"#1 Killer of Meetings (And What Your Can Do About It)"
How PowerPoint presentations kill productive meetings.
"Ad/Sales Ratios"
"Advertising Analytics 2.0"
A link to a Harvard Business Review article about how big data is transforming the art of persuasion.
Amy Auerbach RFPs
"Telecom Client RFP"
"Tire Client RFP"
"The Art of Listening"
"Attracting Brand Ad Dollars: First, Take a Deep Breath"
An article by Leo Scullin that graphically depicts the highly complicated current online buying and selling environment.
"Better Brainstorming"
Techniques for better brainstorming in groups and the effectiveness of old brainstorming methods.
"Big-Bang Disruptions"
Link to a Harvard Business Review article about how a new kind of innovator can wipe out incumbents in a flash.
"Bloggers vs. Journalists Is Over"
A link to a blog post by journalism critic Jay Rosen.
"Breaking Bad News To The Boss"
In a perfect world managers bringing bad news to their boss would be showered
with appreciation, but in real life, "kill the messenger" is more often heard.
This paper suggests safe ways to break bad news to a boss.
"Breaking Point"
A National Magazine Award winning article by journalist Nick
Kotz that tells the story of the suicide of Admiral Boorda, Chief of Naval Operations,
and the tragic events and unethical reporting that were behind it.
"Business Plan Model for a Startup Business"
An outline for how to write a business plan for a startup business.
"Closing the Digital Frontier"
An article that describes how the notion that "information wants to be free" is now changing as
apps replace the browser in new devices on which people access content.
"Competing On Analytics"
A Harvard Business Review article that describes how winning companies are passionate and obsessive about using data to compete.
"Competition vs. Cooperation"
Which works better, competition or cooperation? The answer, without equivocation, is cooperation.
Although most people are surprised by this, scientists have repeatedly verified it in
hundreds of studies since the late 1800s. Yet big business, the educational system, the
health-care community, and many parents continue to encourage competition, almost totally
neglecting the power of cooperation.
"Corporate Budgeting Is Broken - Let's Fix It"
A Link to a seminal Harvard Business Reviewarticle about why corporate budgeting is broken.
"Creativity Techniques"
Techniques that enhance creativity and innovation, including starbursting.
"Daily Comedy Mission Statement"
"A Dangerous Calculus; What’s Wrong With Torturing a Qaeda Higher-Up?”
An article that deals with the morality of torture.
"Dealing With The Problem Boss"
Tough times make bad chiefs worse. The standard wisdom
on them may not go far enough. Ready for the idea of employee abuse?
"Disruptive Technologies"
A classic Harvard Business Review article by Joseph Bower and Clayton Christensen.
"Dutch Auction"
A description of how a Dutch auction works.
"The End of Men"
An article that details the ascent of women in education, in earning power, and,
especially in management in America in part because of the need for a new nurturing management style
needed for modern organizations.
"Executive Suite Speech"
The climatic speech about building quality products from the film "Executive Suite."
"Expectations May Alter Outcomes Far More Than We Realize"
An article about how rats and school children learn faster if they are expected to.
"Inside Facebook's Ad Push"
"The Fallacy of Forecasting"
A wise, witty commentary on the business forecasting process.
"Filmmaking/Television Production Outline"
Reality show producer's guidelines for organizing a production.
"First Step in Becoming a Winner: Act Like One"
Legendary Harvard women's basketball coach articulates one of the secrets of winning: Act like a winner.
"From Simple Story to Major Mess"
A Columbia Journalism Review article
about how a careless young reporter on her first television
reporting job didn't check the facts in a story and caused
major damage.
"Getting Comfortable With Couples In The Workplace"
Is love in the air at your office? A slew of social trends are converging to encourage
romance at work as never before. Surprising new research shows that this may be good
for productivity.
"The Good Company"
A survey of company social responsibility by The Economist magazine and an accompanying article titled
"Profit and the Public Good."
"Google IPO Tests Theories on Auctions"
Auction and game theory experts ponder how to game Google's auction for its hot IPO.
"Gross Points"
An article that describes the current financial climate in Hollywood, which is dominated by
a blockbuster mentality.
"Guide to Developing a Media Plan"
"Hollywood Accounting"
An article about movie studio accounting practices.
"How to Build a Team"
An article about how harmony, cooperation, and synchronized effort build teams.
It's difficult, but it can be learned.
"How HR Can Be Harmful"
An article by making a credible claim that the majority of performance
evaluation systems used by corporate HR departments and well as other HR policies and procedures are worse than
worthless; they are actively harmful.
"How to Manage Salespeople"
Forget the glad-handing stereotypes. What these folks do is often more complicated than
even they realize.
"How to Run a Company Well"
An article that provides a ten-point checklist of qualities that a successful
leader must have.
"How Place Fosters Innovation"
"How Will You Measure Your Life?"
A link to an article and video by Harvard Business School's Clayton Christensen about having a meaningful life.
"How to Win Support From Colleagues At Your New Job"
Excellent advice about how to make the right first impression
on a new job.
"How to Write a Great Business Plan"
A link to a Harvard Business Review article about how to write a business plan.
"IBM's Top Salesman"
An article about IBM's number-one salesperson -- a native of India in India.
"I Deserve a Raise. Do I Dare Ask For One?"
An article about how to ask for a raise.
"If Money Isn't Everything, What Is?"
The results of a national survey of salespeople that ranked "money" as the sixth of seventh most important
motivational factor affecting sales performance.
"Increasing Empathetic Responses (Effective Listening)"
"Interactive Campaign Setup Best Practices"
An IAB paper outlining the best practices for online salespeople in setting up an online advertising campaign.
"Internet Marketing Guidebook"
JOB HUNTING
Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? (link to book)
"Before You Say Yes, Look For the Signs of a Bad Boss"
"Campaign Strategy For Your Career"
Strategy for planning your career.
"Career Values"
Before taking a job, ensure your values match your new boss's.
"First, Know Yourself"
An article about the first step in a successful job search and interview.
"How to Say 'Look At Me' Online"
How to get the attention of online recruiters.
"How to Get a Job"
An excellent blog post by Thom Hiatt on how to get the job you really want.
"The Interview That'll Bag a Job"
An extremely helpful article by Sarah Needleman about how to interview for a job.
"Job Hunting"
An aticle that gives some hints on how to get past the experience requirement on most job postings.
"How to Get the Right Job"
A link to an HBR Ideacast podcast on how get the right job and build a career.
"Never Read Another Resume"
An article from Inc. magazine about why cover letters are more important than resumes.
"A Question to Make a Monkey of You"
Interviewers often ask "What are your greatest weaknesses?" This article by WSJ columnist Joann Lublin
advises how to answer this tough question.
RESUMES
"How to Write a Resume That Doesn't Annoy People"
Resume Template
Sample Cover Letter
The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received"
"What CNN Looks for In a Job Interview"
Excellent advice on what to say and know in a job interview.
WEBSITES
Brazen Careerist
Career Realism
"Killer On the Loose"
An article about the current, healthy state of the radio industry by Bob McCurdy, President of
Katz Solutions.
"Lost At Sea" workbook
"Lost At Sea" answers
"Managers See Feedback From Their Staffers As the Most Valuable"
Feedback from employees is more helpful to managers than performance reviews.
The MBA Oath
Harvard Business School students wrote and promoted a voluntary oath that begins by stating that
"as a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good."
MEDIA ETHICS
Hutchins Commission Report and Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
Radio-Television News Directors Code of Ethics
Walter Williams' Journalist's Creed
Joseph Pulitzer's Journalism Principles
ASME Editorial and Advertising Guidelines
Types of Criticism
"The Balance Trap"
"He Said, She Said, and the Truth"
"Context be damned: Obama's 'It worked' quote should work for the Republicans"
"A Tight Election May Be Tangled in Legal Battles"
"Why the Huffington Post doesn't equivocate on global warning"
"Mission Statements"
Most corporate mission statements are worthless. They consist largely of pious platitudes such as:
"We will hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical behavior."
They often formulate necessities as objectives; for example, "to achieve sufficient profit."
This statement is like a person saying his mission is to breathe sufficiently.
"The Moral Life of Babies"
A NY Times article about how babies have a sense of right and wrong.
"The Moguls' New Clothes"
An article that summarizes how media moguls such as Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch have
systematically destroyed shareholder value for their media conglomerates based on false assumptions.
"The Morality of Advertising"
The classic article by Theodore Levitt about the good things about advertising
"The Nagging Problem of the Plateaued Salesperson"
Just mention the problem of plateauing to anyone in sales management and you'll get a nod of recognition.
It's a problem that's been around for a long time, and one that continues to plague sales managers.
"Negotiation? Auction? A Deal Maker's Guide"
A Harvard Business Review article about under what conditions it's best to negotiate or to hold an auction.
"NFL Players Evaluate Their Coaches"
An article about how NFL players evaluate their coaches. The most desirable attributes in a head
coach were good communication skills, followed by motivational skills, approachability, management skills, and
leading by example.
"Nine Things Successful People Do Differently."
HBR Blog about what successful people do better than most people.
"Nucor Steel - The Art of Motivation"
How Nucor Steel motivates employees with the right incentives.
"Online Revenue Budgeting"
This paper by Paul Talbot outlines how to create an online revenue budget.
"People Believe A 'Fact' That Fits Their Views Even if It's False"
Scientific research indicates that people believe what they want to
believe, regardless of the facts.
"Performance Reviews Need Some Work, Don't Meet Potential"
Columnist Jared Sandberg writes about how ineffective annual performance reviews are.
The Pitch Doctor, David Rose, TED Conference video.
How to pitch VCs.
"Radio Free Everywhere"
An article about the magic of radio.
Reading Financial Reports
A chapter from Media Selling by William Redpath provides details on how to read financial reports
such as Balance Sheets, Income Statements, Internal Income Statements, and Statements of Cash
Flows, all of which can be downloaded via the links below.
Balance SheetIncome Statement
Internal Income Statement
Statement of Cash Flows
"Realistic Job Previews"
An article that stresses the importance of not overselling a job to an applicant.
"Real-Time Bidding"
An article about real-time bidding for online ad inventory.
"Re-thinking Objectivity"
Link to a Columbia Journalism Review article that makes the point that in aworld of awkward
spin, our awkward embrace of an ideal can make us passive recipients of the news.
"Rich Media"
A primer on rich media.
"Role Functions in Group Discussions and Running Effective Meetings"
An outline that details the multiple roles that are necessary for effective group decision making and how to run.
effective meetings.
"Sales Slip Ups"
An article about selling that lists the major don'ts of selling.
"Sabotage 101: The Sinister Art of Backstabbing"
An article about how some unscrupulous people get ahead by knocking others down.
"A Short Path to Trouble"
Brokers who tout a stock because of a "short squeeze," or betting on short sellers to sell large
blocks of stock is a bad bet.
"Slipped Disc"
"Social Entrepreneurship"
"Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership"
A Harvard Business Review article about the importance of social intelligence and how being able to empathize
changes the chemistry of the brain.
"The Story So Far"
A report by the Columbia Journalism School about what we know about the business of digital journalism.
"Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes"
An article that reports that many students feel entitled to receive As if
they work hard and do the assignments regardless of the quality of the work.
"Teamwork Raises Everyone's Game"
A column that reveals that having employees bond benefits companies more
promoting "stars."
"Text Without Context"
A link to an article by reviewer Michiko Kakutani about the new meaning of words on the Web.
"A Toolkit for Women Seeking Raises"
An article that gives sound tips to women who want to negotiate successfully for a raise.
"Traffic Jam"
An article about the confusion in measuring online traffic to websites.
TS-Business Plan
"Vickrey Auction"
A description of a Vickrey auction.
Warren Buffett on EBITDA
"We Aren't The World"
A link to an important Pacific Standard article about how Joe Henrich and his colleagues are shaking the foundations of
psychology and economics—and hoping to change the way social scientists think about human behavior and culture.
"Website Evaluation"
"What Brain Science Tells Us About How to Excel"
Tips from the field of neuroscience on how to excel.
"Why Analysts Say 'Buy?'"
Tips on how to appeal to VCs and Wall Street Analysts from the Harvard Business Review.
"What's the Point?"
An article that asks, "Few voters are swayed by newspaper
endorsements of presidential candidates. So why do editorial pages keep publishing them?"
"We May Be Born With an Urge to Help"
An article about some recent discoveries in psychology about the "altruism gene."
"Where Leaders Come From"
If our age seems lacking in leadership, take heart. Warren Bennis says leaders aren't born,
they're made, mostly self-made.
"Why Changing the CEO May Not Change the Company"
Research that indicates that change in company
leadership accounts for roughly 10 percent of the variance in corporate profitability. The biggest
factor in CEO success? Luck.
"The Wisdom of Teams"
A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose,
performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves
mutually accountable.
"Who Are Your Best Salespeople?"
Link to an HBR article titled "Do You Know Who Your Best Salespeople Are?"
"Why Budgets Are Bad For Business"
An article by Tom Stewart that details why the budgeting process is flawed.
"Why IPOs Still Use the Old Way"
Even after Google's successful use of a modified Dutch auction for its IPO, many companies still use the old way for their IPOs.
"Women Fall Behind When They Don't Hone Their Negotiating Skills"
A column that recommends that women become more aggressive negotiators when asking
for raises and promotions.
"A World of Hits"
An article that gives factual evidence that profits in the media and entertainment businesses
are still driven by blockbuster hits.
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