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Create workplaces where genuine connections fuel growth and success. Whether you're sparking motivation, strengthening collaboration, or building dream teams, discover practical ways to nurture an environment where everyone thrives naturally.
Want venture success? Tear up your business plan
Throughout school, university and even in most careers, one underlying message carries through: If you want to be a success, cross your i’s, dot your t’s, keep your inbox at zero and definitively plan everything months in advance. Either you prioritize detail and structure or your business is destined to fail.
Shell Higgs
What is a ‘low power distance’ company, and should you create one?
Power. It’s something we crave, fear, accept, and resent in equal measure.
Michael Metcalf
The ultimate playlist to fire up your entrepreneurial spirit
Everyone loves music, right? Even busy entrepreneurs take the time to add a little vibrancy and music therapy to their day - or, they should, in any case!
Catie McHugh
Get to know your team: 10 practical ways to improve team dynamics now
What are good team dynamics?
Marlee
The pros and cons of working remotely: How to thrive at home
We all inherently know that COVID-19 shifted a tremendous amount of thinking and doing around work, but … how significant is it, really? Fairly significant.
Ted Bauer
New study reveals why only 2% of businesses succeed
Headlines typically suggest that all you need to start a business is an inherent killer drive and opportunistic luck, and you’re destined for success. Yet, if that’s all that’s required, why do only 2% of businesses succeed? Our research reveals that it’s the distinctive attitudes of highly successful entrepreneurs that hold the key to venture success.
Vivienne Egan
The benefits of flexible work schedules (and 6 companies doing it right)
According to George Washington University research, employees with flexible work arrangements tend to be more satisfied with their jobs. They also seem to be willing to work harder to help their employers achieve success. [1]GWU research found that 80% of workers would use flexible work schedules if offered.[1]In this study, however, 40% of workers worry that career advancement would suffer if they had flexible work arrangements.[1]The same GWU study found that flexible work hours helped to attract and retain employees. [1]Flexible work schedules can be family-friendly, helping employees reduce stress and tardiness so they can tend to family matters, with 90% of telecommuters (in one survey) saying it better enables them to balance work and home life. [1]Such schedules help increase work productivity and job satisfaction. [1]In a Boston College study, researchers found that “70% of managers and 87% of employees reported that working a flexible arrangement had a positive or very positive impact on productivity.” [2]Boston College also found that flex-work schedules often report better work-life balance than those without them. [2]Employees with flexible schedules reported the highest life satisfaction scores—65% were “very satisfied” compared to non-users (58%). [2]Workers are less likely to experience “time crunch” throughout the work day. [2]Flexible work schedules can lead to more employee happiness, with a 2018 study titled “The Global State of Remote Work” finding that those who work remotely once a month (at minimum) are 24% more likely to be happy. [3][4]Yale University offers flexible work arrangements for staff, noting that workers may experience “improved morale, attendance, and productivity.” [5]Yale notes that these schedules can lead to “an increased sense of personal control and greater workplace satisfaction.” [5] Officially, flexible work schedules are part of flexible work practices. That is, those practices that give employees some control over when, where, and how much they work on any given day, week, month, or some other block of time.
DJ Pangburn
What if venture success is simply about changing your attitudes?
Sure, hard work, a good product and financial investment are essential to creating a thriving business. But what about less obvious factors, such as founder attitudes and motivations? How do they impact venture success—and failure? What role do the individual interests of entrepreneurs play in predicting business outcomes like investment, longevity, and profitability?
Vivienne Egan
8 incredible entrepreneurs you must start watching right now
The great thing about all these fantastic startups popping up all over the world (you know, apart from their general world-changing innovation) is that the genius entrepreneurs driving them often have a stellar online presence.
Catie McHugh
Five team meeting agenda examples for high-impact meetings
Imagine you walk into a room and have no real idea why you’re there. You recognize some of the other people there, but not everyone. Someone starts speaking, but you're unsure what they're talking about. Acronyms are tossed around that you're unable to decipher. You do your best to follow along, but it’s hard to stay focused.
Ted Bauer
The matrix organizational structure was hot, then fell out of favor. Can it still work?
A matrix organizational structure, or “matrix management,” is a way to organize individuals in a business whereby they report to more than one person. Oftentimes this is framed up as having a “solid line” reporting relationship to your direct boss -- that being the person who does your reviews, etc. -- and a “dashed line” or “dotted line” relationship to other bosses, functions, and silos that you need to work with regularly. Sometimes you’ll hear this whole concept described as “working cross-functionally.”
Ted Bauer
4 tech startups that are changing the world (in all the right ways)
The tech industry, unsurprisingly, continues to go absolutely gangbusters. Just a quick scan of the daily news and business blogs with your morning coffee each day would give you an indication that the world is on a perpetual, sustained leap forward in what we can achieve with technology. And startups are taking full advantage and innovating at cracking speed.
Catie McHugh
The 12 pillars of an effective recruitment process (and 3 mistakes to avoid)
Whether you are overseeing the recruitment process for your entire company or starting a new job as a recruiter, finding the right candidates for your team can be stressful, especially in a world facing unprecedented public health and economic challenges.
Tiffany Franklin
The ultimate employment battle: Startup BS vs. corporate BS
When it comes to your career, where’s your head at right now? Perhaps you’re working in a corporate, staring enviously at the Inc. 5000 list and wanting to get in on one of those hot tech startups you’ve heard so much about (or maybe you have an idea to start one yourself).
Catie McHugh