“Jeffrey Archer Syndrome describes people, often of great intelligence and wit, whose ability to dazzle ends as soon as they step off the podium,” Helen Kirwan-Taylor writes in Management Today. If your boss has JAS tendencies — dazzling and approachable in meetings, but then keeps the office door firmly shut — you need to flatter them, tell them how fascinating they are, she argues. If you want them to do something for you, then tell them how useful, important and positive it will be for them. Alternatively, you could suggest they quit work and seek their fame and fortune penning novels and commiting perjury.

Be trendy and green

An iPhone is a lot cooler than a BlackBerry, but it isn't particularly eco-friendly. So leave all the plugs and leads at home next time you go on a trip abroad and charge up with the iPhone 3G Solar Case. It is a smart leather case with flip-out solar panel. Although it will charge in any well-lit area, direct sunlight does the job best — which could be a bit of problem back home in the UK.

£27.95 from stuff.tv

Enter the Ivy League

If the credit crunch is stifling your career aspirations then it might be a good time to take an MBA at a top US business school. If so, grab a copy of Chioma Isiadinso's new book The best business schools' admission secrets. The former admissions board member from Harvard Business School shares her tips on developing and selling your personal brand, writing admissions essays and succeeding at interviews. She also outlines the pros and cons of different applicants and how to overcome any sterotypes — for example, engineers should demonstrate a life outside work to get away from any geek images.

£9.99 www.sourcebooks.com

Get down with the kids

Don't guess or make embarrasing gaffes: find out what children and young adults really think with a website launched this week: www.youngpoll.com claims to be the first online market research site aimed at young people. Children aged between 6 and 15 can earn cash credits (up to 50p per survey) or prizes for completing surveys on a range of topics, from current affairs to fashion. The first question to be answered is do they feel exploited? YoungPoll pay out only once the kids clock up £40 credit.

Take a challenge

The Times Leadership Challenge semi-finals have just finished and teams from Balfour Beatty, BSkyB, Miller Construction and PwC have been selected to go to the final in Malawi next month. If you would like to test your leadership skills on a project in the Third World next year, put a team together and enter the 2009 challenge. Full details and application forms can be found at www.challengeafrica.co.uk

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