You can speak quickly when talking to an audience about things they know, but slow down your speech when conveying new information, writes Gary Genard. "Your speech rate matters only in terms of how it helps you get through to people and influence them positively," Genard writes.

The famous quote, "I just sit in my office and read all day," is attributed to Warren Buffett but overlooks the vast amount of travel, casual curiosity and networking Buffett has done, whether by his account or the stories of friends, colleagues and biographers. "He developed a network of people who -- for the sake of his friendship as well as his sagacity -- not only helped him but also stayed out of his way when he wanted them to," wrote Alice Schroeder in "The Snowball."

US jobless claims decreased by 4,000 last week to 267,000, the lowest number during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the US Department of Labor. "Businesses facing labor shortages are likely retaining rather than laying off workers," said Rubeela Farooqi, an economist at High Frequency Economics. The US economy still is more than 4 million jobs short of levels seen in February 2020, Associated Press reported.

Financial firms are stepping up recruitment packages as they grapple with a rising trend of job-hopping in the sector. One recruiter said eight-figure salary offers are becoming increasingly common, and banks are warning shareholders that the "war for talent" may cause compensation costs to rise during 2022.

Even people for whom empathy doesn't come naturally can learn to be more compassionate listeners and supporters of their employees. Pandemic stresses and concerns have heightened the need for these qualities among leaders, says Jamil Zaki, an associate professor of psychology at Stanford University, and employees who don't feel supported by their employer may look elsewhere.

Researchers have discovered the reason behind the perfect roundness of pearls and describe the process in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Oysters and other mollusks trap irritants inside them with layers of nacre, with each layer perfectly adapting to the one before it, removing imperfections and resulting in a symmetrical pearl.