Work related stress in America
But there are ways to reduce its impact on human lives and companies' bottom line, even though stress is a daunting, pervasive problem, experts say. A recent survey of 2,500 employees by ComPsych, a...
An eye for detail
Manhole covers have to be one of the most generic, standardized building products one can buy. I suspect that it is a highly competitive market, probably relatively regional, that achieves low cost because almost...
Turning off, tuning out
Welcome to the new world of work, where 5:30 p.m. is far from the end of the day. It is a world in which smartphones and laptop computers—devices that ostensibly enable us to work...
Keeping pace
Prospective residents no longer have to physically visit a community to get a feel for the apartment or community. Leasing offices now get prospects and residents communicating from all directions: office visits, landline calls...
Make an impression in 30 seconds. Go.
Most of us are not in the business of making TV commercials, but in conversations there is almost always a 30-second moment that can make the meeting memorable.
Malcolm Gladwell touches on this phenomenon in...
The march toward multihousing continues
One reason for the boom in multifamily construction is that rents have risen, making new rental projects more attractive to investors. Obviously rents can't get too high or people will be turned off. In...
Americans stay put; instead accessorize
Of those looking to move, some 44 percent expect to buy, while 42 percent are looking to rent, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker survey released in March. (The questions...
Household formation trends and links
To get some sense of how much higher demand for housing would have been if household formation had remained at its precrisis pace, here's an excerpt from the Goldman note: "Holding headship rates within...
Household landscape 2012
A new study by the Center for Housing Policy confirms that falling home prices have not solved the housing affordability problems of the nation's working households. In fact, the Center's Housing Landscape 2012 report...
Car loans Americans’ top bill-paying priority
It used to be that Americans would pay their home loans first, then their credit card and car loans. After all, homes have been most people's most valuable possession for decades, one that nobody...
The one thing
Assertiveness gets a bad rap when people equate it with being pushy and annoying. But that shouldn't stop you from learning to apply it productively (that is-in service to your strengths). More harm is...
Credit due
Most leaders know not to act like the boss in the FedEx ad. But few think carefully enough about all the ways in which credit (an extremely powerful motivator) and blame (a potential motivation...
Post-financial crisis, a new generation’s views on money
In 2008, adult conversations shifted. After nearly a decade of headlines on terrorism and the resultant wars, suddenly signs of financial trouble demanded top attention. Within months, the global financial crisis, considered by many...
The power of an authentic smile
Because we view complaints as acts of self-assertion rather than the requests for help that they indeed are, we often fail to utilize the most effective tool we have for eliciting help in complaint...
