Sarah Dunbar worked a vintage clothing stores for 18 years. She learned the art and business of buying, selling and trading so well that she started to moonlight, picking through thrift stores and “flipping” the clothing to specialty stores as a side hustle. And then she saw a niche. “My friends started to ask if I could sell to them and let them see the goods before taking them to stores.

Your business is an ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem responds to its environment, but a lot of organizations are not healthy. There are blockages in the organization that keep people from being able to work effectively. You know the energy-blockers I mean: a fuzzy or nonexistent strategy, role confusion, red tape and bureaucracy, and the fear of higher-ups who are not open to hearing the truth about what’s happening in the business.

In this Wednesday Nov. 6, 2013, file photo, the Twitter logo appears on an updated phone post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) If it’s not already painfully obvious, people’s passwords are being sold in the murky corners of the web en masse.

Why ‘Time and Materials’ Contracts Never Work In Business (Shutterstock) Many businesses fall victim to arcane process and methods just because that’s how those before have always done it. I’m hear to say, “Stop doing what doesn’t work for your client.”  Particularly when it comes to efforts related to growing your business and competing against your competition.

Part of the series “Today’s True Leadership” Ever since I studied renowned humanist psychologist Carl Rogers’ groundbreaking work on empathy during my Master’s degree program in Marriage and Family Therapy, I was deeply struck by the power of empathy to improve lives, build meaningful connections, and develop leaders.

Shutterstock One of the most important things every working person must learn is that not every manager deserves your talents. There are great mentors in the business world and there are other managers who are not qualified to shine your shoes. You have to be able to tell the difference.

Shutterstock While many of the traits that define a good manager vary depending on the organization, the team and the manager, through my studies I have identified a set of six personality traits universally found in the most successful leaders of remote teams. You may find you already naturally possess some of these characteristics while others you will have to work to develop.

Shutterstock Dear Liz, I have a big problem and I’m starting to panic. I hope you can help me! I work in a creative agency. I’ve had the job for eight months and I love it. My boss and my co-workers are fantastic people and the company is growing. They are desperate for talent. We talk at every meeting about bringing in friends and ex-colleagues to work here. I’ve only made one referral. I referred my roommate’s boyfriend for a job here.

The oft-given advice to “do what you love” might be of particular relevance to education professionals, many of whom commit to years of study and multiple degrees to secure jobs that may not always guarantee a healthy paycheck. But the education sector includes a broad variety of occupations paying anywhere from just over $25,000 annually to well into the $100,000s.

In the early days of Node, I nearly worked myself to death. But instead of ruthlessly prioritizing or creating systems to ease my staggering workload, I dove, as many startup founders do, into the seven-day workweek. Working almost 70 hours per week, I tried to do it all — except take care of myself. I neglected my diet, hobbies, family, and friends. I worked more, accomplished less, and was miserable all the while.