When it comes to handling stress on the job, studies have found that 90% of top performers in the workplace are able to overcome negative reactions by managing their emotions in times of stress. The odd thing about stress is that it is an imperative feeling to have in order to make decisions, as our brains are wired in the way where it may be difficult for one to take action if not under at least some level of this emotional state.

It’s easy to let stress overwhelm you, and as the research suggests, it’s how one manages such stress that can be the key toward success.

The University of California in San Francisco has conducted multiple studies into how people handle stress. Their research shows that one quality many who handle stress well have in common is their ability to say “no.” Always saying “yes” can place heaps of seemingly unending responsibilities onto a person and can add unnecessary strain on both workload and emotions. Know and understand when you cap out on the job as far as your tasks, and be sure to communicate to your team or managers when you feel you are at the peak of your capacity. Don’t be afraid to speak up!

Exercise is an important factor in keeping stress under control, as when stress comes up at work, it’s usually the first thing that goes in one’s routine. Get your body moving at some point during the day--even ten minutes can greatly help release tension and get you motivated to conquer.

Another huge step in managing stress involves managing the negative self-talk one might engage in. Ruminating on negative thoughts, even ‘what ifs’ that might have occurred can compound stress unnecessarily.

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Here's Cydcor's review of 'The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business' by Charles Duhigg:

About The Power of Habit: Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit explores the scientific discoveries that explain how and why habits exist—and more importantly, how they can be changed.

Duhigg takes the reader through engrossing narratives that travel from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL and even to the frontlines of the Civil Rights Moment.

At its core, it contains a single argument: The key to who we are, from our successes, failures and productivity, comes down to habits and understanding how they work.

Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders: Duhigg explains how habits operate in the brain, how companies use them, and even how retailers and businesses use their understanding of human habits to their advantage as a business model to drive sales and profits. For future leaders, understanding this concept is critical to success.

Our favorite part: Market researchers will certainly love this book, as Duhigg explains the habits of consumers and gives predictive models. The stories on how Target and Febreeze have used habits is especially engaging. These tales of corporate manipulation are among Duhigg's most persuasive.

Not only does he explain how to create habits for yourself, but he also explains how one could potentially capitalize on them in the business world.

Here is Cydcor's review of Start with Why by Simon Sinek

About Start with Why: Author Simon Sinek studied leaders all over the word, researching how they thought, worked and communicated. With this information, he wanted to determine how these leaders were alike and different. Drawing upon a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire, using such examples as Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers.

Why Cydcor recommends Start with Why for future leaders: Simon Sinek's Start With Why is a must read for any entrepreneur or leader struggling to create a long-term vision and guiding principles for their company or cause. Sinek’s book helps provide inspiration that one needs to get started in the right direction. He teaches important lessons on what future leaders need to figure out in regards to their company, and why such lessons should be meaningful.

Start with Why provides great insights for developing long-term strategies to combat issues such as price-wars, customer churn and competition. Sinek also talks about how important it is to understand that your product and its features might be replicated by others. He explains that no one can copy your confidence and customer service style or how your clients feel about you and your organization. Those feelings come from intangible values and beliefs that only you share with your customers.

While several moments in the book feel a tad repetitive, it’s an easy read—and sometimes great points need to be repeated to be ingrained into our minds.

Our favorite part: Sinek’s Golden Circle Concept is an interesting notion to help ask us “why?” This line of thinking can be applied to multiple facets in life, whether personal or customer relationships, business decisions or career choices.

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The overall consensus when meeting someone new is that you have thirty seconds to make a good impression. From the handshake to your following conversation, it can feel like a lot of pressure to nail such an interaction on the first try. But what can you do if you make a poor first impression? Whether you forget their name or a joke falls flat, top networkers say there are ways to bounce back.

“It is much easier to turn a good first impression into a bad overall impression than it is to turn a bad first impression into a good one,” said Anna Musson, an etiquette expert. When we meet someone new, our sensitivity and guard levels go up. "We like to think that we're right and once we've made up our mind about a person we need to be persuaded otherwise.”

Sometimes our insecurities get the best of us, and it’s easy to assume that others might think the worst of you. However, what we imagine is often far worse than reality. Own up to your feelings, and don’t make assumptions. Time is of the essence when it comes to damage control, but take the time to formulate your next interaction to address the issue.

Acknowledging where the breakdown might have stemmed from –-a joke or a curse word, for example— can be cleared with a simple, “I apologize for how I behaved and I realize I might have offended you.” Don’t over-apologize; so keep it polite and concise. Don’t put the other person in the uncomfortable position of having to reassure you.

For more information about Cydcor, check out our photos on Flickr, which have been updates with images from our recent Operation Smile Guatemala mission trip!

Be sincere, and own up to any breakdown during an impression without blaming others or circumstances. Depending on the situation, self-deprecating humor can really help you. Be mindful that it’s only directed at yourself, and does not make others uncomfortable. This can provide an opening for you to recover, but remember that too much humor can have the same effect as over-apologizing.

Every impression you create is a learning experience and can help you improve your body language and communication skills. Overcoming a poor first impression requires total ownership of your behavior and adds to your confidence and ability to learn from such mistakes. It’s also an opportunity for you to be mindful of appropriate interactions, and to monitor your behavior to make the best impressions possible in the future.

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November marks the start of the holiday season for many businesses, and there’s no better time than now to begin preparing a holiday strategy. Be sure to take into account that in 2014 there is a shortened selling season, with only 26 shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so planning is key. Here are some tips to help you boost your online and sales presence during the biggest retailer and sales months of the year.

Research

During the holidays, everyone is vying for attention from potential consumers, so how do you get yourself to stand out from the rest? Start internally, by determining what message you want to send, what products you want to focus on, and what your customers have been interested in in previous years during similar time periods. Are you aware of online social trends? Where do you find the most social engagement, and what hashtags and images are doing the best in your sphere?

Decorate

Decorate your brand with the holiday spirit! Use fall or winter themed cover photos, profile images, backgrounds and the like. A few falling leaves or snow covered logos and images can really refresh your social pages and show customers you are doing proper upkeep on your assets and are on point with trends.

Traditional

A shout-out to a user via Twitter or a tag on Facebook is what’s popular these days and is certainly a quick way to reach out, but don’t undersell the value of the traditional approach. A handwritten holiday card to your key clients or circle figures can go a long way. In such a digital age, don’t neglect the small, personal touches that others can see going above and beyond to reach them.

Head to Cydcor Reviews for reviews of books regarding business, leadership, and productivity.

Can you believe it? Cydcor has three weeks until our scheduled move date of Friday November 21st! Last week the carpet and furniture installation started. Rooms are being painted, desks and furniture are being brought in. Looking at the pictures the black frames are the structures for the cubicle workstations.

Our new office space will be modern, clean, and professional and employees will take this into consideration when determining personal items for their new space. T-minus 14 days (work days) before our move!

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A business is nothing without the customers it serves. Truly great businesses also understand that it is important to foster rapport with clients to ensure that you can do business more than once—the key is to have an ongoing relationship with your client instead of just a one-time business dealing.

Clients can provide your business with so much more than money. Happy clients act as advocates, spreading the good word about a business on their own. If done correctly, you might even find fulfilling, long-term partnerships with some clients.

Here are some vital ways to turn your contacts into clients, and clients into trusted friends/partners.

Networking the right way

You are probably familiar with the idea of networking: connecting with a large group of people (business colleagues, business partners, acquaintances, past and current clients) in the hopes of helping each other in some way. The problem is that sometimes it is easy to forget that networking is a two-way street. If you use your network the right way, you can add value to the connections you make instead of only worrying about the value others give to you.

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Keep in contact

Networking is wonderful, but it must be nurtured to survive past the short-term. No matter how engaging or memorable you are when meeting a contact for the first time, you’ll have to remind them that you exist or inevitably they will forget you. Even if your contact is uninterested in what you have to offer at the current time, that might change—and you’ll be there if it does.

Add value to the relationship: reward your returning customers

As mentioned above, be sure to add value to the relationship. This might be in the form of tangible rewards like coupons, discounts, or free merchandise—or it could be something a bit more abstract like passing along useful information or sending friendly messages about new products, services, or deals that they might be interested in. The goal is to not only receive from your clients, but to give back in the hope that they return the favor. This is crucial because, as many studies have found, returning customers spend more on average than first-time customers.

Care about your clients

Care about your clients as both important business transactions (by providing them the best of your services as possible) and as people. Be honest with them at all times and keep your word: it might seem like a no-brainer, but you are dealing with people, so you should treat them with the respect they deserve. They will appreciate it!

The final step: from client to partner

If you do everything right, you can begin forging a partnership with your clients. They will grow in value for you today and in the future—and you for them. They will add value to the relationship as advocates of your business wherever they go. View this partnership like a great friendship, and you will both be very happy.

In March of this year, Cydcor volunteers went to San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, thanks to our Operation Smile fundraisers—which have raised over $480,000 for the children’s medical charity to date. Helping to fund cleft palate surgeries for needy children around the globe, Cydcor has previously volunteered in Brazil in 2012, where more than 600 surgeries were provided to children.

Cydcor is proud of this partnership with Operation Smile, and with the great success of our Week of Smiles campaign, we are funding another medical mission trip to Guatemala in November 2014. Spending a week in Guatemala, our volunteers will support the screening process, helping families through the procedure and entertaining children while they wait for their procedures.

The mission involves sending doctors, volunteers and equipment to an area where access to healthcare is difficult, providing screenings and surgeries for children. Cleft palates often result in complications to eating, drinking, speaking and even breathing, and many infants do not survive. Operation Smile and Cydcor hope to restore millions of smiles and give those children a better chance of thriving.

One of the most rewarding aspects is our chance to spend time with the families of the children being operated on and see them through the transition of surgery. A large part of Operation Smile’s strategy is to assist facilities in the field, helping enable them to provide treatment of cleft palates and other facial deformities.

You can make a donation to Operation Smile today and support this great cause!

Here is Cydcor's review of Business @ The Speed of Thought by Bill Gates:

About Business @ The Speed of Thought: Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the author Business @ The Speed of Thought, which focuses on the importance of technology.  In the book, Gates shows how technology can help businesses better today and gives predictions on how that technology could transform the nature of business in the future.

Gates speaks to the business managers reading and stresses the importance of viewing new technology as a strategic asset, not as overhead or something to be dismissed. He gives detailed examples from Microsoft and Dell, among other successful companies, who have taken the latest technology and used it to their business advantage.

Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders:

Bill Gates is essentially the definition of “successful business person,” and he does a fine job explaining how the new digital age can impact all offices across the world. While the book itself might be more interesting to IT folks, as Gates goes in-depth into technology, he does speak to business strategy. In regards to technology, he doesn’t delve too deeply into the pitfalls and problems that can arise from depending too much on such tech.

However, for those who believe that technology will continue to grow and intertwine with business and those who believe it will play an increasingly significant role in the marketplace, this is a must read.

Our favorite part: Gates provides a 12-step program to implement a “Digital Nervous System,” which is a useful guide to integrating IT with existing business resources. Business @ The Speed of Thought also gives detailed case studies of large companies such as Microsoft and other businesses outside of the tech industry, making the “Digital Nervous System” relevant to a broader audience.

Check out Cydcor's YouTube page for a re-cap of our recent R&R 2014 event in Nassau, Bahamas!

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Communicating in a clear and effective way is always important, both in real life situations and especially in business communications. We converse so much that we often forget to stop and think about what we are saying. When communicating in a professional context, you need to be aware of the little nuances that are held in your words and actions.

Here are some tips for becoming an influential communicator:

Have a clear goal and benefits for all parties.

Transparency is important. The worst thing that could happen is having your conversation be misunderstood. Therefore, you will want to make a clear goal when talking with a client, or potential client. It also helps to make sure that you frame your message in a way that presents the benefits for that party.

With that said…

Know your audience.

Your audience is whomever you are communicating with. Who are they? What do they want? How do they speak? What do they know? Understanding your audience is incredibly important because it provides you all the information you need to tailor your communications to be the most effective for that specific person or group of people.

Knowing your audience makes it less likely that you will waste time explaining things that are already known, glossing over important details that you assume are understood.

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Be sure to ask the right kinds of questions

Learn to strategically drop “leading questions” that prompt longer answers than “yes” or “no.” This will help guide your conversation in a productive direction.

Ask important qualifying questions to ensure that your leads will turn into a prospect. Largely, you’ll be asking questions that are focused around answering these key questions: Can and will you be able to authorize on the sale? What can I do for you to close on this sale?

Naturally, you should take information you learned from your audience and tailor the question accordingly for them, but these simple questions capture the essence of what you need to find out from your prospect.

Here is Cydcor's review of Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics: Real World Cases and Data Sets for Hands On Learning by Rajkumar Venkatesan, Paul Farris, and Ronald T. Wilcox:

About Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics: Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics calls itself a practical guide to modern marketing analytics. It looks to introduce today’s most valuable marketing methods and tools by introducing case studies that apply analytic techniques to real problems.

Each chapter of the book provides technical notes that look to show statistical background as well as case studies. All the case studies provided are accompanied by real date and used by the protagonists to make decisions. Methods and tools provided by the author include product analytics, customer analytics, and the effective implementation of such analytics into your business or organization.

The authors look to help people identify the right data and analytic techniques by conducting the analysis and obtaining the insights from those data points. They also look to connect those insights to strategic decision-making.

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Why Cydcor recommends this to future leaders: This book is an excellent roadmap for managers looking to make the most out of marketing resources. The material presented strikes the right balance of rigorous analysis and strategic relevance.

Our favorite part: Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics takes an excellent look into how the Internet and mobile technologies available have combined to create an unprecedented level of insight into consumer behavior and customer preferences. This mastery of marketing and customer analytics has become the ‘table stakes’ for understanding and pleasing the customer. This is a great book for practitioners looking for real world applications.

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