On days when they act like jerks, bosses end up feeling less competent, respected, and relaxed.

New evidence that what goes around comes around:

Persuasion is usually about motivation, not information.

We should stop trying to change what people believe—and start trying to change what they WANT to believe.

We should focus less on self-esteem, and more on other-esteem: recognizing and bringing out the best in others.

Applause to Ben & Jerry's for taking a stand.

If you think you have a learning style–visual, auditory, kinesthetic–think again.

It turns out that we all have multiple learning styles:

Giving students 15 minutes to reflect on how they study—and how they can do better—boosted grades by 9%.

When I tell my students, I'm expecting these reactions:
(a) Where am I going to find 15 minutes?
(b) That's nice, but I have a 4.0 so my grades can't go up

I believe that instead of telling boys to "be a man," we should encourage them to "be a mensch."

This thought was sparked by a fascinating article on how stereotypes about masculinity are holding men back at work and at home:

If I could ban one harmless substance, it would be glitter. Whether it shows up on crafts or clothes or holiday cards, it always ends up all over me.

I'm pretty sure that in human history, no one has ever benefited from glitter.

Will you join me in ending the incandescent insanity?

After reading something extremely boring, people generated 28% more creative ideas.

Boredom gets a bad rap, but it can open the door to daydreaming.

Note: this article is not boring enough to do any good for your creativity.

I hope the next generation of girls-- and boys-- will recognize the image on the right instantly.

Via Nicole Granet:

In college, I spent a few weeks tracking how my mood changed from day to day. I noticed that I was happiest on days when I was looking forward to something.

It turns out I'm not alone. Happiness is less about the joy we felt yesterday, and more about the joy we're anticipating tomorrow:

Say it with me again: if you want more creative ideas, stop brainstorming and start brainwriting.

When individuals brainstorm alone, they're protected from production blocking (being silenced by others), ego threat (the fear of looking stupid), and conformity (jumping on the bandwagon of what's popular in the room).

Once you have all the ideas on the table, bring the group together to evaluate.

Attention, Tiger Parents:

Of self-made millionaires, 41% remember being B students and 29% being C students.

Teams should invest as much in developing people as they do in technology.

I'm interviewing an original thinker each month for Esquire. My first one is with Mark Cuban:

Gender bias in venture capital: male entrepreneurs are "young & promising," female are "young & inexperienced."

Ugh. And women's physical appearances are part of the discussion. Double ugh.