Author: knjohn

We’re Not Nearly as Busy as We Pretend to Be, According to a New Study | Adweek

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Hey are you busy?” We all know that when someone asks this question at work, there’s only one possible answer.

But maybe, just maybe, we’re not actually that busy.

A new study from Havas Worldwide surveyed 10,000 adults worldwide and found that 42 percent admitted to overstating their obligations, while around 60 percent believe that other people are pretending to be busier than they really are.

Millennials were most likely to exaggerate their workload (51 percent) and to accuse their peers of doing the same (65 percent), while only 26 percent of Boomers said they pretend to be busier than they are.

Read More

Aziz Ansari: 4 Marketing Lessons from Online Dating | Inc.com

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

What’s love got to do with marketing?

More than you might have guessed, according to some recent research from comedian Aziz Ansari and NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg. With the June publication of Modern Romance: An Investigation, the co-authors shared their findings from a serious research project–including extensive interviews and focus groups–asking men and women of all ages, all over the world, about their communications experiences in the realm of romance.

On Thursday, at HubSpot’s INBOUND conference in Boston, Ansari and Klinenberg took the stage to present their findings to a crowd of more than 14,000 attendees. Here are four highlights:

1. Age has a lot to do with preferred modes of communication.

One topic Ansari and Klinenberg explored in their book was a common dating question: If you meet someone at a bar and get their contact info, what’s the best way to follow up? Should you call or should you text?

Read More

California drops plan for 50% cut in petroleum use | BBC News

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

California has dropped plans to halve petroleum use in vehicles by 2030, after intense oil industry lobbying.

Governor Jerry Brown and other senior lawmakers had included the proposal in a climate change bill, but were forced to retreat amid growing opposition.

State senate leader Kevin de Leon, who supported the cut, accused oil firms of deploying “scare tactics”.

The leaders have vowed to push ahead with other reforms, including boosting renewable electricity use.

“I’d say oil has won the skirmish, but they’ve lost the bigger battle,” Mr Brown said.

Read More

What You Need to Know about Body Language at Work | Page 19

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We’ve heard it a million times before: “90% of communication is nonverbal.” But what does that really mean? And how can you use that information? We asked the experts.

When we talk about language, we almost always are referring to words and sentences, nouns, verbs, dependent clauses, and all the various things that we can write down.

However, human communication is much broader than that—it includes variations in tone, emphasis, and entirely nonverbal signals like facial expressions, eye contact (or lack thereof), and hand gestures. Even the direction you’re facing communicates something to your conversation partner, regardless of whether or not they’re totally aware of it.

Clearly, there is a benefit to being able to reliably read (and project) nonverbal signals. So what’s a person to do? We consulted industry experts on nonverbal communication for their best tips. Read on.

Read More

Improve decision-making through the relieving mindset of self-responsibility | The Startup Magazine

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For all of us life starts in a similar way, however through our decisions we change it with lasting effect. Decisions can bring you closer to your goals or lead you much further away. Think about this: Everything exists in your life, because at first you have made a decision on something. Decisions are the roots of all your results. You make your decisions and your decisions make you!

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

The tricky thing

Primarily it is not about whether your decisions are wrong or right. In the first place, it is rather about discovering when you really make a decision. They are usually intertwined with behaviour and habits so it often seems a decision would be out of your control. [In at least half of the decisions you make,] you are not even aware of making them in that moment.

Read More

Hampton Creek Throws Eggs at the FDA | Bloomberg Business

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

iamkfhxw2rjmAsk U.S. food regulators, and they’ll tell you that mayonnaise has to contain eggs, as it has for the past two centuries. But Josh Tetrick, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur hellbent on disrupting a host of food staples with his plant-based substitutes, gives a far different response: Who cares? “I think it is stupid we can’t call our product mayonnaise,” Tetrick says of his two-year-old Just Mayo eggless spread. “I think it’s ridiculous. We’re definitely not changing the name.”

That defiant stance seems to put Tetrick’s company, Hampton Creek, on a collision course with the Food and Drug Administration. The agency on Aug. 12 issued a warning letter listing a litany of rules broken by its Just Mayo and Just Mayo Sriracha products, including the use of “Mayo” in the name and the image of an egg on the label that may imply it meets the agency’s standard definition for mayonnaise—eggs and all. “This is one of the most blatant violations of the standard-of-identity rules that I’ve seen in a long time,” says Elizabeth Campbell, a former acting head of the FDA’s office of food labeling, who now works at EAS Consulting Group.

Read More

5 Scenarios Where Panic Can Destroy Your Startup | Entrepreneur

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Want your business to appear in Entrepreneur magazine? Tell us how you’re empowering employees, and you could be selected for a full-page promotion provided by Colonial Life.

Staying calm in a crisis is often easier said than done. When an emergency or unexpected and disruptive situation hits, your adrenaline rises, your thoughts start to race and your body and mind both go into reaction mode. Those fast, impulsive reactions are beneficial in some types of emergencies, like that of an older world where a predator was chasing you. But in the modern business world, such reactions usually create more problems than they solve.

The following five scenarios are especially sensitive to anxious reactions. So, instead of resorting to panic and instinct, take your time to approach these dilemmas carefully and methodically:

Read More

Our Entrepreneur’s Journey | Peter Mehit

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

HeadshotPeter was interviewed by Australian Michael Pullman on Franchisee Connection about he and Lydia’s journey from the corporate world to their own business.  In particular, the interview focused on the challenges they faced and the attitudes they needed to overcome them.  The interview also covered tips for those considering starting a franchise.

Click the play button on the far right of the yellow bar

Listen here