The Leaderboard

Leaders should serve themselves some humble pie

YouTube/John Baldoni

The best leaders tend also to be the most humble, John Baldoni says in this video. Business schools might not teach humility, but bosses who can check their egos at the door are more likely to command respect and loyalty. "Leaders who value humility are the ones other people want to follow," Baldoni writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (3/1)

Sales Strategies

How to get your salespeople to adopt a new methodology
You can increase the odds that your representatives will use your company's new sales methodology if you develop an effective communication plan, writes Richard Ruff of Sales Horizons. After the methodology is introduced, you can help ensure it is used by coaching and sharing success stories, he writes. SalesTrainingConnection.com (3/1)

Why sales operations should have a stake in lead generation
Getting sales operations involved in lead generation can help produce accurate forecasts and encourage sales and marketing to work together, writes John Kearney. Sales leaders recently hired into a sales-operations role can quickly demonstrate their value by helping improve data at the top of the funnel. "Bringing new insights early indicates you are a transformational leader," Kearney writes. Sales Benchmark Index/Sales & Marketing Effectiveness Blog (3/1)

Daily Data Points

February factory gauge shows U.S. strength

Reuters

U.S. factories hummed in February, with an activity gauge by the Institute for Supply Management perking up to a reading of 54.2. Analysts credit the gain to continuing strength in the housing market and improved spending by businesses as well as higher exports. Recent U.S. gains, the best since 2009, come as manufacturing elsewhere in the world lags. The Wall Street Journal (3/1)

Analysis: Jobs, salaries stagnate as corporate profits surge
The Dow Jones industrial average rose to within 75 points of a record high last week, marking what has become a "golden age for corporate profit" while millions of Americans are still unable to find work, Nelson Schwartz writes. Corporate profits accounted for 14.2% of national income in the third quarter, the most since 1950. The portion of that income paid to workers was 61.7%, close to the lowest amount since 1966. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (3/3)

On the Road

FAA will detail plans for sequestration this week
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to announce details this week on the impact of sequestration. Some budget experts say legal nuances give the administration some flexibility. For example, FAA cuts could be moved to occur in September, they say. AVweb (3/3), The Hill/On The Money blog (3/2)

App Update

Parking-space apps are a growing business in many cities
Companies, some of them aided by federal grants, are laying embedded sensors in thousands of parking spots in U.S. cities and relaying information to drivers about empty spaces and remaining meter time via mobile applications. Streetline, with setups in more than 20 localities, is the only company offering the service on a broad geographic scale, but others are marketing their mobile apps in select cities. USA Today (3/3)

Making Small Talk

Man invents Oreo-scraping robot
Inventor David Neevel loves Oreo cookies, but not the cream, so he built a Rube Goldberg machine capable of splitting the cookies in two and carefully scraping away the offensive filling. MAKE Magazine blog (2/27)

SmartQuote

You only get one chance to make a first impression. The first month is critical in determining your role in the organization." -- John Kearney, writing at the Sales & Marketing Effectiveness Blog Share: