Geithner calls on bailed-out banks to increase lending to small businesses, Meena Thiruvengadam writes in the WSJ.

Small business owners should think twice before skimping on holiday gifts to clients, the AP's Joyce Rosenberg writes.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) says Congress must get health reform right for small businesses, David Herszenhorn reports at the NYTimes Prescriptions blog.

And Time's Janet Morrisey finds small business left out of the recovery.

RatePoint shared some interesting findings about reviews today. Of those who integrated reviews into their business web sites, 43 percent of the respondents to a survey indicated an increase in sales and 28 percent said they experienced an increase in traffic. Only 30 percent of respondents had actually integrated the reviews.

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Since the site's launch, Twitter has asked its users to tell everyone what they're doing; that's just how it was supposed to be used.  As the service grew (and grew and grew), however, this question became outdated.  So today, Twitter's moved things in a direction that should suit marketers by altering the question to "What's happening?"

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The total jobless rate in the US is 10.2%, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As the number of employees dwindles, companies are requiring fewer people to do more work, burdening an already stressed workforce.

Bullies, especially bullying bosses, are unaffordable. According to Robert Sutton's The No Asshole Rule, the TCA (total cost of assholes), while difficult to calculate, is very expensive — in time, money, and workplace wellness. Although bullying is legal in every U.S. state, the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) is currently working to introduce legislation in several states, increasing the opportunities for prohibitively expensive lawsuits against employers.

Workplace bullying may be old news, but there's no quick fix, particularly when the bully is your boss. In fact, brains of bullies may actually work differently, according to Jean Decety, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago, who conducted fMRI scans of typical children and those with aggressive conduct disorder: "When you see someone in pain, you get an aversive signal. It's unpleasant, it's negative. And for the bullies, it's not unpleasant. It's really pleasant, it's positive, it's even rewarding."

But don't lose hope. "[N]euroscience has also discovered that the human brain is highly plastic," says David Rock in his article "Managing with the Brain in Mind." "Neural connections can be reformed, new behaviors can be learned, and even the most entrenched behaviors can be modified at any age."

But waiting for people to change doesn't give you much control in the present. So here's what you can do, now, to deal with a bullying boss. As bullying is a "power-over" dynamic, it's important to create personal power reserves: depersonalize and reframe; avoid engaging in bullying or "relational aggression" behaviors yourself; focus on producing excellent work; and take extra care of yourself — eat well, exercise, get enough sleep, laugh, and surround yourself with people and activities you love outside of work.

Try these tips to get that bully off your back — even if that bully is your boss:

1. Document and define the bullying. Is it actually bullying? "Women who exert 'male' leadership styles are in danger of being perceived as bossy. Men who do the same thing are often praised as decisive," says John Medina. Look for patterns over time vs. isolated incidents, privately document the facts and specific actions. Finally, look at your company's culture. Is bullying or aggressive behavior rewarded?
2. Consider your options and make a choice. If the culture supports or rewards bullying, seriously consider if this environment is for you. "Much of the repeated mistreatment that characterizes bullying relies on a poisoned, sick workplace to permit and sustain the madness," according to WBI psychologists Ruth and Gary Namie. According to the Labor Day 2009 Survey conducted by the WBI, employers do nothing to correct the bully 53.6% of the time ,and 37% of the targets experienced retaliation for taking action.
3. Nip bullying in the bud &#8212 carefully. Privately derailing someone who is yelling at you by calmly repeating their name can be highly effective. Not so when your boss belittles you in a meeting. (Never out a bully in public; it will surely escalate things.) Once bullying is successful it rapidly becomes a habit — neurons that fire together, wire together — address it when it begins. The Bully at Work and the WBI discuss making formal complaints including legal parameters. In the Company of Women (Heim, Murphy and Golant) and Mean Girls Grown Up (Dellasega) deal specifically with Woman-on-Woman Bullying and relational aggression, providing concrete strategies for creating alliances, interrupting behavior patterns and moving forward effectively and productively.
4. Grow a support system. Hire a coach, talk to a therapist, or find a mentor or trusted friend. It's as important to get honest feedback about your experiences, perceptions, reactions, as it is to know that you are not alone.

Just because someone's your boss doesn't mean you need to take a workplace beating. These steps can help you find your way out of target range and into a better work environment.

Cheryl Dolan is an Executive Coach and Speech/Language Pathologist, specializing in Leadership, Presentation, Communication and Creativity. Faith Oliver, President of Oliverworks, is a thought leader who marshals innovative thinking and techniques to help organizations.

"Courage, innovation and discipline help drive company performance especially in tough economic times. Effective internal communications can keep employees engaged in the business and help companies retain key talent, provide consistent value to customers, and deliver superior financial performance to shareholders."
Watson Wyatt 2009

According to Watson Wyatt's newest communication survey for 2009/2010, companies that are effective communicators "have the courage to talk about what employees want to hear," "redefine the employment deal based on changing business conditions," and have "the discipline to plan effectively and measure their progress effectively."

Does this really matter? Yes. The study shows that companies that communicate effectively had a 47% higher return to shareholders over a five-year period (mid-2004 to mid-2009).

The link between communication and these three levers of performance — courage, innovation, and discipline — is a welcome one. These are themes that I have written about, taught and coached for years. Here is how you can utilize them in the workplace.

Courage. Watson Wyatt defines it as "telling it like it is." This is especially true when it comes to delivering straight talk. Shielding employees from bad news is akin to treating them like children; it says they are not "grown up" enough to handle tough stuff. So why do companies do it? One reason is because they feel employees will lose heart and then underperform. The Watson Wyatt study shows just the opposite. Tell people what they need to know and they will reward you with solid performance.

Innovation. The status quo is not working so companies must do things differently. While Watson Wyatt sets up innovation as something that will be done in the future, that is too late. Innovation must begin now, in fact it should never have stopped. Innovation is not something reserved for product development; it is really applied creativity. Given this definition, employees should be encouraged to rethink processes, streamline job tasks, implement productivity measures, and continue to think creatively.

Discipline. Troubled times call for accountability. Companies need, as Watson Wyatt points out, to set direction and take stock of how well they are doing. All too often plans are not communicated effectively and employees are given direction without context. They know what to do but not why. The why is important if you want to stimulate engagement, that is, gain share of mind and heart. The same applies to measurements. Bad news rolls down hill, but what about good news? When things are going well, too often managers neglect to inform employees. A firm communication plan, supported by updates on intranets, wikis, and even blogs, not to mention, email, can help let employees know how the company is performing.

Effective communication is not the sole solution to troubled times, but it may be the most effective way to ensure alignment. Listening plays a critical role too. It is well and good to disseminate information, but if you fail to listen to its echo, that is, how people feel about it as well as understand it, alignment may be doomed.

Integrating courage, innovation, and discipline into your messages may help your enterprise survive tough times, and give you a step up in good times too.

(Note: The Watson Wyatt Effective Communication 2009/2010 ROI Study Report also contains practical applications for the developing more effective communications in the workplace.)