The Small Blog

Sat, March 20, 2010 - 2:33:08

Spring Cleaning the SMALL Way

After a long winter, we think it’s safe to say that nearly everyone is looking forward to spring’s return this weekend.  But with the warmer weather and the upcoming springtime holidays comes a chore few of us welcome: spring cleaning.  Luckily, there’s a method we discuss in our book, THE POWER OF SMALL: Why Little Things Make All the Difference, which can help you quickly and painlessly spruce up your place and you don’t have to sacrifice your whole weekend to do it.  We like to call it “stealth cleaning.”

Posted by Linda and Robin
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Sun, March 14, 2010 - 1:39:41

In Cover Letters, the Details Matter

There’s no question that in today’s challenging job market, even the smallest details count.  With hundreds and sometimes thousands of candidates competing for a single, elusive position, it’s important to take every opportunity to get noticed by busy and often over-loaded hiring managers and one of the best ways to start is with a carefully crafted cover letter.  But, as Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal explains, your first introduction to prospective employers shouldn’t just showcase who you are.  Instead, you need to make it personal, and there’s no better way to do so than by sweating the small stuff.

Posted by Linda and Robin
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Thu, March 11, 2010 - 5:47:36

For Entrepreneurs, Taking the Small Stuff Literally Can Result in Big Wins

Whether or not you’re a fan of country music, chances are you’ve at least heard of the Grammy-winning trio, Lady Antebellum, a group that has made the rapid rise from songwriting collaborators to chart-topping hit makers in just a few short years.  But, as yesterday’s article in USA Today points out, the popular act didn’t make it to the top of their industry by thinking big.  Instead, they got there by doing things the SMALL way… literally.

Brian Mansfield reports that when the three artists decided to pursue music full-time and strike out on their own as songwriting and performing partners, they packed up their belongings and moved in to one tiny motel room in an effort to keep their costs low.  And while, of course, it was a wise move that helped them save money, we also suspect that it fueled their creativity.

Why?  Because, when we started The Kaplan Thaler Group little more than a decade ago, we did something very similar…

Posted by Linda and Robin
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Sun, March 07, 2010 - 10:55:53

A Small Investment

Grace Groner was, by all accounts, an everyday woman.  Having never married, she lived a modest life, alone in a small cottage in Illinois and worked for many years as an administrator at a local technology company.  But Groner had one big secret—and it had more than a little to do with the power of small.

After Groner passed away in January at the age of 100, her alma mater, Lake Forest University received the surprise of a century.  Grace Groner had bequeathed them $7 million.

Posted by Linda and Robin
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Fri, March 05, 2010 - 10:10:05

Operation NiCE Highlights the Power of Small Talk

One of the things we love most about social media is its uncanny ability to connect us with other NICE- and SMALL-minded folks simply by pressing a button and this week we’ve come across quite a number of amazing bloggers with kindness and simplicity at the core of what they do.  But, it was a post from one of our old favorites, Melissa Morris Ivone of Operation NiCE, which really got our attention.  In her post, “The Power of Small Talk” she tells the story of one of her readers, Julie B., who discovered for the first time that a little seemingly insignificant chit-chat can make a positive difference in the lives of others.  In other words, there’s nothing small about small talk.

Posted by Linda and Robin
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