Blinkist

You might think this is a no-brainer — you’d speak up in favor of Sam, the candidate you think is the most qualified! But wait. You'd be going against the grain. Your colleagues are pretty enthusiastic about Robin. Are you *sure* Sam is the right choice? You're certain Sam is the right choice, but are you prepared to challenge the group? Is it worth it? 🤐 A psychological experiment found that in a setting with only two candidates, Sam and Robin in this example, participants were reluctant to speak up and more likely to let Robin be hired without sharing their opinions on Sam. But what about that third candidate, Taylor? While Taylor might not be the most skilled candidate, floating their name in the discussion can make a crucial difference. 💬 The study found that in a setting where one person on the hiring team made a case for Taylor significantly increased the likelihood of participants advocating for Sam, the most promising candidate! Adding a differing opinion breaks up groupthink and pushes everyone to assess the situation for themselves. In other words, this challenges the group’s tendency to avoid conflict at all costs, leading to better decision-making. 🤝 Want to learn more about strategies for encouraging independent thinking, and why nonconformity is a strength we should nurture? Check out the Blink to “Originals” by author and organizational psychologist Adam Grant to learn more about this experiment: https://lnkd.in/eBke39A8

“Avoiding risks can be the riskiest strategy of all” I love love love this saying. Everything in life is a risk and it’s important to take some risks to keep moving forward. Changing the jobs is a risk Changing a path in your career is a risk Changing countries is a risk You can’t really avoid them but you can certainly mitigate them. Love that The Onset gives us access to Blinkist who has a library of popular audiobooks that are only 15 minutes long.

7.5k steps ticked off, dogs exercised & 2.5 Blinkist audio blinks complete... working out the muscles & the brain this afternoon! Fingers crossed for more dry weather, might give me a chance to create a habit of this (yes we all love a bit of James Clear & BJ Fogg!)

How did your last performance review go? Did you get the expected salary increase or was it more difficult? 🤔 Having hard conversations at work is day-to-day for many, but a common fear is performance reviews, where you want to be understanding but upfront about your objectives. In the Blink "Ask for it" by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, we learn how in a negotiation, you need to focus on your upper target and be patient. They also explain how women specifically can successfully negotiate to get the jobs and salaries they want and deserve. 💸 Want to listen to the full book summary? Download the Blinkist app and start learning: https://lnkd.in/e69i6Y_N

Day 1: School summer holidays – here we go 👊 I’ve set myself the challenge to (re)read some of the best books on Branding & Marketing this week, with a little help from Blinkist. (Brain food whilst chauffeuring the kids). In an industry obsessed with up-to-the-minute tech and media, sometimes it’s soul-affirming to remind ourselves of the basics. So today I’m starting with “How Brands Grow” by Byron Sharp. My 5 key take outs: 💡 Size matters in marketing. Brand size affects everything from brand affinity to customer retention. 💡 The ‘Double Jeopardy' law says that smaller brands have less customers & less loyal ones than larger ones. So retention is hard to control, without materially growing your market share. 💡 You’re better to focus on attracting new customers. We assume our sales follow Pareto’s Law (20% of our base generate 80% of our revenue). In reality, almost half of a company’s sales come from non-frequent users. So focus on your light buyers, as well as your loyalists. 💡 As marketers, we believe that branding creates preferences over purchase decisions. But the emotional bond is less strong than we think, and consumers are hard-wired to be promiscuous. 💡 Hence advertising plays an important role refreshing our brand in consumers’ minds, and helping us to stay relevant to them over time.

It's Free Blink Monday! ✨ This week's Blink is: Marie Kondo's Kurashi at Home by Marie Kondo 📖 https://lnkd.in/e8d9aHWu In Kurashi at Home (2022), interior organization expert Marie Kondo invites readers to conceptualize their ideal kurashi, or lifestyle. Kondo then shows how, through interacting with and optimizing their living spaces, readers can achieve our idea of kurashi. Who should read it? 👀 People who’d like to live more mindfully in their space KonMari fans eager for more life-changing advice Anyone who wants to live their ideal lifestyle at home

Studies suggest that about 60-65% of all interpersonal communication is nonverbal. In other words, understanding someone’s body language is key to understanding what they might be feeling. Joe Navarro, a former FBI agent and author of the book “What Every BODY Is Saying,” offers a pro tip: pay close attention to feet and legs 👣 Say you’re talking to a person whose feet are firmly on the ground, with a fair bit of distance between their legs. They’re taking up a fair bit of space, aren’t they? And in fact, this is a pose that might suggest their desire to dominate the conversation. Meanwhile, there’s another person in the conversation who has their feet slightly turned away from the group—what are they feeling? They might be uncomfortable and looking to leave. Lastly, what about the one whose legs are crossed? They might be feeling pretty comfortable. When we cross our legs, we risk losing our balance, and we tend to do this when we perceive a situation as being safe. To learn more about the subtle but important cues we communicate through body language, don’t miss the Blink to “What Every BODY Is Saying” 👉 https://lnkd.in/eJ65gVf8

Have you wondered what truly connects us to others? It’s the courage to be vulnerable. 🔓 But the idea isn't to risk it all immediately. If there's a person you'd like to share more with, start testing the waters by stepping into the learning zone, shown below. With each success, test the waters and move toward the center. To learn more about vulnerability, listen to the Blink "Connect," where social psychologist David Bradford and organizational systems expert Carole Robin explore the key elements of exceptional relationships: https://lnkd.in/eADHwswV

Tomorrow's our next webinar! Have you registered to hear from Mark DiMauro, PhD on AI ethics? https://lnkd.in/erfPtbeV

Melissa Hamdoun is always dropping knowledge and bringing inspiration to every conversation💡