The progressive Arts

The best problem solvers see a complex problem through multiple lenses. Here's how to become a better strategic thinker and leader yourself. In 2009, J D Wetherspoon, a chain of more than 800 pubs in the UK, was facing declining sales. Demand for beer had been down for five years. In addition, pricing pressure from super market chains was intense, and higher alcohol taxes further squeezed its already tight margins. What would you say is the company's real business problem?

1. Don’t Be Late To the Interview Even if you car broke down or the subway derailed, do everything you can to get to that job interview on time. “If you have a legitimate excuse it’s still hard to bounce back,” says Pamela Skillings, co-founder of job coaching firm Skillful Communications. “People are suspicious because they hear the same excuses all the time.” On the flip side, you don’t want to show up too early and risk appearing desperate, but you do want to be there at least five minutes early or at the very least on time. 2. Don’t Show Up Unprepared

Here are six techniques that I've picked up over the years and now use on a daily basis. 1. Create an Oasis

People who fail to achieve goals signal their intent to fail by using this common phrase. Make sure you aren't falling into the same trap. People who fail to achieve goals almost always signal their intent to fail by using three little words: "I will try..."

Why is it that between 25% and 50% of people report feeling overwhelmed or burned out at work? It's not just the number of hours we're working, but also the fact that we spend too many continuous hours juggling too many things at the same time. What we've lost, above all, are stopping points, finish lines and boundaries. Technology has blurred them beyond recognition.

#1. Be Real  Call it being authentic. Call it being yourself. The fact is that few things are as powerful as standing in the presence of a person who is really really comfortable in their own skin. What I'm suggesting is that you speak with your unique voice and that you live under your true values and that you present the real you to the world around you. Please trust me on this one. I promise you that when you get to the last hour of your last day, you will regret having lived the life society sold you versus the life that you knew deep within was meant for you.

Want help focusing on what really matters? Ask yourself these on a daily basis. Think that success means making lots of money?  Think again. Pictures of dead presidents have never made anybody happy. And how can you be successful if you're not happy? And buying things with that all money isn't much better. A new car, for instance, might tickle your fancy for a day or two–but pride of ownership is temporary.

In my career I have  reviewed thousands of resumes and conducted hundreds of employment interviews for both The Trademark Company and other businesses for which I have worked. In doing so, I got to see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in terms of resumes, interviewing skills, and the like. For other CEOs looking to hire, here's what I think makes a great candidate stand out from the good ones. 1.  Attention to detail How many times have you heard this one, right? Pay attention to detail. Let me say it again: PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL!

I've come up with 35 Tips that I invite you to concentrate on. Share these tips, reflect on then, post them where you can see them - and allow them to infuse your mindset: Remember that the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts. Keep the promises you make to others - and to yourself.  The project that most scares you is the project you need to do first.  Small daily improvements are the key to staggering long-term results.  Stop being busy being busy. This New Year, clean out the distractions from your work+life and devote to a monomaniacal focus on the few things that matter. Read "The War of Art".  Watch "The Fighter". 

1   Prioritize  "Start every day with strategic clarity by spending 10 minutes reviewing what one-to-five things you want to achieve this year, what your strategic priorities are for achieving them, and (most importantly) what businesses, activities and opportunities you have decided to say "no" to because they distract you from what is truly important."  - Kaihan Krippendorff,  2   Focus on Less  When it comes to focusing your attention, energy and business resources, less is certainly more. The best example of this, is  Steve Jobs' approach to Management . 3   Sell More 

For Wall Street Occupiers or other decriers of the “social injustice” of college tuition, here’s a curveball bound to scramble your worldview: a totally free college education regardless of your academic performance or background.  TheMassachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) will announce on Monday that they intend to launch an online learning initiative called M.I.T.x,which will offer the online teaching of M.I.T. courses  free of charge  to anyone in the world.

I recently got back from a month's vacation — the longest I've ever taken, and a shocking indulgence for an American. (Earlier this summer, I was still fretting about how to pull off two weeks unplugged.) The distance, though, helped me hone in on what's actually important to my professional career — and which make-work activities merely provide the illusion of progress. Inspired by HBR blogger Peter Bregman's idea of creating a "to ignore" list , here are the activities I'm going to stop cold turkey in 2012 — and perhaps you should, too.

One of the most often overlooked aspects of leadership is the need for pursuit. Great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom, or common performance. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo.  Leadership is pursuit  – pursuit of excellence, of elegance, of truth, of what’s next, of what if, of change, of value, of results, of relationships, of service, of knowledge, and of something bigger than themselves. In the text that follows I’ll examine the value of being a pursuer…

As a business owner, you're in sales whether you think so or not. Every day you have to sell yourself -- and your product or service -- to grow your business. If you're not sure you have the personality to succeed in selling, consider these 13 simple rules to create a superstar sales mindset. 1. Stay hungry.  Every good salesperson I've ever encountered is driven. They have a strong work ethic and a high energy level. They work harder and longer than their peers. When the economy is poor, they are still out there pounding the pavement, making calls.

Google’s augmented reality eyewear is coming to disrupt your face and your business model. If you don’t even have to pull your phone out to take a photo, get directions, or message with friends, why would you need to buy the latest iPhone or spend so much time on Facebook? It could be a year before Google eyewear reaches stores, but that’s why these and other tech companies need to strategize now. If they wait to see if the device is a hit, the world could be seeing through Google-tinted glasses by the time they adapt. Apple and Facebook’s bet might be to team up.

Although we may never know why we didn't get chosen for a job interview, a recent study is shedding some light on recruiters' decision-making behavior. According to  The Ladders  research, recruiters spend an average of "six seconds before they make the initial 'fit or no fit' decision" on candidates. 

“His saga is the entrepreneurial creation myth writ large: Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in his parents’ garage in 1976, was ousted in 1985, returned to rescue it from near bankruptcy in 1997, and by the time he died, in October 2011, had built it into the world’s most valuable company,” Walter Isaacson writes for Harvard Business Review. “Along the way he helped to transform seven industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing.

Many of us assume that IQ-related discussions and more particularly, those related to improving our IQ make sense for kids or young adults competing for a seat in popular colleges. However, there is no age-defined parameter for improving or increasing our IQ. Further, there are many ways in which a higher IQ can improve the quality of adult life too. Lets discuss some easy ways to improve our IQ:

Body-con pieces:  Body-con is sexy for obvious reasons it gives you an instant hour-glass frame. Blur the lines by layering a sheer pussybow blouse over a bustier and pencil skirt. Add towering heels, chunky cuffs, gauzy wraps and bold necklaces, to give movement to the look. Sexy fabrics: Think touchable fabrics like silk, satin and lace. Work a delicate lace dress with pumps, throw on a raw silk cocoon coat with bracelet sleeves and tuck an oversized clutch under your arm. Or wear a crinkly silk blouse with skinny denims and a velvet blazer to create a subtle, yet fash-forward look.

Talk through the hand While at a bar, casually set your hand on your knee so your palm faces up or lay the back of your hand on a table. This pose lets him know that you're approachable and 'safe'. Do the walk Observe the way other girls walk, especially ones you think look sexy. Celebrities, friends, even 10 minutes at the mall will give you much to watch and learn from. Look at how well, or badly people walk. Take notes, and try out moves you like.

Practice To become a genius flirt, don't save your skills only for a guy you likepractice on other men you meet so you can perfect your game. Get touchy While talking to a guy, touch a part of your body, like your collarbone, cheek, or leg. Touching or stroking yourself is a sign of sensuality, plus it will make the guy subconsciously think about touching you, too.

Making a guy fall for you doesn't have to involve pick-up lines or clever chatter. Experts say that body language  is more powerful than words, and these flirting tricks will turn you into a (silent) assassin!  Don't make a move  There's a lot of mixed advice going around about being the one to approach a guy. And while confidence is sexy, in a social scenario, it is best to let a guy make the first move.

HOUSEFULL 2... The Dirty Dozen is the second super star packed installment in the HOUSEFULL franchise. It is the story of four fathers, four daughters and four prospective son-in-laws and as the second half of the tile suggests, they are the dirty dozen. Each father wants his daughter to marry the richest son-in-law. Each daughter thinks she is marrying the richest son-in-law. Each son-in-law is pretending to be the richest son-in-law. Each character is flawed,

There is no denying the fact that actor  Akshay Kumar 's career is going through a bad phase for the last few years. Fortunately the situation is not as bad as it was during the second half of the nineties, where the 'Khiladi' had delivered many flops in a row. In fact unlike the media perceptions, films like TEES MAAR KHAN, DE DANA DAN and DESI BOYZ have

After rumours of the Saif-Kareena engagement rocked the entire country a while back, what comes from the couple now is shock. Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, who have been in a relationship for a long time now, are not tying the knot anytime in the near future. And so that sister Soha doesn’t end up being affected in the entire process, Saif has asked her to embrace the altar sometime towards the end of this year.

A never before seen sex tape of Charlize Theron popped out April 1, but was only an April Fool`s day prank from the actress. The sex tape is more than a minute long. It features the actress screaming at and throwing scalding-hot fluid on two men in bondage attire . The video was only an April Fool`s day collaboration of the actress with a website. The video starts with the actress admitting: "I`m so nervous! I`ve never made a sex tape before." At one point, she says, "Time for the bleeding," reports a website.

Los Angeles: Actor Ashton Kutcher will star as Steve Jobs in the movie ‘Jobs’. The independent movie is being produced and financed by Five Star Institute`s Mark Hulme. Director Joshua Michael Stern is set to begin the movie in May, while Kutcher is on break from CBS sitcom `Two and a Half Men`, reports a website.

B ollywood actor and producer Shah Rukh Khan  will join the likes of former Presidents George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter when he delivers a lecture at Yale University as a Chubb Fellow on April 12.

Pakistan's world view is clouded by a perception that they are threatened by India resulting in very mixed messages from Islamabad on fighting terrorism, according to US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta. "In some ways we share a common concern and a common threat," he told CBC Television in an interview. "Terrorism is as much a threat to Pakistan and the people of Pakistan as it is to us and to the people of Afghanistan."

Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan don't seem to be ready to bury the hatchet yet, to go by their comments at two different events Monday. Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani and his wife Neeta organised a gala event last week to honour Sachin Tendulkar for scoring his 100th ton and invited several Bollywood stars, cricketers and politicians.

The US has offered a $10m (£6.2m) bounty for Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the founder of Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT]. Mr Saeed now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa group, widely seen as a front for LeT - which is blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India.

A  Pakistan court  on Monday charged and sentenced Osama bin Laden's three wives and two daughters for living illegally in the country and flouting immigration laws.  Senior civil judge Shahrukh Arjumand sentenced each of them to 45-day jail and Rs 10,000 ($114) fine. 

Opening across theatres on 5th April 2012 in India, the film’s 3D release is a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and pays a special tribute to the tragedy that took place in 1912. With Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the main lead, ‘Titanic’ first released in 1997 and is one of the greatest love stories of all time, winning 11 Oscars that year.

The two deleted erotic painting scenes from the blockbuster film ‘Titanic’ has been passed without censor cuts.