Business English Club texts

What's really behind the global rise in working longer and longer hours. By José Luis Peñarredonda BBC Capital 24 August 2018 It makes accidents more likely, boosts stress levels, and even causes physical pain. But the real problem is that many people just can’t afford not to do it. According to latest International Labour Organization statistics, more than 400 million employed people worldwide work 49 or more hours per week, a sizeable proportion of the near 1.8 billion total employed people worldwide. In a recent interview with The New York Times, even entrepreneur Elon Musk felt moved to describe his 42nd birthday [...]

The compelling case for working a lot less Mastering 'active rest' is far harder than it looks, but there are good reasons why we should keep working at it. By Amanda Ruggeri 5 December 2017 BBC Capital When I moved to Rome from Washington, DC, one sight struck me more than any ancient column or grand basilica: people doing nothing. I’d frequently glimpse old women leaning out of their windows, watching people pass below, or families on their evening strolls, stopping every so often to greet friends. Even office life proved different. Forget the rushed desk-side sandwich. Come lunchtime, restaurants [...]

Five Basic Principles for Better Negotiation Skills by Tania Gomez - MBA, Writer, Blogger, and TV Producer Specializing in LATAM Markets (Published on Linkedin, on September 9, 2014) “In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate” Chester L. Karrass. The art of negotiating is needed in the everyday life. However, mastering this art in the business world is critical to be successful in our careers, because poor negotiations can negatively affect our company’s future or cause us to lose important customers. Even when most negotiating strategies may seem natural, it's not uncommon for people [...]

The psychology behind spending big What drives people to spend thousands on products and experiences that could cost far less? Tiffanie Wen investigates. By Tiffanie Wen 9 October 2017 BBC Capital If you could afford it, would you ever splurge $10,000 on a pair of headphones? What about some other indulgence? Would you? Some of the most coveted sets, like Sennheiser's Orpheus or the Onkyo Diamond, can cost tens of thousands. But is the sound quality of a $10,000 pair of headphones really 10 times as good as the pair that costs $1,000? People not only rate the same wine more highly when they’re [...]

Why Great Leaders Don’t Allow Their Profession to Become Their Identity Published on LinkedIn on September 27, 2017 John Eades As he sat down with me nearing the last day of his employment at the company he helped build, I asked the question, “How are you handling the thought of retirement?” His answer was something I will never forget, “I am not what I do.” While I had known for some time how great of a leader he was, those words cemented the sentiment for me and taught me such a valuable lesson about identity. He went on to share how much [...]

The Real Cost of Poor Leadership Published on LinkedIn on September 13, 2017 John Eades As I left the man’s office, I couldn’t help but think his company was succeeding despite him.   It could have been the way he talked in terms of “I” instead of “we," how he talked about making all the decisions instead of empowering his people, or how most of his people worked there not because they wanted to, but solely because of the paycheck. So much has been written about great leadership and the success that happens when men and women emerge to lead people in a [...]

14 Things Ridiculously Successful People Do Every Day Dr. Travis Bradberry Published on LinkedIn on September 18, 2017 Having close access to ultra-successful people can yield some pretty incredible information about who they really are, what makes them tick, and, most importantly, what makes them so successful and productive. "Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them." – Vaibhav Shah Kevin Kruse is one such person. He recently interviewed over 200 ultra-successful people, including 7 billionaires, 13 Olympians, and a host of accomplished entrepreneurs. One of his most revealing sources of information [...]

Blue sky thinking? The 10 business phrases most likely to make you scream Most people feel that business jargon is meaningless (Stock image) Independent - Business Newsletter June 17 2016 2:27 PM The corporate world can be an impenetrable place even without the code words that those on the inside abuse with abandon. A new survey of 2,000 business travellers has revealed the 10 most hated items of "management speak", the jargon that invades boardrooms, marketing meetings and professional emails. To "touch base offline" topped the list, angering those who preferred to say "let's meet and talk", according to Jargon [...]