Salespeople have used psychological principles to increase their sales, as well as customer satisfaction, for decades. Yet when it comes to entrepreneurs who want to build their businesses, they're far more likely to pick up a book on product development or marketing than they are on psychology. But why aren't more entrepreneurs including psychology in their research when it could significantly help their business? One serial entrepreneur, Ryan Hornby (founder of a technology start-up, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland), is working to change this. He's studied psychology extensively as he's grown his businesses, which include IAM, a model and creative…

True leadership requires courage -- a willingness to peel back the onion and own your uglier layers. To lead with emotional courage takes self-awareness, an essential trait for any leader. It also may be the most important skill to master, if you call yourself a leader. With self-awareness, you can probe your emotions in any given situation to understand what you're feeling and why. This is key for understanding how to appropriately respond, rather than impulsively react to a situation going south. It's also key to leading with your own emotional courage. Before you do, I suggest enlisting other people…