Charles O’Reilly started his career in the military and probably would have stayed there but for one major problem: “I wanted more control over my life.” Although he was ambitious, O’Reilly prioritized the freedom to pursue his interests over any status or impact he might achieve as an officer. He left the Army to pursue an academic career, trading external markers of success for the possibility of meeting his own intrinsic goals. Now a professor of organizational behavior in Stanford Graduate School of Business, O’Reilly argues that those motivations and trade-offs matter.

Steve Jobs often talked about different traits that lead to success, if only because he was so often asked. One was being willing to ask for help. Another was taking an unconventional path, and doing things other people typically don’t—or won’t—consider. Another was collecting a wide variety of experiences so you could solve problems in unique ways. But the Apple co-founder reserved special attention for perseverance

Let’s be honest: people don’t quit jobs—they leave bad managers. According to Gallup’s State of the American Manager report, only 1 in 10 people have the natural talent to manage others effectively. This means that most people work under managers - not leaders, and it shows. It’s fair to say the good ones are rare, and when you work for one - you can feel it.So the question becomes, ‘How do you know when you’re working for a real leader?’ Here are some signs that you’ve struck gold.

Exceptional salespeople don't separate themselves from the pack by doing what everyone else is doing and hoping for the best. They go above and beyond, and you can't do that if you lean exclusively on conventional sales skills.

No, the best reps demonstrate advanced sales skills — ones that can help frame you as an authoritative, helpful, empathetic guide with expertise relevant to your prospect's circumstances. Here, we'll review some of those skills and go over the techniques you need to know to demonstrate them.

You’ve probably tried many different ways to improve the performance of your sales teams, with varying success. But there’s one way that has been proven to work and yet is often ignored by sales leaders—improving your sales team’s culture.

Culture is hard to characterize, hard to measure, and hard to change. So it gets ignored on the list of levers to pull when transforming a sales organization plan. What does a high-performance sales team culture look like?

In today's fast-moving business landscape, sticking to old sales tactics can hold companies back from meaningful growth. Outdated practices like generic cold outreach and activity-based success metrics often fail to resonate with modern buyers.

To stay competitive, businesses must embrace personalization, data-driven insights and authentic relationship building. Below, 20 members of Forbes Business Development Council share outdated business development practices they still see too often and what leading companies should be doing instead.

When we talk about our personality, many of us treat it as a fixed, unchanging part of us. But the truth is our personality can evolve and often does, even without us deliberately trying. For example, many of us are more open to new experiences and willing to take more risks when we’re younger, and we become more content and less reactive to stress as we age. Our personality can also be changed with deliberate effort—not a shocking notion to anyone who’s been in therapy.

Leadership isn’t about the title on your business card or the corner office you occupy. It’s about the influence you have, the connections you build, and the positive change you inspire in others. This is where the concept of leadership as a soft skill comes into play. Soft skills—like empathy, communication, and adaptability—are the human elements that enable leaders to connect authentically and lead effectively. Embracing leadership as a soft skill means focusing on these interpersonal abilities to foster genuine relationships and drive a meaningful impact within your team.

A fun thing for my wife to do sometimes is to catch me zoning out, and then ask what random thing I was thinking about without realizing it. Now, a new study published by HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus says there might be much more going on when you daydream or zone out than you realize.

‘Entirely possible’

Writing in the journal Nature, Janelia Group Leader Marius Pachitariu, who holds a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience, and coauthors say they performed experiments in which they tracked the brains of mice during different kinds of experiments.

This article sounds like a beast, but it’s one of the shortest I’ve ever written. My backup title was Adventures in Account Management, but I didn’t want to get too cute. Here we go! I was at the optometrist’s office, waiting for my broken glasses to be fixed, when SHE walked in. She approached the receptionist and said, “I’m the new rep for [an eyeglass frame company], and I stopped by to introduce myself.” She handed over her business card and bolted out the door.

As a founder, you start your business with a bold vision, a breakthrough product, and tremendous industry expertise — but most founders don't have a background in sales. Yet, selling is the lifeblood of any startup or small business. So, how do you go from avoiding sales conversations to confidently closing deals and driving growth? This article will provide a practical, no-fluff guide for founders who need to sell but don't see themselves as "salespeople." It will introduce strategies founders can use to build stronger client relationships, better sales outcomes, and increased productivity.

Economic uncertainty, supply chain issues and changing customer expectations have had a significant impact on sales teams, making it more difficult for reps to meet their quotas. In fact, studies show that the majority of sales reps have struggled to meet or completely missed their quotas in recent years. To meet the needs of today’s market, training professionals are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to train, coach and enable their sales teams.

Some days, it can feel like your spirit is slowly being chipped away. You second-guess your instincts, overthink your emails, and start bracing yourself before every meeting. When you’re working under an authoritarian boss, even simple tasks can become emotionally exhausting. Their need to control, criticise, and micromanage can drain your energy and cloud your sense of purpose or even identity.

In an age that prizes specialization, we’re often encouraged to distill our identities into a singular narrative—your specialization, your personal brand, a streamlined profile that fits neatly into a predefined box. Yet while the world rewards narrow expertise, it simultaneously demands multidimensional thinking. Innovation and resilience don’t emerge from narrowing down; they arise from exploring intersections and embracing contradictions.

Do you have a hard time making big decisions? I certainly do. If a decision seems important, I will typically spend quite a lot of time learning as much as I can, carefully weighing the pros and cons, and figuring out a contingency plan in case I change my mind. And after all that, I might still second-guess myself. If you’re an entrepreneur or business leader, taking too long over big decisions can be a very bad idea. It can mean missed opportunities. Worse, it can leave your team in limbo while they wait for you to make up your mind.

I met a guy on the plane who was an area director for a major shoe store chain. “Suppose I went into your store and the shoe I wanted was out of stock in my size – what would happen,” I queried.

“Well, that shoe store has the capability of finding those shoes in our other stores — and then asks (tells) the customer to go to the other store to pick them up.” “Can’t you just ship them to my home?” I wondered. “No,” he said matter of factly. “We’re not set up to do it that way.”

You probably have heard of those special dates on the business calendar. Think National Fun at Work Day, Employee Appreciation Day, National Bike to Work Day, or even National Salesperson Day. While you’re unlikely to get a day off on these dates, unless you dip into your vacation leave, at least you won’t have to buy anyone a present. There’s a new day that you should consider putting on your work calendar, and it’s fast approaching: Customer Experience Day.

It's one thing to have an idea of who your customers are. But it's quite another to actually know them. The more companies learn about their target audience — whether through purchase data, reviews, focus groups or other methods — the better they'll be positioned to unlock growth. Thanks to AI adoption in marketing and the availability of more industry and consumer-level data than ever before, companies have never been in a better position to know their customers in a way that drives smarter growth and higher profits.

On paper, it seems there’s no reason why Greg has hit a wall in his career. As an executive in a consumer products company, Greg is passionate about the company and its customers. He consistently delivers results, knows the ins and outs of the business, and has a strong executive presence. So why has he not gotten promoted in more than five years? The answer is two simple words: emotional intelligence.

There are many forms of leadership. A customer-focused organization requires a leader who understands the importance of customer experience and, just as important, if not more so, the importance of employee experience. If you’ve ever stayed in a hotel where the experience was excellent, you’re probably experiencing the results of a leader/general manager who understands the importance of both. That’s why, for years, I’ve preached the hospitality mentality. Hotel and restaurant managers know how to motivate employees to deliver an excellent experience.