This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Fast Company and shares the insights of today’s top entrepreneurs and innovators.Good leaders are contagious. They enable us to forge our own paths, but are also there to coach us when we stumble. They inspire us to dream big and act on the possible. They also have a significant impact on an organization’s bottom line. A recent study by a Fortune 500 bank revealed that great leadership is proven to double an organization’s bottom line.But what separates the extraordinary leaders from the rest? "Look at the things that everyone else believes to be a bad idea. If you’re chasing something that everybody else believes to be a good idea, there are probably a hell of a lot of other people chasing that same thing."Read the articleThe post Fierce Resource: Lessons of Leadership from Fast Company’s Innovation Festival appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

It is common for organizations and teams to lean on their all-stars to take them to new levels. That is to be expected. However, we often see that in organizations, the all-stars burn out the quickest. They are also the ones most poached, and they leave for bigger opportunities.We understand that, because the all-stars are the employees you want to replicate. The all-stars are the ones that will always do the extra work. They take on that one extra project. They do one more client engagement. They go above and beyond.It is important to recognize the value all-stars bring to your team and organization. I once worked with a vendor at Microsoft who was famous for burning out his top talent. He would just keep piling on more projects, more engagements, more talks, while leaving other team members who needed more help and development room to have work-life balance. It never took long for the all-stars to catch on, and eventually, another organization would whisk them away. It was common for the all-star to say: That was a great experience, and now I need more balance and control over what I work on.I know for a fact that he wished more employees would stay and grow in different ways and bigger capacities, and yet, the conversations didn’t happen. So I ask: How do you treat your all-stars? Do they feel they have the balance they desire? Do they have time to reflect and grow the way they want to? Are you having the conversation?This week’s tip is to celebrate the all-stars on your team. To get started, who shows up every day with a stellar attitude? Who always chips in when others are slammed? Who brings new and inventive ideas to the table? Those are the people you want to recognize.Here are some ideas:Ask what specific recognition they would most appreciate. Don’t assume that they want the verbal announcement. They may want some extra cash or the support to take some time off.Take them out to lunch. Pause and take time to talk about how they are doing as individuals. Although work will most likely be discussed, try to turn the focus on more personal goals and ask more about how they are.Give positive feedback. Take the time to give impactful feedback to the individual. Many people will give more superficial feedback like you are doing great or you rocked that project. Create more value by giving specific examples and share how they have personally and organizationally made a difference.  Who are you celebrating this week? And how?The post Fierce Tip of the Week: Celebrate Your All-Stars appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

As we get closer to Super Bowl Sunday, there is a lot of talk about teams. Who will win? Who will have their head in the game?Just like in athletics, building a high-performing team in your organization requires effort and heart. When you are part of one, you feel it. Some people call it "being in the flow".All-star teams do not happen by luck. To build them, they take practice, discipline, and the ability to learn from mistakes.The difference between an A team and an A+ team is the difference between a million in revenue and a billion in revenue." - Paul English, Kayak  Say Thank You The reality is that many people do not spend enough time appreciating one another. A great exercise that we have used internally at Fierce requires each individual to sit at the front of the room in a chair for two minutes and listen to positive feedback from team members, saying nothing but thank you in response. Instead of hollow expressions, like, "You’re fun," they need to be specific, like, "I appreciate the way you greet me every morning. You really start my day off well." The person gets to hear how they’re unique, and it provides an opportunity for fellow team members to give positive feedback and ensure that it’s heard.If you don’t have time to do this exercise, you can create a "shout-out" time in some of your regular standing meetings. As the leader, make sure to set the tone by giving well-thought out feedback to kick it off.Set Aside Time and LearnYour job as a leader is to continue to develop and grow your team and the individuals. As John Kotter stated in Leading Change, "Ongoing training and development for the team members is critical. Some high performance teams spend as much as 30 percent of their time in training on such subjects as team building, leadership, communication, coaching, technical knowledge, and computer skills, problem-solving, budget process, conflict resolution, critical thinking, and writing. This systematic training breeds a feeling of ‘esprit de corps.’"Invest in creating learning experiences for your team. Your team members will recognize their importance within the group, as well as improve overall. The benefits don’t stop there. After each training experience, your team is more skilled and will add more value to the organization.Get Out of the WayRegularly check-in with your team members and ask how you, as the leader, can support each individual. When you ask, take the time to listen and ask really good questions - draw out the real issues. Leave your expert hat off, and really dive into the conversation. Oftentimes, people do want their leader to step away more, to give more autonomy.In order for you to get out of the way productively, go through a decision tree exercise. At Fierce, we use the analogy of a tree to facilitate these conversations. You can be delegated responsibilities at four different levels: Root, Trunk, Branch and Leaf. Each level has a clear and concise definition of what is expected for the area or project and how they interact with you, the leader. This type of clarity allows decisiveness and creates more autonomy, even if there is still approval or oversight needed.Any other tips? The post Three Tips to Build an All-Star Team appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Ted.com and provides one activity that will uncover everything that is holding your team back.In theory, teamwork should bring organizations together, produce better results, and increase organizational adaptability. But in reality, most team projects start with individuals jockeying for power. And that’s where the team dynamic needs to shift. In his 2010 TedTalk: Build a Tower, Build a Team, Tom Wujec shared that we all need to stop trying to be the CEO of ‘X’ project.Can your team handle the marshmallow challenge? Read the complete transcript here. The post Fierce Resource: Tom Wujec - Build a Tower, Build a Team appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

This is the week of love in the United States. Valentine’s Day turns to the personal sides of our lives more than the professional, and to some, that may seem inappropriate for the workplace.However, I argue, with greater significance than ever, we must care about our employees’ relationships outside of the workplace. Gone are the days that our personal lives don’t intertwine with our workplace conversations. In fact, it is directly related to personal satisfaction at work. Last year, we surveyed 1,000 working women about work/life balance, and 82.6% shared that having a fulfilling relationship with their partner was the primary attribute of having it all.In Fierce Conversations, Susan Scott shares that we must discard the idea that our home and office conversations are quite different. She says, "When you squeeze an orange, what comes out of it? Orange juice. Why? Because that’s what’s inside it…When we get squeezed-when things aren’t going well for us-what comes out of us? Whatever’s inside us." The point is that if your conversations at work are creating disappointing results, it is likely that you are getting the same at home. Or vice versa.This week’s tip is to share appreciation with someone you love at home. While Valentine’s Day is portrayed as a time to give chocolates, jewelry, or nice gifts, use the occasion to share the gift of deep connection. Set aside some time to really connect with the person, and be specific with what you appreciate and give concrete examples. Warning: Warm and fuzzies may ensue. That’s why it is called the week of love.So, I ask: Who will you talk with this week? What do you appreciate?The post Fierce Tip of the Week: It’s the Week of Love - Share Appreciation at Home appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

More than 1,000 Google employees are playing whack-a-mole with crummy and dangerous ads.It's no wonder that use of ad blockers is taking off, given that online ads are often annoying at best and illegal and dangerous at worst. Google today put some big numbers behind the bad-ad epidemic by reporting that, in the past year, it blocked more than 780 million of the very worst from getting through its ad network. Among the offenders: malware, links to data-stealing phishing sites, and those ads on mobile web browsers and apps that are almost impossible to not click on.Read Full Story

Airbnb argues that cities are missing out by not working with the startup to collect hotel, tourist, and occupancy taxes.Airbnb wants U.S. mayors to know that their cities could profit from the home-rental business.Read Full Story

After yanking hoverboards from its site, Amazon said it will refund customers who purchased the devices.After pulling so-called hoverboards from its site in December, Amazon is going another step further and granting refunds to any customer who purchased the two-wheeled electric scooters. The device was yanked from Amazon in response to reports that the hoverboards were exploding and causing fires.Read Full Story

The GyroGlove controls essential hand tremors using the same technology that stabilizes the International Space Station.Two years ago, a young medical student named Faii Ong was asked to help care for a 103-year old patient who kept losing weight. "No one knew what was going on," Ong told me recently. "No one knew why she was doing so poorly. Did we miss something big, like cancer?"Read Full Story

Most card games ported to the App Store suck. Here's how Exploding Kittens avoided the trap.Imagine a version of Russian Roulette played with a cat that had dynamite up its butt, then add in some Uno for good measure. That's Exploding Kittens in a nutshell, a card game designed by Microsoft's Elan Lee and Shane Small, with art from The Oatmeal's Matthew Inman. When it launched on Kickstarter last year, it became the site's most-funded game ever. Now, it's coming to iPhone, but the App Store version of Exploding Kittens isn't just a port. It's a whole new experience. Straight ports are usually shit.Read Full Story