4 ways to use AI to improve your team's performance

Forrester Vice President David Levine recently turned a talk about cybersecurity into a lesson in the perils of ineffective communication, which can "fuel frustration, confusion, burnout, a lack of trust, ineffective projects, dysfunctional teams, and increased risk." Levine shares the example of a leader reviewing presentations to look for unconscious signs of frustration or irritation and to suggest more positive tweaks.

Put it into practice: Avoid "alienation and misunderstandings" by consider the other person's point of view, pinpointing the value to them, and "following up and following through," Levine advises. Reply to, or at least acknowledge, an email promptly, and never throw someone else under the bus, especially in front of others.

Manage your time better by blocking out hours for projects, email or downtime, plan your calendar a week or so ahead and kindly turn down engagements that don't serve you, writes Victoria Prew, the founder and CEO of Hurr. "When you say yes to everything, you're less likely to prioritize yourself, missing out on sleep and other healthy habits that are necessary to fuel an already-hectic lifestyle," Prew notes.

You might think Oreos, 3D movies and Juicy Fruit gum are modern inventions, but the sandwich cookie hit the shelves in 1912 and was marketed as a delicacy, the first 3D movie premiered in 1915 and William Wrigley, Jr. introduced his chewing gum at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. For the drummers among us, Zildjian cymbals were invented in 1618 by Avedis Zildjian, who got his surname from the Ottoman Empire royalty, and it means "family of cymbal makers."

History has always fascinated me, so I found the Mental Floss story on the origination stories of Oreos, 3D movies and Juicy Fruit gum delightful.

One that I didn't include in the summary was the "invention" of sparkling water -- which, of course, Mother Nature made long before we got here. But if you like bubbly water, thank Joseph Priestley and his pig bladder where he infused gas with water in the late 1760s. Some consumers, though, thought the ending product tasted like pee (odd, right?).

A few years later, John Nooth fixed the problem by carbonating water using an apparatus made primarily of glass.

So, the next time you lift a glass of fizzy water, give a toast to Joseph and John (but maybe especially John).

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