This little known fact will help you win at Trivial Pursuit this Christmas: Fibre-optic technology, the backbone of the world’s internet networks, was not developed in Silicon Valley, but in a field in Suffolk at Adastral Park.

If you have a few books next to your bed, waiting to be read, add five more to the pile. Each of these books is written by a legendary technology CEO, and offers unique insights into everything from the motivations behind successful entrepreneurship to the secret to building a loyal team. The technology sector is one of the most lucrative, powerful and fast-paced in the world… and many would argue that the CEO's of the companies that dominate, are able to offer uniquely useful lessons and ideas. Whether you want to start your own company or build the one you work for, you may want to check out these bestselling books.

How to Win Friends and Influence People was an overnight hit, and went on to sell 15 million copies.  The book’s author, Dale Carnegie, says financial success is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He emphasises the crucial component of making people feel important and appreciated, and explains the fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing the situation from the other person's point of view and "arousing in the other person an eager want." He says, "Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers" and "talk about your own mistakes before criticising the other person."

Remember the days of the sacred space of your airplane seat?  It might have been small, cramped and smell of jet fuel, but it was your little nugget of freedom, where you could tune out, turn off and enjoy relative anonymity. No phone was going to ring, text going to come through or urgent email demand attention. 

There are lots of reasons to live in London.  The culture, the diversity of people, the energy, the sheer number of things to do—and of course, job opportunities that simply aren’t available outside the city.

Our brains magically single out language from any other sound.  They then port it to the right “department” in order to give it meaning.  In fact they port it to two different departments of the brain – one that comprehends the meaning of the words, and the other that comprehends meaning through melody.

 Most PA’s are worth their weight in gold.  Truly irreplaceable. 

But the majority of us can’t afford a full-time PA, or a part-time one for that matter.  Even if you calculate the savings from having someone there to take calls, check your diary and schedule meetings so that you didn’t have to, the numbers probably just don’t add up.  Moreover, teaching and managing a PA would likely take just as many hours as any that would be saved.

You may have heard that Google paid a whooping £2.1bn last year to buy Tony Fadell's start-up Nest, a widely applauded internet-connected thermostat and smoke detector.  [Get one here]

Fibre optic technology, fibre leased lines, and fibre connectivity are terms thrown around a lot these days.  Most of us associate them with faster internet.  But what does ‘fibre optic’ really mean, how does it work and what do we use it for? 

Experienced sales people know that what a prospect says may be different than what they are thinking. Some people keep a poker face as a negotiating technique, while others may just be trying to politely hide their disinterest. If you want to figure out what the person sitting across from you is really thinking, learning the meaning of a few common body gestures will help.