Written for the leaders, owners and professionals of the 11 million businesses with between $50,000 and $50 million in revenue.

Even though a generous vacation policy is one of the top benefits that job candidates want, nearly 8 in 10 U.S. workers don’t use all of their PTO days, according to a new Harris Poll survey. They mostly blame “pressure to always be available and responsive to demands” and “heavy workload,” while half say they “get nervous when requesting time off.”

Employees who never take time off are more likely to burn out, so it’s a win-win to both offer and encourage the use of vacation time. Check out business.com’s guides to “What Is a Reasonable PTO Policy?” and “The Best Time of the Year to Take Vacation.”

Uptime: Google’s productivity expert has a system

Lego: How the construction toy company built back

BARK Air: The only way to travel for first-class pups

(Source: Harper Business)

Have you ever found yourself answering dozens of emails, sifting through comments on document after document, jumping from meeting to meeting, and still ending the day feeling like you didn’t get much done?

You might’ve been doing the wrong kind of work for a particular day, according to Laura Mae Martin, executive productivity advisor at Google and author of the new book Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing. She spoke with b. about how to tackle tasks effectively.

b.: Do you think it’s tougher than ever to be productive? 

Martin: I do think remote and hybrid work presents new challenges with productivity. … Hybrid work can feel like we have two jobs in two places!

However, [it] allows us to capitalize on where we work best. For example, if you do your best-focused work at home, you can be intentional about keeping large work blocks free. … If someone asks you to a meeting, even a virtual one, you can offer up the days you’ll be in the office since you know you’ll be [less] focused those days. Alternatively, if you work best in the office, you can [have] large headphones or a small lamp that indicates to coworkers that if it’s on, you’re “on,” and please not to interrupt.

We can learn where we work best and optimize our locations based on those learnings.

b.: What do most people get wrong about productivity?

Martin: “Busy” is not important! Churning out work, if it’s not the right work, is not productive. Attending tons of meetings, if they’re the wrong use of your time, is not productive. An inbox full of emails is not a badge of honor; it’s a drain on your energy …

You want to keep a trade-off mindset at all times: Where am I spending energy? Where am I getting the best ROI for how I’m spending my time? … Is it the right time to do that task? Are you handling distractions ahead of time to make sure you can make the most of it?

Those are more important than the time itself. Time will come with good energy and attention practices. … Constantly play with Future You in mind, and you’ll find yourself happier and more aligned. 

b.: In over a decade of helping Googlers become more productive, what are the most surprising things you’ve learned? 

Martin: I’ve learned … that productivity is truly personal. It requires a reflection of yourself and how you operate, your natural rhythms. Nothing is one-size-fits-all.

For example, I don’t like the Pomodoro [technique]. It’s cited time and time again as a good productivity practice, and I’ve tried it, and it simply does not work for me. But what a great insight that is to know about myself and adjust from there. … Reflect on what works best for you and customize your days around that.

Uptime is available now.

This interview has been edited for length. Read the full Q&A at business.com.

Sales is an ongoing necessity for any growing business, and success takes consistency, persistence, and organization. Today, that means using a customer relationship management (CRM) software to make the most of data so you can close the deal.

There’s no bigger name in the CRM software space than Salesforce, which has supported businesses in lead generation, qualification, nurturing, and closing sales for more than two decades. Personalize every step of the buyer journey for your customers, because positive experiences mean repeat business.

Ready to unify your sales, customer service, and marketing? Give Salesforce a try.

This week’s podcast guest is Park Howell, business strategist and storytelling coach from Business of Story, to discuss the power of storytelling in growing sales. He discusses the benefits of using the ABT (“and, but, therefore”) framework and building narratives for your business.

Watch the episode on YouTube or listen on your favorite audio platform.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Lego bricks started terrorizing parents’ bare feet in 1949. Five decades later, the British Association of Toy Retailers awarded them with the honor of “Toy of the Century,” beating out Barbie and even teddy bears.

By the early 2000s, though, behind the scenes, Lego had lost its way, with a combo of cheaply-made products, dubious licensing and merchandising deals, supply chain problems, and unfocused leadership. It all added up to $300 million in losses and $800 million in debt by 2003. That year alone, sales dropped by a third.

So, how did Lego snap back to a global brand value of $13 billion?

In 2004, fresh CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp discontinued the bargain-basement, quantity-over-quality approach and focused on what Lego was always supposed to be: fun, well-made building kits. To do that, Lego asked real-life children to help test and develop new products, along with crowdsourcing ideas from adult enthusiasts willing to pay higher prices for premium kits.

The blockbuster movies, TV game show, and ubiquitous merch we see now are what followed from refocusing on the core product (and core audience) rather than the other way around. Lego became the most valuable toy brand by once again making toys with value. (Just pick ‘em up when you’re done?)

(Source: Bark Air)

BARK Air, a new chartered jet service, is welcoming your furriest family member on board … if the airfare doesn’t make you run away with your tail between your legs.

While small dogs can travel on commercial flights in underseat carriers, large pups have long been relegated to crates below the plane. In a recent promo for the new airline, CEO Matt Meeker boarded a flight in a crate to demonstrate how uncomfortable this can be for Fido.

However, BARK Air’s “white paw service” will be a far cry from chilly commercial hulls. Pups of all sizes will be celebrated and pampered alongside their humans in the main cabin. Amenities for good boys and girls include a beverage at takeoff, calming lavender towels, and anxiety vests for nervous travelers.

Routes will be limited to start, originating in Westchester, New York, and heading for Los Angeles or London. Eager travelers should be prepared to shell out plenty of bones: A one-way ticket runs $6,000. Perhaps this is not the best way to reduce your pet’s carbon paw print, but the in-flight entertainment is sure to be a ball.

Written by Tina Nazerian, Dan Ketchum, and Tess Barker.