Article of Interest: New Small-Biz Agendas in Congress

Seven incoming members of Congress with entrepreneurial experience, and the presumptive chair of the House Small Business Committee, Nydia Velázquez, discuss what to expect. Read all about it here.

Season's Greetings

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season
with happiness and prosperity
throughout the new year.

Books of Interest: Recommended Reading on the Secrets of Success

It's becoming a rite of passage for retired or ousted chief executives to publish their memoirs, touting their leadership acumen and detailing their rise to the corner office. Here's a review of eight books that will challenge the way you think about leadership, risk-taking and self-knowledge -- and how those themes shape success and failure later in life.

What are you currently reading to clear your path for success?

Books That Analyze Secrets of Success

Article of Interest: Evaluating and Selecting a Strategic Partner

For effective strategic partner recruitment, the author recommends an eight-step plan, which includes identifying your target market, developing partner selection criteria, and developing an alliance plan with a selected partner.

Step One: Clearly define and validate your market.

Read more here.

Article of Interest: Gratitude At Work

Gratitude is not just a "feel good" emotion when it comes to organizational life. When an employee believes his or her superiors are grateful for his or her work, the employee will benefit by having an improved sense of worth to the organization. This improved sense of worth can lead to performance improvement, thereby benefiting the organization.

Hint: A person expressing gratitude benefits from that expression, which also may positively impact the organization. For instance, research has shown that persons who are genuinely grateful may be more optimistic, experience improved health, and perhaps even have extended life spans.

Gratefulness matters. Find out why here.

Books of Interest: Best Business Books 2006

Taken as a whole, the Best Business Books of 2006, assembled into eleven categories by the folks at strategy+business (Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.), reflect the political, social, technological, and economic churn that is reshaping the way business is done. Find out why here and start reading. Requires brief registration but it's worth it.

Sneak peek at the "future" category:

Yochai Benkler,
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
(Yale University Press, 2006)

Henry Jenkins,
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
(New York University Press, 2006)

Robert Neuwirth,
Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World
(Routledge, 2005)

AnnaLee Saxenian,
The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy
(Harvard University Press, 2006)

Tim Flannery,
The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth
(Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005)

Sound Advice: Opinions Can Be Powerful Sales Tools

When online gardening retailer Burpee.com began asking customers to post reviews of the products they purchased, company management imagined it would take several months to collect enough reviews to help boost the site's business. But they reaped some positive results much sooner than they expected. Find out how here.

Opinions Can Be Powerful Sales Tools.

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