What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School

You don’t have to be perfect, but you should learn from your imperfections

Everyone makes errors. It’s when those errors are repeated that it becomes a mistake.’

quickest way to lose credibility is to give someone an absolute deadline then extend it, amend it or ignore it.

(WITH EXTREME CAUTION) INCONSIDERATE TIMING

A phone call in non-business hours, late at night or over a weekend, always has greater impact. If you’re smart about it, you can use it to great advantage, but you’d better know what you’re doing because it can easily backfire. Always set it up first: ‘This is so good (or so important) I’d like to talk to you about it over the weekend.’

a general rule, avoid making any phone calls (particularly if it’s bad news or about a problem) on Monday mornings or Friday afternoons.

What people say and do in the most innocent situations can speak volumes about their real selves.

Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, w

Fear of failure is another problem that people have with selling. Sales results are so tangible, so measurable in black and white, there is no place to run or hide.

Rejection in selling is rarely personal, but simply knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to take. I have always found that it helps not to be too ‘adult’ about it. Learning to accept rejection doesn’t mean having to like it. Acknowledge your real feelings and if those real feelings are irritation, frustration or anger, admit to them instead of pretending they don’t exist

f you’re pretty good, you’re probably going to fail half the time.