The career path of recently hired University of Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables shows that one of the simplest ways to be noticed is to excel in the job you're in, writes Wally Bock. Venables' path also reminds us how luck is involved and that there are no guarantees of success even when opportunities are realized, Bock writes.

The top three of 10 deal-breakers for business-to-business buyers when it comes to sales behaviors are not understanding them or their business, talking too much and not listening, and not providing post-sale support, according to a Korn Ferry report. In addition, 32% of B2B buyers say that salespeople are ineffective at conveying empathy during virtual interactions.

Two words -- "say more" -- can help you facilitate a deeper conversation by offering the other person a chance to fully express themselves, writes Julie Winkle Giulioni. "Creating the space for others to talk through their thoughts and feelings earns you the well-deserved reputation as someone to seek out when important ideas need to be explored," Giulioni writes.

Startups with limited cash for parties can still celebrate the holidays with their employees without busting their budgets, writes Jay Fuchs. Parties can be held at the office to save money, but get input from workers, provide some food but ask employees to bring some as well, and plan a fun activity, Fuchs suggests.

Infosys has something called the Bench, where certain employees are essentially on-call freelancers who could go months on end without being assigned work. One anonymous employee says his time on the Bench left him unfulfilled and out of the loop, and it's also really hard to explain to future employers what you accomplished as a Bench player.

EU legislation would require gig-economy companies to reclassify certain self-employed workers as employees, a proposal that reportedly could affect as many as 4 million workers. The measure would require a worker to be reclassified if at least two criteria are met, including a worker having their pay set by a company and being prohibited from working for other companies.

First-time unemployment claims declined to 184,000 last week, a 52-year record low. Jobless claims have been falling all year and are now below the 2019 average of 218,000.

An analysis of Spotify playlists by garbage disposal company InSinkErator found that upbeat songs by pop, soul, rock, disco and R&B artists are the most popular for kitchen listening. "Put Your Records On" by Corrine Bailey Rae appeared on the most playlists, while Stevie Wonder had the most appearances for an artist.