This is the latest news and information for workers and managers from across the Web universe, brought to you by Monday Morning Manager writer Harvey Schachter. Follow us on Twitter @Globe_Careers or join our Linked In group.
The greatest sales tool ever invented, says sales consultant Jeffrey Gitomer, is not social media, or your customer service relationship software, or e-mail. It's the telephone. In particular, when you send an e-mail rather than call a prospect, you make it easy for that person to turn you down. Sales Caffeine Newsletter
Leadership lessons from Les Misérables
Blogger and senior executive Benjamin Lichtenwalner says the Oscar-winning Les Misérables offers two leadership lessons. First, that as a leader your inaction is as important as your actions. Second, that you are accountable for the ethics and morals of your people. The character Fantine is molested by a factory foreman and driven out of her job; the company owner, and hero, Jean Valjean, lets it happen through inattention and delegation. ModernServantLeader.com
Deep questions about your firm's mission
Journalist Warren Berger offers these questions about your organizational mission: Why are we here in the first place? What does the world need most that we are uniquely able to provide? What are we willing to sacrifice? What matters more than money? Are we all in this mission together? FastCoDesign.com
A sure way to win customer approval
Alberta-based consultant Michael Kerr salutes a salesman he knows who not only knows the names of his customers, but also the names of their dogs. The sales rep even sent birthday greetings on the dogs' birthdays. Humor At Work Newsletter
Theme music for your work day
Need some inspirational music for your iPod at work? Blogger Hoi Wan suggests this top five: Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World; Ben E. King's Stand By Me; Bill Withers' Lovely Day; U2's Beautiful Day; and the Beatles' Here Comes The Sun. Lifehack.org
Special to The Globe and Mail
Harvey Schachter is a Battersea, Ont.-based writer specializing in management issues. He writes Monday Morning Manager and management book reviews for the print edition of Report on Business and an online work-life column Balance. E-mail Harvey Schachter
Harvey Schachter