Business Hacks | win-win biz, helping the environment and humans in need

Flowers at weddings are beautiful—but their beauty doesn’t have to end there. People donate to Repeat Roses, who picks up the flowers, re-purposes them, and drops them off at hospices, hospitals and nursing homes, where they conjure needed smiles on patients’ faces.

Business Hacks - win-win business, helping humans in need and the environment TAnd then Repeat Roses takes it one step further–a week later, they pick up the flowers and compost them, saving them from the garbage.

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.

Spread smiles to those in need. On your behalf, we deliver beautifully refreshed flower bouquets and arrangements to residents and patients in hospitals, cancer treatment centers, nursing homes, hospice care and shelter facilities.

Together, we can bring kindness and make a positive impact in communities across the country. From our headquarters in New York City to Los Angeles, California and all points in between. (more…)

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Life Hacks | the little-known everyday habit of highly successful people

Working late into the night can make you more productive–and more successful–than you ever imagined.

Life-Hacks- little-known-everyday-habit-of-highly-successful-peopleThe Little-Known Everyday Habit of Highly Successful People

by Peter Economy

What’s that more successful person doing right now? Chances are, they are going to go to bed long after you’ve reached the happy land of dreams.

Although site after site encourages you to rest and take care of yourself–usually advocating tons of sleep to make sure your brain isn’t overworked–training yourself to fight exhaustion is a very powerful statement. The beauty of staying up late is that you have uninterrupted time to focus on yourself–and your work. (more…)

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Apps | the 12 best travel apps

A travel pro takes you to the best apps which will make your journeys easier and more enjoyable.

By Stephanie Rosenbloom

Monk pathRecently I deleted dozens of travel apps from my iPhone. Many are great. They allowed me to research unfamiliar places, listen to audio tours and turn my photos into postcards. But travel is about tapping the world, not a screen, so I’m ending the year with an app purge. I’ve kept only what I use often. An app didn’t have to be new (most weren’t) to make the cut, but it had to make travel easier or significantly more enjoyable. Below are a dozen that have earned a spot on my smartphone heading into 2016.

monk walking down path
© photo by Gregory Mancuso

Bravolol This app brand puts basic phrases and vocabulary — “Thank you,” “How much?,” “A table for two, please” — at your fingertips. (more…)

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Business Hacks | being happier at work

Emma Seppälä, author of The Happiness Track, explains the proven benefits of a positive outlook; simple ways to increase your sense of well-being; and why it’s not about being ecstatic or excited all the time. Audio IdeaCast available too.

Jumping business executive man and woman in photo shot by corporate Los Angeles photographerSARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. I’m Sarah Green Carmichael. Today, I’m talking with Emma Seppala, science director of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. She’s the author of the brand new book, The Happiness Track, How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success. Emma, thank you so much for talking with us today.

EMMA SEPPALA: Oh, you’re more than welcome. I’m happy to be here.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: So I thought we should just start by talking about how you define success in the purposes of the book because you started, I thought was really interesting, with a quote from late poet Maya Angelou, who actually was one of my all-time favorite interviews that we’ve done on the IdeaCast. That was a few years ago. But she stuck out in my mind.

Jumping business executive man and woman in photo shot by corporate Los Angeles photographer
© photo by Gregory Mancuso – Jumping business executive man and woman in photo shot by corporate Los Angeles photographer

(more…)

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Business Hacks | what is disruptive innovation now?

The theory of disruptive innovation has proved to be a powerful way of thinking about innovation-driven growth. Here’s an excellent article and video about how it’s evolving.

What-Is-Disruptive-Innovation-evolving toBy Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor, Rory McDonald

The theory of disruptive innovation, introduced in these pages in 1995, has proved to be a powerful way of thinking about innovation-driven growth. Many leaders of small, entrepreneurial companies praise it as their guiding star; so do many executives at large, well-established organizations, including Intel, Southern New Hampshire University, and Salesforce.com.

Unfortunately, disruption theory is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. Despite broad dissemination, the theory’s core concepts have been widely misunderstood and its basic tenets frequently misapplied. Furthermore, essential refinements in the theory over the past 20 years appear to have been overshadowed by the popularity of the initial formulation. As a result, the theory is sometimes criticized for shortcomings that have already been addressed. (more…)

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Life Hacks | you’re already more persuasive than you think

Life-Hacks--top-10-tips-to-show-you’re-already-more-persuasive-than-you-think TIt’s amazing the opportunities we miss because we often doubt our own powers of persuasion.

You’re Already More Persuasive than You Think

by Vanessa K. Bohns

Our bosses make shortsighted decisions, but we don’t suggest an alternative, figuring they wouldn’t listen anyway. Or we have an idea that would require a group effort, but we don’t try to sell our peers on it, figuring it would be too much of an uphill battle. Even when we need a personal favor, such as coverage for an absence, we avoid asking our colleagues out of fear of rejection. (more…)

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Business Hacks | the new science of customer emotions

When companies connect with customers’ emotions, the payoff can be huge.

Business Hacks-The New Science of Customer Emotions - best tips to increase sales
© photo by Gregory Mancuso

The New Science of Customer Emotions

By Scott Magids, Alan Zorfas, Daniel Leemon

When companies connect with customers’ emotions, the payoff can be huge. Consider these examples: After a major bank introduced a credit card for Millennials that was designed to inspire emotional connection, use among the segment increased by 70% and new account growth rose by 40%.

Within a year of launching products and messaging to maximize emotional connection, a leading household cleaner turned market share losses into double-digit growth. And when a nationwide apparel retailer reoriented its merchandising and customer experience to its most emotionally connected customer segments, same-store sales growth accelerated more than threefold. (more…)

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Dog Videos | heartwarming story of sick Cheetah cub and his puppy savior

Just when the Cheetah cub was having a hard time surviving, some kind-hearted humans and a brave shelter puppy came to his rescue.

Funny-and-heartwarming-dog-video-for-kids-of-cheetah-and-puppy-friendshipMeet Kumbali and Kao, two very unique friends. Kumbali the Cheetah was the runt of his litter and wasn’t getting enough milk from his mother to survive, so the staff at the Richmond Zoo decided to nurse him themselves. But they also knew the youngster needed a companion. Cheetahs are very sociable big cats and need company to thrive and not become anxious. The zoo found Kago, a lab mix who was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Alabama. (more…)

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