Clever Geek Handbook
30 January 2026

The 50 Best (and Worst) Business Deals Of All Time

Recommendation

Michael Craig, a securities attorney, describes the basis for success or failure in 50 big money business deals. He examines the strategy, risks and personality dynamics involved. Craig highlights 10 rules for success he gleaned by observing patterns in these deals, rules you can apply to your own business transactions. This well-crafted book groups several deals to illustrate each rule, although many of the deals reflect several principles. At the end of each story, the author recaps the lesson at hand and explains what went right or wrong. While executives, company owners, and those who do deals for them will find this book especially valuable, BooksInShort also recommends it to general readers, who will enjoy reading these inside accounts of well-publicized deals.

Take-Aways

  • Follow the 10 rules for success in deal making.
  • Focus on your strengths and take advantage of your adversary’s weaknesses.
  • Look for value where others don’t see it.
  • Think of ways to innovate in financial arrangements and in selling.
  • Don’t try to be too nice; the best deals result from bargaining hard and being mean.
  • Do plenty of advance planning and information gathering.
  • Take care of the employees after you make an acquisition, since you still have to run the place.
  • Don’t want something so much that you become a desperate buyer or seller. The greatest power in a deal is the ability to say ’no.’
  • Look for future trends and use the long view to your advantage.
  • Don’t negotiate with people who are better at it than you are, since deal making is a skill.

Summary

The 10 Rules for Success in Deal Making

Michael Craig was always fascinated by big business deals and the money, strategy, risks and personalities evolved. In the late 1980s, he became involved in deal making during the contested takeover of Roper, an appliance maker. The bitter fight began after GE made a higher hostile bid than Whirlpool, which had a friendly deal with Roper. Eventually, GE and Whirlpool carved up Roper, but while everyone "won," the process was highly irrational.

“Great opportunities arise from the financial catastrophes of others.”

As Craig watched this apparently chaotic process play out in deal after deal, he found that certain people and certain methods usually won, while certain strategies usually lost. As he perceived patterns, he supplemented his observations with extensive research. Although many factors are at play, he identified 10 basic rules that substantially shape the success of a deal. The deals described below each demonstrate at least one of the 10 rules, although most illustrate more than one. The rules are:

  1. Focus on your strengths.
  2. Take advantage of your adversary’s weakness.
  3. Find value where others don’t see it.
  4. Don’t get caught up in wanting.
  5. Innovate.
  6. Take care of the little people.
  7. Be a pest.
  8. Do your homework.
  9. Predict the future and seize it.
  10. Don’t negotiate with your betters.

Rule One: Focus On Your Strengths

Focus on what you do best. Commonly, the winner of a deal has a well-thought out plan and understands the subject of the deal, while the loser has usually strayed into an unfamiliar area. For example, the leveraged buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) did well when it followed its time-tested LBO plan, such as when it successfully acquired Beatrice Foods. Priscilla Presley likewise did well when she took control of the Elvis Presley Estate. Working with a financial adviser, she opened Graceland as a tourist attraction, staked legal claim to Elvis’ name and found ways to extend the Elvis brand name.

“The main difference between ’duplicity’ and ’salesmanship’ is whether anyone gets hurt.”

By contrast, many conglomerates get into trouble when they buy companies in a variety of businesses and venture into areas where they lack sufficient knowledge, such as when LTV bought Jones & Laughlin Steel, which had no assets that could be sold or spun off to assist in financing. As a result, LTV nearly went bankrupt. Novell, a maker of network operating systems, bought WordPerfect, thus overpaying for a troubled company which it didn’t know how to fix. It lost its leadership in network operating systems as a result.

Rule Two: Take Advantage of Your Adversary’s Weaknesses

One way to take advantage of your adversary’s weaknesses is to look for a "desperate seller" or "desperate buyer." An early example of this is the Louisiana Purchase. The U.S. government wanted to improve its access to the Mississippi River, and it got a great deal because France was eager to sell, even at a low price.

“Although you can’t pick your adversaries in a business deal, you can pick up on their motivations. If the deal is a matter of necessity to them, they are at the mercy of an observant adversary, who is now in a position to dictate terms or walk away, a circumstance the desperate buyer or seller wants to avoid at all costs.”

You can also take advantage of the financial difficulties of others. In 1915, Pierre du Pont rescued General Motors’ founder William Durant from a dangerous speculation in GM stock. He bought out Durant’s stock at a bargain price, a $100 million investment that grew into $3 billion by 1962. J.P. Morgan bought a controlling interest in Tennessee Coal & Iron from U.S. Steel in 1907, when the U.S. financial markets were panicking. John Kluge successfully bought and broke up Metromedia in 1984. When the market for communications properties became hot, he sold them for a premium price.

“Innovation in deal-making can reveal value, or make it accessible, where it would not have otherwise been apparent.”

When you do acquire a damaged property or encounter a desperate seller be sure to get a discount. Otherwise, you could end up with a business failure - this was GE Capital’s fate after it paid too much for Montgomery Ward.

Rule Three: Find Value Where Others Don’t See It

You can benefit by discovering something first. But, be a good judge of value so you don’t get stuck. William Seward, Secretary of State to Presidents Lincoln and Johnson, successfully negotiated the purchase of Alaska in 1867. Although it was an unexplored, frozen wasteland, he saw the potential for U.S. expansion. The discovery of oil and gold made the investment even more profitable. When Sir James Goldsmith acquired Diamond International in 1982, he believed in the value of the company’s timber assets. He willingly acquired it during a recession, and then sold off its operating assets to get its timber almost for free. Similarly, when Ronald Perelman acquired Technicolor in 1982, he recognized that Technicolor had many unprofitable assets he could sell, leaving the core of a profitable company he could take over with little money. When Technicolor’s main assets, notably its commercial film-development business, increased in value, he made a high profit. Warren Buffett likewise saw the value in Coca-Cola, when he purchased its stock in 1988. He paid a high price because he understood the power of the Coca-Cola name - the most recognized brand in the world.

Rule Four: Don’t Get Caught Up In the Wanting

Do not convince yourself you have to have something. If you want something too much, you are likely to pay too much for it. A dealmaker’s greatest weapon is the ability to say ’no.’ If a seller recognizes that you want something too badly you can become easy prey. This trap of excess desire contributed to many of the business collapses in the late 1980s. Quaker was so intent on getting Snapple that it overlooked an unexpected 75% drop in earnings that was discovered during the negotiation period, and paid too much. Robert Campeau wanted to acquire Federated Department Stores so much in 1988 that he and his advisors let themselves be convinced by over-optimistic cash and sales projections. The value wasn’t there and Federated soon went bankrupt.

Rule Five: Be Innovative to Make a Successful Deal

If you can use innovative methods you can find ways to profit where others cannot. By using innovation in financing or selling, you can discover value or make a hidden value accessible. In an early example of this process, the Dutch purchased Manhattan Island from the Canarsee Indians in 1616 for a very small sum. This innovative deal enabled them to avoid much of the conflict that occurred in other areas where Europeans seized Native American lands. In more recent history, restaurant equipment salesman Ray Kroc got so many orders from McDonald Brothers, a small, limited-menu shop, in San Diego that he was surprised. Kroc saw the shop’s potential and offered the brothers a deal that was difficult to refuse. In the 1950s, Kroc sold franchises - a very innovative approach at the time - to get expansion money. Then, he put his company on a firm financial footing by going into real estate, leasing and then buying property for his franchises.

Rule Six: Take Care of the Little People

Treat a firm’s employees well when you do a deal. Even if you buy a company for a great price, you still have to run it. For that, you need good employees. Often, dealmakers regard employees as a big expense and think they can save money with massive layoffs. However, dismissing employees en masse can result in harmful negative publicity that can damage future operations. Also, effective employees who already know the business can contribute significantly to future success. One way to keep employees aboard is to use employee ownership to make the operation run even more effectively. When KKR acquired Duracell, it included significant equity for employees, including management participation. As a result, motivated managers helped increase the cash flow so KKR and the managers all made money. When Gordon Cain took over seven commodity chemical businesses in 1987 under the Cain Chemical name, he gave equity shares to nearly every employee, enabling him to cut costs significantly. Then, when the company did well, everyone made a profit.

Rule Seven: Be a Pest

While being friendly can be helpful at times in closing a deal, most of the time you will do better by being mean. Although many of the big deals look outwardly friendly, with the principals shaking hands, conducting joint new conferences and providing generous severance packages, this façade often covers up hard bargaining. If you feel something is worth negotiating for, "it is worth getting all you can." In many cases, deal participants have gotten more by "becoming pests." Though others don’t like such an adversary, a pest can wear down opponents in negotiations and get a better deal. In the 1980s, corporate raiders used this strategy when they purchased stock in a company and threatened a take-over. As a result, the company got put in play. The company then would buy back the raider’s stock at a premium or find someone else to buy it. The raider would make a big profit, as occurred when T. Boone Pickens attempted to takeover Gulf Oil, which eventually led Standard Oil to take over Gulf. In the process, Pickens and his company, Mesa Petroleum, earned $500 million.

Rule Eight: Do Your Homework

Engage in extensive planning and information gathering. The bigger the deal, the more you generally need to plan and gather information, since such deals are so complex. If you don’t do the necessary "due diligence," you could make a big mistake. When Sony acquired Columbia pictures in 1989, it unfortunately failed to develop an operating plan. Sony also signed Jon Peters and Peter Guber as co-CEOs at a time when they had an exclusive production deal with Warner Brothers, a competing studio. Warner Brothers sued Sony, Guber and Peters for breach of contract and sought an injunction to keep the men from working for anyone else. Sony paid $500 million to get out of the mess.

Rule Nine: Predict the Future and Seize It

You can do much better by taking the long-term view of a transaction, particularly if your adversaries take a short-term view. In the long run, view the assets of a company not just as they are now, but as they may become. This is especially vital for dealmakers in high-technology companies. Microsoft’s ability to envision future computer trends served it well in 1980, when it purchased DOS and licensed it to IBM. Microsoft saw that IBM’s entry into the personal computer market would vastly expand that segment. Thus, Microsoft was willing to take a relatively small up-front license fee to keep the license non-exclusive. Then, it proceeded to license DOS to IBM’s competitors, making Microsoft an early powerhouse.

“Many fine deals, rather than treating employees as an expense to cut, have succeeded because the buyer used employee ownership to improve the operation.”

In 1997, Michael Robertson purchased the MP3.com domain name because he noticed that the term MP3 was often searched for on the Web. He bought the name for $1,000 from Martin Paul, who wanted a domain name with his initials. Then, he set up the site and offered anyone the opportunity to upload music on the site in return for offering one song for free. He planned to make money from advertising and making homemade CDs. The site got 10,000 visitors the first day it opened and within three years, Robertson’s stake in the site was worth $200 million.

Rule Ten: Don’t Negotiate with Your Betters

Deal making is a skill. If you are outclassed, turn to advisors who know better, or step away. For example, Merv Griffin was outclassed by Donald Trump’s abilities as a dealmaker when he tried to acquire Resorts International, paid too much and went bankrupt.

About the Author

Michael Craig writes about big business and high finance for Online Investor and other magazines. He previously worked as a class action lawyer and spent 15 years as a litigator in cases involving large business deals as well as complex securities and consumer class actions.

Read summary...
The 50 Best (and Worst) Business Deals Of All Time

Book The 50 Best (and Worst) Business Deals Of All Time

Career Press,
 


30 January 2026

The How of Happiness

Recommendation

Singer Bobby McFerrin had a monster hit in 1988 entitled Don't Worry, Be Happy. The hypnotically perky, happy song hopped its way across the globe, magically lifting the spirits of listeners everywhere. The lyrics say: “In your life expect some trouble / When you worry you make it double / Don’t worry, be happy / Be happy now.” If only happiness were that easy to achieve. Indeed, happiness requires considerable focus and effort, but psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky promises that it is eminently achievable, even for the galactically unhappy. She outlines some proven psychological stratagems and explains why they work, if you put in the effort. Just be aware of and implement specific mood-lifting techniques to improve the level of happiness in your life. Whether or not you cheer up when you hear McFerrin’s catchy tune, BooksInShort suggests giving Lyubomirsky’s scientific happiness-inducing techniques a shot. Don’t worry, be happy: They just might work.

Take-Aways

  • Happiness is largely a state of mind.
  • Ultimately, your happiness is not conditioned by life’s external circumstances.
  • Some people are more genetically disposed to happiness than others.
  • Anyone, except for the clinically depressed, can be happier if they choose to be.
  • Most happy people share the same “happiness habits.”
  • To be happy, establish new happiness habits for yourself.
  • Establishing such habits requires hard work and dedicated effort.
  • Create these habits by doing various “happiness exercises” on a daily basis.
  • These exercises include being joyful about life, feeling gratitude for what you have and always living in the moment.
  • Some exercises work better than others depending on people’s personalities, lifestyles and attributes.

Summary

You Can Be Happy

Don’t be one of those people who believe they are destined to be unhappy. Reorganize your thinking and guess what? You can be happy, even if you aren’t wealthy, thin, beautiful, admired by your peers or a lottery winner. External circumstances don’t determine true happiness. What counts is your attitude toward life. If you’re positive, you are likely to be happy. If you’re negative, you’ll probably be unhappy.

“The fountain of happiness can be found in how you behave, what you think and what goals you set every day of your life.”

Genes have much to do with happiness. Some people are born with high happiness “set points.” These markers are similar to diet set points: Some people can eat a ton of food and not gain a pound, while others seem to put on weight just by entering the kitchen. Similarly, people with high happiness set points naturally feel more satisfied than others and more content – happier – with their lives and the world around them.

“Aiming for greater happiness is no small endeavor, requiring effort and commitment.”

You can’t change your genes. If you are unlucky and have a relatively low happiness set point, you will tend to feel unhappy rather than happy. But research indicates that people’s set points account for only 50% of their overall happiness. Another 10% is determined by life circumstances – being rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, fat or thin, loved or unloved, lucky or unlucky – and individuals directly control the remaining 40%.

“Happy people are all alike; every unhappy person is unhappy in his or her own way.”

People have the power to substantially improve their happiness by making a conscious effort to be happy, not unhappy. This requires developing the habits and attitudes of happy people, and – if need be – changing their thinking and behavior. Ultimately, you choose to be happy. You can induce happiness using basic, scientifically proven concepts, but it involves a great deal of effort. Changing your thinking, attitudes and behavior is not easy, but the result could be lifelong happiness.

“Some of us are likely to be not just slightly unhappy but clinically or subclinically depressed...moderate to severe depression, especially, requires urgent attention from a professional.”

Unfortunately, some individuals continue to feel grossly unhappy regardless of their heroic attempts to change their thinking and behavior. Such individuals may be seriously depressed and may need professional assistance, such as psychotherapy or medication. If you think you might be depressed, seek help. First, get a full physical examination from your primary-care physician to rule out any somatic causes of depression. Your physician may refer you to a mental-health professional for treatment.

“All of us want to be happy, even if we don’t admit it openly or choose to cloak our desire in different words.”

If you are a nondepressed, but still unhappy person, examine why you feel down. This will help you determine which exercises can help you improve your mood and be happier. Ask yourself what underpins your unhappiness. Do you dread the future? Do you feel you don’t have control over your life? Are you shy or naturally pessimistic? Is it hard for you to find pleasure? Your answers to such questions will point you to the exercises that will be the most satisfying for you.

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” (the Talmud)

Examine your strong points. For example, if you are naturally competitive, then you should engage in a sport or physical activity where you can excel, and thus feel happier and better about yourself. Consider the life you live before you chose new activities. If your life is highly stressful with little free time, then something simple like counting your blessings may be all you need.

The 12 Activities of Happiness

Achieving happiness is no mystery. It involves actively doing simple, new things regularly and making them habits. These activities will make you happier – it’s that simple. Of course, introducing new activities into your daily regimen is not easy. If you’re willing to make the effort, pursue the following 12 actions and become happier.

“Pursuing happiness takes work, but consider that this ‘happiness work’ may be the most rewarding work you’ll ever do.”

Some of these actions may seem silly, even sappy. Don’t let such reactions stand in the way of your happiness. You don’t have to carry out all the steps; select and try a few. If they don’t work, try others. Choose activities that best suit you and your lifestyle.

You can be sure that some activities, done regularly, will make you feel happy.

  1. Be grateful – The powerful antidote to negativity about bad life experiences is an “attitude of gratitude” about good experiences. Research indicates that people who appreciate things feel a strong sense of satisfaction, and are more optimistic. As such, they are much happier. To power up your sense of gratitude, start a weekly “gratitude journal” in which you write about things that make you feel grateful.
  2. Stay optimistic – If you are pessimistic, feeling happy is almost impossible. Everything gets filtered through a dark, negative attitude, and is colored accordingly. Instead, be optimistic about life. Work to enhance your coping skills, so you feel energized and more goal-oriented. To be more optimistic, write down how you see your life going if things go right. This visualization exercise will help activate your “optimistic muscles.”
  3. Don’t overthink – When you worry constantly about problems (“self-focused rumination”), like a dog gnawing at a bone, you will naturally feel bad, sad and depressed. This rut is remarkably self-defeating. So is routinely comparing yourself negatively to others. To break this harmful bad habit, don’t indulge in it. Switch your focus to something enjoyable instead, like exercise or a movie.
  4. Be kind – The ultimate happiness secret is being kind. When you go out of your way to be kind, you will feel good about yourself and eliminate negative feelings including guilt and emotional distress. When you are kind, you immediately turbo charge a positive attitude. One way to exercise kindness is engage in volunteer activities – you couldn’t possibly spend your time in a more rewarding way.
  5. Become social – The overarching message of Barbra Streisand’s song, “People Who Need People,” is that such people “are the luckiest people in the world.” Psychologists agree that the need for social inclusion is one of every humans’ strongest motivational forces. You need to be social to be happy, so make time for others.
  6. Learn to cope – Stress is universal and may be brought on by a wide variety of problems. You can’t become happy if you don’t know how to cope with stress. Address your problems by focusing on finding solutions. Take things step by step. Develop a strategy and an action plan. Seek advice. If the stress is emotional, not situational, do something that makes you feel good. Go on a hike. Listen to soothing music. Visit a friend. Writing about stress can help alleviate it.
  7. Forgive others – Often, old bromides contain the most truth and, thereby, remain timely. “Forgive and forget” is one such maxim. Psychologists confirm that people who hold on to anger, resentment and hostility hurt themselves both emotionally and physically. Of course, forgiving someone who has done you wrong is not easy. One way to try is to write a forgiveness letter to that individual. Include details about how the person wronged you. Then forgive him or her in writing. You don’t have to send the letter. Getting the hurtful emotions out is what counts. When you do that, you free yourself of them.
  8. Seize the moment – Do you live in the future, planning how wonderful things will be when you become rich, lose weight, marry your true love or get a better job? Or do you live in the past, regretting actions that you took or didn’t take. Why not live in the all-important present? Think about it: The present really is all you have. The best way to be in the present is to focus on your current activities. As psychologist William James wrote, “My experience is what I agree to attend to.” Pay attention to your life. Make each moment in your life meaningful. Don’t waste a minute.
  9. Be joyful – Do you savor your life and enjoy each minute? If not, why not? With the right attitude, even the mundane can be exquisite. Eating breakfast can be a blissful experience if you make it so. So can getting into bed and falling asleep. Use your imagination to enrich your life. Recall wonderful experiences from the past. Make them real again in your mind. Research indicates that nearly one in three individuals gains valuable perspective on current challenges after engaging in “positive reminiscence.”
  10. Become goal-oriented – People who strongly commit to goals commit to life. Of course, their goals need to be sensible, achievable and truly fulfilling. Are yours? Many people set the goal of becoming rich or improving their physical appearance. But research indicates that being wealthy or beautiful does not guarantee happiness. Indeed, such “extrinsic goals” can get in the way of the more important “intrinsic goals” that can truly make you happy. These differ from individual to individual. For one person, it is learning to cook. For another, it is swimming every morning before breakfast. Life without goals is empty. Commit wholeheartedly to yours.
  11. Become spiritual – Research indicates that religious people are much happier than nonreligious people. They are also in better health, cope more effectively with disease and deal better with trauma than people who are not religious. Being spiritual – the “search for the sacred” – helps people achieve inner serenity and peace. Religion and spirituality can give meaning to your life.
  12. Stay physically and mentally fit – If you don’t meditate, you should. Meditation represents the “cultivation of attention.” A period of meditation is a patient, nonstriving time when you let things go, detach from standard thinking and stop making your customary judgments about everything. Do you exercise? Exercise is one of the best ways to immediately feel good about yourself. Do you act like a happy person? Believe it or not, you can fool yourself into feeling happy when you smile and laugh. It’s hard to be sad when you’re smiling.

The Five Happiness “Hows”

Anyone can be happy temporarily. The trick is to maintain this happiness throughout your life. Understanding happiness and why the 12 strategies can help you attain it increases your chances of becoming permanently happy. Use the five happiness “hows” to understand happiness better:

  1. Stay positive – Would you feel positive if a game show host knocked on your door to give you a check for a million dollars? You know you would. Unfortunately, the likelihood of this happening is remote in the extreme. Therefore, it makes sense to use the little actions in life – smiling, thinking about good things, purposely feeling joyful – to manufacture similarly positive feelings. Your life can be positive or negative. Choose positivity. Permanent happiness will be your reward. Research shows that positive feelings “foil” negative feelings, so be positive.
  2. Pay attention to timing and variety of experience – The 12 positive actions can greatly boost your happiness. Put all or a portion of them to work daily. Most importantly, use them when you need them most. For example, you may feel great stress when speaking with your supervisor or your in-laws. Almost certainly, you will feel such stress when speaking to a judge in traffic court. Therefore, time your happiness activities to take place when you need them. Surprise yourself with happy variations when engaging in positive activities. Adding variety to your “happiness regimen” works wonders.
  3. Build your support system – Try hard to be happy daily. You will be better able to achieve your happiness goals when you have the support of your close friends, family members or mentors. Such social support validates your efforts to be happy. This makes all the difference to your long-term happiness goals. Research shows that people achieve their extended goals more often if they have active support from others.
  4. Commit to your goals – Swimmers cannot be great at their sport without regular practice. This is equally true for all those – artists, writers, football players, dancers – who want to achieve something. It also applies to people who want to be happy. If you do, commit to your happiness-enhancement plan and work hard on your individual happiness activities on a daily basis. Nothing comes easy in life; this is as true for happiness as it is for anything else. If you don’t have the time for a fully active happiness regimen, does that mean you don’t have time to be happy? Make the time – happiness is about getting the most from your life. Make the effort. Commit to a happy life.
  5. Habits – To be happy, do your happiness activities habitually. Habits depend on regular repetition and constant practice. This is as true for doing things that will make you happy as it is for dieting properly or exercising daily. Work hard to instigate new habits that directly involve your happiness activities. Eventually, like any other habit, they will become subconscious and automatic. When they do, you will be much happier.
“Everyone’s goal should be to turn positive thinking and behavior strategies into habits.”

Don’t go through life being unhappy. You are very much in control of the degree of personal happiness you experience. Once you understand the primary factors that determine happiness, you can quickly put them to work in your life. This requires conscious effort and strong determination on your part. Make this commitment to yourself this very minute. Become a happy person today.

About the Author

Sonja Lyubomirsky is a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, and winner of the Templeton Positive Psychology Prize.

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The How of Happiness

Book The How of Happiness

A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want

Penguin,
 


30 January 2026

101 Ways to Have a Great Day at Work

Recommendation

When a book has a smiley-face on the cover, you pretty much know what to expect. And you won’t be disappointed with this one; it’s upbeat all the way. This optimistic book would make a great little gift (even for yourself). Stephanie Goddard Davidson brings her considerable expertise to this simple little book of 101 tips (one per page) for improving your productivity. Here’s how to minimize stress and become happier at work. The suggestions range from one-sentence instructions to a couple of paragraphs each, and are valid, practical and often thought-provoking. BooksInShort recommends it to anyone with a job and a susceptibility to being cheered up - it just might get you through a bad day.

Take-Aways

  • You can make more days great days.
  • You can renew your sense of purpose.
  • You can prevent and cope with stress.
  • You can make effective changes in your job, or change to another job.
  • Do what you can instead of focusing on things you cannot control.
  • These 101 techniques can improve your productivity, outlook and well being
  • Find inspiration wherever you can, especially in other people.
  • Plan your life based on important relationships, instead of schedules and deadlines.
  • Breathing is an effective stress reducer.
  • Learn something new every day.

Summary

Introduction

If you’re having another bad day at work, remember that you have more control and power over your day than you might realize. You can make more days great days, have a renewed sense of purpose in your job, make a positive impact and prevent or cope with stress. These 101 tips have been used successfully by employees at all kinds of workplaces. Here’s a sample:

Take Stock, Listen and Breathe

Think back to when you first began your job. Try to recall the elements of your position that excited you then. List ten reasons why you still like your job. Look at the list from time to time. Make another list of the five things you would like to see happen this year. These don’t have to be just about work. You can include your personal goals, too. Look back on this list once a month to check your progress.

“Try planning today by the relationships that are most important to you, instead of by schedules or deadlines.”

Nobody likes every aspect of his or her job, but nobody hates everything about it, either (if you do, it’s certainly time to go job-hunting), and this little trick can help you get through the tasks you’d rather not deal with. Do the things you most dislike first. Get them out of the way. Then, do what you like. It will feel like a reward.

“You really only need five outfits. No one notices or cares how many outfits you own, just as long as you don’t wear the same thing twice in a week.”

Figure out one thing you can do to maximize your salary this year. Do one thing every day that you believe is healthy for you. This isn’t silly. It will make you aware of the many healthy things you can be doing for yourself.

Plan your day based on the relationships that are most important to you instead of your schedule or deadlines. Become a more effective listener by making a conscious effort to listen more than you talk. Both of these will improve your professional and personal relationships.

“Character is the root; personality the flower. Your external ’beauty’ is only as strong as the roots no one can see.”

Take a deep breath - it’s an effective stress reducer. Clear your mind and remember to learn something new each day, no matter how big or how small. You can learn something from every person you come in contact with each day. And while you’re focused on people, look at a relationship you have at work that’s strained or not satisfying. Try to "mend fences."

Let It Go

Do what you can instead of focusing on things you can’t control. If you’re angry with someone let it all out in a letter to him or her, and then destroy the letter. Share your knowledge with someone who can benefit from it. Treat yourself to something every day, and try to stay positive. Look at problems and figure out how to be part of the solution.

“People don’t give feedback to be mean or judgmental. If they don’t care, they’d just let you fail.”

A change of scenery can help you focus, clear your mind and reduce stress. Go to a different floor, a different bathroom or some part of the workplace you rarely see. Concentrate on one thing at a time instead of multi-tasking. See if that makes you more productive and less stressed. The next time someone does something nice for you, tell that person’s boss. You’ll feel good, the boss will feel good and the "good-deed doer" will be appreciated. Don’t wear anything that makes you feel like you don’t look your best. Your work and your mood are greatly affected by your self image.

The Best Prize

Find inspiration wherever you can. Perhaps a quote that you can put on your desk or a role model whom you can read about. Take time to relax. Being a workaholic isn’t the answer.

“If you are already on a solid financial path, or if you are known to be a little too frugal, now figure out one way you can also reward yourself financially each pay day. A special dinner, a massage, a new plant. Just make sure the money is spent on you.”

Pay attention to your voice - do you speak too quietly or too loudly? Give some thought to how you communicate. What motivates you and the people who work with you? Find out, don’t guess. If you’re facing a problem, figure out what it really is. You can’t solve a problem until it’s been completely defined.

“Turn your attention today to the things you can control and do something about them.”

Communicate in person by walking around the workplace. Then take time to sit and think. You can’t be effective if you’re never still. Remember that thoughts are power.

Give a gift or award to someone you haven’t had time for due to your workload. When someone comes to you with a problem, empower the person to come up with a solution. Don’t solve the problem or you’ll end up being the only person responsible for the outcome.

“Don’t assume you know what motivates others or that they know what motivates you.”

If you have to give constructive criticism, keep it focused on work - don’t make it personal. Remember that you are responsible for where you are in your job and your career. You have choices, including the one about staying or leaving. Don’t take a job or stay at a job simply for the money or the title. Remember what Theodore Roosevelt said, "Far and away, the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."

“Are you making career decisions based on money? Or title? Money and title don’t get you very far when you are miserable eight hours a day.”

Stay informed! Read industry or professional publications, give and receive feedback, give positive reinforcement. Trust yourself to make decisions. If a decision proves to be wrong, you will learn from it. You can’t change others, only yourself, so don’t try to fix everybody.

The Bosses Shoes

If you can’t stand working on a particular project and have difficulty motivating yourself to even begin today, tell yourself you’ll only work on it for ten minutes. Once you’ve started, you’ll probably work on it longer. If not, at least you got ten minutes of it done today.

“Pay attention to your thoughts today. They create your life.”

List everything that’s bothering you. Decide which things you can do something about. Let the rest of them go. Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. You will probably feel relieved that you are you. When faced with a dilemma, focus on finding a win-win situation. Share your success strategies with others.

“Take small steps, but start making it happen today.”

Reorganize, pay attention to your surroundings, and throw out all that clutter!

Notice what you react to and how you react. Try a new reaction. Don’t try so hard - sometimes you have to just let things flow. Don’t worry so much. Decide what you can do about the situation and then do it. You are in charge of shaping your future. It won’t happen all at once, though, and every little step gets you closer to where you want to go. Write a mission statement for yourself and take risks! Visualize your plan with your goal in mind.

The Quality of Character

Go all out and make that extra effort today. Be of service to others. Helping others can make you feel better, too. Focus on what people say instead of half-listening to them while you figure out what you’re going to reply. Get to know others at your office. Think of a colleague who is not like you, and then list his or her five most positive traits. Value your opposite. Don’t gossip. Find things worth liking about the boss.

“Each of us has elements of every personality type; we just rely on one style predominately. Break out of your usual way and develop the rest of you.”

Make sure you have enough peaceful downtime. Create balance in your life. Change your style. If you’re a take-charge person, sit back and observe today. See what it feels like to be completely different. Character is your most important quality. Try to build your character every day.

If money or education were no object, what would you be doing right now? If it’s not what you’re doing, start planning. Can you create parts of your ideal career in your current situation? Can you do volunteer work in that area? Focus on working toward that new career.

Cut the Complaining

Network! Join a professional group. Be a mentor. Share information; teach someone something they want to learn. Reach out to people and don’t worry about being rejected.

“Life is short. Don’t wait until later.”

Find the time to reflect. Think about where you were five years ago. Does that make you feel better or worse about where you are now? Pay attention to what you do, say, and think. Keep excellence in mind and make everything the best it can be now.

Is there anything you’ve been putting off? Do it today. Look at the big picture. See through the eyes of the company or organization you work for in order to understand their practices and policies.

“Slow down today and choose excellence.”

When someone complains, turn the conversation around to something positive. You’ll both feel better. Try to find something good, even in the worst situations - you may even stumble on a solution.

Don’t forget to take good care of yourself. Exercise, take in some fresh air, eat right, drink plenty of water, rest, have fun, go to bed early.

Count Your 10 Blessings

Say thanks to the boss. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the reaction. Use the Golden Rule when dealing with co-workers. What is the one thing a co-worker could do to make things better with you? Do that very thing yourself. Admit your mistakes. It’s the best way to gain your co-workers’ respect.

Count your blessings. Make a list of at least 10 of them. Are you feeling overwhelmed and unable to say "no" when you really want to say "no"? Think of someone who said "no" to you recently. That person knows how to set limits and you respect that. Set your own limits, but express them kindly and clearly.

If your workload is too much, ask your boss for advice on managing the extra work or reprioritizing it. The boss will either give you some good ideas regarding your request or will lighten your load because he’ll have a full understanding of your workload’s limitations.

Relinquish the need to be right all of the time. Open up to other people’s ways of seeing things. You don’t have to agree, just consider the other side. You might learn something new. After all, Albert Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results." If you’re not getting the results you want, try a different way.

Making the Day Great

Don’t ignore your own strengths and expertise. List areas in this job where you excel. Is it a particular skill? Is it a gift for communicating or handling difficult people? Maybe it’s meeting deadlines or accuracy. This isn’t luck, it’s ability.

Read a good book. That’s one of the best escapes from your day-to-day world. Reading is taking a mental vacation. Think you don’t have time? Read during lunch, while standing in line, or before bed. Don’t limit your reading to work-related matter - that’s not a mental vacation. Read something that has nothing to do with your job or career.

Finally, list all of your accomplishments. Focus on the past year. Find at least seven achievements. Reflect on how productive you’ve been and how you’ve had more great days than you might have realized. Make today another one of those great days.

About the Author

Stephanie Goddard Davidson, CEO of Workforce Management Solutions, is a specialist in human resources, training and development.

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101 Ways to Have a Great Day at Work

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