10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture

Why is it that many of the same companies appear repeatedly on lists of the best places to work, the best providers of customer service, and the most profitable in their industries? In their new book, The Ownership Quotient, HBS professors Jim Heskett and Earl Sasser and coauthor Joe Wheeler assert the answer lies in recognizing that strong, adaptive cultures can foster innovation, productivity, and a sense of ownership among employees and customers. They also outlast any individual charismatic leader. But how can you as a manager create and nurture that special culture? In the following excerpt, the authors outline the top 10 lessons of the best practitioners, from ING Direct to Build-A-Bear Workshop to Harrah's Entertainment.

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Brain neurons can remodel connections

An associate professor of neurobiology at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and colleagues are finding that neurons in the adult brain can remodel their connections. This could lead to creating growth in cells and regions normally unable to repair themselves.

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What Makes for a Good Blog?

As I think about the blogs I’ve returned to over the years — and the increasingly few new ones that really grab my attention — I want to start with, ironically enough, a list. Here’s what I think helps make for a good blog. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good blogs have a voice. Who wrote this? What is their name? What can I figure out about who they are that they have never overtly told me? What’s their personality like and what do they have to contribute — even when it’s “just” curation. What tics and foibles fascinate make me about this blog and the person who makes it? Most importantly: what obsesses this person? Good blogs reflect focused obsessions. People start

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Blind Man Sees With Subconscious Eye

Scientists are reporting the remarkable case of a blind man who can see. Check out this video:

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Optimising A Lead Generation Marketing Budget In Tough Times

Everyone needs to generate leads in business. But where does the future take us... In 2009, we're all going to hear more talk than ever before about what constitutes "quality" online leads. And there will be plenty of accompanying disagreement about what the word quality means as lead buyers try to squeeze the most out of their pressured budgets. In some markets, it may take days or even months before a buyer can truly assess the quality of a given lead. Moreover, quality can be volatile month to month, even from the same lead source. If you can't reliably measure quality, how do you know if you're paying the right price for leads? How can you effectively manage your call center when lead quality goes up and down? The overwhelming majority of lead buyers have no idea how to predict which individual leads have the best chance of converting. So it will be up to the best-informed sellers to help educate the lead generation marketplace. One of the best places to look for such guidance is the online education sector,

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