Acceleration Partners CEO Robert Glazer deliberately schedules time for productivity and guards it against distractions. "You'll see that in people's calendars and you know it doesn't mean 'hey, you can have this time from me,' it means, 'hey, I'm actually doing the stuff that I needed to deliver to everyone,' " he says. Thrive Global (9/10)
Making the Connection
Make a list when writer's block hits If you find yourself struggling to write, try making a list of key points; working in short, timed bursts; and pretending the audience is filled with friends, writes Jim Anderson. "The list that we create does not have to be good -- it just has to be a start," he writes. The Accidental Communicator (9/10)
Poll
Poll question: Which part of the US do you live in? Check out this interesting graph that shows how the US population has shifted geographically from 1790 to 2018. The West didn't even register on the chart until 1850. New poll question on Monday.
Midwest
30.69%
Northeast
29.18%
Southeast
21.03%
Southwest
14.59%
Northwest
4.51%
The Landscape
Wellness plans may fail if they just target healthy employees Wellness programs can fail to be effective if they offer incentives that target already healthy employees or if they are so focused on results they do not recognize progress achieved, according to strategic planning firm OPOC.us. Instead of a regular cycle of wellness activities, OPOC.us says, plans should change based on the interests and needs of employees and they should include some face-to-face contact rather than putting everything online. PlanSponsor online (9/10)
Your Next Challenge
Unusual ways some companies sidestep interview superficiality Some hiring executives -- tired of interview pretense -- have used unorthodox methods to determine a candidate's potential, such as playing table tennis to discern their level of intensity and risk-taking, writes Jared Lindzon. One executive has people drive his car to gauge their multitasking skills, while another prompts more honest conversations by explaining why people shouldn't work for him. Fast Company online (9/11)
Balancing Yourself
5 ways to help others manage their emotions Learning how to help someone struggling emotionally improves your ability to remain calm during conflict and resolve it, writes clinical psychologist Nick Wignall. He offers five tips including validating your emotions before addressing theirs and showing an interest in understanding their problem versus trying to solve it. Medium (tiered subscription model) (9/11)
The city that welcomed the most international visitors last year might not have occurred to you -- and it wasn't Paris, London, New York or Hong Kong. And surprisingly, Los Angeles didn't even crack the Top 20. World Economic Forum (9/12)
Editor's Note
Correction In Thursday's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards item in SmartBrief on Your Career, Gombe is, in fact, a chimpanzee. Monkeys have tails, chimps don't. SmartBrief regrets the error.
