10 Words Terrible Leaders Always Use

The worst leaders always use these ten words.

What's the telltale sign of a good leader? They know how to communicate in the workplace. People follow what they say (and what they do), listen to their instruction, and respect their wisdom. They say the right things. But terrible leaders? They use words like those listed below that destroy confidence, grind projects to a halt, and discourage everyone.

1. Maybe

Like a flare shot up into the darkness, the word maybe implies a shaky leadership style. When employees ask for time off, a bad leader says maybe. When the sales director asks for help with marketing a new widget, a bad leader says maybe. Confident leaders rarely use the word.

2. Incidentally

Bad leaders tend to say incidentally with a smirk. It's dismissive--those who use the word don't mean it as an aside. It's more of a put-down. Incidentally, I started this company and I'm in charge. Incidentally, you are an idiot and I'm the smart one.

3. Probably

Does the word probably belong in business? Not really. Good leaders know they have to find the hard data first--there is no probably. There is a specific percentage. When a leader says we will probably need better tech support for the product or we'll probably hit our sales numbers, it's a red flag. They don't really know the answer.

4. Unfortunately

I've written before how this is a dismissive term in e-mails. Bad leaders also tend to use the word when they talk to you. Sorry Bob, but--unfortunately--the firm cannot pay the expenses on your business trip. It's a form of control and oppression.

5. Corrective

A bad leader takes corrective action. I have to be corrective about that, they say. What does that even mean? It's a buzzword--the boss is correcting behavior. But being corrective is not a good leadership approach. Redirecting people and guiding them, encouraging a different approach, that's a sign of good leadership. By the time the boss needs to corrective about something, it's usually too late.

6. Blame

The word blame weasels its way into the vocabulary of terrible leaders. They say things like, I don't mean to blame you for screwing up a project. Or, I need someone to accept the blame for our financial losses. Great leaders don't talk about blame in the workplace. They find what is not working and fix it. Or they accept responsibility.

7. Usually

Acting decisively is important because it builds confidence. When a poor leader says usuallyit reveals a confidence issue--they don't have all of the information. They might say new a new app usually crashes or customers usually can't find parking at a retail store. Wait, did you really mean usually? It's best to find out all of the answers: how often, what is causing the problem, what are the exact variables.

8. Regrettably

The word regrettably is a dismissive term that poor leaders use to, well, dismiss people. They say regrettably I have to cancel your project, or regrettably I cannot attend your business lunch. The word makes it seem like the leader has a higher priority and, regrettably, you don't rank high enough on the scale.

9. Sometimes

The problem with the word sometimes is that it implies a lack of research and knowledge. If the founder of a company says people sometimes download a new app on Android phones, or new customers sometimes try to call an old 1-800 number, everyone starts wondering what's really going on. Poor leaders deal in vagaries and half-truths. Great leaders have the answer or know how to find it

10. No

There are times when great leaders have to say no. It's just not possible to agree to every budget item or every idea. Yet, if you consistently say no to everything, you become known as a naysayer. Your negativity spreads across the company. Figure out how to say yes more. Or at least how to prioritize more effectively.

From Inc.

How to Lose a Customer in 10 Simple Steps

Do you ever wonder why some people don't respond to your emails or pick up your calls? Here's how to avoid alienating potential customers and business partners.

The cards are generally stacked against someone trying to make a sale. Budget limitations, timing issues, red tape, and other factors you can't control can all come between you and a viable business deal.

But there are also subtle things we do that can negatively affect how potential clients perceive our companies. We can't always be perfect, but we can practice self-awareness to prevent costly conversation mistakes. Avoid these 10 turnoffs next time you're talking to a potential lead:

1. Name-Dropping

If you mention you're best friends with Mark Cuban within the first two minutes of a conversation, you might as well be saying, "I'm trying to impress you right now so you think I'm important." I don't think Mark's best friends are advertising it. Naturally bringing up names that fit into a conversation is OK, but don't force it.

2. Overpromising and Under-Delivering

I would love to tell someone they're going to be the next Seth Godin or Richard Branson after they work with us. But people would see right through it and think my company is making false promises. I've learned that it's better to be real with people about expectations. You have to realign them sometimes, but you'll earn a long-term client who trusts you in the end.

3. Talking About Yourself Too Much

Keeping an open ear when talking business will impress leads more than anything else. Try to go by a 60/40 rule. Spend 60 percent of the conversation listening and 40 percent talking. In sales, this number should go up to 70/30 or more.

4. Not Appearing Credible

Imagine a child wearing a business suit for this one. Just because he's dressed like a professional doesn't mean he'll do a good job. (He'll probably eat a whole bag of Cheetos and watch Scooby Doo instead.) Don't be passive about your online presence. We recently wrote a blog post about how one leader's influence affects the whole organization, which talks about how you need to take a hard look at yourself and your company. Do you have content out there that draws people back to your company in a smart way? Ask yourself whether you'd do business with your own company after doing a bit of research.

5. Lying

People you want to do business with can typically sense BS from a mile away, so don't think you're getting away with it. Ego, pride, and insecurity will shine through like headlights when you're talking to someone. Even telling innocent white lies can catch up to you sooner or later.

6. Not Valuing People's Time

Doing business with someone is a lot like dating. If someone shows up late or reschedules a first date, it should be a major red flag. Chances are that person won't value your time as a significant other. Someone's first impression of you should never be "this person doesn't value my time." Own up and apologize if you're late--don't brush it off.

7. Emphasizing Sales

Trying to sell in a social setting will deter people from working with you later on. Ninety percent of consumers say that when they're ready to buy, they'll come to you. Not every person wants what you're selling, or the timing might not be right. Know when to build a relationship and when to sell.

8. Behaving Inappropriately

It's natural to want to skip past the formalities and interact with people in a more relaxed way. But that doesn't mean you should do keg stands and make off-color jokes the first time you meet someone. Informality before rapport can be a major turnoff to many people. Wait until you know you've secured trust before you bring out the tequila shots. It's not worth the risk.

9. Acting Like a Know-It-All

If you don't have a quality answer, it's OK to say, "I don't know." This honesty draws attention to the things you do know. And by asking more questions, you can actually learn about a person and discover ways you can add value.

10. Using Poor Grammar

Emails aren't texts, and potential clients aren't your BFFs. Not every email has to be perfect, but "u" and "btw" can get on people's nerves and cause immediate judgment that's hard to shake. Slapping an "excuse the typos" onto the end won't stop people from judging you for sounding like a teenager, either.

We've all committed a few of these slipups at some point. And all it takes is ruining that first impression to jeopardize a sale forever. We're not going to land every business opportunity that comes our way, but avoiding these conversation don'ts whenever possible will increase your chances of impressing a client and landing a career-defining sale or relationship.

From Inc.

5 Productivity Tips From Incredibly Busy People (Infographic)

Advice from people who are just as busy as you are.

From former U.S. Army captains to tennis pros, it's always interesting to learn what kind of strategies highly productive people use to stay on top of their game. Some of these tips--for instance, wake up earlier--might be harder than others to follow. But there's probably something in here that you haven't tried yet.

From Inc.

The 5 Myths About Entrepreneurship

As people are trying to navigate away from the “corporate jungle” towards the land of supposed “entrepreneurial utopia,” a lot of misconceptions arise.  Perhaps this has to do with the media, advice they have received or what is heard through the grapevine but often these insights can derail a person from taking the plunge in the startup world. Or cause them to jump on the entrepreneurial bandwagon, when they have no business doing so.

Here are the five main myths I have learned about entrepreneurship.

1. If my product or service is good, I’ll be successful. Not necessarily.

For me, this has been a perplexing (and frustrating) enigma in many ways.  As someone starting a corporate-training business in 2003, I knew I was great at what I did. I made the erroneous assumption that if I was a great trainer with great content, I’d similarly be rewarded in the marketplace with plenty of work and clients. My first few years as a corporate trainer disproved this myth and humbled me at the same time.  Yes, I got tons of feedback that my workshops were amazing, and I was a wonderful instructor but that did not automatically translate into new clients and more work.  Here are a few reasons:

1. Providing a great service or product and figuring out how to market it are different animals.  I proved to be a great trainer and less than mediocre marketer for sure.
2. Relationships and connections can make a huge difference particularly early on when you haven’t built a brand yet and need someone to give you a break. (Unfortunately, my connections were few and far between.)
3. It’s easy to overestimate the demand for your services.  When I estimated potential revenue, I tended to focus on how strong my training was and tended to neglect pesky details like the pending surge of online training (i.e. emerging competitors and shifts in your industry), lack of access to decision makers and economic downturns that might impact client ability to pay.

2. Entrepreneurship will give me back complete control over my schedule. Well, yes and no. While founders may not have to punch a time clock, they often slave away the first few years -- logging hours that easily surpass those from their “corporate jungle” days. 

Yes, many who dove into entrepreneurship are passionate about their mission and love what they do, so working long hours may be fine for them.  But just beware of the myth that entrepreneurs don’t have a tight, even strict schedule to make and maintain a successful business. That just isn't the case.

While it’s true entrepreneurs don’t have a “boss” in the traditional sense, they are still being held accountable every day -- whether it’s to clients, potential clients, partners or other stakeholders. 

While I have garnered the ability to have much more control over my schedule in recent years, I still typically schedule key meetings and events around my clients’ availability.

3. Never give away your product or service: It’ll dilute your brand.Not always true. Early on in an entrepreneurial venture there may indeed be strategic opportunities for providing product or service pro bono.  Sometimes, the value of getting in front of your target audience to showcase your abilities or products can outweigh the opportunity cost of the missed revenue.  (There’s a reason why major consumer product companies use sampling as a marketing strategy -- it works!)  That said, any time you’re providing a product or service for free or at cost, you must be careful not to have an overall deleterious impact to your bottom line. 

My advice is provide them a customized version that truly is a “sample,” so that potential clients don’t devalue your service. For instance, if you’re a massage therapist offer a 15 minute sample session or if you’re an executive coach, offer an initial free assessment. If you do go down this sample route, be sure it’s an opportunity for people to get a true sense of what they’d be purchasing when they become a paying customer.

4. Early on, I need to do it all myself. Maybe, maybe not. If you’re starting with limited capital you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and wear many hats.  However, it often becomes more cost-time effective to outsource key functions in areas you aren't an expert in, the function is critical to your business’ success and/or the costs to outsource are minimal.  For example, if you know that your business needs a sophisticated website, it’s risky to anoint yourself your own IT director if you can’t spell java much less use it. If you wouldn’t hire you to do the work, you should probably hire someone else. Focus your energy in areas where you have particular expertise and require your personal attention (i.e. defining your offerings and building relationships with clients). 

5. The more clients, the better. Not really. Again, early on it’s tempting to take on any client that shows interest but spreading yourself too thin can be risky.  I’ve seen young entrepreneurs twist themselves into a pretzel trying to offer different services to different clients, as they try to appease everyone and capture as much potential business as possible.  The danger is that when don’t clearly define your products or services, you can lose focus and confuse the marketplace on your areas of expertise.

Also, let’s face it: All clients aren’t good ones.  Some are extremely high maintenance, unrealistic, unreliable or price hagglers. You definitely want to be selective enough to weed out clients that may become more of a problem than they’re worth.

Another mistake entrepreneurs make is taking on too many clients too soon. By trying to jungle too many responsibilites, you could end up decreasing your credibility, quality and overall brand, which could have longer-term consequences.  

From Entrepreneur

6 Insights on How to Be a Change-Maker

Some of the world’s most promising innovators share their secrets to creating improvements to our world—to being change-makers. These are their tips:

Lead the Way

“A leader anticipates and prepares for change,” says the innovator behind the LifeStraw water filter, Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen. That means staying abreast of technology, responding to issues that may present problems and adopting new strategies to adapt to market changes ahead of everyone else.

Think Big

“Fortune does favor the bold, and you’ll never know what you’re capable of if you don’t try,” says Sheryl Sandberg. As the Facebook COO discovered, that often involves putting yourself in unfamiliar situations and rating opportunity and self-education ahead of security. “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat,” she adds. “Just get on!”

Ignore Convention

“Don’t be afraid to change the model,” says Reed Hastings. The CEO was roundly criticized for rushing to change Netflix’s business strategy in 2011, but his instincts were spot-on. Video streaming is the future, and his company is now a global leader in providing it. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would no doubt approve. His advice?

Move fast and break things.

Sweep ’Em Off Their Feet

“Build something 100 people love,” says Airbnb’s Brian Chesky. “Not something 1 million people kind of like.” Real change only works if people follow your lead—and for that you need passionate fans.

Believe in Yourself

The best ideas often defy imagination. “If you don’t believe it, no one else is going to believe it,” says VICE’s Shane Smith. “But if you believe it and keep saying it, then slowly one person will believe you, then two, then three, then four….” Once they come around, you look like a genius.

Rethink the Way You Keep Score

“Doing good is good business,” says Andrew Hewitt. On his website GameChangers500.com, the business consultant argues that companies that strive to make the world a better place are more attractive to consumers than companies that simply chase profits. The best way to make the shift, he says, is to adopt new metrics: Start measuring your impact, not just your revenue.

From Success

10 Small Things You Can Do Every Day To Get Smarter

Writing down what you learn every day boosts your brainpower.

You might be under the impression that intelligence is a fixed quantity that is set when you are young and unchanging thereafter. But research shows that, if so, you're wrong. How we approach situations and the things we do to feed our brains can significantly improve our mental horsepower.

That could mean going back to school or filling your bookshelves (or e-reader) with thick tomes on deep subjects, but getting smarter doesn't necessarily mean a huge commitment of time and energy, according to a recent thread on question-and-answer site Quora.

When a questioner keen on self-improvement asked the community, "What would you do to be a little smarter every single day?" everyone from dedicated meditators to techies and entrepreneurs weighed in with useful suggestions. Which of these 10 ideas could you fit into your daily routine?

1. Be smarter about your online time. 

Every online break doesn't have to be about checking social networks and fulfilling your daily ration of cute animal pics. The web is also full of great learning resources, such as online courses, intriguing TED talks, and vocabulary-building tools. Replace a few minutes of skateboarding dogs with something more mentally nourishing, suggest several responders.

2. Write down what you learn.

It doesn't have to be pretty or long, but building a few minutes to reflect in writing about what you learned into each day is sure to boost your brainpower. "Write 400 words a day on things that you learned," suggests yoga teacher Claudia Azula Altucher. Mike Xie, a research associate at Bayside Biosciences, agrees. "Write about what you've learned," he advises.

3. Make a 'did' list.

A big part of intelligence is confidence and happiness, so boost both by pausing to list not the things you have yet to do, but all the things you've already accomplished. The idea of a "done list" is recommended by famed VC Marc Andreessen as well as Azula Altucher. "Make an I DID list to show all the things you, in fact, accomplished," she suggests.

4. Get out the Scrabble board.

Board games and puzzles aren't just fun; they can also be a great way to work out your brain. "Play games (Scrabble, bridge, chess, go, Battleship, Connect Four, doesn't matter)," suggests Xie (for a ninja-level brain boost try to play without looking at the board to exercise your working memory). "Play Scrabble with no help from hints or books," concurs Altucher.

5. Have smart friends.

It can be rough on your self-esteem, but hanging out with folks who are more clever than you is one of the fastest ways to learn. "Keep a smart company. Remember your IQ is the average of five closest people you hang out with," Saurabh Shah, an account manager at Symphony Teleca, writes.

"Surround yourself with smarter people," agrees developer Manas J. Saloi. "I try to spend as much time as I can with my tech leads. I have never had a problem accepting that I am an average coder at best and there are many things I am yet  to learn ... Always be humble and be willing to learn."

6. Read a lot.

OK, this is not a shocker, but it was the most common response, so though it might be a less-than-surprising answer, reading definitely seems essential. Opinions vary on what's the best brain-boosting reading material, with suggestions ranging from developing a daily newspaper habit to picking up a variety of fiction and nonfiction, but everyone seems to agree that quantity is important. Read a lot.

7. Explain it to others. 

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough," Albert Einstein said. The Quora posters agree. Make sure you've really learned what you think you have learned and that the information is well and truly stuck in your memory by trying to teach it to others. "Make sure you can explain it to someone else," Xie says simply.

Student Jon Packles elaborates on this idea: "For everything you learn — big or small — stick with it for at least as long as it takes you to be able to explain it to a friend. It's fairly easy to learn new information. Being able to retain that information and teach others is far more valuable."

8. Do random new things. 

Shane Parrish, keeper of the consistently fascinating Farnam Street blog, tells the story of Steve Jobs' youthful calligraphy class in his response on Quora. After dropping out of school, the future Apple founder had a lot of time on his hands and wandered into a calligraphy course. It seemed irrelevant at the time, but the design skills he learned were later baked into the first Macs. The takeaway: you never know what will be useful ahead of time. You just need to try new things and wait to see how they connect with the rest of your experiences later on.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only  connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," Parrish quotes Jobs as saying. To have dots to connect, you need to be willing to try new things — even if they don't seem immediately useful or productive.

9. Learn a new language. 

No, you don't need to become quickly fluent or jaunt off to a foreign country to master the language of your choosing. You can work away steadily from the comfort of your desk and still reap the mental rewards. "Learn a new language. There are a lot of free sites for that. Use Livemocha or Busuu," Saloi says. (Personally, I'm a big fan of Memrise once you have the basic mechanics of a new language down.)

10. Take some down time.

It's no surprise that dedicated meditator Altucher recommends giving yourself space for your brain to process what it's learned — "sit in silence daily," she writes — but she's not the only responder who stresses the need to take some downtime from mental stimulation. Spend some time just thinking, suggests retired cop Rick Bruno. He pauses the interior chatter while exercising. "I think about things while I run (almost every day)," he reports.

From Business Insider

Richard Branson: 'There's No Shortcut or Magic Recipe to Success'

Q: Are there any quick ways to succeed in business without spending a huge amount of money on marketing? -- Geraldo Kandonga Fillipus, Geraldo Financial Solutions, Namibia

Unfortunately there’s no shortcut or magic recipe to success -- or if there is, I haven’t found it yet. Creating a successful and profitable business takes time, since you build your reputation as customers learn to trust and rely on you, one by one.

Also, there’s no guarantee that spending a huge amount of money on marketing will slingshot your business forward. If you spend your time looking for shortcuts, you will find one -- right out of business.

While there are no set rules for succeeding in business, over my 40 years as an entrepreneur I have embraced some rough guidelines that can be very helpful:

1. CREATE A USEFUL PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Above all else, you should not go into business purely for financial reasons. Running a company involves long hours and hard decisions; if you don’t have a better reason than money to keep going, your business will more than likely fail, as many new businesses do.

So it’s important to create something of use that is going to benefit society as a whole. If you do something you truly care about, you will be in a much better position to find customers, connect with them, and keep them coming back.

Once you have decided on the type of product or service that interests you, focus on how to do things differently from the competition: Do your research, find a gap or an area ripe for innovation, and position your business in a way that sets it apart.

2. SIMPLIFY YOUR MESSAGE

Customers don’t just shop for a brand and its products, but also identify with its core values. Ask yourself, why did I start my business? Be honest -- this will help you establish an authentic value and voice. Then distill your message into something simple.

At Virgin, we stand for great customer service, good value and innovative alternatives to our competitors’ offerings. Most importantly, we view business as a force for good. Knowing who we are and what we stand for ensures that we don’t waste time or money on messaging that doesn’t represent us or resonate with our customers.

3. MARKET YOURSELF

Marketing is a powerful tool, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. My mentor, Sir Freddie Laker, a man who had started a company to challenge British Airways on their home turf, gave me some invaluable advice when I was starting up Virgin Atlantic Airways. Knowing that we couldn’t match the more established airlines in terms of marketing budget, he encouraged me to drive the publicity myself: “Use yourself. Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won’t survive.”

I took his advice and I’ve been thinking up fun ways to stand out from the crowd and draw the media’s attention to our company ever since, from breaking world records to pulling pranks.

While I’ve always been interested in sports and physical challenges, that might not be the route for you. Find your tone, know your brand, do things your own way, and create waves. The free advertising will follow.

4. EMBRACE SOCIAL MEDIA

Tools like Twitter and Facebook are wonderful ways to get your message out to a wide audience. Social media is not only more cost-efficient than advertising, but it also offers great opportunities for innovative engagement with your customers. Use it to your advantage.

Remember that there is a difference between selling and marketing. In my experience, selling a product through social media doesn’t work -- it’s better to simply communicate with your customers in an authentic way and have fun. As you build an online profile that people can identify with and trust, you’ll find that they will soon become customers.

The feedback you receive on social media can be invaluable, especially when your business is just starting out. Listen to your customers’ comments about your company’s offerings to gain an understanding of what you are doing right and wrong. You can also use this feedback to sharpen your social campaigns and measure the effectiveness of your calls to action.

5. KEEP ON ENJOYING WHAT YOU DO

If you genuinely love and believe in what you do, others will take notice and share your enthusiasm. Geraldo, in your case, this might prompt people to take out a loan with your company instead of another provider, or encourage them to recommend your company to a friend.

If you find your interest flagging, it’s time to make a change -- switch from operations to management, move on, expand into new territories, anything that interests you. To find success, you need to be fully committed or your work will show it.

Good luck!

From Entrepreneur

One Entrepreneur's System for Getting the Same Amount Done in Half the Time

A formerly frazzled founder claims he managed to squeeze 40-plus hours of work into just 16.7. Could his system work for you?

What if I told you there's a way to get exactly the same amount of work you're now accomplishing done in less than half the time? You'd probably respond that you have some amazing magic beans you'd like to sell me or ask for directions to the unicorn stable.

The idea that some miraculous wrinkle in the time-space continuum exists that can instantly compress your workweek into a more humane duration seems too fabulous to be believed, but entrepreneur Chris Winfield insists that the idea is fact, not fantasy. In a recent post on his site, he relates how he's developed a system for cramming 40 hours of work into just under 20 hours (a startlingly precise 16.7 hours, to be exact) using nothing fancier than a kitchen timer and his phone's airplane mode.

He laid out the whole system in detail in a recent post that also explains the genesis of his new approach. If you're seriously considering giving the system a try, it's well worth a read in full to get all the finer points, but here's a basic rundown.

Employ the Pomodoro technique.

There's nothing radical to Winfield's first suggestion--the Pomodoro technique, which is simply a fancy term for setting a timer to work in 25-minute sprints of single-minded focus (no Facebook, no popping over to your inbox quickly, etc.) followed by 5 minutes of rest. It has been around (and much recommended) for ages. After every four intervals, called Pomodoros, you're supposed to take a longer 15-minute break.

It sounds incredibly basic, but Winfield insists that after much monkeying around to find the perfect number of Pomodoros to shoot for in a week, the simple technique radically increased his productivity and his sanity.

"My goal was eight Pomodoros each weekday, for a total of 40 per week. This worked, sort of, but as they say, life happens. Some days I had so many meetings to attend, or my daughter had a recital at school that I didn't want to miss, and I just couldn't find fit in eight Pomodoros. It became clear that 40 was my magic weekly number, but I needed to be less rigid with how I approached my workweek," he says (which also explains the oddly exact time he allots for work in this system: "40 Pomodoros = 1,000 minutes of work (plus 350 minutes of breaks) each week. This averages out to about 16.7 hours of work each week.")

Choose your tasks wisely. 

The second half of Winfield's approach, as the quote above suggests, is all about flexibility. To manage to get to his goal of 40 Pomodoros, he found he had to choose his tasks wisely each day, taking into account his mood, physical energy levels, and degree of mental focus.

"The reality is that I'm a human being, living in a world full of other humans. I have emotions I don't control, and I often get tired. Some tasks I simply don't feel like doing, even though I know they're important, and possibly urgent. To make this work long-term, I had to face these things and learn to accept them, working with rather than against them," he writes. In order to stop fighting his moods, he learned to survey his mental state and find jobs to do that would reverse whatever was ailing him--on low energy days, he'd find tasks that made him feel healthier; if he was sad, he looked for work that would cheer him up.

Truly forget the nine to five.

The last step for Winfield was jettisoning old ideas of when he should work and when he should unwind, so he could better utilize all the hours of the day, not just the ones falling within "normal" work hours.

"The final piece to my puzzle was moving from a five-day work-week, where I had to stop by 5 p.m., to a seven-day work-week, where I could work when it suited me. This took me from 40 to 45 hours available to get my 40 Pomodoros in, to having 168 hours each week. Since I only need 16.7 hours net, that means I only work 10% of my time. What a difference." he says.

A note for the skeptics

Taken together, these three simple changes meant that Winfield went from working a frazzled 40-plus hour week to getting just as much done in half the time, he claims. Though there is a pretty hefty caveat: He doesn't count meetings and calls within those 16.7 hours of work.

His bottom line: "I 'work' 35 to 40 hours a week, but I spend at least 20 to 25 of those hours on calls, meetings, networking online and offline, and other less-focused tasks. These are important, but I don't count them as work time. I truly work 16.7 hours each week, and I get about five times more done in those few hours than in the other 25 hours."

So that incredible 16.7 hour number does take a little word-choice wizardry to make a reality, but whether the final tally of hours worked is a little tarted up or not, Winfield insists he's a far saner man for his system--having whittled an overwhelming 60-hour workweek down to a healthier and more manageable schedule.

Do you believe that Winfield's system would have a serious impact on your own schedule?

From Inc.

THE 5 MOST COMMON NEGOTIATING MISTAKES

SOME PEOPLE POSSESS NATURAL NEGOTIATION CHOPS. THE REST OF US JUST NEED PRACTICE.

Negotiating can be uncomfortable: standing up for yourself, asking for what you want, and trying to get a better price, terms, and condition often feels confrontational--and most of us avoid confrontation.

“You have to go out and learn to negotiate--it’s not a natural skill,” says Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, author of Think Like a Negotiator. “It’s like playing baseball; you have to do it to get good at it.”

Lewis-Fernandez has a lot of experience; she negotiated contracts for the government for 23 years. While she honed her skills on the job, she says anyone can become a good negotiator, at work or in life. The way to get comfortable with the process is to have the right mindset.

“There’s usually fear in beginning,” she says. “There’s no way to eliminate the fear, no switch to flip that makes you an immediate expert. You have to take the time and work through it. The power is in the work.”

The best place to practice negotiating skills is at a yard sale where the stakes are low, says Lewis-Fernandez. “It’s a great place for training,” she says. “Nobody expects to get what they ask for things; they expect negotiation. Drill your skills by turning a purchase into a game.”

WHEN YOU THINK LIKE A NEGOTIATOR, EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE.

For example, if someone is asking $6 for a teapot and $6 for a tray, ask if you can have both items for $10. Multiple purchases will often increase your negotiating leverage. Or have the other person start the price-lowering process by asking if the price marked is the lowest they’ll go. Sometimes they’ll suggest a price that’s less than what you would have offered.

Once you become comfortable with asking, take your skills to larger arenas--anything from calling your phone carrier and asking for a lower rate to settling a multi-million-dollar contract. The most effective deals are a win-win proposition for all parties rather than a winner-loser result, says Lewis-Fernandez.

In the beginning, Lewis-Fernandez says inexperienced negotiators will have missteps. She shares the five most common mistakes that are made during negotiations and how you can avoid them:

1. LACKING CONFIDENCE.

Some people think it takes a bold or brazen personality to negotiate a deal, and others think experience is required. Instead, Lewis-Fernandez says negotiations takes tenacity and preparation.

“Before you start the process, make sure you’ve identified mutually desirable terms, anticipated possible objections, and determined what motivators or ‘hot buttons’ will resonate with your opponent,” she says. “Projecting confidence also means having a heart, which is often endearing and gives the opposition a less defensive stance.”

2. ASSUMING THAT SOMETHING IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

When you think like a negotiator, everything is negotiable, says Lewis-Fernandez, who says one of her best negotiations was getting her sister to get out of a contract to purchase a car.

“When you decide that the terms for anything can be changed in your favor, a world of opportunity presents,” she says. “Rules can be modified if you simply propose an ethical, viable, and mutually beneficial alternative solution. Powerful negotiators are rule breakers.”

3. NOT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS FIRST.

One of the biggest mistakes individuals make in negotiations is not getting to know their opponent. Slow down and make connections with people and you’ll glean useful information that can be used to identify what they value in life, what motivates them, 

and what annoys them.

“You might be surprised how well you can leverage what you learn through a genuine conversation with someone,” says Lewis-Fernandez.

4. NOT ASKING.

It sounds simple, but the key to successful negotiations is asking for what you want. Fear of rejection or the fear of looking greedy can get in the way. But know that rejection will happen.

“Rejection is never personal,” says Lewis-Fernandez. “It’s merely a reflection that you did not present a viable argument substantiating why you should get what you want. Your offer was rejected, not you.”

When you get a no, it means the other person needs more information. “Take heart in knowing that people say no an average of three times before they say yes,” says Lewis-Fernandez. “The only way to master the art of rejection is to get rejected and keep asking.”

5. TALKING TOO MUCH.

Talking too much is a sure-fire way to kill a deal. In fact, Lewis-Fernandez says it’s not unusual for a salesperson to talk so much about a product or service that they talk you right out of the purchase.

“Never underestimate the power of silence,” she says. “There’s an old adage: ‘He or she who speaks next loses.’ When discussing a deal, if you simply stop talking and get comfortable with the awkwardness of silence, your ability to win your argument, sell the product, or a get concession in the negotiation increases significantly.”

From Fast Company