There's No Such Thing as a Wrong Number

Once he has identified a lead, Rosen generally spends a few more minutes on the Internet in search of potentially helpful information about the person, insights that might also help him take even more of the chill off a cold call. Tracking an individual to his or her place of business often supplies not only a job title and office phone number but in many cases a photograph that suggests the person's age and perhaps demeanor. You don't want to stalk a prospect, but the more you know, the better.

20 Things I've Learned as an Entrepreneur

On my last day at Consorte Media I wrote an email to myself listing the twenty things I've learned as an entrepreneur.  In honor of Consorte Media's birth anniversary of July 1st, I list them below.

1.    It's rare when someone is their word; treasure it in others, cultivate it in yourself

2.    Call AND email – the squeaky wheel does get the grease

Retailers Pay More to Get Cargo (No Guarantee)

The grills shaped like kegs and toolboxes, ordered for a Father's Day promotion at Cost Plus World Market, arrived too late for the holiday. At the Container Store, platinum-color hangers, advertised in a summer sale catalog, were delivered days after the sale began. At True Value Hardware, the latecomers were fans and portable chairs.

Team Coordination Is Key in Businesses

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the American men's 4x100 relay team was a strong medal contender. During the four previous Games, the American men had medaled every time. The qualifying heats in 2008 -- the first step on the road to gold -- should have been a cakewalk.

A Sound Approach to Marketing

I'll never forget a focus group session we did with paroled felons. We had gathered about 15 ex-convicts who had served time for gun-related crimes to determine the most powerful messages to be woven into a government campaign to deter them from violating parole and winning a trip back to prison.

We're happier when busy but our instinct is for idleness

Forced to wait for fifteen minutes at the airport luggage carousel leaves many of us miserable and irritated. Yet if we'd spent the same waiting time walking to the carousel we'd be far happier. That's according to Christopher Hsee and colleagues, who say we're happier when busy but that unfortunately our instinct is for idleness. Unless we have a reason for being active we choose to do nothing - an evolutionary vestige that ensures we conserve energy.