Under the direction of Anne Vermès (Eyrolles, March 2013). Our selection: “I propose to design a castle where you will be able to show the best of yourself.” When Nicolas Fouquet, finance minister of Louis XIV, employed the architect Le Vau to build the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte, a masterpiece of sophistication and boldness, he managedRead more…

Every year, the Great Place to Work Institute publishes its rankings of the best companies to work for. This marks an occasion to reconsider the three dimensions of employee wellbeing: trust in management, a sense of pride in one’s work, and a positive work environment. The annual stock market returns of Fortune’s 100 best companiesRead more…

Communicating effectively, getting our ideas across convincingly, motivating teams, persuading superiors to grant us a larger budget… We all work in sales now! In fact, we spend on average nearly three and a half hours a day on work that involves selling. What are the qualities of the best salespeople? How can we learn fromRead more…

It’s difficult to anticipate every change that will affect your business. Fortunately, HRDs have a key advantage: talent. HRDs need to identify, motivate, and develop talent, the key team members awarded strategic positions. The challenge is shifting from a model of managing an organizational skillset to a model of managing talent. Talent management is basedRead more…

The bleak economic outlook of recent years in Western countries has cast a heavy shadow on corporate morale. Companies are experiencing a wave of pessimism that prevents them from moving forward. It is up to business leaders to foster the return of a positive work environment. A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noiseRead more…

Mary Poppins sang, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and ‘snap’! the job’s a game.” Fifty years later, a growing number of marketing, human resources, and specialists in persuasion are taking these words literally. Their motto: increase engagement by turning communications into a game.Read more…

It is clear that motivated employees perform best. But what is the key driver of motivation? Making consistent, daily progress in the work itself, say Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, whose research sheds light on the processes that underlie motivation, revealing the most effective principles and behaviors for combatting employee disengagement. The gap between observableRead more…

The bleak economic outlook of recent years in Western countries has cast a heavy shadow on corporate morale. Companies are experiencing a wave of pessimism that prevents them from moving forward. It is up to business leaders to foster the return of a positive work environment. A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noiseRead more…

A few painful numbers: according to a survey performed by BVA on behalf of BPI Consulting*, only 22 percent of employees have a very good opinion of their superior and only 18 percent have a favorable view of executives. Trust is in danger and it is high time to act, on both strategic and operationalRead more…

Why do some people withstand pressure better than others? Because they have acquired the skills that allow them to limit its negative effects. Working on yourself and practicing make it possible to confront even the worst squalls with greater serenity. Why do some people deal with pressure better than others? According to Clutch author PaulRead more…