Art Markman

Art Markman, PhD is a professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin and Founding Director of the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations. Art is the author of Smart Thinking and Habits of Leadership, Smart Change, and most recently, Brain Briefs, co-authored with his "Two Guys on Your Head" co-host Bob Duke, which focuses on how you can use the science of motivation to change your behavior at work and at home.

Art Markman

This is how you get your boss’s job

Think you can do your boss’s job better than he can? It might be an uphill battle, but it’s possible. Here are a few things to consider along the way.

This is how to harness your pessimism as a force for good

Maybe you don’t need to look on the bright side. Pessimism can actually be quite powerful. You just aren’t using it the right way.

This is why you can’t get anything done at the end of the workday

The brain science behind the 3 p.m. slump.

Ask these 3 questions when you’re vetting job offers

If you are able to talk to people at a company with which you’re interviewing, don’t ask generic questions. These are the three things you want to know.

Every interview question is really this question

Behind every interview question, there are three things that the interviewer is trying to figure out.

How to answer interview questions to make hiring managers like you

By the time you reach the interview phase, your prospective employer already knows a lot about you. They know your previous experience. What they don’t know is whether they want to work with you.

How to use all the things you feel guilty about to your advantage

Guilt is energy, and you are probably using it the wrong way.

When should you take a mental health day?

Even for people who are not suffering from clinical levels of depression and anxiety, the occasional “mental health day” might still be valuable.

When managers should be fair and when they should challenge the rules

Sometimes the right decision isn’t the most fair, but it can be a tricky line to toe.

How to salvage some productivity after a crappy morning

You look up and can’t believe it’s already lunchtime. You’ve accomplished exactly nothing. Here’s how you can recover.

All your coworkers’ weird behavior, explained

A psychologist breaks down the three factors that drive most people’s actions. Understand these, and your colleagues’ behavior won’t seem so puzzling.

What to do once you realize your new job sucks

Here’s an action plan depending on whether the “get me out of here” feeling hits you five days, five weeks, or five months after starting.

Unsure how your career impacts your kids? Here’s some perspective

Pursuing your passion might not always be a selfish move that exposes your family to needless risk. Sometimes it’s the best parenting decision you can make.

The emotionally intelligent way to give feedback to your boss

Here’s an approach to raising concerns with managers that won’t feel risky to you or whiny to them.

Everyone suffers when you apologize for asking questions

“There are no stupid questions, so please ask away!” is a common mantra that’s often ignored. Prefacing your question with “sorry” doesn’t exactly help.

4 questions to help answer the big one: “Should I take this job?”

Here’s how to consider the potential risks, benefits, and what your gut is telling you.

Design your next meeting backwards—here’s how

Stop outlining meeting agendas and take these three steps instead.

This well-known productivity advice is actually pretty bad

A common tactic for kicking off a productive workday doesn’t square with human psychology.

This social-science research technique doubles as a networking hack

A savvier, more systematic riff on getting referrals and introductions.

Quiet leadership is still leadership (and matters more than you think)

It takes emotional intelligence, and a bit of practice, to exert positive influence outside the spotlight.

Ideas

There’s probably microplastic in your poop

The 2016 election was so stressful it gave college kids symptoms like they had PTSD

Kids aren’t failing school–school is failing kids

Entertainment

“The Fall of Donald Trump” is the fantasy we deserve, if not the one we may want

Move over, Oscar: Podcasts are getting their own awards show

“Halloween” just broke this box office record, but what does that even mean?

Co.Design

Banksy’s latest prank actually has a long history

Wear a natural history museum on your feet with these $140 slippers

The people who clean up the mess Burning Man leaves behind

Fast Company

“The Fall of Donald Trump” is the fantasy we deserve, if not the one we may want

The Dodo’s humans were upstaged by Dixie the adoptable dog

There’s probably microplastic in your poop