The singer’s rise to superstardom offers lessons in business management that go beyond the music industry.

For better or worse, in today’s world everyone is a brand. Whether you’re applying for a job, asking for a promotion, or writing a dating profile, your success will depend on getting others to recognize your value. So you need to get comfortable marketing yourself. In this article a branding thought leader and a professional dating coach present a guide to creating your personal brand. It’s an intentional, strategic practice in which you craft and express your own value proposition, and it involves seven steps: (1) Define your purpose by exploring your mission, passion, and strengths, and thinking about whom you want to make a difference to and how. (2) Audit your personal brand equity by cataloging your credentials, doing a self-assessment, and researching how other people view you. (3) Construct your personal narrative by identifying memorable, resonant stories that will best convey your brand. (4) Embody your brand by paying attention to the message you’re sending in every social interaction. (5) Communicate your brand through speeches, social media, the press, and other channels. (6) Socialize your brand by getting influential people to share your stories. (7) Reevaluate and adjust your brand by doing an annual audit to find deficits to fix and strengths to build on. This process will not only allow you to better control your image and the impact you have on the world but also help you uncover and share the unique abilities you have to offer it.

A leader causing upset among her people is given a coach. They examine what might be triggering people to be upset with her. Learn more.

Validation means that you recognize another person’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors as understandable. Communicating that recognition is one of the most important parts of active listening. It shows another person that we hear them and provides an invitation for them to elaborate if they choose. S

Those in positions of authority can be oblivious to the outsize impact that seemingly innocuous statements and behavior can have on others.

Lessons from science—and the people who were able to sway Steve Jobs

Tom Henschel

Kim Scott

You may have heard of the book I’m OK — You’re OK. It was all the rage in the late 60s and is still popular today. It’s about Eric Berne’s theory of Transactional Analysis and his concept of g…

Dan Ariely

Nir Eyal

Nathan Czubaj

It’s time to get past the human tendency to avoid conflict-causing topics.

Without it, you're just like everyone else.

We live in a more global society than ever; this morning, I did a Google+ Hangout with a group of Kenyan Young Professionals, and two days ago, I started my day with a call to colleagues at IE Business School in Madrid. But these cross-cultural conversations also give us more [...]

Being persuasive starts with cognitive dissonance.

Canny negotiators know that people respond to anchors. If you tell me that your baseball card is for sale for $18, I'm unlikely to offer you $3. Your offering price anchored the conversation. The thing is, we do this outside...

How to Influence People: The Most Overlooked Secret

The hard fact is we often look to impress others in all the wrong places. Consider this list of 15 Intangible Surefire Ways to Impress Others:

Steve J. Martin, coauthor of “The Small Big: Small Changes That Spark Big Influence,” on the little things that persuade.