For your company or organization to succeed, you must make an actionable plan. And for a strategic plan to be successful, the process that goes into creating it must be effective. In this article, you will learn the 4 keys to successful strategic planning with your team members. What is Strategic Planning? According to Simon Charles, a marketing specialist at Brill Assignment, strategic planning is an activity where organizations, through their management departments set priorities, dedicate energy and resources, enhance operations, and ensure organization’s employees and other shareholders are working to achieve the same goals.

Closing a successful deal isn’t easy with the business world’s ever-increasing pace. People have shortening attention spans and deals happen faster than before. The extreme pressure forces CEOs and other executives to close complex contracts through high-stakes negotiations where one slip-up can cost millions. The pressure puts these negotiators in a constant state of alert where some are prone to cracking under stress. Read this article to learn how to handle negotiations when things get stressful.

Automation is coming! Automation is coming!

Are you ready for it?

Even small business owners know the importance of using technology for everything from increasing efficiency to managing daily operations. But what about security?

According to statistics, criminals aren’t just going after fat cats with in-house IT departments and deep pockets. More than 43% of all cyber attacks target small businesses. Does your company have the funds to fend of a ransomware attack or survive a data breach?

Most don’t.

Before you launch your startup or expand your business, security automation should be an integral part of your plan.

Financial accounting is a mirror reflecting the quality of management and the efficiency of any business. Competent accounting of finance from the very start can help correctly assess its financial position and direct the cash flow to the right stream. In this article, we will talk about how to take into account the flow of finance at each stage of business development and how to analyze its financial condition.

Stress is our body’s natural reaction when it comes to dealing with difficult situations in our lives. Whether it’s because you are cramming to meet your deadline, or you are late for your meetings and are rushing through the commute to work, or you probably had a fight with your significant other - all of these can trigger stress. And sure enough, stress is already a part of our everyday life. But what makes a difference is on how we can prepare our mind and body for it. Here are some tips that might help you reduce stress.

One of the things I enjoy most about running my own business is the fact that I can make my own work rules, along with my team. Together, we can build our “perfect world.” If you’ve been following Nozbe, then you may already be familiar with some aspects of our company’s approach to work: working with the latest technology; remote work (“#NoOffice” – we don’t have a physical office employees must go to); working only four days a week, where Fridays are a time scheduled for weekly reviews and personal development (dubbed “TGIF”, as in “Thank God it’s Friday”); and our constant experimentation with new ideas.

Online authority is a digital form of the word of mouth marketing. The Internet allows everyone to publicly express their opinions about brands and products, thus adding a whole new layer of information to the traditional concept of brand reputation. In such circumstances, one of your top business goals should be to strengthen online credibility.

The Podcast is a weekly conversation between Michael (our CEO) and Radek (Nozbe VP Apple.) In May and June, our hosts spoke about the life after 40, the courage to be disliked, and WWDC of course.

Do smartphones serve us – or do we serve them? I just recently discussed this topic on ThePodcast.fm (episodes 168 and 175). In addition, I just finished reading Cal Newport’s latest book, Digital Minimalism. All of this led me to review my system of apps, notifications and all the other stuff I constantly kept checking, even when I am spending time with my daughters… In this post, I’d like to share some of my thoughts on this subject with you.

The future looks bright for today’s small businesses. According to Capital One’s most recent Small Business Growth Index, optimism is at a record high, with 67 percent of small businesses viewing conditions as “good or excellent.” 65 percent of those surveyed cite business growth as the reason behind their enthusiasm, followed by national economic conditions and improved business operations.