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June 8, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise The Leaderboard  Are you listening carefully? Good leaders listen to those around them, but not all listening is equal, writes Mary Jo Asmus. The best bosses are skilled at "deep listening," in which they engage others without permitting themselves to get distracted or to assume they already know what the other person really means. "This kind of listening is rare," Asmus writes. "However, it's foundational to the kind of leadership we need now." SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (6/6)       Sales Strategies  How to stop complacency from ruining your sales organization Sales leaders that are unwilling to try new things are at risk of losing their jobs, writes Dan Perry. There may be a problem in your sales organization if your salespeople spend too much time on administrative tasks or if sales cycles are getting longer, he writes. You can stave off complacency by constantly reading relevant articles and blog posts and by paying attention to new trends, he writes. Sales Benchmark Index/Sales Force Effectiveness Blog (6/8)       Mistakes that will derail a sales meeting Sales managers can sabotage their sales teams by setting unrealistic goals, writes Sean McPheat of MTD Sales Training. "Unrealistic sales targets or those that the sales person cannot comprehend or believe can intimidate, frighten and embarrass the sales person," he writes. Managers should also avoid discussing representatives' shortcomings in public, he writes. MTDSalesTraining.com (6/7)       Daily Data Points  Low rates dampen optimism of investors and retirees The Wells Fargo-Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index slid in May for investors' and retirees' outlook. Survey participants said low interest rates are hurting their ability to retire or save. "A lot of people are saying, 'I don't necessarily want to be in the equity markets, but I don't know how else to get the return I need,' " said Karen Wimbush of Wells Fargo. The Wall Street Journal/Total Return blog (6/7), Financial-Planning.com (6/6)       Report: Economy has expanded at a "moderate pace" during the past 2 months Evidence shows that the economy grew at a "moderate pace" in April and May, according to a report by the Federal Reserve. "Economic outlooks remain positive, but contacts were slightly more guarded in their optimism," the report says. National Public Radio (6/6)       Other News Increases in consumer credit fall short of expectations in April The Wall Street Journal/Real Time Economics blog (6/7)       Asia-Pacific region accounts for largest percentage of mobile-ad spending ClickZ (6/6)       On the Road  A radical new idea for business-class seating They may look like futuristic pods -- something you'd see in a sci-fi movie. But the purple pods shown in this video are actually a seat-maker's plan for providing more privacy for premium travelers. "The 'Air-Lair': [I]ndividual, hard-shell pods containing a flat bed, mood lighting and projector from which to beam the in-flight entertainment is the radical idea being developed on paper by aircraft seat manufacturer Contour Aerospace and product design consultancy Factory Design," this feature explains. TerminalU.com (U.K.) (6/6)         App Update  App Center launches on Facebook Facebook has created an App Center that will help users find applications that they might be interested in using. The center, which features games for the most part, includes apps such as Draw Something and Pinterest. MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (6/8)       Featured Content    Boost Productivity by 'Resting' Your Brain Matthew E. May 6 Million LinkedIn Passwords Compromised Courtney Rubin A Guide to New York City's Startup Scene Katie Morell The 5 Essential Languages for Business Mike Michalowicz Text Google to Find Anything TJ McCue Making Small Talk  Cuban man towers above cars atop giant bike Felix Guirola of Cuba rides a homemade bicycle that is more than 10 feet tall. "I never get scared nor have I fallen, and I obey all traffic laws," he said. Guirola said he was first inspired to ride tall bicycles in the 1980s, and he is putting the finishing touches on an 18-foot bike. Houston Chronicle/The Associated Press (6/6)       Position Title Company Name Location Senior Sales Manager, West Universal Electronics Midwest/West region , CA Regional Sales Associate B-Line Medical Washington, DC Click here to view more job listings. SmartQuote  [N]ever demand the team do things that you cannot, have not, or would not do yourself." --Sean McPheat, founder and managing director of MTD Sales Training, writing at MTDSalesTraining.com.       SmartBrief on Sales Partners SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! 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