Sat.Oct 12, 2013 - Fri.Oct 18, 2013

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VAT Increase Backfires in Spain, Supermarket Sales Plunge 7.2%

MishTalk

'The nannycrats in Brussels and the IMF keep pressuring Spain to hike the VAT and Spain does every time. The results are easily predictable. Via translate from El Econimista , please consider VAT Rise is "Catastrophic". Anged, the "Association of Large Distribution Companies" suffered a 7.2% drop in sales through August, the biggest drop in sales since the crisis began.

Sales 78
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Consulting Mad Libs

The Crazy Lives of Consultants

'Ever notice the eerie similarity of consulting deliverables to Mad Libs ? It seems that as a firm gets more "mature" ( in the procedure sense ) all of its output becomes a massive game of "fill in the blanks." Just like Mad Libs. Need a deliverable for a small backwoods paper company? Fill in the blanks. How about a Wall Street financial? Same deliverable; just fill it in.

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Time doesn't exist until we invent it

Seth Godin Blog

'The transcontinental railroads led to the invention of time zones. For the first time, everyone needed to be in sync, regardless of what village one lived in. A few generations later, we''re in all in sync, to the second, thanks to the computers in our pockets. Time is borrowed, wasted, spent. We find the time, slow down time, take our time. Its Miller, quitting, clobberin time.

Travel 52
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University Study: 18 Hot Careers for College Grads

Henry DeVries

Too often a college graduate hears “congratulations” and then asks themselves “now what?” It may take months for the implications of “now what?” to sink in. For some, it may take years. A few springs ago I was at a college bookstore signing copies of my latest career advice [.

Study 40
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PowerPoint Best Practices for Creating Stellar Presentations

Mastering data visualization in PowerPoint will help accelerate your career because it positions you as someone who can present data that drives business decisions forward. think-cell's PowerPoint Best Practices eBook was created specifically for professionals aiming to master the art and science of data-driven storytelling. What’s inside: Practical Insights: Uncover valuable tips for crafting engaging and persuasive presentations.

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Replaced by a Mannequin

MishTalk

'Why pay a human if a mannequin can do the job better? I have talked about mannequins before, but the idea of mannequins replacing humans is back in the news again. Meet Sandy. "Sandy," a sign-waving mannequin, helps bring in customers to a Los Angeles smoke shop. Image by Alex Schmidt/NPR. NPR reports There''s A New Kind Of Sign Spinner In Town. Meet the sign-spinning mannequin.

More Trending

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Is Google jumping the shark?

Seth Godin Blog

'Ron Howard explained that while they were shooting the notorious episode where Fonzie jumped the shark , he knew the show had turned a corner. In the case of Happy Days, the corner was the chasing of ratings at the cost of integrity. In the case of corporations, the corner is usually the chasing of profit at the expense of the original mission. These places don''t run out of creativity.

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Components of Remarkable Content

Chad Barr

This week’s reflection point: When you consume content such as an article, a video, an audio podcast or an eBook, what seems to grab your attention? Well, I am glad you ask. Let me share with you my top 10 key components to consider when creating remarkable content: Make it conversational , which then reveals your true voice, makes you unique and your content easier to consume.

eBook 40
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Still More France Economic Idiocies: New Rent Price Controls, Mandatory Rental Insurance, "Unfair Competition" Laws

MishTalk

'The economic stupidities in France keep piling up. Reader "AC" who lives in France writes: Hi Mish, I saw you covered some of the latest crazy things happened in France recently: actually there is much more. Let me give you a short digest of the craziest things. Government wants to address the high cost and low availability of apartments to rent, especially in Paris.

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First Impression – Not Always What It Seems

Martinka Consulting

'I was at a professional group meeting recently, we broke into small groups to discuss an issue and the first thing one person blurted out was that her personal life was a mess. This came almost immediately after receiving a reward from the group for her business accomplishments. I’m not sure if she had feelings of inadequacy after receiving the award or if she just had to tell someone.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Understanding luxury goods

Seth Godin Blog

'A luxury good gets its value from its lack of utility and value. A typical consumer would look at what it costs and what it does and say, "that''s ridiculous.". When a good like this (and it might be a service as well) comes to market, it sometimes transcends the value equation and enters a new realm, one of scarcity and social proof. The value, ironically, comes from its lack of value.

B2B 49
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Things I’ve Realized or Learned Recently

Chad Barr

You can get great last minute seats to any show you desire to see on Broadway. All you need to do is find a good concierge and be willing to pay the price. . “Where are you from?” usually start great conversations with the cab drivers in New York city. The other is: “Would you share a great story that took place in your cab that you rarely share?

Meeting 40
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China's Exports "Surprisingly" Drop

MishTalk

'Economists expected a 6% rise in Chinese exports. Instead, exports fell 0.3%. Please consider China''s September export growth in surprise slide. China''s export growth fizzled in September to post a surprise fall as sales to Southeast Asia tumbled, data showed, a disappointing break to a recent run of indicators that had signaled its economy gaining strength.

Data 73
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You Don’t Need to be a Leader to Lead!

Gina Abudi

'I am working with a client to roll out a two week training program for their individual contributors. This program is designed to focus on increasing leadership skills among employees. On the first day of the program, a few of the participants came up to me and said they were pleased to be in [.].

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Savings Consultants Are Needed in Today's Market More Than Ever

Savings Consultants are needed in today’s market more than ever. With an increase in expenses, businesses are looking for opportunities to save. Often unknown to businesses are savings in expense reduction, specialized tax savings, specialized savings including medical underpayments, health benefits cost reduction, zero cost processing, and more. Blue Coast Savings, with over 20 years in business, assists Savings Consultants in helping these companies move toward more profitable businesses.

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The opposite of 'defenseless'

Seth Godin Blog

'It might be defended , or defensive. If you''re asking for feedback or coaching or an education, neither is going to help you very much. The person who has ideas that are well defended isn''t going to be able to listen carefully for the lessons that can help him change those ideas. And the person who is defensive not only won''t hear the ideas, but he''ll push away anyone generous enough to share them.

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Disabling Your Organization, One Piece of Advice at a Time

Strategy+Business

'Leaders in developed nations can use their skills and expertise to help make life better for those who need it.

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Unsustainable Social Security Promises: Spain vs. U.S.

MishTalk

'I have written numerous times about pension problems in the US. Let''s cross the Atlantic and take a peek at the setup in Spain, then let''s compare the two setups. Via translation from Libre Mercado , please consider The Chart That Will Shake Future Pensioners. Workers vs. Pensioners. Given that eight million people age 65 and 16.7 million workers cannot sustain the current pension, imagine what will happen in the coming decades as the differential goes back even closer.

Trends 71
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Enabling Virtual Team Relationships – Part XI

Gina Abudi

'Wrapping Up Our Story Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part XI and Part X of our story for background information. Let’s jump to the end of the project and wrap up our story. Alice ended up the project within the allocated budget (which [.].

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TOOLS and METHODOLOGIES for developing DECISION SUPPORT PACKAGES

This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

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"I don't get it"

Seth Godin Blog

'Who is teaching us to look deeper? If you read a blog post, and it begins with an analogy about car dealers, is your instinct to say, "well, I''m not a car dealer." and then jump to the next post? When you see something working (or not working) in the marketplace, something you don''t understand, do you stop to figure out why it''s working (or not working)?

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The Changing Face of Retail

1 to 1

'It is human nature to want to be treated as an individual. Armed with data, savvy organizations have been able to turn online interactions into truly personalized communications that cater to the individual needs of each customer. There’s more… To read the rest of this blog posting click here or visit www.1to1Media.com/weblog.

Retail 40
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Decisive Victory by Le Pen's Eurosceptic National Front Party in Local Election Stirs Fear in Mainstream French Parties

MishTalk

'Two recent events regarding Marine Le Pen and her eurosceptic party have the nannycrats in Brussels worried. The first occurred in early October when Marine Le Pen''s Eurosceptic "National Front" Party Took Lead in France National Poll. Yesterday, a huge victory by the National Front in a local election had the nanmnycrat alarm bells ringing. Please consider French far-right victory stirs fear among mainstream parties.

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Enabling Virtual Team Relationships – Part X

Gina Abudi

'Meeting with the Project Sponsor Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII and Part IX of our story for background information. Alice knew that she needed Jonathan’s (project sponsor) assistance on this matter. She was not going to be able to intervene with the manager [.].

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Why You Need to Use Case Studies in Sales and Marketing (and How to Start Now)

Case studies are proof of successful client relations and a verifiable product or service. They persuade buyers by highlighting your customers' experiences with your company and its solution. In sales, case studies are crucial pieces of content that can be tailored to prospects' pain points and used throughout the buyer's journey. In marketing, case studies are versatile assets for generating business, providing reusable elements for ad and social media content, website material, and marketing c

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Marketing good.

Seth Godin Blog

'or good good? Marketing good is the McMansion that looks good at an open house but isn''t particularly well built or designed for actual living. Marketing good is the catalog of gimcracks and doodads that entices the casual shopper but sells stuff that ends up in a closet. Marketing good is the cover of a magazine decreed by the number crunchers in the newsstand sales group, not the editors and the readers they care about.

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The Rise of the Mompreneur

Strategy+Business

'For an increasing number of women, the desire to work and raise their children at the same time means starting their own business. Behold the mompreneurs--entrepreneurial mothers who take advantage of the flexibility inherent in self-employment to help them make a living and raise their kids.

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Is Gathering Real Time "Inflation" Data With Smart Phones a "Game Changer"?

MishTalk

'Premise Data Corp, a startup firm backed by Google, has deployed 700 smartphone-equipped workers across 25 cities to capture images of products as their prices change daily. The Wall Street Journal claims Real-Time Economic Data Could Be a Game Changer. Software automatically tags the location of the products down to the individual store and analyzes the images—items such as meat and produce—to gauge quality differences.

Data 69
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They Just Don't Make Things Like They Used To

1 to 1

'There''s something inherently magical about your first "big girl bed" (or "big boy bed" if you''re of the male variety). But when you awake to a busted spring--on your birthday, no less--it''s hard not to find yourself back in the throes of reality. After nearly 20 years, my beautiful mattress decided to remind me I''m no longer a child, sending one lone coil jutting through the material and straight through my heart.

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ABM Evolution: How Top Marketers Are Using Account-Based Strategies

In times of economic uncertainty, account-based strategies are essential. According to several business analysts and practitioners, ABM is a necessity for creating more predictable revenue. Research shows that nearly three-quarters of marketers (74%) already have the resources needed to build successful ABM programs.