Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

No one has time to listen to chit-chat. Use these tricks to get more out of less in conversations with busy executives. Who has the time now for long conversations

The value of customer relationships runs much deeper than a good product or service. Often we receive many great questions and comments from the readers of our Inc.com column

If you look hard enough, you'll find there's just one number that tells you all you need to know about running your business. The trick is finding the right one. My concept of a “golden number” is lifted from a PBS show I watched as a kid about the “golden ratio,” a number with seemingly magical significance.

Join us as Brian LaCorte, CEO of XOJET, tells his remarkable success story.

To acquire a more positive attitude, all you really need is a more powerful vocabulary. Try these linguistic shifts.

Sometimes, "perfect" can be a problem. Here's how to make your company more nimble. We have a common saying in my company: You can either be slow and perfect or fast and good

Sometimes, "perfect" can be a problem. Here's how to make your company more nimble. We have a common saying in my company: You can either be slow and perfect or fast and good

It's a mistake to refuse an apology to angry customers. Here's how to get really good at saying 'I'm sorry.' Years ago when working for a large corporation I attended a meeting that was hosted by our corporate counsel and loss prevention department. The gist was to educate all of us on the pitfalls of saying "I'm sorry" when dealing with a customer service issue or complaint.

It's a mistake to refuse an apology to angry customers. Here's how to get really good at saying 'I'm sorry.' Years ago when working for a large corporation I attended a meeting that was hosted by our corporate counsel and loss prevention department. The gist was to educate all of us on the pitfalls of saying "I'm sorry" when dealing with a customer service issue or complaint

After all the tears and sweat you've poured into making yourself successful, you'd let these little oversights wreck your financial security?

When on-boarding new hires, we follow these three guidelines to get our employees behind our (epic) mission, and understand our quirky culture. As it's done at a lot of start-ups, at LevelUp we normally condone the "figure it out" approach to learning. After all, some things are better learned through experience

I remember the first time I heard the term "meritocracy." I was playing baseball on a junior-league team, and our coach (the father of one of my teammates) told us that the team would function as a "meritocracy." We were told that this meant that the players that were the most deserving would get the coveted infield positions and the best batting lineup slots.

Gary Marcus suffers from what a friend jokingly describes as congenital arrhythmia--the inability, despite many hours of his youth spent practicing and taking lessons, to learn to play a musical instrument. A few years ago Marcus, a cognitive psychologist at New York University, decided at 38 to make one last try when he took up guitar. No surprise: He did not succeed in becoming the next Jimi Hendrix, but managed to acquire a modicum of skill--and went on to describe his experience in Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning

Big, nonsensical blunders such as a bad acquisition can happen when you don't consider a broad enough set of growth paths. Do you ever wonder why businesses make big, nonsensical, blunders like a bad acquisition or selling an unprofitable product?

He's got the experience and the know-how, but his advice is off the mark. How to handle a mentor you don't agree with.