Business News

Monday, 06 March 2023 05:48

In just 5 sentences, Elon Musk gave Tesla employees a master class on how to run efficient meetings

Elon Musk is full of hot takes, and I can't say I agree with all of them. But I have to give credit where credit is due – the guy's got some pretty solid thoughts when it comes to meetings. You may have heard Musk saying that meetings "are what happens when people aren't working" or instructing his employees to walk out of a meeting as soon as they aren't adding value. These statements might be shocking to some, but if you ask me, it's meeting efficiency 101. In fact, I've had the same rule in my business for years.…

Friday, 03 March 2023 05:57

How to use anchoring as a negotiating technique

One of the most potent negotiation techniques buyers and sellers can use is anchoring. So, what do I mean by that? Anchoring is a way to set expectations right at the start of a negotiation in ways that make your actual offer more attractive to the other party. Let's say I'm trying to sell a car and I'd love to get $25,000 for it. I aim to anchor a price point higher than my target sales price. To explain the example, I might say to a prospective buyer: "I've done a lot of research, and cars like mine typically sell…

Thursday, 02 March 2023 05:57

Inclusive communication builds both people and profits

We live in an age of great sensitivity to language – some might even say hyper-sensitivity. While being too "politically correct" might cause some people to roll their eyes, you ignore individual sensitivities at your peril. Words referring to gender, race, creed, sexual orientation, physical ability, mental health, gender identity and the like have the potential to make some people feel excluded – and that is the last thing we should want to do. Everyone wants to feel included and respected. Using language inclusively has proven benefits to morale and competitive advantage. And companies are paying increased attention to the…

Wednesday, 01 March 2023 03:29

The violence in your business language diminishes you and your company

"We hire two kinds of people – hunters and skinners. Hunters bring in the kill and skinners turn the kill into food." This was the recruiting language used by so-called headhunters in big management consulting firms in the '90s when I got out of grad school and was exploring consulting careers (I ended up starting my own firm). Now, it's 30 years later and people in business still routinely use violent and predatory metaphors, often without even thinking about it: Crush the competition, capture customers, exploit the market, make battle plans – it's all over the place. Do you believe…

Tuesday, 28 February 2023 06:06

3 habits of super productive and happy workers

At the start of a new job, the rush of excitement for a fresh environment, different projects and a whole new experience might give workers a productive burst of motivation for the first few weeks or months. But soon after, that initial drive from external sources typically fizzles out. For professionals who truly love what they do, job burnout isn't an issue because they understand that they can't rely on outside sources for their own motivation indefinitely. Instead, they cultivate an intrinsic sense of excitement in their work. In his new book, Intrinsic Motivation: Learn to Love Your Work and…

Monday, 27 February 2023 05:36

What Prince Harry can teach every CEO about managing envy

Nobody wants to feel second best. Sibling competition for attention, resources and recognition triggers envy that persists into adulthood and your organization. Prince Harry's book, Spare, is a reluctant reminder to all CEOs that unmanaged envy carries commercial consequences. The very nature of hierarchy can trigger feelings of inadequacy, especially in employees who are second-in-command or close to the big job. Despite the privilege, it's easy to interpret the message as "You're worthy but not quite worthy enough – not yet, anyway". When you hold a position others want, you're likely to be a source of envy. It's a risk…

Sunday, 26 February 2023 05:19

New CBN rule forces Ovia, Elumelu, others out of the their banks as chairmen, CEOs, EDs

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says bank executive directors (EDs), deputy managing directors (DMDs), managing directors (MDs), and non-executive directors (NEDs) can only serve a cumulative tenure of 20 years across the banking industry. The new directive is contained in a circular addressed to all deposit money banks (DMBs), signed by Chibuzor Efobi, director of financial policy and regulation department, CBN. The circular was a revision of the regulatory requirements for the tenure of executive management and non-executive directors of DMBs and financial holding companies in the Code of Corporate Governance for Banks and Discount Houses (Ref: FPR/DIR/ClR/GEN/01/004). CBN said…

Friday, 24 February 2023 06:13

Discos reject 408MW ‘excess power’ for these reasons

Power distribution companies have stepped up the quantum of electricity load allocation that they receive and distribute to consumers across the country, as the latest data from the Federal Government showed a reduction in the amount of unutilised energy by the Discos. Data released on Thursday by the Federal Government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria on Daily Discos Load Summary from February 4 to 10, 2023, showed that the cumulatively excess load allocation that was taken and distributed by the Discos during the period was 897MW. The report, however, indicated that the total quantum of energy that was not utilised during…

Friday, 24 February 2023 06:09

7 mistakes entrepreneurs make that sabotage their success. Learn to spot them in advance

So many leaders view their struggles as unique. For example, unforeseen situations they couldn't have predicted and were impossible to avoid. Not true, according to serial entrepreneur and equity investor Matt Higgins, who I had the opportunity to interview. Higgins says that some of the best preparation for his career goes all the way back to his early days as a reporter. The reason, he insists, is pattern recognition. "A reporter sits in the stream of information," Higgins told me, "and sees the patterns of life play out again and again. If you witness enough business crises, you learn to…

Thursday, 23 February 2023 06:02

FG concessions newly constructed 700MW hydropower plant to local firm

Federal government has picked local energy firm Mainstream Energy Solution Ltd to operate and manage a Chinese-funded hydro electric power station at a cost of $70 million a year for the next 30 years, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said on Wednesday. BPE had said in November it was looking to grant a concession for the 700 megawatt (MW) Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant that is being built at a cost of $1.3 billion in Northcentral Niger state. BPE spokesperson Uzoma Ibeh said in a statement that Mainstream Energy Solution Ltd offered the highest bid. The firm says on its…

More...

Thursday, 23 February 2023 06:01

Naira falls further at parallel market

The naira, on Wednesday, depreciated further against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market. Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs), popularly known as ‘abokis’, who spoke to our correspondent in Lagos, quoted the naira at N766 to the dollar at the street market. The figure signifies a N10 or 1.3 percent slip compared to the N756 it traded three weeks ago — further widening the gap between parallel and official rates. The street traders put the buying price of the dollar at N758 and the selling price at N766, leaving a N8 profit margin. Some of the…

Thursday, 23 February 2023 06:00

Oil drops 3 percent on demand worries

Oil prices fell by $2 per barrel to their lowest in two weeks on Wednesday, as investors became more concerned that recent data will prompt more aggressive interest rate increases by central banks, pressuring economic growth and fuel demand. Brent crude futures settled $2.45, or 3%, lower at $80.60 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropped $2.41, or 3%, to end at $74.05 a barrel. The settlement levels were the lowest for both benchmarks since Feb. 3. Minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting showed a majority of Fed officials agreed the risks of high inflation remained…

Thursday, 23 February 2023 05:52

Steve Jobs: This is the 'most important' statistic to identify truly great leaders

When Steve Jobs took the stage to unveil the iMac almost a quarter of a century ago, he was basically beaming with pride: He'd returned just nine months earlier to lead the company he'd co-founded, after his unceremonious firing a dozen years earlier. He was thrilled to have been successful already at changing Apple's image; this was after Apple's "Think Different" marketing campaign, that people still talk about today. And, he was practically bouncing off the stage as he rolled out the first new products since his return -- a massive upheaval after Jobs has gotten rid of 70 percent…

Wednesday, 22 February 2023 05:54

Many people hate meetings because everyone is so lousy at them. This is how to do it to be better

I spend a lot of time in meetings and am surprised to see the stance that Shopify is taking to curb the amount of time their employees are spending in meetings. Shopify's approach, implementing a set of rules about how, when and who can attend meetings, isn't addressing the issue. That employees are meeting isn't the problem – it's how the meeting is conducted that makes the difference. I have run companies remotely for more than two decades. Focusing on the following aspects ensures that meetings accomplish their intended purpose. Invite the Right People Whether it's two people, or 200…

Page 59 of 144

Business News

More...

Search

Most Read

Editorial

News

Business

Politics

Opinion

Features

Strangely

Crime

Wars

SCIENCE & TECH

SPECIAL REPORTS

Sports

VIDEOS