Sales is often seen as a somewhat of an abstract process inside of organizations. It isn’t inherently technical like software development or finance, and therefore people often view it as being more forgiving of missteps and errors. I’ll admit that before I started BodeTree, I saw the sales function of an organization as inherently qualitative and therefore somehow different than other internally-focused technical functions.

Once again, I have partnered with my research friends at Advertising Benchmark Index (ABX) to bring you the second in a series of monthly posts that measure recent ads from a prominent category — in today’s case, the insurance category — for recall, relevance, and purchase intent.

A father and his two young children walked through the glass doors of the Museum of Chinese in America at 215 Centre Street in New York City. An unusually quiet spot on the fringes of Manhattan’s bustling Chinatown, MOCA occupied a simple but modern building — one story above ground and one below — and was but one of countless museums in the city.

Being successful in business today doesn’t always boil down to who you know, which can help get you started or open a door. But that alone won’t lead you to greatness. Character is what counts. Your character as a leader, the character of your employees and the culture of your organization will put you on the path to greatness. You want people with guts, initiative, perseverance and doggedness on your team.

The Harry Potter series is immensely successful and continues to grow. The franchise has also spawned successful ventures such as Major League Quidditch and the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ theme park.

One of the many lovely streets of Ferrara, Italy. Image: Celinne Da Costa “Wasted potential.” That simple yet damning phrase is one that I often associate with my home country, Italy. Italy is, and in many ways always has been, a mecca of art, history, food, and culture. Residents and visitors alike will gush that in addition to the aforementioned, this country geographically has it all: crystalline waters, majestic mountains, chic urban cities, and an idyllic countryside.

According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound report, 42% of salespeople report that prospecting is the most difficult part of the sales process. Between researching influencers to contact and drafting a pitch, a lot of effort goes into your sending your outreach emails. Now, imagine the inbox of the person you’re trying to reach. They have to spend time sifting through several outreach emails exactly like yours.

Total SaaS/PaaS revenues of top 50 software companies globally are $22.4B. Splunk and Workday appear on the PwC Global 100 for the first time, indicating the rapid adoption of cloud-based enterprise software in companies globally. Salesforce jumped four positions from 13th to 9th, making the top ten for the first time. Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, SAP, Symantec, EMC, VMWare, HP, Salesforce and Intuit are the top ten software companies worldwide.

Shutterstock. A new study says you should think long and hard and fight against your intuition. Harvard Kennedy School professor Jennifer Lerner teamed up with Christine Ma-Kellams of the University of La Verne to show that — contrary to popular belief — systematic thinkers are better at reading people than their intuitive counterparts, especially in unfamiliar situations.

Investing time and money getting an advanced degree is not always the best option for aspiring data scientists. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg Many college graduates are considering earning an advanced degree in analytics, at considerable expense. For most of them, that choice won’t pay off. People write to me looking for advice about getting into analytics careers. A lot of people.