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What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School teaches why succeeding in business has less to do with accumulated theoretical knowledge through schooling and books, and more about people and communication.
What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School teaches why succeeding in business has less to do with accumulated theoretical knowledge through schooling and books, and more about people and communication.
When first starting up a business it’s very easy to be quickly consumed at the onset by numbers and growth. It can become obsessive. But it’s really more about people, isn’t it?
To get ahead in any business venture, whether that business is selling a product or hiring a working staff, the key is to identify who it is that you’re doing business with. It’s a good idea to take some time and figure out what it is that makes them tick. What is it that drives the people that you are dealing with? What are their motivations, aspirations, and fears?
Know their personality and you can better predict their behavior. For example, that slick businessman type, (AMC’s popular series Mad Men’s Don Draper comes to mind) won’t display that persona to everyone. He’ll have several facades in his toolbox. He will talk to his boss, clients, employees and family all in different ways.
If you can be aware of these multiple fronts, you’ll know there’s much more to the slick veneer than meets the eye. There’s always a lot more going on beneath the surface. But to discover the depths of someone’s personality, you really need to listen closely.
Imagine that you’re on the verge of closing a deal. Everything seems to be coming together nicely and you’re just about to sign off. All of the persuasion and negotiating have finally paid off. It’s not uncommon at this point as you’re about to clinch the deal, that you get that feeling that something is a bit off. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but something just isn’t sitting well with you.
So what is your response to these feelings? Do you ignore them and continue, or do you hold the horses and rethink it?
Some discomfort is a perfectly understandable response and learning to trust these feelings is something that can be beneficial in business practice. It’s okay to feel uneasy and apply the brakes, particularly when there’s a large amount of money or something valuable at stake.
It could be as slight as the tone in someone’s voice or maybe their posture or eye contact. It’s okay to take another day or two to think about it. And remember that when it comes to rejection in business, it’s rarely personal. Very often it’s about the product or service itself.
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Get the complete summary in the appGlean insights from your business colleagues by listening and paying close attention.
An unpleasant tone in someone’s voice or a feeling of discomfort can be useful tools.
Be sure to allocate time for activities and playtime in your schedule – read, exercise or just decompress.
"What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School" is a strong fit if you want practical ideas around business, career, communication skills—especially themes like glean insights from your business colleagues by listening and paying close attention; an unpleasant tone in someone’s voice or a feeling of discomfort can be useful tools. The MinuteRead summary distills these concepts into a focused read, whether you're deciding whether to buy the book or applying its lessons at work.
Mark H. McCormack shook hands with a young golfer named Arnold Palmer, giving birth to the modern sports marketing industry. That historic handshake established a legendary empire that would evolve into today's IMG, the world's premier sports marketing and management company— representing hundreds of athletes, models, and prestigious events around the world. From representing talent to managing events to building the largest independent sports media company in the world, IMG’s reach and dominanc…
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