddening works of art.

It cut both ways. Picasso commented, 'No one has ever looked at Matisse's painting more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than he.' Matisse acknowledged Picasso as a partner on his march toward modernity, and borrowed from Picasso's style. He even went so far as to incorporate Picasso's use of tribal African masks into a painting of his wife, Madame Amélie Matisse.

There are a number of ways leaders can learn from Picasso and Matisse's complicated, tumultuous, and inspiring rivalry.

1. Competition mutes critics and builds courage

Talking to Gertrude Stein, Matisse said that he and Picasso were 'as different as the North Pole is from the South Pole.'

Though different, they were both plagued by critics from the beginning.

One critic wrote of Matisse's artistic group, 'the wild beasts' that, 'All they give us in the way of sunlight is trouble with the retina.' Another critic went on to say the Matisse's figures were 'reptilian.'

Picasso wasn't spared either. After he finished Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, his closest friends were shocked and even laughed. Horrified, Picasso put the painting aside without exhibiting the work. Little did he know that the painting would come to define modern art.

Picasso and Matisse had to shoulder criticisms from colleagues, critics, and the larger public, yet they persisted and kept trying to best to exemplify an art free from the chains of tradition.

Picasso and Matisse looked to each other's works for inspiration and courage. They didn't let the chorus of critics alter their direction.

Lesson for leaders: Rivalries need not be petty and wear on one's energy and creativity. They can be instruments of focus and daring.  Matisse said, 'Another word for creative is courage.' Rivalries supply people with focus and the audacity to try new daring things.

2. Competition helps us find faults

Picasso said, 'It is a well-known fact that we see the faults in other's works more readily than we do in our own.'

Both Matisse and Picasso studied each other's work carefully. While they admired each other's departure from artistic norms, each found problems with the other's approach. While contemplating the weaknesses of each other's work, they were able to improve on their own.

Lesson for leaders: By studying the work of a rival, one can easily see flaws, missteps, and errors. Smart leaders learn from these mistakes and take care not to replicate them.

 3. Competition increases productivity and encourages new ideas

Though Picasso and Matisse differed in many ways, they were in lockstep when it came to their feelings on productivity. 'Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting,' Matisse said, 'should begin by cutting out his own tongue.' Picasso said the same thing, though in different words: 'What one does is what counts and not what one had the intention of doing.'

While both artists had a strong work ethic, they were both more productive and creative by attempting to improve on each other's techniques. When Picasso saw Matisse's Blue Nude, he commented with frustration, 'If he wants to make a woman, let him make a woman. If he wants to make a design, let him make a design. This is between the two.'

That same year, Picasso finished Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'a painting of four prostitutes in odd, geometric shapes. He was painting not just women, but the concept of women. Moreover, the shapes were jaded and harsh and weren't collected into a pleasing, comprehensible design. Clearly he was trying to step further from tradition than Matisse had done in Blue Nude.

Lesson for leaders: Rivalries, though frustrating, raise the bar and make you work harder, smarter, and faster.

4. Competition can end in respect, not anger

Picasso and Matisse didn't dress alike. Picasso preferred a factory worker's uniform; Matisse, a simple tweed suit. Picasso shrank in Paris salons and avoided talking because he wasn't comfortable expressing complex ideas in his poor French; Matisse enjoyed artistic discussions and always managed to captivate a room.

The differences abound, yet the men did manage to form an unusual friendship. They collected each other's works and Picasso went so far as to look after Matisse's paintings by putting them in a bank vault. Matisse returned the favor and was always a firm advocate of Picasso in the public sphere.

Though they had a stormy relationship, Matisse once said, 'Only one person has the right to criticize me. It's Picasso.' 

Picasso felt the same. At the end of his life he said, 'All things considered, there is only Matisse.'

Lesson for leaders: Rivalries aren't necessarily grudge matches that end with one winner or loser. Most of the time, rivalries make winners of both parties. Rivalries can create contention, frustration, and anger, but they don't need to devolve into outright hatred. As Matisse said, 'Hatred is a parasite that devours all. One doesn't build upon hatred, but upon love.'

 

Samuel Bacharach is professor of labor management at Cornell and director of Cornell's Institute of Workplace Studies. He co-founded the Bacharach Leadership Group and blogs at BacharachBlog.com. Among his books: Get Them on Your Sid and Keep Them on Your Side. @samuelbacharach

3 Things Innovative Companies Do Best

Innovation isn't just one person's job. A highly innovative company makes innovation the norm throughout the organization, from top to bottom.

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Watch most organizations operate and you'll find that innovation typically emerges from one of three sources: From either the founder/owner (if it's a small business); from similarly small and informal groups of engaged, frontline employees who grapple with, and solve, ad-hoc problems on the fly; or from formal project teams which are specifically convened and mandated to work on a specific problem or issue.

You'd expect, therefore, that truly outstanding organizations--those that innovate consistently and at a high level, like, say, Apple, Disney, Nike or Valve--got that way by increasing those three innovation sources over time.

Interestingly, in most cases, that's not so.

More often than not, the highly innovative organization got that way not by iterating its innovative capabilities one step at a time, one employee at a time, one group or team at a time, but rather by instilling an all-pervasive, enterprise-wide culture of innovation--by making a presumption of innovation the norm throughout the organization, from top to bottom. 

Any organization can make this change. Build an enterprise that lives, eats, sleeps and breathes innovation as a natural part of its day-to-day activities. Here are three key areas to begin the process of transformation:

1. Default to cross-functional teams. In the occasionally-innovative organization, most opportunities, issues, problems or challenges are addressed, by default, on an individual or silo-ed basis.

In other words, the person who owns the challenge or opportunity is expected to solve it. He or she typically does so either by themselves or by pulling in people from their own team to help.

In consistently-innovative organizations, the default approach to material opportunities, issues, problems or challenges is to hand them over to a cross-functional team-- one that straddles silos and brings a much wider problem-solving perspective. (Note that highly innovative organizations also know how to prevent those cross-functional teams bogging down the enterprise by staying short-lived, flexible and responsive, but that for another post.)

2. Use enterprise-wide post-mortems. Merely average organizations rarely analyze their past performance in any meaningful way, and if they do, it's usually only after something has gone seriously wrong. 

Mimic the consistently innovative organization: when any substantive project or initiative is concluded, take time to learn lessons from how it was executed. As any good sports coach will tell you, there is as much to learn from how you succeeded as there is in uncovering why you failed.

Again, use people from throughout the organization to conduct the post-mortem, including, most importantly, some folks who had nothing whatsoever to do with the project (they'll provide the most objective feedback).

3. Combine 360's with rounded performance assessments. The single most striking thing I find when working with truly innovative organizations is how comfortable their people are with giving honest, unbiased, zero-agenda feedback to each other--and how good they are at it. 

In the average organization, feedback is a rare bird, and when it is given, it's usually done with hesitancy, a presumption of ulterior or ill motive, or (again) only after something has gone wrong. Building a strong, active feedback "muscle" in your organization is as strong a competitive advantage as a low cost base or a technological breakthrough, but it does require work. 

Start using 360 degree assessments, administered by a skilled and sensitive provider. The first go-round will be awkward and may not yield that much by way of useable information, but subsequent uses will get better and easier as everyone relaxes and understands that the information they provide isn't being used against them, but rather to improve how the organization operates.

Build out your performance assessment process to encompass team- and group-based assessments, not just one-on-ones. Model the process by inviting all your direct reports to get involved in your own performance appraisal. And--one last time--make sure the performance assessment process encompasses success as well as under-achievement.

Taking these three steps won't make your company a Nike or a Valve overnight, but it will begin the most important transformation your organization will ever undergo.

Les McKeown is the author of the bestseller "Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization on the Growth Track--and Keeping It There" and is the CEO of Predictable Success, a leading adviser on accelerated organizational growth. His latest book is "The Synergist: How to Lead Your Team to Predictable Success." @lesmckeown

Most Important Task You're Ignoring

Answering emails, putting out fires--those are important. But one founder suggests something else should take up at least 25 percent of your day.

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Businesses are built on a few key pillars: the idea, the team, the plan, and the execution. However, one pillar that is often neglected in the fast-paced world of email and social media is good old-fashioned relationships--with employees, investors, suppliers, customers, the press, and probably many more people involved in your business. For me, this is what holds everything together.

Too many founders I've met speed through their days on autopilot, putting out fires to keep all the balls in the air. You know the drill: get into the office, check calendar, respond to urgent emails, drink too much coffee, avert crisis... and repeat! Maybe you squeeze in some relationship building at the end of the day. It's an easy trap to fall into, but in my experience, relationship building should trump all of these things. In fact, I'd say founders should spend 25 percent of their time building, fostering, and growing relationships. 

It's actually quite easy when you break it down. Here is how I look at it: 

Step 1: Write down your list.

Pick five people in each category above who are critical to your success. Make a list. Refer to it weekly. 

Step 2: Make (genuine) contact.

Pick up the phone and see how things are going. Be sincere. Get to know them. Use your commute to knock this one out, so you won't be distracted with other work. 

Step 3: Date.

Plan dinners, break bread, go to happy hours, go skiing. Build a friendship. People like to do business with people they like--full stop. (Note: If you truly don't like a person, don't force it.) 

Step 4: Repeat. Frequently. 

A few years ago, Yes To hit a bump in the road (well, HUGE obstacle might be more accurate). After two years of phenomenal growth, we faced a major production issue with a key retailer that had the possibility to cripple the company. Our supply chain was clearly at fault and we admitted so to the retailer. Upon learning of this issue, I immediately left my family vacation and flew with my entire executive team to the visit the retailer. We rolled up our sleeves and worked with them until we found a solution. We apologized. Profusely. And together, we successfully brought this account back from the brink. 

A year after this debacle, Lance (my business partner) and I sat with the CEO of this company. He leaned over and said with a smile "if it wasn't for me, you guys would have been long gone." He emphasized to us that because he gotten to know us as people, he truly wanted to be part of our success rather than our failure. This was someone with whom we spent years building a true friendship, someone we trusted, and someone who truly changed our lives. The four easy steps came through for us that day.

Ido Leffler is co-founder and 'Chief Carrot Lover' of San Francisco-based Yes To Inc., maker of Yes To Carrots and the #2 natural beauty brand in the country. @idoleffler

3 Leadership Skills That Trump All Others

Leadership doesn't necessarily come from being the best at your trade. These three skills can make all the difference.

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The first job I accepted after college was with a large home builder in Phoenix. In my first year, the company had been taken private, carved up, and the pieces sold off. During this span of time, I worked for three different companies all while sitting at the same desk.

I stopped buying business cards for a while.

When the dust finally settled, I had managed to tag on with a small group of people who made up the Phoenix office for a California home builder entering the Arizona market.  None of us had the experience to become the division president or CEO, so the "higher-ups" brought in someone from the outside.

They brought in an accountant.

Given this was a construction company, I was a little confused why we would hire someone who didn't understand the intricacies of construction. On top of that, in an industry that consisted mostly of rough, coarse and hammer wielding men, our new leader was a woman.

A female CPA named Kathy, running a construction company.  This was not what I was expecting.

Also disconcerting to me was that, in an era when technology was creeping its way into every aspect of business, Kathy's time management system consisted of sticky notes placed in an "accordion styles" folder that, when a specific day was opened, reminded her of specific deadlines that were due. In contrast, I was methodical with time management, often keeping spreadsheets to manage my to-do's and being an early adopter of PDAs, as evidenced by my expensive Palm VII paperweight.

I had serious reservations about how her background and management style could lead such a complex business.

As time wore on, however, I became better acquainted with Kathy, as did everyone in the office and in the field. That's because while she was at the top of the organization, she made it an early priority to spend a great deal of time with everyone in the company.  From the office purchasing staff to the accountants to the dusty field personnel. She was personable and outgoing, and had an air of confidence that was contagious. Over the years, she went on to lead the company to amazing growth, and we became one of the top home builders in Phoenix.

Kathy was able to lead our team and achieve this success by having a set of skills that trumped any specific skill needed to build a home or develop a piece of property. She created cohesion and motivated her team by being:

1. Engaging

Kathy may not have known the fine details of post tension slabs or H-25 framing ties, but she knew how to manage the people who did. Weekly manager meetings, which she oversaw and facilitated, were some of the most efficient I have seen. She would maneuver around difficult construction issues by simply engaging all of the managers at the table and getting to a solution. She knew everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and she allocated "us" accordingly. Maybe more important, she did everything in a manner that was personable and often humorous, but never disrespectful or derogatory.

2. Encouraging

Kathy was great at encouragement. Over my years with the company, I had been recruited a few times by other companies. When this happened, I would always discuss it with her, both to get  an understanding of where I stood with the company as well as emphasize my desire for more responsibility. Somehow, she always managed to encourage me to stay and did so without ever promising anything (including, unfortunately, any pay bump). Eventually, the ultimate encouragement came when she promoted me to director of purchasing.

3. Enforcing

At some point in time, a sticky note with your name would end up surfacing in Kathy's filing system. That meant you had a deliverable or task due. If you had not completed it, you waited nervously for the phone call or the casual visit to your desk. If you missed your deliverable around the time of a manager meeting, you were undoubtedly going to be on the hot seat. Somehow, she had a way to instill fear for missed deadlines, which always motivated us to get things done. She also took a great deal of responsibility herself, and we never wanted to let her down. I have no idea how she did all of this, which is probably why she was so good at it.

We had an amazing team during my early years with this home builder. I was incredibly fortunate to have had a few mentors during this time, but I perhaps remember Kathy most profoundly because while she was the least likely person I would have pegged as a role model, her management style was most influential to mine.

I haven't spoken with Kathy in years, and I understand she has retired at the top of her game and is enjoying much deserved time with her family. I suppose it's time to follow up with her ... so I suppose I'll paste a sticky note in my planner to remind me soon.

If you know someone you appreciated as a mentor in the past, why not share their story below!

Peter Gasca is the co-founder of WildCreations.com and Jumpoff.co, companies that focus on kid-related products and support kid entrepreneurs. @wildcreations

Why You Should Never Compromise

Forget about trying to appear diplomatic. When you compromise, you willfully give in to mediocrity.

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I was in the middle of a conversation with a team member the other day and I caught myself almost committing to what I consider to be one of the worst sins of business leadership.

I almost compromised.

In that moment of weakness, I saw myself almost head down a path from which it is often hard to return. It would have been so easy to just give in, to let it happen.

The slip-up almost happened while I was discussing the final approvals for a marketing campaign that was intended to generate online "clicks" that would turn into leads.  I wanted to use a bold headline and concept. I knew it would work.

My team member wanted to soften the message, which in turn would soften the impact and the result. We had been back and forth for a couple of weeks about this particular campaign--massaging the wording, perfecting the call to action. Frankly, I was tired of talking about it.

It would have been so very easy in that moment to decide to compromise, in the name of giving in and keeping the peace. Then I could move on to something else on my long to-do list.

It's in this kind of compromise that some of the greatest companies fall off a cliff and enter the realm of mediocrity.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying don't listen to others' ideas or don't listen to reason. You should surround yourself with a team that is constantly challenging you and making your company and your approach better.

I am saying that you should never sway from your stance if you know you are right. It's your company, it's your vision, you carry the burden if something fails. You also reap the greatest reward.

In my research, I have found that the bigger your company grows, the more likely it is for compromises to start creeping in. Many leaders, especially entrepreneurial leaders, are ready to get on with it, move forward. The danger lies in this impatience.

It is up to you as the leader to set the tone. Once others see that you're willing to compromise for no good reason, they'll start to do the same. Compromise then grows like a cancer and turns your great company into something average to far worse.

That's why it's important when you do back down from a decision or decide to move in another direction that you explain why you have made this new choice. Providing the reason not only shows your willingness to listen, it also provides important insight into how you make decisions for the company, so staffers learn to do the same.

When I thought about how I would explain the change in that marketing campaign's wording, I realized I was about to compromise--that I didn't agree with my team member and he hadn't provided me with a good case for why we should change direction. I knew if I allowed the campaign to be changed, and if I was asked, that my only answer could be "because I was tired of talking about it."

Check yourself when you start to give in to a suggestion or recommendation as you grow your company. If you feel you can justify it, and the change is backed by good evidence, then you're making a good decision. If the answer is anything less, then reconsider, because you're probably about to compromise.

Eric V. Holtzclaw is CEO and founder of Laddering Works, a marketing and product strategy firm. Holtzclaw's weekly radio show, The "Better You" Project, shines a spotlight on entrepreneurs' business journeys. @eholtzclaw

8 Statements That Can Transform Your Work (and Personal) Life

Make a difference--at work, in your personal life, and in the lives of others. Say these vows to yourself daily--and then follow through.

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You can be an analytical, data-driven, steely-eyed businessperson all you like, but business is ultimately about people.

That means business is also about emotions: both yours and those of the people you interact with every day.

Want to make a huge difference in your life and in the lives of the people you care about, both professionally and personally?

Say these things to yourself every day--and then vow to follow through on the commitment you make:

I will answer the unasked question.

Maybe they're hesitant. Maybe they're insecure. Maybe they're shy. Whatever the reason, people often ask a different question than the one they really want you to answer.

One employee might ask whether you think he should take a few business classes; what he really wants to know is whether you see him as able to grow in your organization. He hopes you'll say you do and he hopes you'll share the reasons why.

Your husband might ask if you thought the woman at the party was flirting with him; what he really wants to know is if you still think he's flirt-worthy and whether you still find him attractive. He hopes you'll say you do and he'll love when you share the reasons why.

Behind many questions is an unasked question.

Pay attention so you can answer that question, too, because that is the answer the other person doesn't just want, but needs.

I will refuse to wait.

You don't have to wait to be discovered. You don't have to wait for an okay. You don't have to wait for someone else to help you.

You can try to do whatever you want to do. Right now.

You may not succeed. But you don't have to wait.

Don't wait.

I will appreciate the unappreciated.

Some jobs require more effort than skill. Bagging groceries, delivering packages, checking out customers--the tasks are relatively easy. The difference is in the effort.

Do more than say "thanks" to someone who does a thankless job. Smile. Make eye contact. Exchange a kind word.

All around you are people who work hard with little or no recognition. Vow to be the person who recognizes at least one of them every day.

Not only will you give respect, you'll earn the best kind of respect--the respect that comes from making a difference, however fleeting, in another person's life.

I will give latitude instead of direction.

You're in charge. You know what to do. So it's natural to tell your employees what to do and how to do it.

In the process you stifle their creativity and discount their skills and experience.

Letting another person decide how is the best way to show you respect their abilities and trust their judgment.

In a command and control world, latitude is a breath of freedom and is a gift anyone can give.

I will stop and smell my roses.

You have big plans. You have big goals. You're never satisfied, because satisfaction breeds complacency.

So most of the time you're unhappy because you think more about what you have not achieved, have not done, and do not have.

Take a moment and think about what you do have, professionally and especially personally. At this moment you have more than you once ever thought possible.

Sure, always strive for more but always take a moment to realize that all the things you have, especially your relationships, are more important than anything you want to have.

Unlike a want, what you have isn't a hope, a wish, or a dream. What you already have is real.

And it's awesome. And it's yours.

Appreciate it.

I will look below the surface.

Sometimes people make mistakes. Sometimes they piss you off.

When that happens it's natural to assume they didn't listen or didn't care. But often there's a deeper reason. They may feel stifled. They may feel they have no control. They may feel frustrated or marginalized or ignored or not cared for.

If you're in charge, whether at work or at home, you may need to deal with the mistake. But then look past the action for the underlying issues.

Anyone can dole out discipline; vow to provide understanding, empathy, and to help another person deal with the larger issue that resulted in the mistake.

After all, you might have caused the issue.

I will make love a verb.

You love your work. When you're working that feeling shows in everything you say and do.

You love your family. When you're with them does that feeling show in everything you say and do?

Hmm.

Love is a feeling, and feelings are often selfish. Turn your feelings into an action. Actively love the people you love. Show them you love them by words and deeds.

When you make love a verb the people you care about know exactly how you feel. Make sure they do.

I will be myself.

You worry about what other people think. Yet no matter how hard you try, you can't be all things to all people.

But you can be as many things as possible to the people you love.

And you can be the best you.

Be yourself. That is the one thing you can do better than anyone else.

Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up from ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business. @jeff_haden

Rewrite That Boring Job Description

Want to attract the A-players to work for your business? Here's what needs to be in the job description.

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Job descriptions are the last thing most of us think about because with all the day-to-day busy work, who has time? We know we need to hire talented people, but most of us go with the standard, dry list of bullets on a website and hope that someone fits the bill.

Get Creative and Attract the Stars

Job descriptions are marketing just like when you're describing your products or services, but even more important. Why? Just like you want to attract customers that come back again and again, you also want to attract A-players who love what you do, and love their job. Will they be attracted by a boring job description? No way. And what impression will a snoozer description give them of the type of company you are (when you're probably very cool)?

Given my small business marketing company, VerticalResponse, is located in the Bay Area and we go up against Facebook, Google, Twitter and many others to find great talent, we need to be creative! So, what changes did we make?

We pay attention to our job descriptions and talk about our great company!

Here's a sample:
VR people rock. We're fun and diverse; we work hard and play hard. When we release a new feature or product into the wild, it's immediately used by thousands of small businesses and non-profits. It's nice to hear our customers say, "We can't succeed without your marketing tools!" We're both growing and profitable, which many companies just can't say. Oh, and we have the best damn coworkers around!

We talk about our people, we talk about what we offer, and we feature things we're proud of like our volunteering programs and the awards that we've won.

So What Can You Do?

Take a look at your own job descriptions. Now take a few minutes to look at some of your competitors and other top companies and see how their descriptions read. Pull some that you like for inspiration, then plan some rewrite time. Keep a good balance of sizzle and substance, as there's still a job to be done. The more you can infuse your business's personality into your job descriptions, the better you'll be able to attract the type of person that's going to do wonders for your biz.

Seal the Deal

Once you've written a great job description, posted it and found that awesome candidate that's everything you dreamed they would be, make sure you seal the deal. We've been known to bring a candidate in for a series of interviews and hand them a job offer before they leave our office. We know the importance of making a special impression and how that gesture can seal a conversation with a candidate so they won't consider another company/offer.

So be ready to make that offer to an amazing candidate. The days of leaving them guessing are over. When you find a star, make sure they know you want them and move mountains to make it happen. It can make a huge impression on a candidate when another company they're considering may be dragging its feet, or going through a ton of red tape.

What are your thoughts on spicing up your recruiting efforts? Got a fabulous job description that stands out from the crowd? I'd love to hear in the comments.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, sign up for the free VR Buzz weekly newsletter and check out the VerticalResponse Marketing Blog.

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service email and event marketing, online surveys, social media, and direct mail solutions. The company was ranked No. 2,802 on the 2012 Inc. 5000. @janinepopick

How to Play Clean Office Politics

Here is a simple four-step process to ensure that the right decision gets made.

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Most people think that office politics is bad for business. Nothing could be further from the truth. Office politics are an integral part of getting things done, regardless of whether you're the CEO, a salesperson, or an intern working over the summer.

The word "politics" comes from the Greek politikos which means "of, for, or relating to citizens." Far from being something negative, it is the art and science of influencing people when there are more than two people involved.

This post describes a four-step approach to office politics that doesn't resort to tricks or deception (aka "dirty politics," which IS bad for business.)

Step 1 - Uncover and Understand Needs

Playing politics consists of balancing the needs of multiple people so that they can come together to make a decision. In business, there are four general types of needs:

1. Personal needs reflect the personality of the individual and what that individual expects and wants out of the work experience, such as recognition, compensation, challenge, amusement, sexual fulfillment, and so forth.
2. Career needs consist of the individual's plans to achieve those personal need by moving through different jobs and different companies. Career needs emerge out of personal needs. For example, a need to be in the limelight is a personal need; the need to become a "head programmer" in order to be in the limelight is a career need.
3. Job needs consist of the resources that individuals require in order to advance their career needs and personal needs. For example, in order for the title of "head programmer" to be meaningful, there must be a staff of programmers to head.
4. Organizational needs are the sum total of the job needs of the individuals within a group. For example, in order for there to be a "head programmer" and a staff of programmers to head, the organization might need a new computer and new software for the programmers to program.

Once you understand your own needs (on various levels) and the needs of other people involved, you're ready to play some politics.

Step 2 - Build Alliances

Office politics consists of making deals where you'll support the satisfying of the other person's needs in return for that person's support for satisfying your needs. In theory this is a simple concept, but in practice there are infinite variations. Kinda like sex.

For example, if you've got a colleague who wants to be "head programmer" and you want to be "manager of quality control," you'd tell the colleague: "I'll support the idea of you becoming 'head programmer' if you'll support the idea of me becoming 'manager of quality control.'"

As you can see, the keys to making an alliance work well are 1) figuring out what you want, and 2) figuring what the other person wants, and 3) agreeing to get there together. I'll refrain from the sex analogy this time.

Great care must be taken in the building of alliances. As a general rule, you want to work with people who can be trusted both to hold up their side of the deal, and also can be trusted to do the right thing by the rest of the firm.

For example, you probably don't want to make a deal that involves promoting a complete idiot to be "head programmer," at least, not if you want your firm to succeed. However, if all things considered it really doesn't matter all that much whether Jack or Jill gets the promotion, it's okay to make a deal with Jill that puts Jack out of the picture.

And so much the better if you're certain that Jill is the better choice.

Step 3 - Track Favors and Obligations

In addition to alliances, politics consist of the less formal trading of favors. It's a simple concept: you do a favor for somebody else and then, at a later date, you get to "call in" the favor by asking that person to do something for you.

And vice versa, naturally.

Playing office politics therefore requires that you keep close track of 1) whom you owe and about how much, and 2) who owes you and about how much.

Knowing the first keeps you from being blindsided by unexpected requests. Knowing the second allows you to assess how whether or not you've got the political power to achieve your goal, if politics is needed to achieve it.

It need hardly be said that trading favors is a great way to strengthen your alliances.

In addition, there's usually some negotiation involved in assessing the value of favors past versus the value of favors in the future. No biggie, just be aware that everyone has their own "tally book" that might not agree 100% with yours.

Step 4 - Line Up Your Ducks

All of this effort comes to fruition when it's decision-making time. Your goal is to make certain (as far as possible) that everybody is supporting the decision you prefer, through the use of your alliances and favor-trading.

For example, suppose your firm has a choice between two software vendors and you're certain that vendor "A" is the right choice, but you're aware that some of the misguided dunderheads you work with believe that vendor "B" is a better option.

When the big meeting to decide which vendor to hire takes place, you want as many people possible at the conference room table pre-disposed to agree with you that the company should go with vendor "A."

It could be argued that such decisions should be made based simply upon the merits of each vendor's product. Maybe so, but that's not the way the world works.

Office politics makes certain that the right decision gets made, even when it's maybe for the wrong reasons. And that's always better than making the wrong decision for the right reasons. Right?

Like this post? If so, sign up for the free Sales Source newsletter.

Geoffrey James writes the Sales Source column on Inc.com, the world's most visited sales-oriented blog. His newly published book is Business to Business Selling: Power Words and Strategies From the World's Top Sales Experts. @Sales_Source

13 Traits of an Outstanding Salesperson

When you're hiring salespeople, you're hiring the future of your company. Here are qualities young start-up founders say they look for in new sales hires.

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We asked 13 founders from the Young Entrepreneur Council to identify which single quality they feel guarantees a potential sales hire's success--tenacity? Likability? ...Laziness? Some of their answers, below, might surprise you.

1. A Hunter's Mentality

We want someone who is going to get excited about "the big fish"--someone who will prepare endlessly and wade through a lot of information, contacts and leads in order to put themselves in a position to land as many big accounts as possible. That kind of drive pushes them to never rest on their laurels and always look for the next big thing. --Alex Lorton, Cater2.me

2. Laziness!

I look for the laziest people I can find that have a history of great sales. Amazing salespeople are lazy, and seem to be predisposed to ADD. You basically just have to let them do their own thing and hope for the best in combination with their ability to never take take no as an answer. Best quick test: Tell them they didn't make the cut and if they argue with you, you've got a winner. --Liam Martin, Staff.com

3. The Discipline to Follow Up

I've found consistent follow-ups to be one of the most valuable acts a salesperson can do. My team has gained many sales by having a strategic follow-up strategy for our salespeople to follow. When they don't follow it, I can usually tell about two months later. Other skills can be learned through training, but follow-up is mostly about discipline. --Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers

4. Charisma

Any salesperson I'm considering hiring needs to have me--and anyone else she meets while with me--eating out of the palm of her hand very quickly. A salesperson can always learn about a new product, but it's much harder to teach a person to get other people to like them. And if a salesperson isn't likable, well, it's hard to make any sales. --Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

5. Is He/She an Intelligent Fighter?

No matter what type of sales role you hire for, the one common trait every salesperson needs is pure motivation. I look for an intelligent fighter--someone who doesn't take no for an answer, who knows how to be politely persistent, and who is quick on his or her feet. Without motivation and a strong work ethic, no amount or training or high compensation will make a person successful at selling. --Ben Rubenstein, Yodle

6. The Trifecta: Intelligence, Personality and Drive

Unlike other roles within an organization where a single specialized skill is good enough, great salespeople need to be intelligent, personable and driven. This mix of personalities will ensure that they can not only get themselves in front of buyers but also close the deal--and ultimately create relationships that pay dividends over time. --Christopher Kelly, Sentry Conference Centers

7. Resilience

Rejection is a very real part of selling a product, especially when focusing on cold leads. A great salesperson isn't easily discouraged, and doesn't take the rejection on a personal level. --Robert J. Moore, RJMetrics

8. Empathy

Salespeople have to relate to the customer and support them in choosing the right solutions, so personal empathy is an essential quality. It shows up as listening more than talking, relating to the other people in conversation and genuine care for others. The lifetime value of an ideal client is much more important to us than the quick sale, so empathy from the sales team is crucial. --Kelly Azevedo, She's Got Systems

9. I Don't Look for a Salesperson--I Look for a Consultant

I look for someone who sees his role not as a "salesperson" who can sell ice to an Eskimo, but someone who understands his role is more like a consultant's. He seeks to understand prospects' unique problems to determine the best fit for their needs. --Charles Gaudet, Predictable Profits

10. Existing Relationships and Product Knowledge

Relationship selling starts with ability to build and manage relationships. For a technology startup to sell software to an enterprise that to some degree changes how people within a company collaborate requires relationship selling at its best. I look for salespeople who can show an existing portfolio of relationships, understand our product, and are able to articulate its value. --Raheel Retiwalla, Fuzed

11. People Skills

A salesperson needs to have what my dad always called "people skills." In short, that means he or she must be easy to converse with, respectful, patient, and pick up on social hints. It sounds simple, but I don't want a salesperson that can't listen. A typical salesman will be a talker. I want a listener. I want someone who can connect the real needs of a client to the solutions of our offers. --Brian Moran, Get 10,000 Fans

12. Tenacity

I test a salesperson in every way possible before I hire them: I miss our scheduled phone call to see what he does; I ask him to give a presentation and sell our product during our interview; I email him and use an incorrect name to see how he responds; I reject him to see how he responds to rejection. My goal is to find out if the salesperson is truly tenacious and willing to close the deal. --Jun Loayza, www.JunLoayza.com

13. Confidence (and a Touch of Arrogance)

Confidence with a touch of arrogance! The best salespeople I have met are the ones who have great personality, are confident in what they do and never let go of opportunities. They grab the leg and don't let go. --Adam DeGraide, Astonish

The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invitation-only organization composed of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program. @TheYEC

24 Ways to Save an Hour

Daylight Savings is stealing an hour every day. Here are 24 ways to get more done with the time you have left.

gilderic/Flickr

Last fall when Daylight Savings Time went away, I gave you 24 things to do with an extra hour. Now that the Daylight Savings Time bandits stole your hour once again, you'll need to make up the time somewhere.

Since you need to economize your time until November 3^rd, who better than best selling author of Managing For Dummies Peter Economy (his real name) to help make your life more efficient and productive. Below are Economy's best tips, mixed with some of my own. Share some of yours in the comments if you like.

1. Batch your errands--hit the post office, bank, and market in one trip, not three.

2. Turn off email and text alerts on your smartphone so you're not interrupted.

3. Set aside one specific hour each day for returning client calls and emails.

4. Budget limited time for Farmville, Angry Birds, and Mafia Wars.

5. Practice the 3 D's of management--delegate, delegate, delegate.

6. Take a speed-reading class.

7. Use a timer to set task deadline alarms. (You'll work faster with deadlines.)

8. Only work on activities that get you to your preferred future.

9. Step away from those cute YouTube cat videos.

10. Do more of your shopping online.

11. Don't try to be 100% perfect when 95% will do.

12. Set specific agendas and time limits for phone calls and meetings.

13. Spend less time whining and making excuses--just do it.

14. Schedule specific social media time and limit it to 30 minutes per day.

15. Don't travel when you can Skype or simply make a phone call.

16. Combine meetings with breakfast, lunch or dinner.

17. Be a schedule master. Limit walk-in meetings to 15 minutes. Use a loud timer.

18. Track your time and put a dollar in a jar for every minute you wasted in a day. Use the money to hire a maid, baby sitter, or dog walker. Either way you win.

19. Think ahead to your next task while wrapping up your current task so you start right away.

20. Record all of your favorite TV shows so you can skip commercials (15 minutes savings per 1 hour show.)

21. Practice time chunking--focus on a project for 30 minutes without interruption, then take a 5 minute break; repeat as necessary.

22. Get a good night's sleep so you're well rested and efficient, instead of bleary eyed and dragging.

23. Create tomorrow's to-do list as your last work task each day--if it's not on your list, don't do it.

24. Check traffic on Google maps before hitting the road--if you see red, pick a different route. Adjust your commute time to off hours so you avoid sitting in traffic. (Not good for Yahoo employees.)

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An Inc. 500 entrepreneur with a more than $1 billion sales and marketing track record, Kevin Daum is the best-selling author of Video Marketing for Dummies. @awesomeroar

Self Promotion: 6 Ways to Get Noticed

Effective self-promotion lies somewhere between being a wallflower and a flaming narcissist. Find the sweet spot with these tips.

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I suck at self-promotion. I think most of us do. We teeter between talking too little about ourselves or coming across as a flaming narcissist. Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot--the subtle art of promoting yourself that invites others to take notice.

Here are some tips on how to get to that sweet spot.

Let your results speak for you.

People care about what you've done, not what you're going to do. Who hasn't heard this a bazillion times? There is nothing quite like good old-fashioned results to get people's attention. And I'm not even necessarily talking about a robust bottom line. What problem have you solved? What movement have you started? How have you led others to achieve something great? Accomplishing something of value is how you earn the right to promote yourself.

Promote others.

One of my partners, Ted Alling, is a master at promoting other people. He is eager to tell people how founders in our incubator are crushing it or how Chattanooga is evolving into a vibrant ecosystem where entrepreneurs are flocking.

What he won't tell you is how he inspires scads of people to think bigger than they thought possible, how he is leading a start-up movement with grit and tenacity, or how he is one of the most determined and passionate people you will ever meet.

He doesn't have to.

The more Ted talks about other people and their successes, the more confident and connected to him they feel, and the more they endorse him.

Ted is a living example of Maya Angelou's great quote, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." He rarely talks about his own accomplishments. Yet, he is one of the most respected and catalyzing figures in this city.

People will promote you if you promote them.

Talk about what you believe.

"I believe in creating jobs and empowering people to feel useful at work every day" is very different from "I've started three manufacturing companies, employing 200 people." It's subtle, but do you hear it?

Talking about what you believe gives a nod to your accomplishments without explicitly saying what they are. If people are really interested, they'll ask.

Admit your failures.

Admitting failure is a sign of vulnerability, which is one of the greatest leadership skills there is. Failure humanizes the path to success. And when we feel connected to another person on a human level, we are much more likely to advance their cause.

Logic and intellectualization can only get you so far. Authenticity and a little humility can take you farther.  

Decide what you want to be known for.

Hone the skills that differentiate you from the pack, then let others brag on you. If you are too much of a dilettante, people will be confused about who you are and how to promote you. Instead, they'll just say nothing.

Your job is to figure out your super power--what sets you apart--and do it better than anyone else. If you're really good at something, people will flock to you for that skill. It may not be verbalized to you, but it will be evident by the sheer number of people you have knocking on your door.

Put yourself out there.

Then there are times when you just have to brag on yourself a little bit. If you do something really great, talk about it. Just talk about it to the right people and make sure it is, in fact, remarkable. The right people will be energized by your success, not turned off by your obvious self-promotion.

Dr. Shelley Prevost is a co-founder of Lamp Post Group, a venture incubator in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She curates kick-ass cultures by infusing principles of positive psychology in her role as Director of Happiness. @thegladlab