barack obama

Blogs & Comment May 24/2013

Keystone XL’s week in review: Erica Alini

An eventful few days.

(Photo: courtesy Friends of the Earth)

Blogs & Comment Apr 15/2013

Why Justin Trudeau is betting everything on middle class voters

What’s with his obsession with average folks?

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Blogs & Comment Mar 4/2013

Why the Keystone saga is hinting at an XL-size bargain with environmentalists

It might be all in the timing.

TransCanada

Economy Feb 15/2013

Death by deadline

Are U.S. budget politics hurting growth?

President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, gives his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Pool)

Strategy Nov 28/2012

Obama will approve Keystone XL eventually

No longer campaigning, Barack Obama can afford to disappoint his green base, experts say.

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Lifestyle Mar 16/2012

Buying Black in Obama’s America: Our Black Year

Book Review: How one black family tried to re-balance America’s racially divided economy.

Our Blsck Year Book Cover

News Jan 19/2012

The nine traits of charisma and how to master them

Turns out that sparkle of persuasiveness and charm can be learned. Here’s how.

Charisma is generally thought of as a dichotomy: either you have it or you don’t. But it turns out this potent mix of charm and persuasiveness that inspires devotion and loyalty in others can, in fact, be learned. John Antonakis, a professor of organizational behaviour at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, teaches a leadership course and recently sought to put some academic rigour behind the charisma techniques on which he lectures. The result is a new study in the journal Academy of Management Learning & Education.
Antonakis took a group of Swiss managers and asked their peers, subordinates and bosses to rate them based on how often they exhibited certain traits associated with charisma. He then gave one group five hours of charisma training (they also spent countless hours studying and practising on their own) while the other group received none. Three months later, the managers were evaluated again. Those who received training were rated significantly more charismatic than their peers.
Mastering the traits identified by Antonakis isn’t easy, but the results can be rewarding in any situation where influence is required, be it leading a team or pitching a prospective client. “This is charisma we’re talking about, one of the most powerful weapons in a leader’s arsenal,” he says.