What are the 10 most common failures of bad leaders?
a Harvard Business Review: "After scrutinizing 360-degree feedback data on over 11,000 leaders and evaluating the 10% considered the least effective, Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman found the 10 most common leadership shortcomings." Join 25K+ readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: When do groups prefer female leaders? When do they prefer male leaders? To be good, do leaders need to be a little bad? Can having a lousy boss give you a heart attack?
1 min read
What physical characteristics are attractive in men and women?
ly a limited set of characteristics were tested but the results were: Women preferred men with: average or muscular builds no chest hair average size penis Men preferred women with: a waist to hip ratio of 0.6-0.7 lighter skin Men and women living in New Zealand and California completed five studies regarding human physique and sexual attractiveness. In Studies 1–3, women rated images of male stimuli and, in Studies 4–5, men rated female stimuli. In Study 1, women in…
2 minutes
What are two tricks to making good habits stick?
ke "If-Then" plans and team up with a friend. Via Eurekalert: Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits. While you are more likely to do something if you plan it in advance, research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), shows that partnering up or planning with someone can really boost the likelihood of sticking to your resolutions. This finding suggests that 'buddy schemes' could make a big difference to…
2 minutes
Do you really have any idea what you desire in a romantic partner?
, not really. Via Eurekalert: "People will readily tell you what they value in a romantic partner," said Eli Finkel, associate professor of psychology at Northwestern and co-author of the study. "But study after study shows that those preferences don't predict whom daters are actually attracted to when they meet flesh-and-blood partners. Now we can get under the hood with this quirky methodology to see what people actually prefer in live-interaction settings." Paul W. Eastwick, assistant professor of psychology at…
1 min read
Why do domestic violence victims recant?
ience Daily covers new research that analyzed prison conversations and explains the method by which abusers manipulate victims into recanting: "Perpetrators are not threatening the victim, but are using more sophisticated emotional appeals designed to minimize their actions and gain the sympathy of the victim. That should change how we work with victims." And: After analyzing the calls, the researchers identified a five-step process that went from the victims vigorously defending themselves in the phone calls to agreeing to a…
2 minutes
What are the influence secrets of top telemarketers?
tter telemarketers consistently "spoke at an appropriate rate; emphasized important points with changes in pitch and volume; acknowledged or paraphrased what the customer said; used short, affirmative words and sounds to indicate that he/she listened to the customer; and used language the customer could understand." Scholars have conducted studies to uncover the knowledge, skills, and abilities that successful salespeople demonstrate on the job. However, much of this research focuses on face-to-face, and not mediated, sales environments. The present study addresses…
2 minutes
What did heroin addiction during the Vietnam war teach us about breaking bad habits?
ere's a great story on NPR that shows just how important context is in maintaining (and ending) bad habits: According to her research, the number of soldiers who continued their heroin addiction once they returned to the U.S. was shockingly low. "I believe the number of people who actually relapsed to heroin use in the first year was about 5 percent," Jaffe said recently from his suburban Maryland home. In other words, 95 percent of the people who were addicted…
2 minutes
My latest column in Wired Magazine – How the weather affects us:
latest column in Wired magazine quickly reviews how the weather affects our behavior: can it make us fight more, work more or determine which college we go to? You should check it out here. You can read my other Wired articles (including pieces on how to be happier, how to have a long marriage and how to be more creative) here. Join 25K+ readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: What 10 things should you do every day to improve your…
1 min read
