Lately, I’ve been writing a lot about the link between trust and the customer experience. I’ve come to the conclusion that if a customer doesn’t trust you, it doesn’t matter how great your customer service or customer experience (CX) is. Customers expect you to deliver on your promises. If you promise overnight delivery, it better show up the next day. If you promise to reach out to them in an hour, you must do so. The moment you don’t do what is promised and/or expected, you start to lose the customer’s trust.

Rarely do I meet a business owner who isn’t looking to increase sales. There’s never quite enough work, right? The backlog only stretches so far — and beyond that lies the abyss.

The truth is, there’s no magic bullet for growing revenue. But there is one report you should be reviewing every single week that will dramatically help: the pipeline report. Do you have one? You should.

The key to building a successful business is growing your customer base. It’s normal for some customers to stop buying from you. After all, people move, and their needs may change over time. But if you’re constantly losing customers, especially if they head to your competitors, you have a problem.

Businesses must avoid getting complacent with current customers. We’ll explore retention strategies to help you engage better with customers and keep them happy, as well as share customer retention mistakes to avoid.

At the Greater Good Science Center, one of the online courses we offer is Mindfulness and Resilience to Stress at Work.
This course includes articles, videos, interactive surveys, and activities and exercises that learners can do to strengthen skills that enhance and sustain their happiness at work. Featured as “Learning by Doing” sections of the courses, these activities include things like engaging in a variety of self-reflection and mindfulness practices.

One of the nicest things about the holiday season is that you’re able to sneak in some me time. That gives founders a chance to unplug and catch up on their reading.

The right book for you depends on your interests, your tastes, and your mood. But with so many options on shelves, where should you start? Inc. surveyed an assortment of founders and business leaders and dug through dozens of lists to find recommendations of some of the best business books around today. If nothing in your backlog of books is calling to you today, any of these could be a good place to start.

Most professionals spend years working toward a promotion. It is seen as the ultimate marker of progress, a clear sign that your efforts have been recognized. Yet for many employees, the moment of moving up does not feel like success. It feels like a setback. A promotion that is supposed to bring pride can instead bring exhaustion, isolation, or even regret.

The truth is that not every career step forward is designed with the individual in mind. Organizational needs often outweigh personal fit. When the two collide, what looks like opportunity can feel more like a punishment.

If you’ve been in sales for longer than five minutes, you know the old rules don’t hold up anymore. Cold outreach is colder than ever. Buyers are savvier. And the “show up and throw up” pitch approach is just a fast track to a closed tab.

Today, the best sales teams are shifting their energy— and fast. The secret isn’t just about more calls or better scripts but about smarter prep. Let’s unpack why sales prep is becoming the ultimate competitive edge and what that actually looks like behind the scenes.

The sales landscape is changing faster than ever. As innovation reshapes the industry, traditional tools and strategies are losing their edge. The future belongs to those who can combine the power of artificial intelligence with the irreplaceable value of human connection.

Success will not come from choosing between technology and relationships — but from mastering both.

For most of my career, I’ve lived in two worlds, the human one and the selling one. In the human world, people crave connection, understanding and a sense of belonging. In the seller’s world, teams are taught to chase numbers, say what the customer wants to hear and close deals. For too long, these worlds were treated as separate. They’re not. They never were.

If there’s one truth I’ve learned through the years, it’s this: sales isn’t about persuasion; it’s about resonance. The goal isn’t to convince someone of your value, it’s to remind them of their own.

“Three words—continue building legacy.” That was the unequivocal response of Richard Ferry, one of our firm’s pioneering founders, when I asked him a few weeks ago, “Do you have any advice for me?”

His words have stayed with me ever since—particularly now, as we end the first week of the twelfth month of another year coming to a close. It’s a natural time to become more reflective—not only about what’s behind us, but also what lies ahead. Whether our thoughts go to milestones met, challenges overcome, or opportunities awaiting us, we inevitably arrive at what matters most.

Most businesses still treat this invisible force as a soft skill — when, in truth, it has become the most powerful competitive advantage.

In an age where artificial intelligence writes emails, predicts consumer behavior and even paints portraits, the one advantage still exclusively human is emotional intelligence. Yet most businesses still treat it as a soft skill — when, in truth, it has become the most powerful form of competitive intelligence.

That morning, the manager reminded himself to wish Joe, his subordinate, a happy birthday. But the workday started with a crisis, and the manager spent the day in meetings, only coming up for air at 6 PM. Two days later, when he stopped by Joe’s desk with a small gift, Joe thanked him—but he was actually a little bothered: How could his boss entirely forget his 40th?

Most leaders would not even register such a misstep as a significant problem. But according to new research, even seemingly mild slights by managers can lead to shocking results—such as a 50% increase in employee absenteeism or a drop of two working hours per month.

For decades, sales training revolved around one idea: master the technique and the numbers will follow.

Scripts. Objection handling. Closing strategies.

For a while, that worked. But today’s business environment has shifted faster than traditional sales models can adapt.

Buyers are more informed. Pressure is higher. Burnout is rampant. And the same playbook that once produced results now leaves even top performers running on fumes.

Should companies provide sales training for their salespeople and sales management training for their sales leaders? Should individuals be expected to have mastery in the 21 Sales Core Competencies by the time they are hired? Let’s use sports as an example and then return to sales.

Any kid can go to the sandlot with a bat, ball and glove, and figure out how to play baseball. Some will play Little League. The boys who love it, want to continue playing, and are serious about getting better, will get lessons and/or play travel ball, practice every day, and hope to play in high school, college and beyond.

Ask any early-stage founder what their sales strategy looks like, and the answer usually involves hustle: late nights, endless follow-ups, and a whole lot of “just figure it out.”

But here’s the truth: hustle can get you traction. Only habits will get you to scale.

If you’re still leading sales yourself, you’re in the right place. This phase isn’t about offloading fast. It’s about learning fast. It’s where your product, pitch, and positioning are tested in the wild.

Walk into any boardroom right now and you’ll hear some version of the same update: We’ve launched pilots. We’re training employees on GenAI. We’re exploring use cases. All of that is fine. None of it tells you whether AI is actually changing the trajectory of the business. Boards don’t need more AI demos. Boards need better questions. Here are ten questions boards should use to move AI from “interesting” to “material.”

Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn Ferry and the author of Love, Hope & Leadership: A Special Edition.

My favorite college professor taught geology, with a true passion for taking ancient rock formations and bringing them to life. Obsessively scrawling notes and diagrams on the blackboard, he practically consumed chalk—covering his clothes, hands, face, and mouth. And every time he said the words “metamorphic rock” or “tectonic shifts,” a sea of white dust showered the first row of students.

What’s one thing every leader can do to make sure employees are happy at work and engaged with their jobs? Make sure they can trust in you, your organization, and one another. That’s the finding in a 2024 meta-analysis of studies with more than one million participants. When leaders seek to improve employee well-being, they typically think about things like remote work, flexible schedules, and wellness offerings such as gym memberships. But trust may be the most valuable perk of all.

Successful salespeople possess many skills. They exude confidence in sales pitches, harbor the motivation to seek out and drive new business, and develop the knowledge to educate others about your company’s products and services. But the most essential skill of all may be emotional intelligence.

Closing high-level sales involves emotionally connecting with customers. Creating genuine connections means understanding and harnessing your own emotions as well as your prospects’ and customers’ emotions. These skills embody emotional intelligence. We’ll explain more about emotional intelligence, why it matters in sales, and how to cultivate it in yourself or your sales team.

In manufacturing, leaders devote a significant amount of time to operational efficiency, focusing on reducing waste, enhancing processes, and maximizing output. However, one critical piece is often overlooked: sales.

You can have the most efficient operation in the world, but growth will stall without a steady stream of new business and strong customer relationships. Sales should be treated with the same discipline and focus as operations. Sales must be built on process, data, and continuous improvement.