Finance & Business Management
To Lead More Effectively, Increase Your Self-Confidence
"How can I feel confident when I am speaking?" asked a participant in a recent workshop I conducted. While the question was specific to public speaking, the answer I gave is relevant to any leader, whether she is on stage giving a presentation or working with her team on an important project. The answer lies within you.
On the Web, Thinking Small Pays Off
For 13 years, I was privileged to serve as an editor at PC World magazine, the last four of which I spent as editor-in-chief. PC World’s success in print and online provided me with resources that most editors would envy. We had a team of more than 50 editors, writers, designers and product testers. Our editorial budget let us devote months to investigative projects when we thought the payoff would be worth it. And, in recent years, as we ramped up our ambitions online, we had a dedicated team of talented Web developers who turned our ideas into reality.
Norm Brodsky: When Negotiating, Always Listen Before You Speak
Mike Baicher came to see me recently. If his name rings a bell, it's because I've written about him several times. He first approached me more than 12 years ago, looking for advice about how to expand his family-owned trucking company. Since then, he's come back whenever he has a problem he needs help with. The problem he had this time was a pretty big one, and he was about to compound it by making a fundamental negotiating mistake -- a mistake that can prove especially costly in an economic environment like this one.
Recession Leadership: On Sinking the Boat, Missing the Boat, and Rocking the Boat
For months, I have argued that a down economy can be a great opportunity for companies to try something different or start something new. I don't mean to minimize the pressures and setbacks that are part of unleashing real change in tough times. If all you've got is a spreadsheet filled with red ink and dire forecasts, it's easy to be paralyzed by fear. But if you've got some leadership nerve, and can muster a few good ideas, then hard times can be great times to separate yourself from the pack and build advantages for years to come.
How to Keep Your Email Inbox Under Control
A reader recently asked me, "How do you deal with an incredibly full inbox that makes you feel like a jerk?"
I'm happy the question asks, "how do you deal." An inbox is as personal a space as an underwear drawer — we all have one and are all embarrassed by both its organization and contents. Thus to tell someone how to manage their inbox could be perceived as an intrusion into their undergarments.
And that would be inappropriate.
What is appropriate to share is my own principles of inbox management:
Four Ways to Increase the Urgency Needed for Change
Most organizations fail. The vast majority of new restaurants don't survive two years. Over 90% of the car companies that existed in the early 1900s were gone by the 1940s. At least a few of today's most successful enterprises appear to be going down the same path.
Be Very Afraid of Scareware
Confronted with a message like this, most computer users feel compelled to take urgent action. Fortunately, instructions for what to do are right in front of them: click on a box to scan the computer. Once the scan is complete, and dozens of infections have been identified, they must go to a security website and pay $49.99 to download software that will remove the infections and safeguard their systems.
Magazine Startup Costs
We are currently preparing a resource for the key costs associated with starting a new magazine publication. These will be relative financial estimates and business expenses that a magazine publisher should expect to take into consideration in the business planning phase. As this is a very popular topic for startups, we invite you to ask questions about budgeting and costs in our forum as this interaction will also help us to build an outline for general cost considerations. MagazineLaunch Community: Planning and managing a successful start-up
Who Funds Magazine Startups?
Samir Husni and I wrote the two most widely distributed books about starting new magazines. Mr. Husni is a journalism professor at the University of Mississippi. I am a co-founder of three computer magazines and a full-time publishing consultant. His book is called, Launch Your Own Magazine and Hamblett House in Nashville, Tennessee published it in 1998. My book is called, Starting and Running a Successful Newsletter or Magazine, published first in 1997 by Nolo Press, and now in its second edition. Both of us have web sites offering tips and advice to startups . Between us, Professor Husni and I get about 6 or 7 emails or phone calls every day from people asking how they can raise the money to start a new magazine. Adding all those calls together, we talk to about 1500 people per year more than 7,000 since our books were published.
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