Paul Fleming

When thinking about the bottom line, we generally look at process. But this week, here’s a different approach: work on happiness. “Achieving happiness requires nothing more than practicing a few simple disciplines each and every day,” believes Dr Tim Sharp. And he should know – he’s from the Happiness Institute. Happy people see the bright …
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Today, I attended a conference called ‘Mind and Its Potential’ which gathers leading researchers in brain science and cognition from eastern and western traditions. It was a fascinating day. I listened to V.S. Ramachandran, Professor with the Psychology Department and Neurosciences Program at the University of California, San Diego, discuss mirror neurons and Buddhist nun, …
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Imagine you’re planning a holiday. You’ve picked the destination and booked the flight, but haven’t decided on the accommodation. How do you work out where to stay? You might ask friends or go for the well-known options. But most likely, you’ll head online to see what others say. And it’s likely you’ll be swayed by …
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Nobody’s perfect and no service is perfect, especially in the tech world where new services and offerings are a regular occurrence. Some launches are downright awful – others are groundbreaking. And even the groundbreaking ones were once a work in progress. It’s not uncommon for an Apple product launch to be riddled with issues including …
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Pay Per Click advertising can be a great way to drive traffic to your site but in the wrong hands, it can burn money. If you bid on the wrong keywords or focus on the wrong audience, you can end up spending a fortune without any measurable return. If you want to dip into the …
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Are you aware of how you make decisions? From what to wear today to who to marry, we believe we make decisions rationally. We weigh up the options and come to a conclusion. Of course, it’s more complicated than that. I’m currently reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Blink’ about the part of our brain that makes …
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It’s a cold, hard fact: people spend about 4 seconds looking at your website before deciding whether to stay or leave. So how can you hook visitors in that 4 seconds? What’s going on Above The Fold? Above the Fold – or ATF – is a graphic design concept that says the most important information …
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No doubt you’re aware of the revolution taking place between you and your smartphone. To reinforce how pervasive and all-consuming these devices have become, check out these figures from Time magazine’s poll on mobile use across the globe. 84% of people surveyed in the TIME Mobility Poll said they couldn’t go a single day without …
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I’ve been watching the Olympics as much as I can. Even with the disappointing TV coverage, it’s hard not to get sucked into the excitement. The talent and obvious hard work of the athletes is impressive and inspirational. One thing that’s struck me during these games is the obsession with getting gold. Silver has brought …
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If you’re keen to influence people around you — from encouraging them to buy your products or services to increasing recycling in your community — research I heard during a ‘Freakonomics’ podcast will be of interest. Robert Cialdini is a professor and author of the book “Influence” who is interested in how social norms can …
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