A Simple Rule to Eliminate Useless Meetings

Ask your team to identify their biggest productivity killer and inevitably two issues will rise to the top of the list: managing their inboxes and their meeting schedules. I'll tackle the former in a future post. For now, I'd like to focus on increasing the value of meetings by sharing a practice our team has implemented to great effect.

Bear in mind: Just because the material has been sent doesn't mean it will be read. Taking a page out of Jeff Bezo's book, we begin each meeting by providing attendees roughly 5-10 minutes to read through the deck. If people have already read it, this gives them an opportunity to refresh their memory, identify areas they'd like to go deeper on, or just catch up on email.

If the idea of kicking off a meeting with up to 10 minutes of silence strikes you as odd, you're not alone. The first time I read about this practice it immediately conjured up images of a library or study hall, two of the last forums I would equate with meeting productivity. However, after the first few times you try it, not only won't it be awkward -- it will be welcome. This is particularly true when meetings end early with participants agreeing it was time well spent.

20 Devastating Content Marketing Mistakes [COMICS]

The science of content marketing is much bigger than publishing an occasional blog. Custom content has grown into a 43.9 billion dollar industry, and even skeptics have to admit that it’s serious business. The best content marketers are wizards who are able to blend writing, multi-media content, PR, social media, and networking into a comprehensive online presence. It’s hard work, and there’s no room at the top for branded messaging riddled with content marketing mistakes. To both amuse and inspire your quest for excellence, we've curated some cartoons which brilliantly illustrate some of the most common pitfalls:

1. Not Prioritizing Time Management

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How to Listen

Years ago, I met once a week, 9 a.m. sharp, with a therapist whom I will call Dr. Mason. We would settle in well-worn chairs, Dr. Mason, a slender, balding middle-ager in blazer and striped tie, and me, an anxious academic in Levi’s and tweeds. Sometimes I’d plunge into whatever was on my mind, but other times we would sit and look at each other in silence as I struggled for words. But Dr. Mason had a simple method of getting me to begin. He would lean slightly forward, all the while maintaining eye contact and then when he got my attention, he would nod.

How to Work with a Jerk

Recently, our software company Likeable Local began partnering with large companies to help reach more small businesses. Our first company, Likeable Media, works with many large companies as clients. So even though I don't have a boss, from time to time I've had to work with people I don't love. In fact, recently I began working with someone that I can only (nicely) call a total jerk. We'll call him Al to protect the guilty in this article.

Al is the kind of person who hates babies and kittens and is never happy. Al demands a lot of everyone around him at work. Al is often if not always critical, and is never one to praise or compliment coworkers and employees. It's always "Al's way or the highway." When I talked to someone at his company about Al, I was told, "Get in line. Nobody can stand the guy. But he's here because he gets results."

Do you know anyone like "Al"?

I've had the good fortune of building my own companies over the last seven years, and have worked very hard to build a likeable, positive, fun corporate culture at both, so it's been awhile since I've worked with a jerk. I could complain endlessly about working with a jerk, but the truth is, complaining won't change anything, for me, or for any of you out there who currently work with or for a jerk.

So instead, let's look at three suggestions for making work with a jerk, easier, for you and for me: