By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News I am often surprised by how many courses companies make their employees take, so they can learn their jobs better.  However, most talented people don’t lack technical skills, they lack the ability to persuade others to adopt new business practices.  Changing others’ minds is difficult, and often ends in disappointment.  How do you overcome that resistance? An experiment by Goethals and Reckman shows that persuasion sometimes happens when people least expect it.  Often, even the people whose minds changed are unaware of the change.  Since you don’t know when a person might be open […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News We like to think of ourselves as gifted individuals who can conquer the business world with good education, elaborate plans and fine strategies. Academics and experts confidently tell us everyday what works and what doesn’t. We listen to their convincing theories, and we presume that business success is predictable, just a matter of careful application of these known business principles. This approach to success causes many businesses to experience desperation at one point or another. “What more can I do to make my product sell?” cries the owner. But after countless debates and trials, […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News May 27, 2009 Last week, many marketing and communication professionals gathered in the Marka conference. For me, Marka is a truly inspiring event. I don’t go there to learn anything new, but it lifts up my spirit, unleashes my creativity and ignites my passion for entrepreneurial activity. As always, the conference had many great speakers, two of which were more memorable. One Gerald Ratner, an infamous british business man, who was a victim of a communication crises, and who could rise above all sorts of challenges that most wouldn’t be able to survive. Two, […]