Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts

Dec 29

Taking time for the holiday. Wishing everyone the best of the season's blessings. The next edition is scheduled for January 12, 2024.

Make your New Year’s resolution to make friends. Good friendships make for healthier lives. If you have friends, achieving a work-life balance is much easier and more rewarding.

So…How Do Adults Make New Friends? (Pocket)

Rather than make resolutions, we should make a plan. You can use this framework to create your own personal improvement plan for 2024 and beyond.

Annual Reflection Framework (Farnam Street)

The Texas Hill Country has many towns with a German heritage like Fredericksburg. My parents retired to New Braunfels. If you visit, be sure to visit the National Museum of the Pacific War. Admiral Chester Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg.

Q&A: Texas-German History Comes to Life in Translation (Alcalde)

In my December 15 newsletter, I wrote about how to salvage (or avoid) bad meetings. Too many meetings and emails make it difficult to be effective because you have so little time to think.

Three red flags that mean you’re an over-collaborator (Fast Company)

This article has five good points but leaves out the most important factor in making a good presentation. Rehearse – Rehearse – REHEARSE.

5 Ways to Elevate Your Presentation Skills and Command the Room (Inc)

PowerPoint is the most misused and abused tool we have. As General Mattis said, “PowerPoint makes us stupid.”

PowerPoint paradox: facilitating communication, hampering innovation (Medium)

This will never get old for someone who has been a Texas Rangers fan since 1972.

FULL FINAL INNING: The Rangers win their first-ever World Series! (MLB)

The Texas McCombs has been a top program for decades. I attended in the 1970s. They have done a remarkable job of adapting and evolving to maintain their reputation.

McCombs Entrepreneurship Again Hits No. 2 in Princeton Review Rank (Texas McCombs)

A new description of an old idea – active listening.

How to use ‘forensic listening’ to negotiate more effectively (Fast Company)

The ability to reframe a situation is often the key to responding effectively.

Feeling Stuck? Try the Dickens Method to Rewire Your Brain and See the World Differently (Inc.)

Always avoid buzzwords, acronyms, and multisyllabic words. Avoid compound sentences. Focus on the story you want to tell and tell it as simply as possible.

Mark Cuban shares the No. 1 jargon word he hates the most: ‘You sound stupid ... trying to sound smart’ (CNBC)

The end of the year brings many lists. Some look back, and others try to predict the future. Some are optimistic, others apocalyptic, a few make us laugh.. All provide the opportunity to reflect and think.

The top 10 MIT Sloan articles of 2023 (MIT Sloan)

Best in Business 2023 (Inc)

You Are Not Ready for These Five Changes in America — 2050 (Medium)

Dispatch From the Future: The Must-Have Gadgets and Gear of 2053 (Wired)

Best History Reads of the Year: My Top 3 and Why They Matter ()Medium)

Best of 2023: Great Advice (Pocket)

This is what everyone was Googling this year, from Travis Kelce and 'The Last of Us' to 'Barbenheimer' (Business Insider)

Cybersecurity Futures 2030: New Foundations (World Economic Forum)

Here Are the 15 Best Business Books of 2023 (Inc)

The 10 Top Technical and Business Trends of 2024 (Inc)

Life sciences backs generative AI to drive value in 2024 (ZS)

What was the best movie of 2023? From 'Barbie' to 'Poor Things,' these are our top 10 (USA Today)