Work Archives

Manage Your Day-to-Day: Advice From Creative Professionals

Are you a creative professional or aspiring to be one? Do you need some help figuring out a work routine and staying focused and motivated? Manage Your Day-to-Day is a collection of essays edited and curated by 99U’s Jocelyn K. Glei. The essays help creative professionals learn how to develop a routine that supports creativity, how to improve their focus, and how to hone their creative mindset. Continue reading for an overview of this inspiring book that can take your creative work to the next level.

The Top 3 Negotiation Challenges & How to Overcome Them

How can you keep cognitive biases from ruining a negotiation? How should you handle it when your counterpart lies to you? Is it possible to negotiate from a weak position and come out on top? In Negotiation Genius, Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman look into some common obstacles during negotiations that can impede your ability to understand and communicate with your counterpart. These obstacles include cognitive bias, deception, and a weak position. Take a look at these negotiation challenges, and learn how to overcome them.

How to Develop a Creative Routine: 3 Steps to Real Progress

Do you prioritize your creative projects, or are they always on the back burner? Do you treat your creative work as a marathon or just a scattered series of sprints? Many creative professionals suggest that the first step to becoming more creative is prioritizing creative work. The best way to do this is to build a routine around your projects. Without an intentional creative routine, they argue, it’s unlikely you’ll ever make significant progress on your biggest and best ideas. Keep reading to get tips from Mark McGuinness, Daniel H. Pink, Cal Newport, Gretchen Rubin, and Tony Schwartz on establishing

Unproductive at Work? Here’s a Lesson From The Unicorn Project

Why are so many employees unproductive at work? How does poor management cause an inefficient work environment? The Unicorn Project by Gene Kim follows the narrative of Maxine Chambers, a lead developer in Parts Unlimited’s software development department within IT. Through Maxine’s eyes, Kim illustrates the characteristics of both unproductive and healthy workplace cultures, with an emphasis on how the former can be turned into the latter. Let’s look at the story of Chambers to inspire you to be more productive at work.

Anchoring in Negotiation: Should You Make the First Offer?

What’s the anchoring effect in negotiation? Should you make the first offer? If so, what should it be? According to Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman’s book Negotiation Genius, the anchoring effect refers to the first piece of information offered in a negotiation. This point determines how the rest of the negotiation will go. Learn more about anchoring in negotiation below.

How to Stay Creative: 4 Ways to Maintain Your Inspiration

Do you make time for unstructured creativity? Do you tend toward perfectionism? How often do you unplug from technology? According to many creative professionals and productivity experts, creativity is the result of consistent work habits coupled with a creative mindset. You can foster such a mindset by prioritizing unstructured creativity, rejecting perfectionism, leaning into challenges, and taking opportunities to unplug. Keep reading to learn how to stay creative by following this recipe.

How to Regain Employee Autonomy in the Workplace

Is there a lack of autonomy in your workplace? Do you want to change the culture at the company where you work? A company with little autonomy is a company that is likely going to fail. In The Unicorn Project, Gene Kim demonstrates how a lack of employee autonomy in the workplace almost destroyed a department, until employees started taking matters into their own hands. Keep reading to learn how to take back autonomy at work.

Logrolling in Negotiations: 3 Steps You Can Take to Create Value

What’s logrolling? How does it create value in a negotiation? Logrolling means trading negotiation items that both parties value. Understanding what each party cares about most is crucial to nailing down a deal. Continue reading to learn more about logrolling in negotiation.

Signs of a Toxic Work Environment: Living in Fear & Blame

What are commons signs of a toxic work environment? How do fear and blame break employees? The Unicorn Project by Gene Kim presents a fictional case study of Parts Unlimited, a once-mighty auto parts manufacturer that’s fallen behind the times and its competitors. This is mainly because of the soul-crushing work conditions it’s allowed to develop in its IT department. Let’s look at what Kim believes are symptoms of toxic company culture.

How to Prepare for a Negotiation So That You’re Ready for Anything

Do you have a big negotiation coming up? Do you feel ready? According to Negotiation Genius by Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman, the first step to effective negotiation is preparation. Before you enter a negotiation, you must have your negotiables ready and gather as much information as you can about the other party. Let’s look at how to prepare for a negotiation so that you’re ready for anything.