Have your career strengths become liabilities?
Qualities widely considered unequivocal strengths in the workplace such as creativity and preparation can be debilitating if taken too far, author Jake Breeden says. For instance, a boss who is determined to be fair to everyone might end up rewarding poor performers. Take an online quiz to see if you possess one of these "unexamined virtues." CNNMoney/Fortune
(3/6)
Business tips from an octopus' tentacle
Some octopuses change color to blend in with their surroundings, but they do so by delegating decisions about coloration to individual skin cells, writes Rafe Sagarin. Business leaders, too, can often achieve better results by leaving key decisions to individual workers. "[D]ecentralized organization yields faster, cheaper, and more effective solutions to complex problems," Sagarin writes. Harvard Business Review online/HBR Blog Network
(3/5)
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Sources: Facebook's plans include more news feeds, emphasis on photos
Facebook today will announce a major revamp that includes content-specific news feeds, including a dedicated feed for photos, sources say. The new look is expected to include bigger images and image-based in-stream advertising, the sources say. "Why is Facebook adding new streams? Because we are information junkies. Give us a feed and we'll read it," Josh Constine writes. TechCrunch
(3/5), Mashable
(3/6)
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Data from spy badges can boost productivity, companies say
Equipping workers with badges that track their activity and conversation style helped lead to productivity increases of 10% or more, according to a Bank of America study. The technology appears to be legal but might not be popular with workers. "[D]o you really want your employers following around what you are doing? It's a creepy way to work," says Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute. The Wall Street Journal
(3/7)
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A UFO sighting so fake that it must be real?
Filmmaker Aristomenis "Meni" Tsirbas created a video of a fake flying saucer where all other elements, including the observers and sky, are computer-generated. Conspiracy theorists says Tsirbas' film is a coverup and that the video is actually a true recording of an alien encounter. "I even received a mildly threatening personal e-mail from one of these people," Tsirbas says. Wired.com
(3/5)
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Help SmartBrief cover SXSW Interactive!
SmartBrief will cover the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas, from March 8 to 12, and we need your help! SXSW has way too many must-see events for our staff to cover, so we're turning to our readers to help document the best panels as blog contributors. If you're headed to Austin and want to contribute to SmartBrief's blogs on Social Media, Leadership, Finance, Food and Beverage or Education, check out our guest-post guidelines and send a note to Jesse Stanchak.
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The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
-- Isaac Asimov, Russian-born American author and biochemist
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