“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”

How to Fail In Public

Fear of failure can take a number of forms, and the one that keeps many of us from taking a risk is the fear of failing where everyone can see. A few words from Sir Richard Branson may help. Go ahead – dance like no one is watching!

Will Yours Be First or Last?

Over the last several months I have shared some of the predictions of futurists who tell us that automation is about to exponentially change business and the jobs market. Strategist Shelly Palmer shares some additional insights in his blog (accompanied by some short videos of related interviews on Fox Business) in which he identifies The Five Jobs Robots Will Take First and The Five Jobs Robots Will Take Last. Additionally this recap of research from Oxford University boldly predicts the year that various jobs will be taken over by robots and automation.

The Few, The Proud, The Engaged?

There is no end to articles abd books on the power of employee engagement in achieving a great business. Some important research conducted at Facebook may give us some new insights into how those relatively few companies with truly engaged employees got that way. Take 8 minutes for a quick article from Fast Company on The Power of Pride at Facebook.

Hiring the Best

The first step in employee engagement is the hiring process. Vistage Speaker and HR expert Don Phin has some ideas on how to not only better avoid bad hires, but how to actually find the great hires we all want. Check out 10 Ideas for Hiring Great Employees. My favorite is # 3 – Asking applicants to include a joke along with their resume! When you hear Don’s reasoning, you might agree!

Econ Recon: Running Bull or Time to Run?

The stock market continues to stay above Dow 21,000….will it stay there? Yes, says economist Brian Wesbury and he predicts the market has a ways to go. Check out why he thinks “The Bull Keeps Running.”

Brian Beaulieu of ITR Economics offers a somewhat less confident view of the market and suggests that it’s time to pick some winners.