Create customers for life by focusing on the success and goals of clients rather than on product sales, writes David Brock. This method fosters strong, lasting relationships with both organizations and individuals, ensuring clients repeatedly seek expertise from sales people.

Stephanie Downs from The Center for Sales Strategy discusses the differences between open and closed AI tools in sales. Closed AI systems offer tailored and secure responses by using proprietary data, making them more reliable for sales processes, while open AI tools draw from public sources and can produce inaccurate outputs.

Forty-percent of consumers plan to celebrate Valentine's Day with flowers this year, making this time of year one of the busiest for retailers' floral departments, according to NRF. SpartanNash is seeing strong floral sales for Valentine's Day, with roses and mixed bouquets among the top sellers, floral merchandising manager Crystal Grossi says. The company prepared months in advance, leveraging cross-merchandising with departments such as bakery and wine.

Thinking differently is a powerful tool for leaders who want to drive growth and innovation, writes Naphtali Hoff. Adopting a growth mindset, challenging assumptions, seeking out diverse views and embracing failure as a learning opportunity are key strategies to cultivate this mindset, Hoff writes.

Speculation that US President Donald Trump's new tariff threats are a negotiating tactic rather than a firm policy has led to a decline in the dollar, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index reaching a two-month low. The delay in imposing tariffs has bolstered global shares and emerging-market assets, particularly Chinese stocks.

When you recognize a team member for a job well done, make that recognition meaningful by clearly spelling out what they did and why it mattered, make it personal for them and find out how they appreciate being appreciated, writes Karin Hurt. "Some people love public praise, while others prefer a private acknowledgment," Hurt writes.

Researchers from several US institutions have demonstrated that work flow music, crafted to boost work performance, effectively enhances focus and mood, leading to improved task execution. The study, detailed in PLOS One, involved 196 participants who completed tasks while exposed to different audio conditions, and the work flow music improved reaction times and performance, suggesting that its rhythmic and tonal qualities help maintain focus on tasks by minimizing distractions.

Delta Air Lines has reduced its fuel costs by deploying more efficient aircraft, an effort that has improved fleet-wide fuel efficiency by 6.6 percent since 2019. Delta added 38 new aircraft that are 28 percent more fuel-efficient per seat mile.

Ecommerce converts consumers at less than a tenth the rate of physical stores, Infinite Reality recently found, and immersive shopping may provide a solution. The study revealed that 80% of gamers, 72% of younger consumers and 66% of people in general feel comfortable interacting virtually with products.

Scientists have discovered a new species of apex predator, Bastetodon syrtos, in the Fayum Depression of Egypt, dating back 30 million years. This find, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, sheds light on the evolution of hyaenodonts, ancient carnivores that predate modern cats and dogs.