Friday's Business Lesson From Richard Branson

Don't do it if you don't enjoy it. 

Running a business takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and caffeine). But at the end of the day, you should be building something you will be proud of.

Richard Branson says, "When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire ... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives."

By David Brett-Williams

The Power of Habit

On a blustery October day in 1987, a herd of prominent Wall Street investors and stock analysts gathered in the ballroom of a posh Manhattan hotel. They were there to meet the new CEO of the Aluminum Company of America - or Alcoa, as it was known - a corporation that, for nearly a century, had manufactured everything from the foil that wraps Hershey's Kisses and the metal in Coca Cola cans to the bolts that hold satellites together.

A few minutes before noon, the new chief executive, Paul O'Neill, took the stage. He looked dignified, solid, confident. Like a chief executive.

Then he opened his mouth.

"I want to talk to you about worker safety," he said. "Every year, numerous Alcoa workers are injured so badly that they miss a day of work.

"I intend to make Alcoa the safest company in America. I intend to go for zero injuries."

The audience was confused. Usually, new CEOs talked about profit margins, new markets and 'synergy' or 'co-opetition.' But O'Neill hadn't said anything about profits. He didn't mention any business buzzwords.

Eventually, someone raised a hand and asked about inventories in the aerospace division. Another asked about the company's capital ratios.

"I'm not certain you heard me," O'Neill said. "If you want to understand how Alcoa is doing, you need to look at our workplace safety figures." Profits, he said, didn't matter as much as safety.

The investors in the room almost stampeded out the doors when the presentation ended. Many advised their clients to sell their shares in Alcoa.

Within a year of O'Neill's speech, Alcoa's profits would hit a record high. By the time O'Neill retired in 2000 to become Treasury Secretary, the company's annual net income was five times larger than before he arrived, and its market capitalization had risen by $27 billion.

Someone who invested a million dollars in Alcoa on the day O'Neill was hired would have earned another million dollars in dividends while he headed the company, and the value of their stock would be five times bigger when he left.

What's more, all that growth occurred while Alcoa became one of the safest companies in the world.

I learned about O'Neill's history when I was reading a book, The Power of Habit, which explores the science of habit formation. I was interested in Alcoa's story because people had told it was an example of a certain kind of habit -- a "Keystone Habit" -- and it's power to transform lives and organizations.

So how did O'Neill make one of the largest, stodgiest, and most potentially dangerous companies into a profit machine and a bastion of safety? You can buy the book, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg or wait for next Wednesday and the second installment of this series.

Flush Your Troubles Away

Ever notice how satisfying it is to flush a toilet, especially if it's one of those airport monsters? Think of this next tip as a stress laxative—a bit strange, but guaranteed to be gentle and effective: Before you go to bed, put some small strips of flushable paper and a pencil in the bathroom. The following morning, take a seat and write down the names of all the people or situations in your life that are causing you angst. Then throw them in the bowl and flush. You'll be amazed at how great this feels and works.

Lonely Heart Drug

Italian researchers suggest the mood-regulating supplement 5-HTP may ease the pain of a broken heart. When frustrated lovers took 60mg of L-5-hydroxytriptophan a day for 3 weeks they rated their relationship anxiety as less severe. As a precursor to serotonin, 5-HTP may help reverse chemical changes in the brain caused by stress.

Habits of Remarkably Likable People, Part 2

They Whip Out Something Genuine


Everyone is better than you at something. Let them be better than you. Too many people when they first meet engage in some form of penis-measuring contest. Crude reference but one that instantly calls to mind a time you saw two alpha male master-of-the business-universe types whip out their figurative rulers.

Don't try to win the "getting to know someone" competition. Try to lose. Be complimentary. Be impressed. Admit a failing or a weakness.

You don't have to disclose your darkest secrets. If the other person says, "We just purchased a larger facility," say, "That's awesome. I have to admit I'm jealous. We've wanted to move for a couple years but haven't been able to put together the financing. How did you pull it off?"

Don't be afraid to show a little vulnerability. People may be impressed by the artificial, but people sincerely like the genuine.

Be the real you. People will like the real you.

They Ask For Nothing

You know the moment: You're having a great conversation, you're finding things in common ... and then bam! Someone plays the networking card. And everything about your interaction changes.

Put away the hard-charging, goal-oriented, always-on kinda persona. If you have to ask for something, find a way to help the other person, then ask if you can.

Remarkably likable people focus on what they can do for you -not for themselves.

They "Close" Genuinely

"Nice to meet you," you say, nodding once as you part. That's the standard move, one that is instantly forgettable.

Instead go back to the beginning. Shake hands again. Use your free hand to gently touch the other person's forearm or shoulder. Say, "I am really glad I met you." Or say, "You know, I really enjoyed talking with you." Smile: Not that insincere salesperson smile that goes with, "Have a nice day!" but a genuine, appreciative smile.

Making a great first impression is important, but so is making a great last impression.

And They Accept It Isn't Easy

All this sounds simple, right? It is. But it's not easy, especially if you're shy. The standard, power pose, "Hello, how are you, good to meet you, good seeing you," shuffle feels a lot safer.

But it won't make people like you.

So accept it's hard. Accept that being a little more deferential, a little more genuine, a little more complimentary and a little more vulnerable means putting yourself out there. Accept that at first it will feel risky.

But don't worry: When you help people feel a little better about themselves--which is reason enough--they'll like you for it. And maybe you'll like yourself a little more, too.

Habits of Remarkably Likable People, Part 1

When you meet someone, after, "What do you do?" you're out of things to say. You suck at small talk, and those first five minutes are tough because you're a little shy and a little insecure. But you want to make a good impression. You want people to genuinely like you.

Here's how remarkably likeable people do it:

They Lose The Power Pose

Your parents taught you to stand tall, square your shoulders, stride purposefully forward and shake hands with a firm grip.

It's great to display nonverbal self-confidence, but go too far and it seems like you're trying to establish your importance. That makes the "meeting" seem like it's more about you than it is the other person …. and no one likes that.

No matter how big a deal you are you pale in comparison to say, oh, Nelson Mandela. So take a cue from him. Watch how he greets Bill Clinton, no slouch at this either.

Clinton takes a step forward (avoiding the "you must come to me" power move); Mandela steps forward with a smile and bends slightly forward as if, ever so slightly, to bow (a clear sign of deference and respect in nearly every culture); Clinton does the same. What you have are two important people who put aside all sense of self-importance or status. They're genuine.

Next time you meet someone, relax, step forward, tilt your head towards them slightly, smile, and show that you're the one who is honoured by the introduction, not them.

We all like people who like us. If I show you I'm genuinely happy to meet you, you'll instantly start to like me. And you'll show that you do, which will help calm my nerves and let me be myself.

They Embrace The Power Of Touch

Nonsexual touch can be very powerful. And yes, I am aware that sexual touch can be powerful too. Touch can influence behaviour, increase the chances of compliance, make the person doing the touching seem more attractive and friendly.

Go easy, of course: Pat the other person lightly on the upper arm or shoulder. Make it casual and nonthreatening.

Check out Clinton's right-hand-shakes-hands-left-hand-touches-Mandela's-forearm-a-second-later handshake in the link above and tell me, combined with his posture and smile, that it doesn't come across as genuine and sincere.

Think the same won't work for you? Try this: The next time you walk up behind a person you know, touch them lightly on the shoulder as you go by. I guarantee you'll feel like a more genuine greeting was exchanged.
Touch breaks down natural barriers and decreases the real and perceived distance between you and the other person - a key component in liking and in being liked.

They Whip Out Their Social Jiu-Jitsu

You meet someone. You talk for 15 minutes. You walk away thinking, "Wow, we just had a great conversation. She is awesome." Then, when you think about it later, you realize you didn't learn a thing about the other person.

Remarkably likable people are masters at Social Jiu-Jitsu, the ancient art of getting you to talk about yourself without you ever knowing it happened. SJJ masters are fascinated by every step you took in creating a particularly clever spreadsheet to you’re your sleep patterns, by every decision you made when you transformed a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle into an award winning classic, if you do say so yourself...

SJJ masters use their interest, their politeness, and their social graces to cast an immediate spell on you. And you like them for it.

Social jiu-jitsu is easy. Just ask the right questions. Stay open-ended and allow room for description and introspection. Ask how, or why, or who.

As soon as you learn a little about someone, ask how they did it? Or why they did it? Or what they liked about it, or what they learned from it, or what you should do if you're in a similar situation? No one gets too much recognition. Asking the right questions implicitly shows you respect another person's opinion - and, by extension, the person. We all like people who respect us, if only because it shows they display great judgment.

Part 2 ,to follow, the same time and same place next week...........

It Wears on You

Do you wear your phone on a clip attached to your belt? Cell phones worn on the hip may weaken bones. An Argentine study showed that men who regularly carried a phone on their hip had lower bone mass at the top of their femur than those who didn't Study author, Fernando Saravi M.D., Ph. D., speculates that radio frequency radiation may affect bone cell formation, which could increase your risk of fracture.

Don’t Fall For It

A warning: Your brain in weight loss can be tricked by labels. Researchers from the University of South Carolina found people on diets who were shown the same meal of vegetables, salami and pasta were more likely to rate it as healthier when it was called ‘salad,’ not ‘pasta.’ Ignore the name and check the nutritional content instead.