Personal Development Support

6 Career Moves

2012-01-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

In today’s ever changing job market, not only have the types of jobs offered changed, but so have the individuals who make up the current workforce. Many workers are opting to continue working instead of retiring. If you’re one of these seasoned professionals, how do you keep your edge and stay fresh and vibrant in today’s fast paced employment atmosphere?

1. Be trendy
Follow job market trends. Keep your finger on the pulse of the labor force by asking yourself, ‘What jobs are in demand today?’ and by keeping up with today’s technology, particularly computer technology says Deborah Russell, director of the issues agenda for economic security.
2. Get wired
Know your computer. Russell stresses that updating general office skills, especially computer skills, is crucial, “particularly since many employers assume that mature workers lack skills in this area. Having the basic computer skills that allow you to function in the workplace is essential.” That means being comfortable with:

Navigating the Internet

E-mail and its applications

Word processing

PowerPoint

Excel spreadsheets

3. Go back to school
Fill in the gaps with education. If you lack in any area of demand, especially computer skills, remember it’s never too late for more education. Many instructional courses are offered at your local community college, library or neighborhood association. “Lifelong learning is an important aspect of professional growth. Assessing your skills and determining whether there are any gaps will help identify potential areas for additional education,” Russell says.
4. Opportunity knocks
Take advantage of chances to learn all around you. Besides attending classes, a good way to gain new skills is to be on the lookout for learning opportunities right at work. Is someone going on vacation whose job is outside your normal realm of responsibilities? Perhaps you can volunteer to cover for them and learn a little about what they do. Or volunteer for temporary assignments that you wouldn’t normally handle.
5. Update your résumé
If you are looking to make a change to a new position, you need to get current on the latest résumé trends. Like anything else, résumé styles change over time. The résumé is a vital tool in helping any worker articulate the qualifications and experience they can bring to a potential position. Russell says often “employers are more interested in the skills you bring to a job versus how many years you worked for a particular employer. It gives them a snapshot of your capabilities and if you in fact possess the skills they’re looking for.” So make your résumé skill-driven and results-oriented, showcasing your management skills and sales accomplishments, instead of merely providing a litany of dates, titles and responsibilities from past positions.
6. Bond
Talk to others in your same situation. Don’t despair; there are organizations that offer support groups for older workers to discuss the challenges they’ve faced and learn new strategies to overcome them. The Operation ABLE Network is composed of agencies across the United States that focus on meeting the needs of mid-career workers and job seekers. Check your local phone book for the Operation ABLE chapter in your area.
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

Happy holidays to you

2011-12-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

Last night my husband and I was treated to viewing a play at the Lincolnshire Marriot in Lincolnshire, Illinois. The play, White Christmas was delighful....truly great fun! There is not a bad seat in the house and this has always been one of my favorite Christmas musicals. Hope you are able to enjoy a great play this holiday season!

Karen Schultz

What stops you from being a millionaire?

2011-11-23T04:42:00.001-08:00

6 Rags-to-Riches Millionaires

By Kiplinger | Power Your Future – Mon, Nov 21, 2011 12:42 PM EST

Provided by

by Andrea N. Browne, John Miley, Susannah Snider and Michael Stratford

From Oprah Winfrey to Steve Jobs to J.K. Rowling, entrepreneurial success stories are the stuff from which American dreams are made. Much like these famous names, the six self-made millionaires we're profiling have one thing in common: Thanks to hard work, determination and sound advice from mentors, friends and family, they've been able to build thriving businesses from the ground up.

The rise to the top can be bumpy. In fact, some of the entrepreneurs we talked to were homeless during the early years of their companies. That's why they all agree that it's important to help others in need. All, including Radio One's Catherine L. Hughes and Life is good co-founder Bert Jacobs, give back to the community by volunteering time, donating to charitable organizations or running their own charities.

Learn how these six diverse entrepreneurs -- from a t-shirt designer to a media mogul -- turned meager beginnings into multimillion-dollar success and what advice they offer to budding business tycoons who hope to follow in their footsteps.

Catherine L. Hughes

Courtesy of Radio One

Age: 64

Occupation: Founder and chairperson, Radio One

Advice to young entrepreneurs: "Sometimes the ones who love you the most will give you the worst business advice."

By conventional standards, Hughes wasn't destined to build a successful multimillion-dollar media company. She was a teen mom by 16 and a high-school dropout. However, she later completed high school, followed by brief stints at area universities in her hometown of Omaha, Neb.

Despite her limited formal education, Hughes, who credits publishing legend John H. Johnson as one of her mentors, worked her way up at Omaha's KOWH radio starting in 1969 before heading to the nation's capital to become a lecturer at Howard University. In 1975, she became general manager for the university's radio station, WHUR-FM. By 1979, she bought her first radio station, WOL-AM in D.C., with her then-husband and founded Radio One a year later.

Those early years were rough. Hughes, who was divorced by then, slept with her son on the floor of her radio station because she couldn't afford to live anywhere else. "My mother tried her best to talk me out of the radio business because of that," Hughes recalls. It's for this reason that she advises young entrepreneurs to be wary about who they divulge their challenges to -- even family. "If I had listened [to my mother], I would be a government employee right now and there would be no Radio One."

Thirty-two years later, in addition to the radio company, Hughes' empire includes her television network TV One and several interactive ventures, including NewsOne.com and HelloBeautiful.com. Her charitable efforts include serving as a board member and the main benefactor for the Piney Woods School, a boarding school located in Piney Woods, Miss., that serves students from financially strapped families.

Bert Jacobs

Courtesy of Life Is Good

Age: 46

Occupation: Co-Founder and CEO, Life is good

Advice to young entrepreneurs: "Try to shoot for a timeless business."

You've probably seen the beret-wearing, smiling face of "Jake," the Life is good logo, on the company's tee shirts and products. Co-founders Bert Jacobs and his brother, John Jacobs, 43, started peddling their tee shirts on the streets of Boston -- going door-to-door at college dorms and sleeping in their van to save money -- in 1989. It would take nearly six years, however, before their shirts finally caught on with consumers, thanks to "Jake."

The logo, which is infused with optimism, was created after a conversation about how the world was slammed with constant negativity. It became an instant hit. Now, the New England-based company has revenues in excess of $100 million, and each year more of it goes toward their charity, Life is good Kids Foundation, which helps children overcome life-threatening challenges.

"In the beginning, we made every business mistake in the book," says Bert. The brothers didn't have a business plan or growth strategy -- a formula for disaster, if you go by what's taught in business school. Bert credits part of their success to listening to their friends and customers as informal focus groups, rather than "experts." He advises budding entrepreneurs to: "Try to shoot for a timeless business that will work through good times and bad."

Ali Brown

Courtesy of Ali Brown

Age: 40

Occupation: Entrepreneur, business consultant and publisher, AliBrown.com

Advice to young entrepreneurs: "It's important you seek out other business owners for information, advice, support and resources."

Fed up with her dead-end job at a New York City ad agency, Brown decided to quit in 1998. Armed with her brother's hand-me-down computer, she launched her first marketing agency, AKB Communications, from her kitchen table.

While having her own business was exciting, the uncertainty of self-employment had its challenges. Brown remembers all too well maxing out credit cards and draining her bank account to stay afloat in the early days. One night in particular, she tried to withdraw $20 from an ATM but was denied because her balance was only $18.56. Thirteen years later, thanks to her hard work and perseverance, Brown has achieved many successes: She earned her first million before the age of 35 and has appeared on ABC's reality show "Secret Millionaire," where she donated money to several organizations. She still actively supports three of them.

When it comes down to deciding if entrepreneurship is the right move for you, Brown says, "Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone. Every definition of entrepreneur I've found includes the word 'risk'." For those who are willing to take the leap of faith, she advises: "It's important that you seek out other business owners for information, advice, support and resources. Today, would-be entrepreneurs have the Internet and social media, and it's a great place to get started learning more about how to grow a business."

Jill Blashack Strahan

Courtesy of Jill Blashack Strahan

Age: 52

Occupation: Founder and CEO, Tastefully Simple

Advice to young entrepreneurs: "Having goals is absolutely critical."

For Strahan, starting her multimillion-dollar company, Tastefully Simple, a direct sales retailer of specialty food products, began with "a dream and a shoestring." She grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and later started selling gourmet food baskets, which inspired her business.

In the beginning, the entrepreneur fed her fledgling company with $6,000 of her own savings and some loans from a friend and the Small Business Administration. Strahan's first headquarters was a 1,200-square-foot space with a concrete floor and no running water. Early orders were packed on a pool table. Today, the Tastefully Simple offices take up nearly 200,000 square feet on a 79-acre lot.

In addition to running a company that's valued at more than $100 million, Strahan finds time to give back to the community. Tastefully Simple has donated more than $5 million to local causes, and in 2009 teamed up with Share Our Strength, a group that seeks to end childhood hunger in America. If you're an entrepreneur with a good idea, she says to remember that there isn't an easy road to building a profitable business: "The secret to success doesn't involve pixie dust or a magic bullet. Having goals is absolutely critical."

Farrah Gray

Courtesy of Farrah Gray Publishing

Age: 27

Occupation: Founder and CEO, Farrah Gray Publishing

Advice to young entrepreneurs: "Keep your business small . . . niche yourself."

When most 6-year-olds were worried about what time their favorite cartoon came on TV, Gray was already an entrepreneur. He was going door-to-door in his inner-city Chicago neighborhood selling hand-painted rocks as bookends to help his ailing mother make ends meet. "I can remember being very young and my mom having a heart attack. I wondered how we were going to pay the bills and thought to myself, 'I don't want to be poor like this anymore,'" he recalls.

Trying to figure out a way to improve his family's home life sparked something big: By the time he was 17, Gray had founded and operated several businesses, including Kidztel, a prepaid phone card company, and Farr-Out Foods, a food company targeting young adults, which grossed $1.5 million in sales before he sold it. At 20, his first book, "Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich Inside and Out," was published.

Now, Gray's focused on his latest venture, Farrah Gray Publishing, a boutique celebrity book publishing house he started in 2009, which includes titles such as "Transparent" by CNN's Don Lemon. Gray also spends his time contributing to charitable organizations, such as the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Marrow Donor Program. For anyone considering starting a new business, he suggests keeping things small: "A lot of times we get caught up in trying to be the next Facebook or Apple. That isn't necessary -- niche yourself."

Jesse Conners

Courtesy of FirednFabulous/YouTube

Age: 28

Occupation: CEO and founder, PeppermintPark.com

Advice to young entrepreneurs: "There is constantly some fire that you have to put out . . . Don't let it discourage you."

Conners had an unusual childhood: When she was 9, her parents joined a cult and -- believing that the world was about to end -- sold all of their worldly possessions. From then until she was 18, Conners traveled across the U.S. and to Mexico with her family, following the cult's message and searching for work along the way. As unconventional as it was, she says her upbringing spurred the independence she needed to succeed in business.

While in high school, she started doing the marketing for her father's chiropractor practice, which eventually led to a job in real estate. At 21, she auditioned for and was cast in the first season of NBC's "The Apprentice." Although Conners didn't win, her stint on national television landed her a job on the real estate speaking circuit. In 2008, she began building PeppermintPark.com, a membership-based fashion and luxury brand online retailer. The Web site has been up and running for a little over a year and has a ten-person staff.

Earlier this year, Conners's "outside the box" approach to business helped her to surpass a $1 million net worth. In addition to running her company, she has offered charitable support to Elephant Human Relations Aid and provides resources to women who are victims of domestic abuse, according to her Web site. Conners advises budding entrepreneurs to be aware that daily obstacles are the norm, not the exception. "There is constantly some fire that you have to put out. That's what running a business is all about," Conners says. "Don't let it discourage you. Try again, start again."

Social Capital Research

2011-11-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/definition.html

Building social capital electronically has its strengths but not knowing the full agendas of who you "connect and move upon an open ended idea" may not be the best use of building social capital. Research the ideals and values of those that fund the movement, organization or corporation. You might change your mind on the lead you follow.

Be a smart consumer of information and what you subscribe toward in life. The systems have grown with complexity and in some cases with stealth like roots.

Dig deep and feel empowered to take the lead in voicing your own writtten story and its outcome. WE all have something to contribute to a synergetic best practice.

the Garden "helper"

2011-11-11T05:03:00.000-08:00

The garden helper

I believe my systes thinking was born in the wisdom of the gardeners that surrounded me starting with my grandmother and my mother. The richness of nderstanding gardening is not too far removed from understanding people, organizations and nurture versus "help". I will be writing more about this transfer of knowledge and the beauty of its understanding.

For now, as the frost takes what we so enjoyed from spring to summer, we can think about the beauty of winter with its cold bitter winds of Chicagoland.

Today's business world

2011-11-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

I think we might be getting it or are at least close to getting what is important as business developers. Business can be a great engine to democracy across the globe. A few items needed would include passion, direction, values, cause that is front line driven. WE need profitale companies to insure jobs and productive citizenship. It is when we loose sight of our purpose, we loose health, spirituality, morals, values, etc. and become mentally, spiritually and physically unwell. That drives health care costs, that hurts profitability, that causes more government interference in "helping" (I would call it enabling) our citizens. The truth of the matter is we are a highly intelligent country who can make good decisions but we are driven to do less. Who drives us? The helping hand of government who almost has us believing we need them to start up a business, tell us how to treat people, etc. My believe is we have enough smarts to choose where and who we want ot work beside. This is not rocket science. The value of respect for eachother's individuality does not have to insure a diversity program (which comes from the root word divide). Isn't everyone's drive from the time we are entering school to know where we fit? And then schools and media want to tell us how wrong we are and what we have to do to change ourselves in order to fit. But no. We are unique because we all have a place where we bring what is missing to the table. The goal should be to strive to be who we are and celebrate our individuality and what that brings to the table to make us whole. We are so connected and so similar in what we want. What is missing is our realization that what IS different is the missing key to make it GREAT. So find your passion and align your values, morals and self designed direction with who you want to share your knowledge with and shoot for all you deserve ...and you know what....you deserve great things! Remember you are in charge of you. Make you great within your own committed plan of success and do it with everything you have to offer. You will be an inspriation. You will gain respect of self and others. You will be the one to start us all in the right direction. Yes, you have it within you to do what ever it is you dream of....
Discover yourself and appreciate just who you are and what you offer. Dream of the vision you want to create a reality from for yourself. Design the steps and hold yourself accountable and responsible for that plan to produce successful results. And enjoy those results!
Write me and tell me your story. It will keep your compass clearly focused.

I am selling my home and want to share the offer with you Google 18921 Creekview Lane, Mokena, IL

2011-10-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

I am selling home. The housing market has been a strange one at that and forclosures have weakened the pricing in some areas. I feel there is a point of holding the integrity of the value of one's home and its neighborhood. The value of Creekview Subdivision or any neighborhood is impacting every person who is a homeowner, in taxes, schools, affordability. After a few month, I have decided it is up to me as a member of my community to hold the integrity of our price and also support the person who enjoys what our home offers in their purchase. So if you can qualify for a 323,000.oo mortgage and like the following description, then take note what I am hoping to accomplish in the interest of our community and the buyer. I am open to hearing what you think, so please send comments!

Our home has provided a comforting place where we have raised our children and have worked alongside my husband to enjoy the retreat it provides. Our home resides in a wonderful neighborhood in a town called Mokena in the state of Illinois. When we moved here it was a population of 4,000 people and one stop sign. It was at the beginning of the housing boom. WE love this home, this neighborhood, this town and its schools. The town has a volunteer mindset that is amazing. Why would I leave you ask? I have become a grandmother of my first grandchild who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and I do not want to miss another moment of him.

Our home has 5 bedrooms, 3 Baths. It is a contemporary quad level with arched windows and entry. The floor plan is very open. No hallways! It has a sub basement with a workshop, craft shop and open area. The family room is approximately 17' x 30', Sunny eat in kitchen open to family room. Formal dining area is open to front living area. The five bedrooms are roomy with sizeable closets. This floor plan offers easy living! There is attic storage space throughout the house and garage. Plenty of storage and shelving space throughout basement and garage. Outside offers a great escape from the day's work. Several differnt gardens surround the house offering patios and decks. Flowers, trees and shrubs attract birds and butterflies throughout the year. There is a tiered garden / koi pond with a waterfall and babbling brook. WE have enjoyed many great moments enjoying our backyard retreat.

Times are hard for many and we feel strongly about the real estate integrity of our neighborhood. The house is offered for 323,000.00. We are offering a 15,000.00 rebate to the buyer if approved and purchase at asking price of 323,000.00. We are offering 5,000.00 finders fee at time of closing if the home is sold at asking price of 323,000. WE want someone who loves our home as much as we do to purchase this great living space in a great location.

There are two trains stations and we are within moments of major expressway system known as the crossroads of the nation. WE are within a 40 minute ride to both OHare and Midway Airports.

The network of trails and sidewalks makes it easy to walk, run or bicycle safely around town and to neighboring communities!.

The school district has been very good to our family and hold it with high regard!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to post! Enjoy your day!

FREE anti depressents and gym membership!!!!!!

2011-09-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Duing my ___ years on earth, there is one activity in life that seems to have positive effects during more challenging times. Gardening! I have the privilege of sharing the fruits of gardens with my grandmother, aunts and uncles, mother and father, and friends. It is one of the most gratifying and challenging activities that bring about good health mentally, spiritually and physically. What else does that for a human being? It builds social capital and community in a very easy, natural progression. It eases stress and probably blood pressure (but I am not a doctor) and can be very satisfying. Sharing its fruits brings smiles and joy to others. Seriously, it keeps us in shape ( if we are smart about how we work into the activity early in the spring and how much we stress our muscles, etc. Yes, you must learn how to move about the garden correctly and build muscle to keep your skeletal frame balanced in the activity - so see your physician and discuss what is correct for you prior to each spring activity) But back to the results of gardening---it is the greatest community activity that can be done for free through sharing during tough times when we need the companionship and discussions that take us from our day's challenges. Here are some great web sites to grow on!

Easy Care Summer Blooming Full Sun Perennials

Perennials -Easy Care Summer Blooming Full Sun Perennials
(photo by Dolores Monet) Perennial flowers may be expensive but are worth the investment. Perennial flowers come back year after year and many are low maintenance, easy care plants. Some perennials spread or...

Keep Flowers Blooming From Spring to Fall

http://hubpages.com/hub/KeepPerennialFlowersBloomingFromMarchUntilNovemberinaTemperate-Climate?done

How to Compost

Compost - Composting in the Small Garden
Fall and winter are great times to build a a compost pile to use for soil enrichment in spring. Even a small garden can use a compost pile made of fall plant trimmings and other garden trash that you can turn into wonderful, natural fertilizer for th

Some Handy Weeding Tools

Buy Weeders Online - Reviews of Products that Keep Your Garden Weed Free
An attractive, healthy garden should be kept free of weeds. Nuisance plants rob garden soil of nutrients best absorbed by those flowering or vegetable plants that you enjoy. Weeds suck up moisture, depriving...

Gardening Gang - Gardening Site to Share Tips

Gardening Gang

How About Adding a Pond?

Pond Basics - How to Plan for a Small Backyard Pond
A pond provides an exciting addition to any garden, even a small one. The popularity of such a water feature means that the materials and equipment needed to build and maintain a pond are readily available in...

Organic Gardening online magazine

Organic Gardening - Home Page

How to Take Care of Your Garden

Garden Design - Plan for Maintenance When Building a Garden
Designing and building a garden is a lot of fun. Gardening is a healthy activity that gets you outside and generally improves the look and value of your home and property. But the job does not end after you...

Shade Loving Flowering Plants

http://hubpages.com/hub/ShadeLovingFloweringPlantsforaWoodlandGardenorShadyArea?done

COLLEGE and self investment... a must...but at what age must it happen?

2011-09-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Though sometimes I wish there were three of me and all had taken a different route of life, the plan I had planned and lived out happened right after I made all the plans to graduate early from high school and get through college early in life. I met a young man of 20 that changed all of that in an instant if he would agree to take turns in life with careers. That began a journey I will always look back on with a grin...and say...I actually had balance and had it all....OH Yes...and I am far from through doing all I have planned in life. Do men play a most important role in all of this? Absolutely...right beside all the woman. Every person placed in my life has played a most important role and I am convinced it is all about paying attention and sticking to the plan without fear.....life is a walk of faith! Everyone who knows me knows how important continuing education and art are to me, along with teaching people to fish and then letting them know that understanding hunger every once in a while is extremely important to the complete story of success. Know hunger and then you learn how never to be hungry again...IF YOU CHOOSE! And life is about a series of choices starting with the one you wake up with....it is all about you! Worrying about others, feeling you can "help" and fearful about what YOU are able to accomplish is about control, ego and making excuses. And yes, there is room for improvement in every day! YOU are a wonderful gift to this world. Pay attention to where your values, interests, passions and how they align with the abundance put in your journey everyday and then make the choice to use it....YOU WILL KNOW Success. And it will be a success that fits you like no one else! As it should. Tell me what you are thinking RIGHT NOW! comment to teach or email me direct.

Outlining the plan early in your life can make it easier for woman to have it all. ..this is great information who are struggling with the balance choices

2011-09-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

The Happiest Working Mothers Don't Always "Have It All"

By Lynn Hall
New Research Reveals Different Approaches to Working Motherhood
Why does society expect working moms to find happiness in having it all? There are 16 million working moms in the United States with different motivations and constraints. Is it possible that working moms find happiness in different ways and that “having it right” is better than “having it all”?
A new study, called The PRIMARY DILEMMA, investigates the choices that drive working-mother behaviors. The results of the research reveal five distinct approaches to work-family balance. Most interestingly, the study finds that working mothers who report the greatest happiness also report contentment with “not having it all”.

The happiest moms adopt an identity, a working-mother method, such as a primary parent, primary career or something in between. The method guides them through the choices and trade-offs of working motherhood and affords them permission to say “no” and let some things go. A wonderful quote from the study captures this idea. “I don’t worry about missing any of my child’s firsts. If it is the first time that I see it, then as far as I am concerned it is the first time it happened.” These women don’t punish themselves for what they don’t do. They measure their success by what they do well.
Acknowledgement of working mother differences can help women, their husbands/partners and their employers to better plan and communicate. It can help women to stop comparing themselves to one another or to an unrealistic ideal of success. It can help working couples better define their roles and responsibilities. And finally, it can help employers better manage working mother talent.
“Rather than approaching working moms with a one-size-fits-all approach to flex-time and career tracks, (this) analytical approach helps crystallize what is important to the different work choices facing moms with different demands,” said Cynthia Rowland.
The working-mother methods defined by the study include:
1. Fully Loaded (8% of respondents): Is a single parent. She is solely responsible for the balance of work and family. Of note, a higher percentage of respondents reported to be single parents but acknowledged co-parenting with someone else.
2. Workable (23% of respondents): Is the primary career in her family. She spends more physical time working than childcare, but she maintains high emotional engagement with her kids. The Workable is enabled by someone else providing primary childcare. The following quote was shared by a Workable.

Sara (Lawyer): I adore my boys but my choice is career because I have the greatest earning power and a commitment to corporate law. My husband takes care of things that my friends who are mothers handle: school lunches, doctors’ appointments…”

Equalizer (20% of respondents): Is actively engaged in work and parenting. She carefully coordinates childcare and household responsibilities with an equal partner. This person has the opportunity to be a primary career and a primary parent, just not simultaneously.

Carolyn (Human Resources): “I was surprised by the level of involvement that my husband wanted to have in raising our daughter. So we share in caring for her. He has enabled me to maintain my work with the peace of mind that our daughter is always in good care.”

Obliged (24% of respondents): Is the primary physical parent who also supplies a required second income. The greatest dissatisfaction with balance was expressed among survey respondents in this group.
Parentess (24% of respondents): Is the primary physical parent. She supplies a discretionary second income for her family. Part-time or flexible work index highest for this method. In addition, the Parentess frequently recognizes her method as transitional.

Samantha (College Administrator): “I gave up a career working in a demanding position in our court system. So in essence, I gave up my career for my children. But it has led me down another path of working at a college where I have real purpose. So to me, I was originally resentful, but life had a way of putting me on the path that I should be on.”
For many women, the dilemma of working motherhood creates fulfillment and frustration. In the study, 83% of women indicated career satisfaction, but 55% reported slower career progress because of parenthood. And 61% of mothers reported a positive impact from work on their parenting experience, despite often feeling overwhelmed. Finding balance in working motherhood requires thoughtful choices. The choices may not be perfect or appealing. The choices may require giving something up to gain something more meaningful. And the choices may just help working moms find happiness in “not having it all.”

Lynn Hall is the founder of the PRIMARY DILEMMA LLC, which creates tools to help working mothers (parents) discover professional and parenting satisfaction. These tools can also assist employers in creating workplace programs and vocabulary to support work and family balance. She is a proud mom of 4 children, lives on a farm in New Jersey with her kids and husband and works full-time.

Share your personal story ...when you felt you made a difference in business or society

2011-09-11T08:45:00.001-07:00

Realize the circle of influence...the ripple of your actions....when did you make a difference in business or society? Share your story here!

Today We Are All Americans ....visit Strengthening Brand America to follow

2011-09-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today We Are All Americans

I was attending an executive seminar on brand building with my colleagues at Procter & Gamble when America was attacked. I will never forget the emotions of that day. Like many people, it was a defining moment in my life. The words of a French woman interviewed by a reporter still make me emotional when I reflect on that day – “Aujourd’hui, nous sommes tous Americains” (Today we are all Americans).
Today’s post is about remembering. Please visit the 9/11 Memorial Website, the Flight 93 Memorial, and/or the Pentagon Memorial.
“Turn your wounds into wisdom”. Oprah Winfrey
On 9/11/2001, Brand America was wounded. We continue to seek the wisdom from the tragedy that touched the world. On this day, “We are all American”.
If you have a memory or reflection to share, take a moment and leave a comment. Let’s share thoughts on the wisdom we can/should glean from the wounds created on 9/11/2001.
Please note, political statements will be screened.

1 Comment | Forward this to a friend | Number of emails sent: 170
Category FDI

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

1 Comment so far

Karen Schultz
September 11, 2011
Thank you, Ed. I remember I had just retruned home from taking my son to his first day of college in Savannah, GA. My husband called me from his golf course outing and told me to sit down and turn on television. My daughter called me up from work and asked me to go get her brother and bring him home. It was quite a moment. It felt surreal. Watching the new reports, seemed like a movie. Disbelief and denial of the moment was a first reaction.
This definitely was a time to use our wounds into wisdom.
I am reminded of this day with every moment of violence in our country as a terrorist condition against citizens of this country whether in the drug war, the fear of neighborhoods run by gangs, and attacks proposed on our freedoms to speak about our faith publicly. Anyone who is hungry or unemployed due to the lack of knowledge of who are community members are and their pain left unsupported. It was an awakening and shaking up of our citizens from a drunken stupor to realize the importance of responsible and accountable citizenship and freedoms seriously. WE need each of us to reach out to one another, make a difference in business and society and rebuild the brand of America…the US as a beacon of hope and dreams in our world.

Starbucks CEO Calls for a Boycott on Campaign Donations...YES!!!!

2011-09-07T21:00:00.001-07:00

Starbucks CEO Calls for a Boycott on Campaign Donations

By Brad Tuttle | @bradrtuttle | August 15, 2011 | 5 Comments

Kevin P. Casey / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Howard Schultz, president and chief executive officer of Starbucks Corp.

Like many Americans, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, is disgusted with politics—the bickering, the astounding inability to get things done, the blatant self-interest in every carefully calculated decision. Now Schultz is trying to start a movement that’ll force politicians to stop putting “partisan agendas before the people’s agenda,” in his words. How might everyday Americans make politicians put the interests of the people and the nation first, rather than focusing on reelection bids and partisan politics? Schultz suggests that we all stop giving them money.
A week ago, Schultz sent out an email to Starbucks employees, as well as 50 business leaders. The message was titled “Leading Through Uncertain Times.” While most of the message was about company business, Schultz also voiced a sentiment undoubtedly shared by millions over the past few months:

I found myself growing more and more frustrated at the lack of cooperation and irresponsibility among elected officials as they have put partisan agendas before the people’s agenda. This is not the leadership we have come to expect, nor deserve.

(MORE: No Joke: Walmart Coffee Tastes As Good As Starbucks)
Even before sending the message, Schultz had an idea for transforming the way politics works today. After receiving an overwhelmingly positive response to the political passages in his e-mail, Schultz made the idea public over the weekend with the help of New York Times’ columnist Joe Nocera. Because politicians seem to make nearly all of their decisions based on what’ll help their reelection campaigns, and because, as Schultz says, “the lifeblood of their reelection campaigns is political contributions,” his idea is to simply cut them off. As Nocera writes:

Schultz wants his countrymen — big donors and small; corporations and unions — to stop making political contributions in presidential and Congressional campaigns. Simple as that.

While Schultz leans Democratic, the boycott he’s suggesting would be completely bipartisan. The country as a whole would basically go on strike against all politicians, and the money flow would remain dammed up until our leaders “put their feet in the shoes of working Americans,” as Schultz says, and start coming up with bipartisan solutions to help those Americans—first and foremost, through job creation.
On the one hand, the boycott is brilliant: What better way to demonstrate the frustration being felt around the country? On the other, it seems naïve to think that corporations, lobbyists, and groups on the far right or left will simply stop writing checks to politicians. These organizations donate money mainly so that politicians will fight for and make decisions based on the interests of their groups, not necessarily what’s good for the nation as a whole.
In any event, most people will agree with Schultz when he has this to say about politicians: “It is a sad state of affairs that the only thing they’ll listen to is money.”
They sure seem to listen to the money that’s donated to them. Perhaps they’ll also listen when the donations dry up.
(MORE: 5 Ways to Keep the Economic Crisis From Driving You Crazy)
Brad Tuttle is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @bradrtuttle. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

Read other related stories about this:

Boycott Campaign Donations! The New York Times
Starbucks' Schultz Urges Fellow CEOs to Boycott Campaign Giving Bloomberg
Starbucks CEO: Hold Back Donations to D.C. Pols CBS News

8 Reasons Your Employees Don’t Care

2011-09-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

By Jeff Haden | September 6, 2011

Pay only goes so far. Higher salaries are like the bigger house syndrome: Move into a bigger house and initially it feels roomier, but after awhile larger becomes the new normal.

Employees don’t automatically perform at higher levels if wages are higher because commitment, dedication, and motivation are not based on pay. No matter how high the salary, if you treat employees poorly they won’t care — about their jobs or your business.

Here are eight reasons employees don’t care:

No freedom. Best practices are definitely important, but not every task deserves a best practice or micro-managed approach. Autonomy breeds engagement and satisfaction. Autonomy also breeds innovation. Even manufacturing and heavily process-oriented positions have room for different approaches or paths. Decide which process battles are worth fighting; otherwise, let employees have some amount of freedom to work they way they work best.
No targets. Goals are fun. (I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t at least a little bit competitive.) Targets create a sense of purpose and add meaning to even the most repetitive tasks. Without a goal to shoot for, work is just work.
No sense of mission. We all like to feel a part of something bigger. Striving to be worthy of words like “best” or “largest” or “fastest” or “highest quality” provides a sense of purpose. Let employees know what you want the business to achieve; how can they care about your dreams if they don’t know your dreams?
No clear expectations. While every job should include decision-making latitude, every job also has basic expectations regarding the way certain situations should be handled. Criticize an employee for providing a refund today even though last week refunds were standard procedure and you’ve lost the employee. (How can I do a good job when I don’t know what doing a good job means?) When standards change, always communicate those changes first — then stick with them. And when you don’t, explain why this particular situation is different.
No input. Everyone wants to be smart. How do I show I’m smart? By offering suggestions and ideas. (Otherwise no matter how hard I work I just feel like a robot.) Deny me the opportunity to make suggestions, or shoot my suggestions down without consideration, and I’m just a robot — and robots don’t care. Make it easy for employees to present ideas and when an idea doesn’t have merit take the time to explain why. You can’t implement every idea, but you can make employees feel good every time they make a suggestion.
No connection. The company provides the paycheck, but employees work for people. A kind word, a short discussion about family, a brief check-in to see if they need anything… person-to-person moments are much more important than meetings or formal evaluations. Employees want to be seen as people, not numbers. Numbers don’t care. People care — especially when you care about them first.
No consistency. Most employees can deal with a boss who is demanding and quick to criticize… as long as she treats every employee the same way. (Think of it as the Vince Lombardi effect.) While it’s okay — in fact necessary — to treat employees differently, all employees must be treated fairly. Similar achievements should result in similar praise and rewards. Similar offenses should result in similar disciplinary actions. The key to maintaining consistency is to communicate; the more employees understand why a decision was made, the less likely they are to assume favoritism or unfair treatment.
No future. Every job should have the potential to lead to something better, either within or outside the company. I worked my way through college at a manufacturing plant. I had no future with the company because everyone understood I would only stay until I graduated. One day my boss said, “Hey, let me show you how we set up the job scheduling board.” I looked at him oddly; why show me instead of someone else? In response he said, “Someday, somewhere, you’ll be in charge of production. Might as well start learning now.” Take the time to develop employees for jobs they hope to fill — even if those positions are outside your company. They will care about your business because they know you care about them.

http://thetradesmendocumentary.com/index.html

2011-09-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Great site to check out. Also surf Mike Rowe's web site, Dirty Jobs. I am so taken with the message because it supports and affirms my feelings about our lack of education in our education system. The lack of understanding of the importance of what today's labor needs to bring to the table to be cost effective is incredible. Each laborer today has a need for business savvy and understanding of being their own profit center in today's global economic contest.

Haley shakes up state’s unemployment agency

2011-08-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Workers will receive job assessments upfront as they apply for benefits

By KRISTY EPPLEY RUPON - krupon@thestate.com

E-Mail Print Reprint 73 Comments

Text Size:

Gov. Nikki Haley is hoping a change in name and focus at the state’s OneStop Workforce centers will put more South Carolinians back to work.
Haley also said the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce has started repaying more than $900 million in federal loans that it used to pay jobless benefits last year as unemployment soared.
The state’s 56 OneStop centers – where the jobless go to file unemployment claims and search for work – will be renamed S.C. Works, Haley said Monday.

- Jose Luis Magana /ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Today's news video

Unemployed workers will receive job assessments upfront as they apply for benefits, rather than later in the process. The centers then will try to match workers and their skills with jobs that are available or retrain them for those jobs.
Haley said she remains focused on bringing jobs to the state for those workers to fill. The state’s jobless rate shot to 10.9 percent last month, up from its low this year of 9.8 percent in April. “I’m going to continue doing what I know to do, which is calling CEOs and getting them to come here,” she said.
Haley also said the state agency on Friday paid back $115 million of the federal loans. Another $68 million payment is scheduled for November.
By 2015, S.C. businesses should see “huge decreases” in the amount they pay for unemployment insurance premiums, she said. Those premiums were increased for many businesses to help repay the federal loans taken out to pay jobless benefits during the Great Recession.
Less than a week before Gen. Abraham J. Turner takes the reins of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, Haley said she has replaced most of the members of the state Workforce Investment Board and appointed a new chairman, Mikee Johnson of Orangeburg. The move increases representation on the 28-member board from the business community and from the Legislature, Haley said.
Johnson said he intends to make sure that the majority of the federal money the state gets for work force training – $60 million last year – goes to preparing people for work and not administrative costs. He said only 40 percent of the money received last year went directly for job training.
John Finan, who retires Wednesday as the director of the state employment department, called the changes “a real step forward,” noting many of the members had been on the work force board for close to a decade. “It’s time for change.”

Harvard-Business-School-HBS-Working-Knowledge

2011-08-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

There is such an abundance of information and opportunity on the Internet...it is truly an amazing place to share the gifts of our planet, our knowledge, our skill sets and our creativity. I hope you find this place as rich as I have in resource and interst!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harvard-Business-School-HBS-Working-Knowledge/110402452367675?v=wall

Sustainable Value

2011-08-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

"Sustainable Value is not just a better environmental strategy; it is a response to a radically different market reality in which the economic, ecological, and social spheres are unified into a single integrated value creation space."

Chris Laszlo, PhD

Associate Professor, Organizational Behavior

http://weatherhead.case.edu/centers/fowler/

Needed: Innovative CEOs

2011-08-24T19:52:00.001-07:00

I am looking for innovative CEO’s or retired CEO’s of United States born corporations that have drafted a new business model, have invented products, processes, and tools that bring benefit to the world while improving the bottom line. My goal is to uncover their story and answer the “why’s” of their passion. I aim to go beyond philanthropy, business ethics, and traditional corporate social responsibility efforts while all of the mentioned efforts bring tremendous benefit to the world, I thrive to go even higher, and invite stories that balance and integrate business success and world benefit in a strategic way. We look for innovations that benefit the bottom line as well as society and/or the environment. I am looking for the agents of positive change in US business.

Wishing you the very best in your day!

Karen Schultz and your Team @ WALCO

cell 815-263-6611

CC: CEOkarens@YAHOO.com

Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver"

You won't believe it but there is a movement in place to

2011-08-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

....move United States to recognize the great individuals that make up our country on Labor Day. I hope all the artists of our county can celebrate by sharing their artwork that depicts the hard at work, our laborers, our thinkers and those who serve our every need. Everyone must realize how important their role is to make us great. Hard work does pay off for the long term. And after your career draws near the age of change, I hope you mentor and teach and share your hard earned wisdom. Share your story. It is an important one no matter how you contribute, you have made a difference in someone's day along the way. You may not have heard that story but I guarantee it is there. If you have a story to share for this Labor Day, I would appreciate you sharing it with us. Thank you. America!

Creating a movement this Labor Day across America 2011

2011-08-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the importance of our skilled labor across America. MY goal is to celebrate the people of America across America this labor day. Lets call it a "flash mob" of artisans who have captured the important people in everyone's lives. The steel maker, the forger, the caster, the machinist, the electrician, the off road equipment driver, the fork lift driver, the painter, the plasterer, the cleaner, the window washer, the wind turbine repair guy, the carpet cleaner, the gardener, the landscaper, the shipper, the receiver, the waitress, the cook, the plumber, the welder, the grinder the whatever. America's innovative edge happens because of all these people in our lives that make it happen! How do we make a statement across America on labor day about all the gifts each of us bring to the table and the holistic picture of no matter who you are or what you do, what you love and enjoy each and every day makes us complete. I believe it is through the eyes of artists across the nation. So after that labor day parade, lets all celebrate eachother's importance to our country and the freedom we cherish to do what we love to do freely through the eyes of art. ARTISANS of America, show us your stuff! everywhere we can exhibit the ART of America to strengthen our brand and show the world who we are and what we are made of...can this really take place???

Who is Mike Rowe? A man that speaks my mind - that does not happen often!

2011-08-13T09:07:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo-cUZ2aRKc

NO one could have summarized this better for me!

2011-08-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NwEFVUb-u0

Avoiding Home Forclosure - Be Proactive - Read just in case you can help someone or yourself

2011-07-28T04:08:00.000-07:00

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/avoiding_foreclosure

No one wants to end up in forclosure but in the last couple of years many people are in fact in foreclosure, have claimed bankruptcy, etc. Be aware before it happens to you or someone you know about the options and resources available.

The Burghard Group website is one you should know

2011-07-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

http://strengtheningbrandamerica.com/how-to-execute/self-branding.php

I am continually amazed at the great thinkers I have met and work side by side with in business. My job affords me the opportunity to know more about people, their dreams and their journey alongside building relationships that provide them with the services WALCO TOOL & ENGINEERING to make parts for machinery and industrial equipment, etc. I am fascinated by what we accomplish in the world and more closely in the United States of America. I know we have a lot of cleaning up to do in the US and time to make up while we were getting fat and happy but we have not stopped thinking. And there are some great ideas and people who need to shake themselves off and get going to make a difference.

I learned about branding myself some time ago..using the strengths I enjoy and make me unique. IN fact many in the business world say I am indeed unique. I am business focused but I really do care about the people that entrust me with their piece of business and the important ripple our work relationship makes. So I am serious about my job and being a resource for successful outcomes.

The Burghard Group website has amazing resources. I hope you will take advantage for you personally.

If you do not read...then at least give some thought to Brand America and how we are all individually so important to its overall marketing strategy for success within our world. What is our brand? What is your vision of what it should be and what will you do individually to share that vision with others? Make a difference America!

www.strengtheningbrandamerica.com

2011-07-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

What do you think about the brand of America? As citizens, what is your role in building on our countries strengths to insure our freedoms and our constitutional value of being American. Where do you believe federal governeent vs state government should draw our lines of freedom? Can federal government take a command and control approach as in "old" business texts of the industrial age or should states be in control of their citizenship? If states have accountability of their state vs. federal mandates, it seems citizens would always be in power of "voting by foot"? Why would we want to give that up?
If we have state control as citizens, does that not afford us to be more agile and nimble to global markets and be more apt to prepare our educational systems to meet those demands more readily.
WE have not been able to do that on a natinal scale adequately. Thus the shortage of skilled workers and business leadership.
Just some thoughts to share.

Do your homework - research the opportunity and weigh in on if you do or don't

2011-07-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

Don't Be Too Quick To Accept That Promotion Posted on Thursday, July 7, 2011 7:08:19 PM GMT | Post a comment When you give 110% to your work and always succeed in your tasks, it only stands to reason that you would want to be recognized for your consistent performance. However, when your boss offers to reward you with a promotion, don’t jump too quickly at the offer. A promotion can be a great way to advance your career, but it could also work against you. Be careful what you wish for. Take these steps before making a final decision: 1. Dig Deeper. What exactly does the promotion entail? Figure out all the specifics involved, including how many additional hours you might be working, who you will be answering directly to, who you will be supervising, how much additional pay you will receive and how far the promotion will take you as far as your resume is concerned. These are the questions you would ask when looking for a job, so why not do the research when taking on a new responsibility? 2. Do You Love Your Job? Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you love your job. Hard work might just be a personality trait. If you hate your job, will the promotion make a difference or just make you hate it even more? This is an important question, because if the promotion means additional hours at a place that makes you miserable, it won’t be long before you end up suffering a nervous breakdown. No one wants that. 3. Don’t Fall Into The Trap. Assess your current position. Are you happy making the money they are currently paying you for the amount that you work? Is the extra bump in salary and responsibility worth the potential risk? How have other people fared in the position you will be filling? If there is a heavy turnover rate, the new job may not be worth it. You have a responsibility to yourself – making sure you have enough money for shelter, food, clothing, etc. Taking a promotion that might lead you right to the unemployment line may not be the wisest move to make. 4. Talk To Your Family. You should always include your significant other in conversations affecting your future. If the new job is going to ruin your work/life balance, what good is a promotion when you lose the ones you love the most? If your family is willing to understand the sacrifices involved and support your decision to accept the promotion, then go into your new role with strength behind you. 5. Resume Radiance. If a promotion is going to take you off of your specific career track, then why accept the offer? See if there are opportunities that will build your resume and wait it out until one becomes available. Do not just accept a new position because the title makes you feel importance. It’s really how other companies you aspire to work for see you that really matters and the wrong moves could hurt you in the long run. --Jon Minners, Vault.com

Write your story here.....

2011-07-02T14:40:00.001-07:00

http://personaldevelopmentsupport.blogspot.com/

is your inspiring story about career or cultural change on my blog? Why not?

The Conversation

2011-06-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

How to Create High-Impact Disruption In Management and Win a Prize
11:01 AM Thursday June 16, 2011
by Polly LaBarre
By Clayton Christensen, Thomas Davenport, Peter Drucker, et al.

One of he driving principles of the Harvard Business Review/McKinsey M-Prize for Management Innovation is that everyone wins when everyone shares. We believe that people are experimenting with radical management practices all over the world in every kind of organization at every level and too many of them are wrestling with the system in isolation.

We launched the Management 2.0 Challenge to connect the efforts, energies, and insights of in-the-trenches management innovators, to inspire aspiring innovators to action, and to collectively make progress on the urgent challenge of creating organizations that are fit for the future and human beings.

We're inviting progressive thinkers and radical doers of all stripes to share a Hack (a disruptive idea, radical fix, or experimental design) or a Story (a real-world case study of a single practice, an initiative, or a broad-based transformation) that illustrates how the principles and tools of the Web can help create Management 2.0.

When it comes to making an impact and accelerating change, it turns out that the how is as important as the what. That goes for both how you design a disruptive initiative and how you tell your story. To guide M-Prize entries and would-be management innovators alike, here are a set of high-level principles can increase your chances of success when it comes to making an impact in your organization and impress judges of the M-Prize.

Is it Deep?

As you design your hack or start to think about your innovation story, the first question to ask yourself is: does it tackle a root cause or a deeply embedded pathology of organizations? You have to commit to a big problem to make a big impact. Some ways in to the truly juicy challenges:

Look for the intractable tradeoffs. Can you turn an organizational choice "either/or" such as freedom or discipline, short-term earnings obsession or investment in and exploration of new ideas, scale or agility into a transformational "and"?

Turn an organizational "can't do" into a "can do." Have you ever said or thought, "That could never happen in our organization," when confronted by an inspiring tale of transformation or positive change? Now imagine how it might.

That's what a team of management innovators did in an earlier M-Prize-winning hack, Late Night Pizza: Extending Hackathons Beyond Technology. David Roth and his teammates were frustrated by the endemic prioritization of short-term priorities at the expense of exploring, developing, and investing in new ideas. They designed a mechanism, borrowing from the world of software development and open-source innovation, to create a tangible, practical, and boundary-pushing workaround.

Define the dogma. Root out and name the assumptions and orthodoxies so entrenched they disappear even as they surround us, like century-old wallpaper. What are the beliefs that we mistake for natural laws? Such as "it takes a burning platform to provoke real change" or "senior executives set strategy."

Phillippe Beaudette and Eugene Eric Kim took on that last corrosive assumption when they took on strategic planning at Wikimedia, and their idea is now a contender for the current Management 2.0 Challenge. The planning team at Wikimedia, the foundation that supports Wikipedia and other "wiki" projects, flipped the convention from the start. Instead of proceeding on the belief that strategic planning is an activity reserved for the elite, they designed a process built on the notion that the best ideas and guidance would come from Wikimedia's 70,000 volunteers.

Is it Bold?

It's nearly impossible to overstate the gravity of the status quo. Cutting through rules, defanging the powers-that-be, wading through the sludge of bureaucracy, and detoxing the pervasive culture of fear and mistrust in our organizations takes real intestinal fortitude.

One place to start: the fringe. The future doesn't unfold top-down or center-out so much as outside-in. Some of the best management innovations borrow from unrelated realms: Look at the Lexus car dealerships modeled on the Apple Genius Bar or the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital's four-star hotel experience.. Almost all successful management innovation looks to new principles, such as biological systems, democracy, markets, and, of course, the Web to bypass the current operating model. The Management 2.0 challenge explicitly asks participants to leverage the deep principles of the Web, such as freedom, openness, transparency, meritocracy and experimentation, to overcome the limits of conventional management.

Is it Human?

As with most problem-solving, the most successful approaches to management innovation are human-centric. After all, the central problem with our organizations is that they are fundamentally unfit for human beings.

The question to keep in mind is how does this change life inside the organization for people at every level? What's the before and after picture in real, human terms? How did your process unfold? How does the thing actually work How does this affect the working life of real people in the organization?

The most instructive and inspiring element of an innovation story is the real, in-the-trenches, messy unfolding of the experiment. That's what David Choe focused on in his epic, three-part story "How to Start a Movement in Your Company."

Is it Social?

Finally, innovation is a social process: without brilliant builds, promising ideas often remain pipe dreams. It takes a rich mix of ideas, points of view, and mashed-up insight to go from brainstorm to making a real dent in the world.

That means you have to be willing to share your ideas when they're half-baked, happy to give your thinking away "for free," and open to comments and builds from your peers. Collaborative innovation requires a magical mix of confidence and humility: the conviction and passion to promote your vision of change along with genuine humility and the understanding that your idea is never "done" and can always be improved upon by others. Innovation is an ever-evolving story. If you ever get to thinking your creation is fully cooked, you just might be.

So, in that spirit, jump in! Share your story, invent a hack, and, as always, let us know what you think.

Polly LaBarre is editorial director of MIX.

Competitive vs. Collaborative Focus

2011-06-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

June 3, 2011 / by Collaboration / in Entrepreneurship, Management, Professional and Personal Life Balance, Relationships in Business By Michael Gunther

Over the past few weeks I’ve had multiple friends and colleagues suggest I go see a movie called “I Am” by Tom Shadyac, playing at our local independent movie theater. The premise of the film is that a hot shot Hollywood director had a mountain biking accident that changed his life and led him on a quest to answer two questions: (1) What is wrong with our world? (2) What can we do to change it?

I had been avoiding this movie thinking it was another movie industry person talking about their transformation on their perspective of life while trying to create another movie hit. Not that I’m a cynical guy, but I’ve seen this pattern before.

So, last week I finally saw the movie “I Am” at our local art house movie theater. Overall I thought it was well done and inspiring – it wasn’t necessarily a movie about Tom, but more of a story he sewed together by speaking with various thought leaders and experts from around the globe. It was one of those movies that left me pondering that our societies’ approach to life could be better and must be different.

Some of the key concepts I gleamed from the documentary were:

•Consumerism – How gathering more than we need impacts our careers and business decisions, but doesn’t necessarily make us happier. Our focus is all about the economy, in fact, the last 30 years consumer spending has driven the economy – I’m not sure this is the best foundation long term. I think we’ve seen the effects of this focus throughout the past few years.

•Collaboration – Darwin and the survival of the fittest has been our societal motto for some time, but new research is actually showing the collaborative efforts of communities, tribes and even nature can have a stronger more impactful change on life and society. The competitive – one person or group wins theory – is actually hurting us more in the long run than helping us.

•Connectedness – Through the genome project, which is mapping DNA of all species, we are beginning to understand that we are connected to all aspects of nature and species. In fact, we all share 99% of the same DNA with most species so we must look at all aspects of our world to make sure we’re not destroying one species for the sake of another.

•Change without violence – War is not always the answer. Some of the great social movements have been led by individuals standing up with peaceful protest. Think of Gandhi, the Dali Lama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the uprisings happening in the Middle East.

•Community – The importance of taking care of others within our communities – American Indians were about taking care of their elderly, the children and those less fortunate within the tribe while no one individual took more than they needed. This belief holds true today with tribes in Africa and in the Amazon rain forest. We often have people going hungry each day in our own communities, right at the footsteps of others who have an abundance of food.

These concepts require us to truly reshape our views about our society and how we focus our time and energy in living our lives. In relating these concepts to business, I think the same principles can apply:

•Focusing on what you need – There has been a rise of social enterprises, businesses focused on providing services to those less fortunate or generating profit for a specific social cause.

•Collaboration – The technology industry and science have been leading the path here. Individuals and organizations realize instead of trying to have all the solutions, that they can partner with other individuals or organizations which complement or add to their offerings.

•Connectedness – As business owners we must understand how we are connected to not only our employees and customers, but to our community and environment as well. About four years ago, I went on a trip to Boulder, Colorado with our local chamber to see how they’ve successfully grown and diversified their economy. They had created a business culture that involved looking at business and growth decisions from an economic as well as social and environmental impact, as opposed to strictly from an economic perspective. Shouldn’t we all do this?

•Change without violence – I hear some folks talk about “crushing” their competitors – what happens when there are no more competitors to “crush”? You won…but what did you win? I’d rather focus on being the leader in the industry with innovation, results and ideas. If competitors copy your ideas, well then, you just have to push harder as a team to achieve a new level of performance.

•Community – I’m a big believer in giving back to the community. My parents had this concept as part of their make-up and souls. There is always someone less fortunate than you, and if you can assist one individual in his or her life and that person can help one more person, etc. Similar to the concept of ‘pay it forward’. It’s important for businesses to give back to local and global communities.

Bottom Line

At the end of the day, I believe as business owners we have to operate differently in order to not only thrive as an organization, but within our communities as well. Go see “I Am” – and start making changes in your business and your life.

This is another article in a series on Michael’s entrepreneurial story and how being raised in a large family has influenced his career. To read the previous articles in this series, visit his blog at www.Collaboration-llc.com.

Michael Gunther is Founder and President of Collaboration LLC, a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive business owners to build profitable, sustainable businesses through results-oriented education and consulting services. Learn more at www.Collaboration-llc.com.

The goal should be to hire neither the jerk or the fool....not efficient

2011-05-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

Fool vs. Jerk: Whom Would You Hire?

Published: July 25, 2005

Authors: Tiziana Casciaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo

Executive Summary:

You are the hiring manager with a nasty decision to make. Would you hire the lovable fool or the competent jerk? This Harvard Business Review excerpt suggests that the decision is complicated. By HBS professor Tiziana Casciaro and Duke University’s Miguel Sousa Lobo.

Easy Print View

E-mail To A FriendShare ArticleAdd to Del.ici.ous Digg this Article Add to Facebook Add to Reddit Seed Newsvine Technorati Favorite Stumble It! Twitter LinkedIn E-mail the Editor

Download PDF

When given the choice of whom to work with, people will pick one person over another for any number of reasons: the prestige of being associated with a star performer, for example, or the hope that spending time with a strategically placed superior will further their careers. But in most cases, people choose their work partners according to two criteria. One is competence at the job (Does Joe know what he's doing?). The other is likability (Is Joe enjoyable to work with?). Obviously, both things matter. Less obvious is how much they matter—and exactly how they matter.

To gain some insight into these questions, we studied four organizations selected to reflect a wide range of attributes—for-profit and nonprofit, large and small, North American and European. We asked people to indicate how often they had work-related interactions with every other person in the organization. We then asked them to rate all the other people in the company in terms of how much they personally liked each one and how well each did his or her job.

These two criteria—competence and likability—combine to produce four archetypes: the competent jerk, who knows a lot but is unpleasant to deal with; the lovable fool, who doesn't know much but is a delight to have around; the lovable star, who's both smart and likable; and the incompetent jerk, who…well, that's self-explanatory. These archetypes are caricatures, of course: Organizations usually—well, much of the time—weed out both the hopelessly incompetent and the socially clueless. Still, people in an organization can be roughly classified using a simple matrix.

Our research showed (not surprisingly) that, no matter what kind of organization we studied, everybody wanted to work with the lovable star, and nobody wanted to work with the incompetent jerk. Things got a lot more interesting, though, when people faced the choice between competent jerks and lovable fools.

Ask managers about this choice—and we've asked many of them, both as part of our research and in executive education programs we teach—and you'll often hear them say that when it comes to getting a job done, of course competence trumps likability. "I can defuse my antipathy toward the jerk if he's competent, but I can't train someone who's incompetent," says the CIO at a large engineering company. Or, in the words of a knowledge management executive in the IT department of a professional services firm: "I really care about the skills and expertise you bring to the table. If you're a nice person on top of that, that's simply a bonus."

But despite what such people might say about their preferences, the reverse turned out to be true in practice in the organizations we analyzed. Personal feelings played a more important role in forming work relationships—not friendships at work but job-oriented relationships—than is commonly acknowledged. They were even more important than evaluations of competence. In fact, feelings worked as a gating factor: We found that if someone is strongly disliked, it's almost irrelevant whether or not she is competent; people won't want to work with her anyway. By contrast, if someone is liked, his colleagues will seek out every little bit of competence he has to offer. And this tendency didn't exist only in extreme cases; it was true across the board. Generally speaking, a little extra likability goes a longer way than a little extra competence in making someone desirable to work with. [...]

Yet is such a choice unprofessional? Is it a mistake to steer clear of the competent jerk when we have a job to do? Sometimes, yes. We may forgo the opportunity to tap a competent jerk's knowledge and skills because we don't want to deal with his patronizing, brusque, or otherwise unpleasant attitude—which is arguably a modest price to pay for the valuable assistance he can provide. We may even shun the jerk simply to deny him the satisfaction of lording his knowledge over us.

Everybody wants to work with the lovable star, and nobody wants to work with the incompetent jerk.But there are justifiable reasons to avoid the jerk. Sometimes it can be difficult to pry the needed information from him simply because he is a jerk. And knowledge often requires explanation to be useful—you might, for instance, want to brainstorm with someone or ask follow-up questions—and this kind of interaction may be difficult with a competent jerk. Furthermore, in order to learn, you often have to reveal your vulnerabilities, which also may be difficult with the competent jerk—especially if you are afraid of how this might affect your reputation in his eyes or in the eyes of others to whom he may reveal your limitations. By contrast, the lovable fool may be more likely to freely share whatever (albeit modest) information or skills he has and, without any intention of gaining an advantage, help others put them to use.

The likability bias: Pros and cons

Some people are liked pretty much universally. In other cases, likability is relative: One person's friend may be another one's jerk. This is because our positive feelings can result from people's inherent attributes or from the situations we find ourselves in with them. This distinction is important to keep in mind as we try to manage this tendency of people to favor likability over competence in their choice of work partners.

Social psychologists have long known that we like people who are similar to us; people we are familiar with; people who have reciprocal positive feelings about us; and people who are inherently attractive, either in their appearance or their personality—that is, they are considerate, cheerful, generous, and so on. Each of these sources of personal likability can contribute, for better or worse, to the formation of an informal network.

For Better. That we like people who are similar to us—for example, in their background, their beliefs, their interests, their personal style—is one of the most solidly documented findings in the social sciences. After all, these people make us feel good because they reaffirm the validity of our own characteristics and attitudes. But there's a business, as well as a psychological, benefit when similar people choose to work together: Their similar values, ways of thinking, and communication styles help projects flow smoothly and quickly.

Benefits also result when we work with people who aren't necessarily similar, but are familiar, to us. When you launch into a task with those you already know, you don't waste a lot of time figuring out what to expect from them or explaining what you mean every time you say something. In addition, because you are usually relatively comfortable with individuals you know, you're likely to be more accepting of their differences.

We also like to work with people who seem to like us. This can produce a virtuous circle in which everyone is more open to new ideas, more willing to help, and more trusting than would typically be the case. A similarly positive environment can be created if you work with someone who has an attractive personality—someone who is empathetic, for example, or generous. You know that you'll have liberal access to her intellectual resources, however abundant or modest they may be, and are likely to reciprocate by freely sharing your own knowledge.

And a person who is physically attractive? Well, in such a case, the job you do together can be, in some indefinable way, simply a bit more enjoyable than usual.

For Worse. One of the greatest drawbacks of choosing to work with similar people is the limited range of perspectives that a homogeneous group often brings to bear on a problem. A diverse collection of colleagues—whatever the tensions and misunderstandings that arise because of their differences—provides an array of perspectives that can lead to truly innovative approaches to accomplishing a task.

Even groups composed not of similar souls but merely of people who are very familiar with one another miss the chance to integrate the fresh perspective that new players bring to a project. Working with the same old colleagues can also dampen debate: People may hesitate to challenge or reject a bad idea put forward by someone they know and like.

A diverse collection of colleagues provides an array of perspectives that can lead to truly innovative approaches.There is also an obvious downside when we gravitate toward people because they like us or because they are pleasant to work with. These individuals, however terrific they may be, aren't necessarily the ones most suited to tackling the task at hand. The required expertise or knowledge may lie elsewhere, in someone who in fact doesn't like us that much or isn't attractive.

One other danger of people working primarily with those they like: They may simply have a good time and get nothing done. An experienced venture capitalist recalls the case of a very capable manager who hired individuals based on his personal affinity with them. "His team had a great time going out for a beer, but the quality of their work was seriously compromised," says the dismayed investor. "If you keep hiring only people you like, you can kill a company."

The objective, therefore, is to leverage the power of liking while avoiding the negative consequences of people's "affect-based choice"—to use the psychological term—of work partners. Keep in mind that we're not talking here about formal work relationships: You work with your boss and your direct counterparts in other divisions whether you like them or not. We're talking only about people's choices of informal, though work-related, interactions. Even so, that doesn't preclude executives from doing some things that will positively affect those interactions and the often task-crucial informal networks that grow out of them.

About the authors

Tiziana Casciaro (tcasciaro@hbs.edu) is a professor at Harvard Business School.

Miguel Sousa Lobo (mlobo@duke.edu) is an assistant professor of decision sciences at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

Excerpted with permission from "Competent Jerks, Lovable Fools, and the Formation of Social Networks," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, No. 6, June 2005.

What Got You Here Won‘t Get You There

2011-05-01T03:39:00.001-07:00

What Got You Here Won‘t Get You There Chapters, from Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth
Thank you for your request. Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth is pleased to offer you complimentary chapters from Marshall Goldsmith’s book, What Got You Here Won‘t Get You There.
You may download the chapter at the following link (you may also copy and paste this link into your browser):
http://exec.tuck.dartmouth.edu/CustomerFiles_dartmouth/upload/upload/Successful_People-Parts_1-2.pdf
If you experience any difficulties accessing the chapter, please contact Jen Johnson at Jennifer.T.Johnson@tuck.dartmouth.edu or 603-646-8139 for assistance.
We hope you enjoy Marshall Goldsmith’s latest work.

Thank You!

David McClelland

2011-05-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

David C McClelland's Motivational Needs Theory

American David Clarence McClelland (1917-98) achieved his doctorate in psychology at Yale in 1941 and became professor at Wesleyan University. He then taught and lectured, including a spell at Harvard from 1956, where with colleagues for twenty years he studied particularly motivation and the achievement need. He began his McBer consultancy in 1963, helping industry assess and train staff, and later taught at Boston University, from 1987 until his death. McClelland is chiefly known for his work on achievement motivation, but his research interests extended to personality and consciousness. David McClelland pioneered workplace motivational thinking, developing achievement-based motivational theory and models, and promoted improvements in employee assessment methods, advocating competency-based assessments and tests, arguing them to be better than traditional IQ and personality-based tests. His ideas have since been widely adopted in many organisations, and relate closely to the theory of Frederick Herzberg.

David McClelland is most noted for describing three types of motivational need, which he identified in his 1961 book, The Achieving Society:

achievement motivation (n-ach)

authority/power motivation (n-pow)

affiliation motivation (n-affil)

david mcclelland's needs-based motivational model

These needs are found to varying degrees in all workers and managers, and this mix of motivational needs characterises a person's or manager's style and behaviour, both in terms of being motivated, and in the management and motivation others.

the need for achievement (n-ach)

The n-ach person is 'achievement motivated' and therefore seeks achievement, attainment of realistic but challenging goals, and advancement in the job. There is a strong need for feedback as to achievement and progress, and a need for a sense of accomplishment.

the need for authority and power (n-pow)

The n-pow person is 'authority motivated'. This driver produces a need to be influential, effective and to make an impact. There is a strong need to lead and for their ideas to prevail. There is also motivation and need towards increasing personal status and prestige.

the need for affiliation (n-affil)

The n-affil person is 'affiliation motivated', and has a need for friendly relationships and is motivated towards interaction with other people. The affiliation driver produces motivation and need to be liked and held in popular regard. These people are team players.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

McClelland said that most people possess and exhibit a combination of these characteristics. Some people exhibit a strong bias to a particular motivational need, and this motivational or needs 'mix' consequently affects their behaviour and working/managing style. Mcclelland suggested that a strong n-affil 'affiliation-motivation' undermines a manager's objectivity, because of their need to be liked, and that this affects a manager's decision-making capability. A strong n-pow 'authority-motivation' will produce a determined work ethic and commitment to the organisation, and while n-pow people are attracted to the leadership role, they may not possess the required flexibility and people-centred skills. McClelland argues that n-ach people with strong 'achievement motivation' make the best leaders, although there can be a tendency to demand too much of their staff in the belief that they are all similarly and highly achievement-focused and results driven, which of course most people are not.

McClelland's particular fascination was for achievement motivation, and this laboratory experiment illustrates one aspect of his theory about the affect of achievement on people's motivation. McClelland asserted via this experiment that while most people do not possess a strong achievement-based motivation, those who do, display a consistent behaviour in setting goals:

Volunteers were asked to throw rings over pegs rather like the fairground game; no distance was stipulated, and most people seemed to throw from arbitrary, random distances, sometimes close, sometimes farther away. However a small group of volunteers, whom McClelland suggested were strongly achievement-motivated, took some care to measure and test distances to produce an ideal challenge - not too easy, and not impossible. Interestingly a parallel exists in biology, known as the 'overload principle', which is commonly applied to fitness and exercising, ie., in order to develop fitness and/or strength the exercise must be sufficiently demanding to increase existing levels, but not so demanding as to cause damage or strain. McClelland identified the same need for a 'balanced challenge' in the approach of achievement-motivated people.

McClelland contrasted achievement-motivated people with gamblers, and dispelled a common pre-conception that n-ach 'achievement-motivated' people are big risk takers. On the contrary - typically, achievement-motivated individuals set goals which they can influence with their effort and ability, and as such the goal is considered to be achievable. This determined results-driven approach is almost invariably present in the character make-up of all successful business people and entrepreneurs.

McClelland suggested other characteristics and attitudes of achievement-motivated people:

achievement is more important than material or financial reward.

achieving the aim or task gives greater personal satisfaction than receiving praise or recognition.

financial reward is regarded as a measurement of success, not an end in itself.

security is not prime motivator, nor is status.

feedback is essential, because it enables measurement of success, not for reasons of praise or recognition (the implication here is that feedback must be reliable, quantifiable and factual).

achievement-motivated people constantly seek improvements and ways of doing things better.

achievement-motivated people will logically favour jobs and responsibilities that naturally satisfy their needs, ie offer flexibility and opportunity to set and achieve goals, eg., sales and business management, and entrepreneurial roles.

McClelland firmly believed that achievement-motivated people are generally the ones who make things happen and get results, and that this extends to getting results through the organisation of other people and resources, although as stated earlier, they often demand too much of their staff because they prioritise achieving the goal above the many varied interests and needs of their people.

Interesting comparisons and relationships can be drawn between McClelland's motivation types, and the characteristics defined in other behavioural models, eg:

John Adair's Action-Centred Leadership model: Achievement-motivated managers are firmly focused on the Task, often to the detriment of the Individual and the Team. Affiliation-motivation people are Team and Individual centred. (Note that John Adair's Action-Centred leadership model is ©John Adair.)

Katherine Benziger'sThinking Styles model: Achievement-motivation is a double-frontal brain mode style; affiliation-motivation is right basal (rear); authority-motivation is arguably left basal (rear).

DISC (Inscape, Thomas International, etc) system: Achievement-motivated people are 'D' profiles - results-driven, decisive, dominant, etc. Affiliation-motivated people are I (proactive) and S (reactive) profiles. Authority-motivated people are S and C profiles.

Hersey/Blanchard's Situational Leadership® model: Achievement-motivated people tend to favour the styles of the first and second modes ('telling' and 'selling'); affiliation-motivated people tend to favour the third mode ('participating'); and the authority-motivated people tend to favour the style of mode four ('delegating'). Please note that Situational Leadership® is protected intellectual property: Situational Leadership® is a trademark of the Centre for Leadership Studies. Situational Leadership II® is a trademark of The Ken Blanchard Companies. Use of material relating to Situational Leadership® and/or Situational Leadership II® requires licence and agreement from the respective companies.

McGregor XY Theory: Achievement-motivated people tend towards X-Theory style, due to their high task focus; there are plenty of exceptions however, and training definitely helps the n-ach manager to see the value of employing Theory Y style. n-pow managers are definitely Theory X. n-affil are typically Theory Y and if not can relatively easily be trained to be so.

Herzberg motivators and hygiene factors: n-ach people are more responsive to the Herzberg motivators (especially achievement obviously) than n-affil and n-pow people.

Life After 50: When you look in the mirror what do you see?

2011-04-25T18:08:00.001-07:00

Barbara Hannah Grufferman

Author, 'The Best of Everything After 50'; columnist, ThirdAge.com

Life After 50: When You Look in the Mirror, What Do You See?

An article in the U.K. Daily Mail stopped me in my tracks recently. New research, it reported, shows that more than 90 percent of women in their 40s and 50s are deeply unhappy with how they look and are suffering from what experts have dubbed "Midlife Mirror Angst Syndrome."

Curious and apprehensive, I read the article. Not surprisingly, the women who were interviewed for the story were quite down on themselves:

"Ever since I turned 40, my reflection has upset me. I loathe what's happening to my body, I am riddled with hang-ups -- and I hate the fact I can't control the changes I see."

"Before the ageing process kicked in, I used to take all those sideways glances from men for granted. I've had to accept that I simply don't turn heads any more."

"I'm going through the menopause and it's a shock every time I catch sight of myself in the mirror: I expect to see the woman I was in my 20s, but there's a 50-something woman staring back at me."

I used to feel that way -- but no more.

A few years ago when I turned 50, this is what was staring back at me when I looked into the mirror:

A woman who:

• was starting to feel invisible and ignored

• hadn't exercised regularly in many years

• had very little energy

• had hair that looked like road kill because she had been blow-drying it to death for decades, trying to make it something it wasn't (straight)

• assumed that the 15 pounds she packed on after going through menopause was normal and would never come off

• believed that she was no longer attractive

• focused on her wrinkles

• was feeling insecure about her place in the world

Need I go on?

I looked in the mirror and thought, "Okay, this is it. This is what being middle aged is all about, and I'd better just accept it." Then, I mentally tucked myself under the proverbial blanket and was getting ready to stay there -- until I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, declaring, "Giving up is not an option."

Deciding that drastic action was required, I took it upon myself to get the best information from the best experts on nutrition, fitness, style, hair, makeup, health, finances, careers after 50 and everything else you could possibly think of to feel good and look good so that I could stare at that person in the mirror with a renewed sense of pride and confidence.

Armed with my new "look" and new attitude, I appeared on the Today Show to talk about how I learned to embrace my age instead of fighting it. During the interview with Ann Curry (see video below), I shared what I believe is the simple key to being fearless after 50: "Embrace your age, whatever it is. Love your life, get as healthy as you can, move your body every day, be informed, stay engaged, connect with others, use your mind, live with style, be bold, be brave and walk with confidence."

The message has resonated with men and women around the country because we're tired of being told that we are invisible and no longer relevant. I meet people over 50 every day who are engaged with life in ways they never thought they could be.

I can honestly say that turning 50 changed my life for the better. Instead of giving up and giving in, I did a bit of "tough love" on myself and took action. But more than that: I also realized that I didn't want to just be alive; I wanted to have a life, a great, big, wonderful life after 50.

Before sitting down to write this piece, I looked in the mirror, and this is what I saw:

A woman who:

• just came back from running nine miles (with walk breaks and quite slowly)

• will run in the New York City Marathon this year to celebrate her 55th birthday and raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (see the "NYC Marathon Training Weekly Update" at the end of this article)

o can do 20 push-ups (just a few years ago she couldn't even do one)

• is starting a new business and has outlines for two other books

• has come to truly understand and appreciate the power of connecting with other women who are, or have been, going through similar midlife experiences (take a look at a few of the comments from Facebook friends who were asked this question, "What do you see when you look in the mirror?" below)

• can see the pride in her daughters' faces when they look at this confident, happy and unstoppable woman their mother has become

• smiles more often than not

• is the happiest she has ever been

That is what I see. Oh, about those wrinkles. Yes, they are still there. I love them, and I hope you come to love yours, too. They are the most empowering things I possess.

I put this question, "When you look in the mirror, what do you see?" on Facebook, and here are a few of the responses, reprinted with their permission. If you're on Facebook, join me and these wonderful women so we can all learn from each other about living our best lives after 50:

I see a different face every day. The face may change, but the reflection remains the same. There's always a smart, loving, talented woman looking back at me. (Karen Hanley Taylor)

I see wisdom in the lines around my eyes, happiness in the lines around my mouth and joy reflecting in my eyes. (Denise Taylor Tremaine)

I see a youthful spirit with a new wisdom that can only come with life experience. I take care of myself and do the best that I can with my looks, and have accepted the physical change as part of growing older. I feel very blessed. (Marsha Silver-Kessler)

I see a woman who believes that dreams can come true again and again! (Amy Wise)

I see an older version of myself, but a much more serene and confident version. I see a woman who can handle just about anything with a little time to get used to whatever it is. I see a truly happy woman who has found contentment, has lost her judgementalism, has found her groove and who can find common ground with anyone and who can enjoy herself in any situation....take that you 20 year olds! ;) (Maureen Ardron)

Tell us: what do you see?

* * * * *

2011 New York City Marathon Weekly Training Update

• Saturday: 5 miles with a run/walk ratio of 3 minutes/30 seconds

• Monday: 5 miles with a run/walk ratio of 3 minutes/30 seconds

• Thursday: 9 miles with a run/walk ratio of 1 minute/1 minute

• Every other week I'll be adding another mile or so to the long run (keeping the two short runs the same distance), and will be adding "speed work" to my training.

• For more information on the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk/Run Method, check out his website, jeffgalloway.com.

* * * * *

Staying connected is a powerful tool. "Friend" me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. For more information on "The Best of Everything After 50: The Experts' Guide to Style, Sex, Health, Money and More," please visit my website, bestofeverythingafter50.com. Stay well, and stay in touch.

I feel this song was written just for me....LOVE IT!

2011-04-23T22:17:00.001-07:00

Natasha Bedingfield: Unwritten Lyrics

Songwriters: Bedingfield, Natasha Anne; Brisebois, Danielle A; Rodriques, Wayne Steven;

I am unwritten

Can't read my mind, I'm undefined

I'm just beginning

The pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words

That you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

I break tradition

Sometimes my tries are outside the lines

We've been conditioned

To not make mistakes, but I can't live that way, no

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words

That you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words

That you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

The rest is still unwritten

The rest is still unwritten

The Dragonfly Effect!

2011-04-20T19:55:00.001-07:00

Named for the only insect able to move in any direction when its four wings are working in concert, The Dragonfly Effect reveals how everyday people achieve unprecedented results through harnessing the incredible power of social media.

While there are many books teaching the mechanics of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to compete in business, The Dragonfly Effect is the first to show how to tap social media and psychological insights to achieve a single, concrete goal – whether that is finding an almost impossible bone marrow match for a friend, raising millions for cancer research, or electing the current president of the United States.

Featuring dynamic, original case studies of global organizations like the Gap, Starbucks, Kiva, Nike, eBay, Facebook, as well as start-ups like Groupon and COOKPAD, The Dragonfly Effect demonstrates how to achieve both social good and customer loyalty by leveraging the power of design thinking with practical strategies.

The Dragonfly Effect proves that you don’t need money or power to inspire seismic change.

ForbesWoman

2011-04-15T09:24:00.001-07:00

I am not sure I agree with the word mandate. Any obstacles are self created in the midst of all possibilities and too many have proven that fact to be true forever. But none the less. Great information, time well spent and happy reading....

Mandating Women At The Leadership Table: Why the Time is Now

Thank you, Kathy Caprino

The research findings are clear: Companies with the highest representation of women on their top management teams perform better financially than companies with the lowest women’s representation (see Catalyst and Deloitte). Irrefutable evidence abounds supporting the need for U.S. corporations to achieve a critical mass of women in senior leadership to succeed and thrive in today’s economy.

Yet we remain stalled in our efforts to advance women to senior leadership. In truth, we’ve flatlined. Despite a plethora of new training and leadership initiatives, in 2010, women held only 14.4% of executive officer positions, up from 13.5% in 2009, and only 7.6% of the top earning positions compared with 6.3% in 2009. Other countries are soaring far ahead of us in this regard.

From my career and leadership coaching work with hundreds of corporate women, and my yearlong research on the 12 “hidden” crises professional women face, I’ve directly witnessed what holds women back from attaining the highest levels of leadership.

What is this barrier? A key obstacle is a pervasive corporate culture that by its very nature expels a vast number of women. This culture is shaped by what I and others have called the “white male competitive career model,” and it remains intractable. The model is comprised of four key expectations of a “successful professional” that do not fit hundreds of thousands of women. Until we change the existing corporate culture, we will fail at bringing about female leadership growth.

The four assumptions of the white male competitive career model are:

1) A bias for linear or continuous employment histories (in other words, a rejection of “off-ramping” and “on-ramping” that women often need to do to address child and elder care priorities);

2) An over-emphasis on “full-time”, “face-time” and hierarchical structure;

3) An expectation that “ambitious” professionals will show the most intensive career commitment in their 30s (when many women are having babies); and

4) A guiding principle that money and power are primary motivators to contribution and performance.

Unless we shift these cultural assumptions, women’s leadership growth will remain a pipe dream. And America’s businesses will suffer.

Why is More Female Leadership Essential?

It’s a fact – organizations need a diversity of leadership perspectives and approaches in order to innovate and compete today. In addition, female leaders tend to display traits that are significantly different from male leaders, and these characteristics create new pathways for success and growth. From my own and others’ research, four key female leadership traits have emerged:

1) Stronger interpersonal and empathic relating skills – Women leaders exhibit a higher degree of interpersonal skills, empathy, flexibility and sociability, enabling them to gauge situations accurately and collect and integrate information from all angles. This ability to take in all sides of a situation enhances their persuasiveness, and allows them to infuse energy and power into a shared vision of the future and engenders commitment and support from others in creating that vision. Their empathy helps them connect deeply with people, and foster loyalty, support and collaboration from those they lead.

2) Resilience in applying lessons and learning from adversity – Women leaders show a higher degree of resilience and assertiveness than their male counterparts. This coupled with their flexibility and interpersonal connection helps them shake off negativity and setbacks, learn what they need to from the experience, and use the setbacks to fuel their drive to succeed and overcome challenges.

3) Honoring inclusion over hierarchy – The female leader tends to utilize a more inclusive, team-building style of problem solving and decision making. Women leaders demonstrate stronger listening skills, which including learning from listening, reflecting back, then implementing a plan that incorporates the best thinking of all involved. She tends to operate under the belief that inclusion is preferred over exclusion, and centrality is preferred over hierarchy. She doesn’t want to sit alone at the top. Instead, she wants to be in the center of a large and effective web of inclusion (for more, see Sally Helgesen’s The Web of Inclusion and The Female Advantage)

4) Risk taking and resisting following the “rules” – Female leaders show a higher tendency to resist both established procedures and over- cautiousness. They display a greater sense of urgency, risk -taking and abstract reasoning, and focus more on getting things done, with less of a tendency to hesitate, focus on small details, or follow external structure.

With a more open, consensus -building, and collegial approach to leading, women leaders create environments where information is shared more freely, collaboration and teamwork are honored, and flexibility along with risk-taking create new opportunities for success.

Corporate America desperately needs more than 15% of its senior leadership to be women. The question remains: Are American employers ready to embrace what needs to be done, following the lead of other countries that have made greater headway? The answer must be yes, and the time is now.

Kathy Caprino, M.A. is a nationally-recognized women’s career and leadership coach, speaker and author of Breakdown, Breakthrough. Founder/President of Ellia Communications – a career coaching and marketing consulting firm for professional women, Kathy is a sought-after writer and speaker on women’s career trends, and has appeared in over 100 leading magazines and newspapers and on national TV. Visit www.elliacommunications.com for more info.

Developing Your Business Plan in 30 Days!

2011-04-07T16:36:00.001-07:00

Dr. Syleecia Thompson

Need a business plan? Check out http://businessplancamp.eventbrite.com/

businessplancamp.eventbrite.com

Developing Your Business Plan in 30 Days! Business Plan Bootcamp: Your business plan is the foundation for a successful business venture. As an entrepreneur, you can't be successful without one! A business plan is needed for funding, organizational structure and potential investors. Many people fear

Dominic Barton...any chance I could have a few of you execs in a room for open dialog for one day?

2011-04-07T15:43:00.001-07:00

Dominic Barton, McKinsey's managing director, argues that business must take the lead in renewing capitalism or risk losing popular and political support for the global economic system.

April 2010
Capitalism for the long term, Harvard Business Review by Dominic Barton

The near meltdown of the financial system and the ensuing Great Recession have been, and will remain, the defining issue for the current generation of executives.

Now that the worst seems to be behind us, it’s tempting to feel deep relief—and a strong desire to return to the comfort of business as usual. But that is simply not an option. In the past three years we’ve already seen a dramatic acceleration in the shifting balance of power between the developed West and the emerging East, a rise in populist politics and social stresses in a number of countries, and significant strains on global governance systems. As the fallout from the crisis continues, we’re likely to see increased geopolitical rivalries, new international security challenges, and rising tensions from trade, migration, and resource competition. For business leaders, however, the most consequential outcome of the crisis is the challenge to capitalism itself.

That challenge did not just arise in the wake of the Great Recession. Recall that trust in business hit historically low levels more than a decade ago. But the crisis and the surge in public antagonism it unleashed have exacerbated the friction between business and society. On top of anxiety about persistent problems such as rising income inequality, we now confront understandable anger over high unemployment, spiraling budget deficits, and a host of other issues. Governments feel pressure to reach ever deeper inside businesses to exert control and prevent another system-shattering event.

My goal here is not to offer yet another assessment of the actions policymakers have taken or will take as they try to help restart global growth. The audience I want to engage is my fellow business leaders. After all, much of what went awry before and after the crisis stemmed from failures of governance, decision making, and leadership within companies. These are failures we can and should address ourselves.

Read the full article on Harvard Business Review

Paul Polman...would I love to have one day of creative open dialog with you!

2011-04-07T15:40:00.001-07:00

Paul Polman

CEO, Unilever It is a sign of the world in which we live that the word “crisis” should appear so often in the introduction to Dominic Barton’s well-argued critique of capitalism. But what we have experienced over recent years is not, in my view, so much a crisis of capitalism as a crisis of ethics. As the author acknowledges, capitalism itself remains the “greatest engine of prosperity ever devised.” The issue, to pursue the analogy, is that maintenance of the financial engine has too often been left in the hands of young, untrained apprentices.

The central thesis of the article is that the “short-termism” of so much modern business—“quarterly capitalism”—lies at the heart of many of today’s problems. I agree and have said so many times, occasionally to my cost. At Unilever, words have been backed with action. We have aligned management incentives for the long term and invested heavily in R&D to build our pipeline of innovations. In addition, we have moved away from quarterly profit reporting; since we don’t operate on a 90-day cycle for advertising, marketing, or investment, why do so for reporting? And as Dominic Barton acknowledges, we have also been among those companies “to resist playing the game” when it comes to issuing guidance. The share price may have fallen on the day we announced an end to guidance but is now 35 percent higher. Nothing in the intervening two years has persuaded me that this was the wrong thing to do. We will therefore go on resisting.

For all these reasons, it is difficult to argue with Dominic Barton’s prescriptions for change—management incentives that encourage a focus on the long term, a broader form of stakeholder capitalism, and stronger, better-informed boards of directors.

These will all go a long way to addressing the problems of short-term capitalism. They are necessary. But they are not sufficient. Changes in policy will mean little if not accompanied by changes in behavior. That’s why we need a different approach to business—a new model led by a generation of leaders with the mind-set and the courage to tackle the challenges of the future.

Such challenges go beyond those arising from the financial crisis. We now know, in outline, what the future will look like. It will be a world where climate will change, water will be scarce, and food supplies will be insecure.

Business has a chance to become part of the solution to those challenges. Just as we need to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes which led to the recent banking crisis, so there is an equal imperative to face up to the realties of a world where 9.5 billion people will put enormous strain on biophysical resources. The rapidly growing populations of India, China, and Indonesia will all aspire to the lifestyles and living standards enjoyed by the Germans and the Californians. There is nothing that we can, or should, do to stop that.

The challenge for business is to meet these needs in a sustainable fashion. Success will require completely new business models. It will demand transformational innovation in product and process technologies to minimize resource use, as well as the development of “closed-loop” systems so that one man’s waste becomes another’s raw material.

Interestingly too, the challenge is likely to encourage a much more collaborative form of capitalism. Companies will have to work with each other, not just with governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society. Issues like deforestation and species extinction cannot be tackled by just one company acting alone; they will require collaboration within, and across, industry sectors. To arrest the alarming rates of deforestation in Brazil and Southeast Asia, for example, not just the consumer goods industry but also the oil industry (interested in vegetable oils as feedstocks for biofuels) and big agribusinesses (like Cargill, Bunge, and ADM) must work together. Coalitions of this kind need the active involvement of NGOs to mediate discussions and ensure that the interests of civil society are fully factored into solutions.

Just as important, the growth strategies that businesses pursue will have to be more inclusive. Michael Porter captures some of this thinking in his concept of “shared-value” creation. In a world of scarcity, there will be greater pressure to ensure that wealth is created not just for the few but that the benefits are spread more widely—to small farmers, small and midsize enterprises, women, young people. If you doubt the truth of this, just look at what is happening on the streets of Cairo and Tripoli, where educated, digitally connected young people who have been locked out of the formal economy are challenging the prevailing political and economic orthodoxy.

The changes Dominic is advocating deserve very careful attention. But if the world economy is to continue to grow and flourish, it will have to learn to live within rational financial and ecological constraints. As Jonathon Porritt recently argued, “The recession we are in right now is grim, but nothing like the recession that awaits us if we don’t start living within our means.”

10 Best Desk-less Jobs I want to add machinists...especially if you are passionate about making stuff...nothing in the world like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-04-03T12:02:00.001-07:00

Saturday, 2 April 2011 Your eyes are burning, your back is aching, your head is pounding and you're positive your rear is getting bigger with each passing minute -- and you haven't even left your desk all day!

Chair-bound workers across the country are suffering from work-related ailments like these, among many more. Researchers link desk jobs to increased cases of back pain, eyestrain, colon cancer and obesity, say Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., co-authors of the new book, "175 Best Jobs Not Behind a Desk."
In fact, one study found that men who sit at their desk for more than six hours per day were almost twice as likely to be obese as men who sit for less than 45 minutes. Another survey found that women who worked at a sedentary job for 14 years gained 20 pounds more than women who worked in the least sedentary jobs. But in an economy that heavily depends on office workers, are there any good jobs that allow you to be out of the office?

"Fortunately, there are plenty of high-activity jobs for people who prefer them. And these are not just menial jobs that are likely to be phased out as soon as someone invents the right kind of robot to do them," Farr and Shatkin say. "Many active jobs have good earnings and are expected to have good job opportunities. They allow you to use your brains as well as your muscles and involve the kinds of people and problems that can keep you interested in your work."

Here are the 10 best overall jobs for people who want to get out from behind a desk and be active,

according to the book:
Registered Nurses (RNs)

What keeps them active: Moving, lifting and wheeling patients; pumping meds, operating medical machinery, visiting each patient's room.

Annual earnings: $58,600
Physical Therapists

What keeps them active: Testing and measuring patient's strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle performance, respiration and motor function.

Annual earnings: $64,200
Physician Assistants (PAs)

What keeps them active: Examining patients, ordering/interpreting lab tests and x-rays, suturing, splinting and casting patients with minor injuries.

Annual earnings: $80,600

Elementary School Teachers, except Special Education

What keeps them active: Planning, assigning and evaluating assignments; writing on the chalkboard, supervising extracurricular activities, preparing, administering and grading tests; overseeing study halls and homerooms, supervising extracurricular activities, accompanying students on field trips.

Annual earnings: $45,600
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians

What keeps them active: Producing x-ray films, positioning patients for appropriate x-rays, measuring parts of the body to be radiographed.

Annual earnings: $46,900
Kindergarten Teachers, except Special Education

What keeps them active: Using "hands-on" activities to facilitate learning phonics, numbers and letters, supervising young children. Annual earnings: $43,900
Occupational Therapists (OTs)

What keeps them active: Assisting clients in performing activities of all types, instructing them how to use adaptive equipment including wheelchairs and increasing strength and dexterity.

Annual earnings: $56,800

Secondary School Teachers, except Special and Vocational Education

What keeps them active: Grading papers, preparing report cards, meeting with parents and school staff to discuss a student's academic progress or personal problems; planning, evaluating and assigning lessons; listening to oral presentations; maintaining classroom discipline.

Annual earnings: $45,000
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

What keeps them active: Directing traffic, chasing down suspects, catching traffic violators.

Annual earnings: $55,000
Veterinarians

What keeps them active: Diagnosing animal health problems, vaccinating animals against disease, treating and dressing wounds, performing surgery.

Annual earnings: $76,000

Strengthening Brand America

2011-04-03T09:22:00.001-07:00

http://strengtheningbrandamerica.com/

I enjoy being part of the vision of our president of WALCO Tool & Engineering, William Bucciarelli. It is about strengthening the brand United States. The lack of investment in true manufactuirng skill sets in America is just wrong and I will do what I can to invest in those who are passionate about making things. When others (bing industry leaders) cut employee education investment, I doubled the tuition reimbursement at WALCO Tool & Engineering and we encourage learning how to make things and how things work. Question it, try it, think positive and optimistically and design a new approach to become more efficient, more profitable. Do not become an echo of the past...be on the cutting edge, learn enough to understand the rules and then bend them or think outside of the rules to make it better, design smarter and more efficiently. What a great idea! Hire passion for sustainable profitablility. People should never feel like they are working at WALCO. They should feel like they are contributing to our country's greatness, innovativeness and capitalism while spreading democracy to the world without bullets but with passion and success stories!

Did you every have a child that amazes you over and over again?

2011-04-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a mom who loves her children...a proud mom but also a demanding business woman who can be known as challenging to achieve the very best in what I see in a person....appreciating their gifts and their strengths.
My daughter a natural artist in many ways, works tirelessly to insure the safety of patients in surgery while also traveling to Columbia on occassion to take care of critical cases amongst those who cannot take advantage of today's medical technology.
My son and my daughter in law have businesses of their own in motion graphics and photography and recently videography and are simply amazing people in what they accomplish...you will fall in love with their work...take a look.....

http://vimeo.com/geoffschultz

http://www.lovetheschultzes.com/blog/

A look at the world's new corporate tax havens

2011-03-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Lesley Stahl explains how U.S. corporations are cutting their tax bills by moving business overseas

American companies are finding new overseas tax havens to legally protect some of their profits from the U.S. tax rate of 35 percent, among the highest in the world. Lesley Stahl reports, Sunday, March 27, 7 p.m. ET/PT.

.(CBS News) Just when the U.S. Treasury needs the money most, American companies are finding new ways to shift profits to overseas tax havens and legally avoid paying the U.S. tax rate of 35 percent - among the highest in the world.

Those companies say they are doing what they must to compete in the global economy and please their shareholders. But others feel the companies are getting an unfair break by moving business to places like Switzerland and Ireland.

Lesley Stahl reports on the debate for a "60 Minutes" story to be broadcast Sunday, March 27 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Weatherford International is a Texas-based oilfield services company that used to be incorporated in the Caribbean, and recently moved to the small town of Zug, Switzerland. About 26,000 people live in this town, but some 30,000 companies are registered in the area.

Weatherford's Zug address is little more than that: an address. The company still has 2,800 workers in Houston, and an upper management that rarely goes to Zug. But incorporating here allows them to significantly lower their tax bill. The average tax rate in Zug is between 15 and 16 percent.

These maneuvers irk Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D.-Texas), even though they're perfectly legal. He's sponsored a bill that will force companies to pay taxes based on where their top executives spend the most time and make the most decisions. "Let them pay the same way that other Houston-based companies pay," says Doggett, who blames lobbying and strong-arm politics for allowing the practice to be legal. "I think it was a shenanigan when some of these companies felt so strongly about America that they renounced their American citizenship and began saluting a foreign flag," he tells Stahl.

Faced with the threat of legislation from Doggett, several companies, including Weatherford, are moving top executives to Switzerland, sending top-level jobs overseas. But there's a far larger migration going on: American companies remaining incorporated and headquartered in the U.S. are shifting a lot of their assets, products and jobs in manufacturing and research to low-tax countries, like Ireland and Switzerland.

Profits accumulating there, stay there, however, because companies cannot bring back the money into the U.S. without paying the full 35 percent tax. So, not only is the U.S. Treasury not getting tax money it badly needs, this system actually seems to encourage companies to further develop and expand abroad.

"We leave the money over there," explains John Chambers, CEO of high-tech giant Cisco. "I create jobs overseas; I acquire companies overseas; I build plants overseas and I badly want to bring that money back," he tells Stahl.

Chambers says his company has almost $40 billion trapped overseas, that he can't bring back because of the high U.S. tax rate. Chambers is advocating for an overhaul of the entire tax code, but he's also advocating for a one-time tax break to allow U.S. companies to bring back their earnings kept overseas - over a trillion dollars - at a reduced tax rate.

Even at a reduced rate, it would translate to billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury. "What is your downside for money that isn't going to come back anyhow? I'd say your downside is zero," says Chambers.

Taking a risk, creating, designing with no rules

2011-03-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

Is it too hard to believe that opening a discussion on linked in that opens up corporate thinkers to designing could be a bit nerve racking ..... my saving grace is that I could close it if it causes issues, right? I believe there must be better ways to create GREAT business out there in the manufacturing world that is not bogged down in so much mistrust we have to go through processes of negotiating that does not support one another to have a sustainable win win outcome. It is very exhausting trying to figure out if the person you want to do business with is distrustful of the process. I really want people to be open and appreciative of business dialog that helps each individual understanding business as a team effort...and you are both on the same team. Isn't it hard to believe it would be any other way?

I just have to keep trying, right...to create a new wave of supportive business.

Ready to do some homework? 10 basic guidelines to a high impact resume

2011-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

10 basic guidelines to a high impact executive resume

by Alder Koten Staff on March 19, 2011 in Articles, Coaching, Executive Search, Outplacement, Recruiter Insight

A well designed and executed executive resume will tell a very clear explicit story but will also send very compelling implicit messages.

Every resume is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication with both explicit and implicit messages. It should be appropriate to your situation and focused on the story you want to tell.

Before you get started identify exactly what you want it to do and what you want it to convey. Put together the content once your target message is clear.

Here are 10 basic guidelines to building a high impact executive resume.

1 ) Adjectives are empty.

Dates, titles, responsibilities and education are part of the explicit side of your story. But you won’t be successful if you attempt to explicitly convey leadership skills, behaviors, strategic thinking or other business and leadership competencies. Those need to be built into the implicit messages your resume must convey.

No one wants to hear you are a quick learner, a team leader or capable of working under pressure. Hiring managers quickly reading you resume want to see evidence. If the right message is there the implicit message will get across stronger than an explicit adjective.

If I did two tours of duty in Iraq defusing road side bombs would I need to tell you that I work well under pressure? It might be an extreme example but not much different than the implicit message of strong leadership skills if I successfully managed the integration of a newly acquired company.

Key take away: Avoid the adjectives and provide examples that will implicitly send the message.

2 ) Format is important

Resumes are still made and formatted for paper but most organizations, recruiters and executive search firms use customer relationship management (CRM) and applicant tracking systems (ATS) to store, search and manage your information as a potential candidate. Your resume needs to look good on paper but should also be cut and paste friendly and parser friendly to make it easy to incorporate into applicant tracking systems. Most importantly your resume needs to be easy to search for.

A parser is a tool that reads your resume, breaks down the information and automatically enters key data such as name, phone, address and email into a CRM or applicant tracking system.

The harder it is for someone to enter your information into their system, the higher the likelihood of your resume ending up in a lost inbox or an untraceable directory in a hard drive.

Consider that the most common file format is Microsoft Word. Stay away from getting creative and putting together a Power Point resume or an even worst an Excel based resume. Avoid the fancy formatting, most notably tables, tabs and bullets that will distort if cut and paste is used to import your resume (tables are the least friendly of the bunch) and used universal fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman.

Most resume templates found in MS-Word are table based and designed to print well. Avoid those templates and start from scratch or use a template (attached) that is straight forward and simple.

3 ) Personal information

Make it easy for people to reach you and don’t complicate the formatting of your personal information. The best place for your personal information in a printed resume is the upper right corner. Think of a folder, stapled pages, or papers held together with a clip. Most of these bind or hold everything together on the upper left corner. We flip through pages holding them with our left hand and browse using our right hand. The most prominent and visible place when doing this is the upper right corner.

The correct format will take up the first 5 or 6 lines of important paper real estate but your personal information is critical.

Address

Use the standard address format that you would use to mail a letter. It is not fancy and it may not be the coolest way to present it but it will be the easiest to read by a resume parser. The most likely scenario is that not one will try to reach you by regular mail but the address and zip code are important when doing a regional search. It is worth repeating: Use your full address in the standard mailing format.

Phone

Include your home, cell phone and if possible your direct work number.

Email

You would be surprised how long resumes stay in a database. Use the email address that you read more often, but also use one that will not change if you change jobs (such as a work email address), or one that will change if you move (such as the one provided by an internet services provider).

Consider the impact of the explicit messages your resume will send and the difference between partygirl2000@hotmail.com versus peter.druck@hotmail.com or peter.druck@mba.harvard.edu. I don’t want to mislead you into thinking a hotmail or yahoo address is not adequate. They are very adequate and well accepted as a personal email address that will likely not change over the years.

4 ) Picture it

Anti discrimination laws have kept pictures away from resumes. An organization, head hunter or a recruiting firm can’t legally request your picture and some may ask you to remove it to avoid grey zones but there is nothing that says you can’t include it if you feel comfortable doing so.

One of your main objectives is to become memorable via your resume. People remember faces. If you are screened over the phone hiring managers will make an easier face-name-resume connection. There is value to putting a face to name.

Having said this, don’t forget the explicit message and use an adequate head shot that will convey a professional and executive demeanor. Avoid a cropped party picture, scanning your diver’s license or your passport. And please avoid that picture in a tux from last summer’s cruise or your cousin’s wedding. Use a picture that will reflect how you would dress and groom for an interview.

5 ) The professional objective is out. A well written summary is in.

Use this rule of thumb. If you looked at your printed resume the first half of the first page should include your personal information in the upper right corner and a well written bullet style summary. This summary should have enough information and evidence to help a hiring manager decide if it’s worth their time to read the other ¾s of your resume that should include the details.

I can’t say this enough. Avoid the adjectives and buzz words such as: Fast learner, team leader, driven sales person, etc.

When someone finishes reading your summary they should have a clear idea of: What, when, where, how, and how long:

What

◦The discipline you have focused on with an emphasis on your target (sales, human resources, operations, etc.)

◦The products that you have worked with (electronics, apparel, beverages, etc.)

◦The level of leadership and management responsibility

◦Core strengths and key qualifications.

Where

◦The type of organization (public company, global or regional, small or large enterprise, etc.)

◦The industries and markets that you have worked in (automotive, retail, consumer goods, financial, etc.)

◦The regions where you have done it (United States, Latin America, Asia, etc..)

How long

◦Your total years of working experience, and the specific time spent in each what and where.

How

◦This should reflect key data supported achievements and evidence of how well you performed in each what and where.

It should also include key information regarding specific knowledge that could be relevant to your experience and performance such as language skills and certifications.

The summary should have a carefully chosen explicit message and carefully crafted implicit message.

Here is a sample summary:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY

◦Senior Manufacturing Operations Executive with 19 years of overall experience in the consumer goods and sporting good industries

◦10 years of experience as an Operations Director.

◦Worked for a $3.6 billion global consumer products manufacturer operating on 4 continents.

◦Expert at executing automated manufacturing systems/processes and Operational Excellence initiatives, while enhancing performance, improving quality, reducing costs, and generating sustainable revenue/EBITDA gains.

◦Skilled at managing financial and cultural turnarounds

◦Have lead teams of up to 7 direct reports with over 600 indirect reports.

◦Performed duties as an expatriate Plant Manager during a period of 4 years in Mexico, and 3 years in China.

◦Certified Six-Sigma Black Belt

◦Fluent in English (native), Spanish and Mandarin.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6 ) Put your experience into context

Once you get to describe your experience it is important that you put it into context, starting with the companies you have work for. Never assume that everyone will know them. Include a brief summary of what they do, the industry they’re in. The total corporate revenue, the number of employees and if applicable the revenue and size of the location you worked at. You don’t have to be exact. You just have to put the organization into perspective. It’s an important part of the explicit message. Tell me where you worked and I’ll tell you who you are.

When you describe your experience use a reverse chronological order and include your exact title, responsibilities, accountabilities and achievements. It is important not to forget to put everything into the context of what, when, where, how, and how long.

For those jobs where you are still currently employed, write your job duties in the present tense. For those jobs in the past, write the responsibilities you held in the past tense.

Did I mention you must avoid the adjectives, focus on data driven evidence and be mindful of the implicit messages?

Here is an example:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

ACME, INC. (November 1998 – Present)

Acme Inc. is a global manufacturer of road runner hunting equipment including dynamite, traps, and wood crates with over 10,000 employees world wide and revenues of 1.2 billion USD.

Business Manager – Shanghai, China (January 2009-Present)

Shanghai distribution and sales center for ACME China. The site is responsible for 400 million in USD with 120 employees.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

◦Provide operational leadership, direct capital creation efforts, identify business opportunities and spearhead strategic global expansion and growth plans.

◦Negotiate distribution/licensing transactions, establish joint ventures/strategic alliances with Tier 1 suppliers, and interface with private and institutional investors, stockholders, debt-holders and investment bankers.

◦The position reports to the Country Managing Director and Manages 4 direct and 120 indirect reports.

Key Achievements:

◦Revised the existing go-to-market sales strategy by transitioning from a 3rd party sales initiative to a direct sales effort, halting a 4-year decline in sales, growing annual revenues from $29 million to $153 million and achieving profitability in 14 months despite a weak balance sheet and a newly formed sales organization.

◦Obtained $270 million in incremental financing and credit lines, despite facing 4 competitors capped at 10 times Micro’s size and a $18 million negative cash flow over a 4-year period.

◦Negotiated supply\purchase agreements with major telecommunications firms such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Adelphia, producing booked business in excess of $165 million and allowing for the introduction of the company’s technology throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Plant Manager – Monterrey, Mexico (January 2005-January 2009)

Monterrey manufacturing facility for ACME Mexico. The site manufactures over 200 million in USD in product with over 600 employees.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

◦Held full strategic planning and P&L management responsibility for the $126 million (in CY2009) domestic operations of the $880 million international road runner defense-related company.

◦Reported to the Regional VP of Operations and Managed 7 direct and 600 indirect reports.

Key Achievements:

◦Launched a re-engineering initiative of existing operations and guided ACME Mexico to the position of leading financial performer within the entire company and third among comparable peer groups within ACME (parent company) as measured in terms of sales growth, operating income, working capital, cash flow and internal growth.

◦Delivered unprecedented results by erasing a $1.3 million monthly cash burn rate and growing annual revenue from $69 million to $100+ million, with total sales reaching $159 million at the close of CY 2009. Increased net operating income from 16% to 23% and captured the preeminent market share (21% to 53%).

Plant Manager – Dallas, Texas, USA (January 2000-January 2005)

Dallas manufacturing facility for ACME North America.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

◦Reported to the Regional VP of Operations and Managed 5 direct and 120 indirect reports.

Key Achievements:

◦Improved overall productivity by 8% and created the lowest-cost manufacturing position within the industry by utilizing selective automation, Six Sigma disciplines, and more challenging metrics with better accountability.

Operations Manager – Dallas, Texas, USA (January 1995-January 2000)

Quality Manager – Dallas, Texas, USA (January 1993-January 1995)

Held positions in Engineering, Design and Quality with Anvil, Inc. and TNT Corp. from 1985 to 1993.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7 ) Manage your paper real estate

Notice how in the above example the current position uses the most paper real estate, roughly the equivalent of half a printed page. The following positions progressively use less and less space to the point of just including the title, location and dates.

As a rule of thumb the first page should cover your personal information, a well designed summary and the most relevant detail of what you have done in the past 3 to 5 years. Manage the space in the second page to include the rest of your experience and details of your education.

8 ) Avoid the education and training section overkill

Degrees are important and should be included along with the institution and the year the degree was obtained. Space on your resume is very valuable real estate so leave everything other than degrees out, unless it is highly important and relevant, such as a professional certification. This includes self-improvement seminars that are focused on competencies that should be reflected in your achievements. Hiring managers won’t care much about you taking a seminar for negotiating skills if negotiating skills are not reflected in your achievements. If you want to highlight your negotiating skills make sure it is part of the implicit message you send out within your responsibilities, accountabilities and achievements.

Unless you have less than two years of professional experience the education and training section should go after your professional experience section.

9 ) Be chronologically transparent

As you go through your resume make sure every year is accounted for and you don’t have any gaps. Chronological coherence is one of the first things hiring managers look for and discrepancies or attempt to paint a different picture will get noticed. If you are not transparent hiring managers will immediately assume you are hiding something or trying to cover something up.

Include everything between your graduation date or your first professional experience up to what you are doing today.

10 ) Name your resume well

Yes, the file name is important. It won’t take you long and it can make a difference.

Avoid generic names or your initials such as CV-PSK-Eng.doc and use a name that will help yourself and everyone that will handle your electronic resume with a file name such as CV-Peter_Smith-Operations-2011.doc

You can download the resume template here: http://alderkoten.com/resume

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silvia Flores is a Partner and Executive Recruiter with Alder Koten in Monterrey. Silvia provides Executive Search and Project Recruiting services to clients in the Manufacturing sector.

Follow [Alder Koten] and join our [LinkedIn Networking Group] to stay up-to-date on our articles and the executive search projects we are working on.

Tags: Executive Search, Recruiter, Recruiters, Resume Template, Resume Tips, Silvia Flores

Good Magazine -check it out.....

2011-03-23T19:47:00.001-07:00

http://www.good.is/magazine

Good news about what is happening in schools

2011-03-23T19:45:00.001-07:00

http://users.stargate.net/~cokids/goodnews.html

A new education process....

2011-03-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/khanacademy

So take a look check it out think about it and give me your viewpoint. I hope they are able to discuss and work out the lesson they are learning freely. If they discuss it and work it out verbally the information should be more likely internalized. I would like to know how soon the lesson is repeated outloud for reinforcement and follow up.

If we can come up with creating a safe space to openly discuss and have a dialog where there is no judgment ...where all ideas are meant to build upon and learned from, I think there is great opportunity. The tests should come from the outcome of the information presented in discussion, dreaming and designing freely, creating the steps needed to get the desired outcome using community member strengths. At what age can this be used?

This is perfect for repeatable learning steps to basic foundational learning because the student can return to the video a multitude of times.

Sounds good..what do you think?

If a 10 year old can dream up a family business....no excuses if you are unsatisfied where you are in life.

2011-03-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

I would love to support you in your dream opportunity....read and write to me your thoughts, inspirations and what you want to do.....if is never too early or too late! Thanks for the story, Geoff!
Meet the 10-Year-Old CEO of a $500,000 Family Business

A few years back, Rick and Lauren Altman launched an online retailer that sells decorative zipper pulls, pencil toppers and other products. But when it comes to strategic decisions, they turn to their fifth-grader-turned-CEO daughter, Hannah.

By Geoff Williams

Posted 3/ 18 11 at 8:00 PM
Business Trends, Sales, Leadership, Starting a Business, Home-based Business, Online Business, Consumer Products & Services, Retail

Text Size:

A A A Comments (5)

Print this page
It almost sounds like the makings of a TV show. With shades of Disney's Hannah Montana or Nickelodeon's True Jackson, Hannah Altman is a fifth-grader by day and a CEO by night.

The 10-year-old helps oversee Hannah's Cool World, which has 12,000 registered customers across the globe, having shipped products to countries as far away as Italy, Israel, Norway, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. In 2009, the year it launched, the website sold more than 250,000 pencil toppers, referred to as squishies.

Hannah's Cool World is part of West Bloomfield, Mich.-based IBeOn, the $500,000 company Hannah's parents, Rick and Lauren, started in 2007. The name for their business's website was CoolZips, something then-6-year-old Hannah came up with -- the beginning of her professional life. CoolZips.com sells handmade decorative zipper pulls for duffel bags, jackets, backpacks, stuffed animals and the like.

Lauren had left her job as the executive director of the Michigan chapter of Camp Mak-A-Dream to be a stay-at-home mom, so she had time to work on CoolZips.com. Rick worked as a senior manager for a parking equipment company by day and on CoolZips.com at night. At home, Hannah was there to learn about profit margins and marketing strategies.

But that pattern changed in 2009, when the family went to a restaurant that had a vending machine with pencil toppers. Hannah was transfixed and asked her father for a quarter. Rick suggested it was a waste of money, but Hannah really wanted one, so he gave her a quarter. Best money he ever spent.

Hannah wanted to start a website where she could sell pencil toppers. Not wanting to quash their daughters' entrepreneurial spirit, Rick and Lauren agreed. They developed a hastily made website named Hannah's Cool World and purchased a few Google ads so customers could find it when they typed in "pencil toppers." Then they went on a family vacation. When Rick checked on the site, he saw orders were coming in for the pencil toppers.

The next time they passed a vending machine, Rick dug out some quarters and said to Hannah, "See what interests you."

The orders at CoolZips.com continued on a hot streak, and the pencil toppers and additional toys and gifts from Hannah's Cool World were selling, inspiring Rick to make it his full-time business. In May 2010, Rick quit his full-time job to work with Lauren and Hannah.

"Having a business like this has given us a lot of freedom," Rick says, though in many ways, he's tethered to his office more than his previous one. "We work every day, all hours a day, but it's something we truly enjoy. I always tell people that if you're going to start a business, you have to find something you truly like doing. You don't just pick out flashlights and sell them. You have to find something you love doing. If it's golf, do golf. We genuinely have fun with this. When we get a new squishy or eraser, we love looking at it and playing with it and finding things that we think our customers will like, and I think that's why we've been successful."

Hannah is working hard, but she's hardly missing out on a childhood. In fact, she estimates spending about five hours a week on the family business, working an hour a day after school. Hannah says her main duties are to look online to see if she can learn about any new, hot products she thinks would sell well on the website. She sometimes helps to fill orders or take the lead on a customer service issue.

In any case, it isn't easy being a kid CEO straddling two different worlds. "I don't really talk about it much at school," Hannah says, but unlike Hannah Montana, she doesn't hide her second identity either. "When they come over and hang out, they see the different toys everywhere and what we carry and think that's really cool."

And while it would undoubtedly be even cooler for Hannah to draw a six-figure salary as adult CEOs do, it hasn't exactly worked out that way. "We consciously take money from her company to go toward her education and wedding and Bat Mitzvah and future expenses," Lauren says. "We'll give her money from the business for some big-ticket items, like her guitar, but we're trying to put it in the bank for her, so she'll have it later. That's a tricky thing. When you're 10 and you have your own company, and you're making money, you want it."

Meanwhile, when Rick and Lauren go to a toy trade show like the big ones in New York and Las Vegas, they don't bring Hannah. They'd like to -- but they simply aren't allowed. "I've asked before, explaining Hannah's role, but they're adament," Lauren says, "No kids, period. The way they see it, if they let one in, they'd have to let all of them in. They feel kids would be saying, 'I want this, I want that,' when they're just trying to do business and negotiate."

And so Lauren and Rick never make buying decisions at the shows -- they bring brochures and catalogs back to the CEO of Hannah's Cool World to get her input for what they should purchase. That's something that a humbled Rick learned early on: Let a kid make the buying decision for the kid customers.

Says Rick, "About a year and a half ago, we were looking at these monster pals figurines, and I said, 'I don't like them.' I thought they looked stupid and babyish, but Hannah loved them. So we ended up selling them."

Based on Hannah's tip, they've sold thousands. Kids say the darndest things.

Geoff Williams is a regular contributor to AOL Small Business. He is also the co-author of Living Well with Bad Credit and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race.

Tags: business ideas for kids, business ideas for teens, Business Trends, CoolZips.com, Hannah Altman, Hannahs Cool World, online business, starting a business, starting an online business, unique business ideas, young millionaires

Another great reason to get in shape...check out http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/register.asp

2011-03-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

Getting work - looking healthy and ready to take on challenges each day is a choice each applicant makes. Yes, I struggle with weight but do everything I can to work hard at keeping it in check and work hard to eat what my body needs instead of wants at different times throughout life. We are evolving continuously and so must our health approaches in every stage of life. Cost of healthcare, cost of days off, cost of interruption to work schedules are all looked at with more scrutenizing than ever. Companies are struggling to keep ahead of costs that keep rising so we must bring attitude, a healthy look, healthy habits and high energy to the table when we are interviewing and while we are working. And afterall, it is just better that you do even if you aren't looking for employment. #1 reason: YOU are worth the self investment!!!!!!!!!!!!! and time and effort!!
So just an FYI:
When it comes to the salaries of men and women in the workplace, an employee's body weight often determines the size of his or her paycheck, according to a study by the Journal of Applied Psychology entitled "When It Comes to Pay, Do the Thin Win? The Effect of Weight on Pay for Men and Women." The study reinforced stereotypical notions about thin women, and reported that women who weigh significantly less than the group norm earn about $16,000 more a year, on average than women who are overweight. However, the study found the opposite to be true for men, with thin men not reaping the benefits that their female counterparts do when it comes to their earning potential. Average-weight men, and even those who are on the overweight side, earn about $8,000 more than their skinny male co-workers, the study found. Over the course of a 25-year career, these figures account for skinny women earning $389,300 more than average-weight women, while skinny men earn $210,925 less than the average male.

The researchers for the study, Timothy A. Judge of the University of Florida and Daniel M. Cable of London Business School, said the findings are a result of subconscious decisions based on entrenched social stereotypes. They cited other studies that show employers and fellow employees subconsciously associate the positive values of self-discipline, thrift and hard work with thin individuals, while obesity signals negative associations that the individual is undisciplined, dishonest and less likely to do productive work.

Social Media from three perspectives

2011-03-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

From my perspective as a contract manufacturer, social media is a good way to view the larger picture of business ideas, thoughts and approaches. Some spout text rhetoric or the latest books but when I find those who are talking about what they would really like to see happen or really feel strongly about in business, I can understand more about people in general and what the business world strengths are, their passions, as well as their personal concerns and the actions they want to take to create good or sometimes, great business. The questions tell me a lot about the person and their objectives. The way others answer my questions tell me about their assumptions and sometimes where they are in life and what they are striving to achieve. I enjoy social media from a research, observation and people engagement perspective.

From my perspective as a researcher, educator and executive coach, I love it even more for all the same reasons. I get to know people by the choice of their words, start to understand more about other parts of the world and support those I can, offering resources on my blog. Hopefully information that moves me can offer others some different insights.

My blog is really all about you, the reader. Offering articles of interest, offering information that I see a pattern where their might be a "need to know" in the business world.

As a student of research, social media is a gold mine of hypothesis and survey data. I hope other students are using the wealth of these interactions to create a better business world.

IN summary, social media can be used for the good of all to create GREAT business. When there is a relationship that starts based on dialog, can be approached within n open venue, it becomes easier to choose with who you might like to further the business relationship. Whether you learn more about the people, the culture of the company or the company as a whole through the representation of those speaking on a subject matter, it is a sure way to learn a lot about the business world around you in a very interesting format.

I am looking forward to my continued learning experience and it is my hope you do as well. I will be looking forward to your views.

Stories That Matter | Axiom News

2011-02-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

Inquiry
App Puts Personal Change in Your Own Hands
Embracing Change guides users through Appreciative Inquiry process
Thursday February 24, 2011 -- Jennifer Neutel
A personal development change journey using the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) strengths-based methodology could cost hundreds of dollars, but a new app provides your own coach for $4.99.

Embracing Change: The App was released a couple weeks ago in the iTunes store and guides people through telling their own story and designing new possibilities.

Robyn Stratton-Berkessel, creator of the application and principal of Positive Matrix, says some of the feedback she is hearing includes how cost-effective the app is compared to paying for a coach, and it also puts the user in the driver’s seat.

“My hope is that people will think wow, (AI) is such a beautiful way of thinking about ourselves — how I think about myself, how I then develop my relationships with other people, and then my relationship with the world. So it goes from being very personal to being others-centric and then being very globally centric,” she says.

She says she is in “awe of what’s possible” when combining multimedia devices with great content.

Last year, Stratton-Berkessel published the book Appreciative Inquiry for Collaborative Solutions: 21 Strength-Based Workshops. Since then she became intrigued by the use of tablets like the iPad to consume content.

She says she started to see some business applications come out for tablet devices, and thought about how great it would be to turn one of her workshops into an app.

With the support and talents of her partner, the app was developed around the topic of change, as it is a universal matter that people are always dealing with, she says.

The app is downloaded onto a tablet device, and is then available without any need for Internet connection. It includes videos and slideshows providing an overview of AI as a strengths-based generative change methodology applicable to individuals, communities or organizations.

Users are invited to focus on a change they want to see in their life, such as a new job, new relationship or hobby. The user then is guided through the four stages of AI.

“I basically take on the role of the coach and I’m coaching people through their change process using AI, and I just thought that was really amazing to be able to do that,” she tells Axiom News.

For example, users are asked questions about high-point experiences when they were successful in a change initiative, and use the tablet’s keyboard to write their answers.

When reflections and ideas are written down the thoughts are more likely to be integrated and meaningful, says Stratton-Berkessel. The tablet device allows users to e-mail the insights so they have a record.

“(It’s a) whole different way of engaging, not only the way this information and knowledge is presented but it’s the experience and the engagement and the immersion,” she says.

She notes Embracing Change is one of the few self-development apps available.

“I think this is going to be a really big marketplace, so self-development, self-help, self-directed learning — quite intimate, quite personalized way of focusing on topics that are important to you,” she says.

The app is available in the iTunes store business and lifestyle categories, with the intention to get the “world-changing” content in the hands of people who are big decision makers.

“It’s a global marketplace,” Stratton-Berkessel says, noting people are downloading the app from around the world including Malaysia, Taiwan, Finland, Japan, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Brazil.

Learn more and take a video tour of the app by visiting this link.

If you have feedback on this article, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051 or e-mail jennifer(at)axiomnews.ca.

How to Get a Job Without Experience

2011-02-16T09:45:00.001-08:00

2:15 PM Wednesday August 12, 2009
by Larry Stybel

EmailTweet ThisPost to FacebookShare on LinkedInPrintFEATURED PRODUCTS
Managing Your Career
by Linda Hill
$6.95
Buy it now » Interview Questions that Hit the Mark
$4.50
Buy it now » Overloaded Circuits: Why Smart People Underperform
by Edward Hallowell
$6.95
Buy it now » You know the Catch-22: "You can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job."

Young job seekers have always faced this dilemma. In today's shrinking job market, people with years of experience also struggle with it. Whether they face the reality of a layoff, or merely the threat of one, many older workers are trying to reinvent themselves in order to become marketable in a changed economy.

Whether you're launching your career or trying to change its direction, you can get around this Catch-22 with some creativity and humility.

Here's how I did it:

I was a clinical psychologist in a community mental health center. It was professionally satisfying and financially unrewarding. I decided it was time to make more money. I would become a business consultant.

Imagine my surprise to learn that I could not find a single company eager to hire me. Apparently, they couldn't see that my ability to counsel sexual offenders was a transferable skill!

I couldn't get business experience without getting hired. I couldn't get hired without business experience. What to do?

At a party, I met Dr. Charles Daily, an organizational psychologist and entrepreneur. Dr. Daily was trying to market a new product to help companies make better hiring decisions. He had a good idea and no money to hire someone to help him realize it.

I said to Dr. Daily, "I'll do telemarketing cold calls for your new product. But I insist on being paid. The first payment will be a title appropriate to the job I will be doing - say, 'Business Development Associate.'" The second payment, if I fulfill my end of the deal, will be a good reference and introductions to colleagues who might be able to help me."

For the next two months, two days a week, I did my best to help Dr. Daily get traction for his new service. I made hundreds of calls - hating every one of them. I ultimately was able to set up two in-person appointments for Dr. Daily.

Neither of those led to new business. But Dr. Daily said my job had been to open doors; it was his job to close deals. I'd performed well and would get paid, in the form of introductions to some business associates. Those introductions, along with a resume that included my new title, eventually led to a job with a talent management-consulting firm.

How can you use such a strategy to get out of the no-win loop that circumscribes your professional growth?

Look for a company with a great idea and no money to execute it. Then:

1.Be specific about what value you will provide. I wanted experience in the sales and marketing of professional services. I said I would make phone calls and get appointments for Dr. Daily. I didn't say I would generate sales because I didn't think I could do that.
2.Be specific about what value you will receive. For me, appropriate compensation was a title I could add to my resume and introductions and a reference from Dr. Daily. Compensation is about value received for value given - and you're thinking too narrowly if you define value only in monetary terms.
3.Be specific about time frame. I promised to work two days a week for two months. Be sure that your commitment doesn't preclude you from actively continuing a job search - or performing well enough to keep your present job.
What? You're too proud to offer your services at no charge? Get over it. If you choose the right opportunity, you'll gain industry or functional experience that has immeasurable value - and will ultimately lead to a real paycheck.

Larry Stybel is co-founder of the global career management firm Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire. He also is Executive in Residence at the Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University.

Cultivating Teamwork Excellence

2011-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

inShare Feb 11, 2011 -

Remember when you built and played on a team as a child? Your efforts then may have been better orchestrated than the typical processes now among your workplace teams. The juxtaposition of childlike effectiveness and uninspired business teamwork was manifested to me in a friendly competition last fall.

The scenario was a team-tent decorating contest at a weekend bicycle tour (my area’s Bike MS event, one of many nationwide benefiting clinical research and providing assistance to those with Multiple Sclerosis). Tour rides started and ended in an exposition area where sponsors, vendors and partners supplied food, beverages, sports massages, entertainment and more. One area was designated for teams, most of which fell under the classification of “Friends and Family” or “Corporation.” These teams installed event-style tents and decorated their respective spaces with the theme of “superheroes.”

My friends and family team designed and constructed its rendition of what would later be recognized as an award-winning Batman’s Batcave, complete with “Ka Pow” signage and a control center with flashing lights. We were enjoying each other’s company as our next-door neighbors, a corporate team, arrived to decorate their space. For much of the day, a pile of what seemed to be rubble laid next to the tent, awaiting its transformation.

It was then that I noted the contrast between excellent and average teamwork, between efforts that capitalize on enthusiastic participation and playfulness versus activities driven by obligation and protocol. This experience and similar ones have helped me to articulate ways to cultivate teamwork excellence:

Create Awareness of Needs

Simply letting people know of a need isn’t enough to actually fulfill the need, but creating awareness is the first step. There may be times that a call for assistance (or leadership) will be answered quickly. Very often, though, communicating the need lays the foundation for subsequent discussions and team member involvement.

A first communication can be delivered via e-mail, Facebook update, or whatever digital or traditional form is accepted among your team members or potential teammates. Reaching everyone among your circle of friends, colleagues or employees is a priority so that no one, even those who rarely show an interest, will feel left out. Giving all an equal opportunity to accept or reject a call for service is essential.

Follow-up communications can best be handled through face-to-face discussions. These conversations can allow in-depth explanations regarding expectations, scope and vision. Share past or similar experiences with teams, relate current needs to possible situations that the prospective leader or team member may have encountered and answer questions.

Set Goals

Establishing baseline goals is useful in getting the team and its leadership to feel comfortable in taking on a project. My experiences have been that the leader either struggles in the team building process as a newbie and finds comfort with relatively low expectations, or has a grander vision and achieves outcomes much better than you would have ever imagined. Realize that high-performing teams tend to be those comprised of people with the desire to excel plus domain knowledge.

Want more tips on teamwork? Check these stories out:
Want to Build More Effective Teams? Just Add Women
Why Chemistry is More Important Than Talent
Why You Should Work with People You Don't Like
Embrace Those with the Desire to Contribute

Identify the specific skills needed to be successful and emphasize these skills when you recruit, welcome and involve people. People are naturally attracted to opportunities that showcase their strengths, and many want the chance to hone their capabilities and earn recognition.

Anyone with the desire to contribute should be embraced. Channeling efforts to tasks aligned with team members’ skills can be tricky and should be handled diplomatically. By engaging people in thoughtful conversations about needs, rather than aggressively (and manipulatively) recruiting those who are likely to acquiesce to pressure, you should be able to build a motivated team interested in combining individual strengths for collective success.

Similarly, be open to those who genuinely desire to lead an effort and have the skills to plan, delegate and oversee. If you need to serve as official team leader, then commit to making the experience unforgettably fun with an eye to developing like minded leaders for future efforts.

Assure Support

Unless you have an unusual pool of prospective team members, no one will sign on if you don’t offer support. Forms of support will vary depending on the project but will generally include guidance in clarifying organizational nuances and defining measures of success, assistance in performing project tasks, or demonstration of confidence and appreciation of team members throughout the project’s execution and following its completion.

To assess your commitment, team members and leaders will likely ask about financial support for the project. Even a modest budget indicates that you value the project and are willing to allocate resources to achieve a desirable outcome.

Deliver on Your Promises

Never use a bait-and-switch method of recruitment or support (asking someone to help and putting them in charge of a project or offering guidance and assistance but failing to have time and resources available, for example). Your credibility will be decimated if you don’t deliver as promised and reasonably expected.

Though I once joined with colleagues to create a successful team after a leader shirked responsibilities, I advise not to expect some sort of teamwork miracle. Get the right people together and make sure you do your part, whatever that role may be: show up to planning sessions, give feedback on the feasibility of ideas, accept team assignments, and follow up.

Being clear about expectations, accountability and support -- and delivering what you promised -- is essential to teamwork; in fact, those behaviors define leadership for teamwork excellence.

Celebrate Success

Great team members will celebrate along the way, reveling in exercising innate skills, engaging with interesting people, and being part of an effort that accomplishes more as a team than possible alone. Have fun as the project progresses. Celebrate successful project completion and special achievements, especially those above original expectations. Show appreciation of team members with the understanding that recognition doesn’t have to be flashy or expensive but should be obvious and heartfelt.

Julie Rains is a senior writer at Wise Bread, a leading personal finance community dedicated to helping people get the most out of their money. Get daily money tips by following Wise Bread on Facebook or Twitter.

Check out lovemedia!

2011-02-13T07:01:00.001-08:00

http://lovemediaonline.blogspot.com/

A great site of creative spirits!

10 Secrets to a Marriage That Lasts 40 Plus Years

2011-02-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Mary Edwards for leading me to your blog and its articles. I chose this one to share with our readers.....

Having just celebrated a milestone anniversary should make this list an easy one. To say every marriage that lasts for forty plus years was made in heaven would be a stretch of the truth I would venture to say. That is the ideal for sure, but often when opposites attract it takes some work to make it last which is the ultimate goal. As for rules that make for a happy marriage, they could vary from one couple to another. However, there are some basics that are a common denominator to any marriage that lasts.

Having a long engagement, giving young people time to actually become friends is a great start. Then having the blessing of both sets of parents gives the couple extra support and strength to start building their life.
Premarital counseling is a must for young people. Usually during counseling subjects are brought up that may not be discussed by the couple otherwise.
Dave Ramsey has a Financial Peace University which is generally given in a group setting. This is a MUST for young people to avoid the financial pitfalls that is said to the #1 cause for the break-up of marriages
I am old fashioned in my approach, and by stating that fact is not meant to be an apology. A family that prays together stays together, so having a church family whose beliefs are similar, will make for a community of friends that also helps undergird the bonds of marriage.
In many churches, there is a pastoral staff that includes counselors. Feeling the freedom to seek counseling when an issue arises that seems too big for the couple to handle, will also strengthen both the wife and husband who is willing to work through differences that are sure to come.
When asked about how they had managed to stay married for 50 years, the husband said, “We don’t argue”. The next question was how they managed that, “I just walk away”, he said with a twinkle in his eye. Whether serious or not, walking away can be very frustrating to the one who wants to talk it out.
A subject that is surfacing today may not be unique, but it is a great one to start from the beginning of a marriage and continue. In the beginning of a marriage, there are only the two of you. There will be a time when the two of you will face each other across the table, the house empty of children’s voices, and those who have worked toward this time will not see a stranger looking back at them. I suggest planning a date night while the children are small, and continuing it. Having “me” time or better “us” time will also show by example to your children how important it is to stay in touch as a couple. Life happens, and often life gets in the way of a courtship that should continue into the years when the honeymoon is over.
Make a conscious effort to compliment your mate daily. Men need to hear they are a good provider or they are good in bed, a good father, etc. etc.. The same goes with women. We do not always feel pretty, but one thing for sure, we need to hear we are loved regardless of how life and age have treated us.
I heard a story once, of a daughter-in-law who was mad at her husband’s mother for something trivial. In telling her husband, thinking he would take her side, the wise husband spoke up and said these words. “Honey, I love you. I also love my Mother. She will never come between us. However I will not listen to you bad mouth her. You may have issues, but I will never take sides with either of you.” At that the young wife learned the power of the love of a Mother and son, which she can hope her sons will have when the situation is one day reversed.
Never, but never mention the word Divorce. Couples have witnessed the decline in their marriage once the word is spoken. It seems to gravitate toward a separation and often cannot be put back together. Don’t let divorce be an option. There is always help out of anger. I can also add, don’t bring up the past of your mate. These are areas that should be worked through during the dating years. Once the vows are said, the past should remain in the past. Any issues should stay in the past where they belong.
There is something special about having lived with someone for many years, and being able to share a past with all its memories. If there were difficult times, they somehow seem to fade as years pass, and the good years surface giving a man and wife memories to live on in the golden years when health and age seems to ravage the body. Especially when there are more years behind than there are years ahead, reminiscing is a golden past time that makes the long and lonely days seem to go faster.

Written by Guest Post Writer: Doris T.

I will conclude that after being married for 36 years, knowing throughout that time, you fall in and out of love, grow as individuals at different rates, have needs that change in intensity at different times than your spouse and knowing this prior to the I DO is important for the long term committment. It takes a lot of work, a lot of understanding and an agreement that you will do the best you can to not disappoint the other but the truth of the matter is we are all human beings far from doing things perfectly. WE will make mistakes. WE will get hurt along the way. WE need to work on ourselves so that we can be the best we can be througout life and we will make less mistakes...that is all the guarantee we get.

Karen

How to Get a Job Before It's Posted

2011-02-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

"Who says you can only apply for a job when a company is looking?" said Ron Karr, author of 'Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way.' "You shouldn't wait for a job opening to apply for a position. You may find better luck in applying for a position before it opens."

"Think about it. The moment a job opportunity is posted, you and hundreds if not thousands of people are pouncing on the opportunity. With this kind of stiff competition, how do you separate yourself from the competition?" said Karr, who helps companies create high-performance sales cultures.

Karr said you don't have to be a psychic to anticipate a job opening. The trick is to use the same principle he urges sales professionals to use when selling their products and services. He tells salespeople the best time to sell something is when the customer says there is no need.

"Just because there is no need doesn't mean there is no opportunity. Successful salespeople don't concentrate on selling 'me too' type products. They find out what needs are not being met and then create a compelling reason for the customer to act," Karr said.
Mother knows best
Karr learned this concept at his mother's knee. A well-known economist and thought leader in her day, Miriam Karr rose through the ranks of Chase Manhattan Bank as a vice president running their Counter Trade Group. She created the department when she saw a challenge that needed to be addressed -- getting third world countries to pay off their outstanding debt to U.S. banks. By helping these countries find buyers for their products, the bank was paid a commission that went to the bottom line as payback for those loans. Karr says his mother excelled in maintaining her value to the organization by creating opportunities out of problems.
"So if you need to look for a job or switch positions, how about speaking to company owners and executives about the gaps they have and issues they are looking to resolve. Who knows, maybe you are the solution they have been looking for all along but never put out a job posting for," said Karr.
Think small, go big
Karr said that small-business entrepreneurs can act faster and sometimes act out of impulse if they are sold on a compelling reason. Bigger organizations are more stringent and adhere to budgets. But, Karr added, "No matter the size of the organization, if you present a compelling reason, they will be interested. The compelling reason is not about how great you are. It's about the needs they are trying to address and how you can do that for them."

He continued: "One last thing. If you get someone really jazzed about a concept of using you to fill a gap, they may just hire you vs. create a position and post it on the board. By being the visionary, you are showing your expertise and proving you are the best person suitable for the job. You are the expert. When this happens, there is no other competition."

Karr did provide one bit of caution: No approach works all of the time. "But if you don't try it, you will never know," he noted. "Plus, this strategy gives you an additional avenue to look at vs. the highly competitive road often taken by people looking for a job." You can get three free chapters of his book by going to his website, ronkarr.com/leadsellbook.

--------------------------------
By Lisa Johnson Mandell for AOL Jobs

---------------------------------------------------
Enhance your Career with Microsoft Office Specialist MOS - get $68,600+ Salary/year visit http://www.ComputerTipsnTricks.com/cert_ms_MOS.htm or visit http://www.ComputerTipsnTricks.com/ITcert.htm

at 1:32 AM
Labels: Foundation for a New Job, Four Reasons You May Not Be Getting the Job, How to Get a Job Before It's Posted, Job Openings, Job Strategies, Job-hunting, Job-Seeker Tips, Jobs

Appreciate-to-Innovate,

2011-02-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

I thought you might find my most recent blog post to be interesting:
Communicate-to-Innovate: President Obama Makes Innovation a Top Priority, He Mentions the “I-Words” 11 Times in State of Union Speech
Click to read: http://www.innovatorsdigest.com/

Gerald "Solutionman" Haman

http://www.InnovatorsDigest.com

Supply Chain Collaboration

2011-01-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

REalizing the whole supply chain process with an OEM simplifies the understanding for each part of the chain. Getting OEM's to understand the importance of connectivity meetings...seems to be a challenge and how much simpler can it be to cut costs. Understanding the whys of a process are no different than understanding the whys of one component. The more I interact with companies who outsource, the more I shake my head wondering if everyone really understand the reasons why outsourcing works and the advantages of cost savings in the larger picture. I believe because there is such a lack of loyalty with a company for the long haul, or even the ability to do so, is the reason why everyone is only looking at the amount of money they will make while they are there and the bills they have to meet. Now I ask you, is this really what life should be like? I challenge you to find your dream job situation and never work at all.....Oh you say it can't be found....rubbish....I have a story to share if that is the case.

Building bridges in the Supply Chain

2011-01-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

TODAY"S Supply chain must refocus their efforts. The Executive branch needs to change the message, adjust incentives and create the strategy that meets the new requirements.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Is_your_top_team_undermining_your_supply_chain_2730

Joy Bauer Healthy Living - Visit her site for great info

2011-01-09T12:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.joybauer.com/healthy-living/food-for-beautiful-skin.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthDietandNutrition_20110109

Home Office Experience

2010-12-31T20:23:00.000-08:00

What is your experience working from a home office? Tell me your story. I am interested in knowing what it is like for people who have worked in an office with their colleagues and have moved to a home office.

Post or email ceokarens@yahoo.com

2011

2010-12-31T07:59:00.000-08:00

This is your year to make sure you harness it to its fullest potential. Life is just too short. Every moment should be lived with a sense of adventure, excitement, and knowing that you are on the right path in your life's work. It's time, ya'll. It's time to make big things happen in your life, your career or business. You know where you want to go. Let's do this! 2011 is going to rock!

How to Stop Smoking Today

2010-12-31T07:16:00.000-08:00

If you're determined to quit smoking, good for you. But don't make it any harder on yourself than necessary by going cold turkey on your own — here's help.
By Lynn Yoffee
Medically reviewed by Christine Wilmsen Craig, MD
The American Cancer Society reports that about half of all smokers die from an illness related to smoking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention, men who smoke typically cut their life short by 13.2 years, and for women it’s 14.5 years. Smoking-related illness can also impact your quality of life. Why wait to quit?
Quit Smoking: Reasons to Stop Today
You know smoking is a health risk. Here are the health problems it contributes to:
1. Cancer. Besides lung cancer, you can develop cancer of the mouth, larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, and stomach, and some forms of leukemia.
2. Lung diseases. Pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, are also brought on by smoking. 3.
3. Stroke, heart attack, and blood vessel diseases. You're twice as likely to die from a heart attack if you smoke. You’re also at risk for peripheral vascular disease, the narrowing of your blood vessels. 4.
4. Blindness. Smokers have a greater risk of developing macular degeneration, which causes most cases of blindness.
Also, women over 35 who smoke and use birth control pills have a greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and blood clots in their legs. Female smokers also have a greater risk of miscarriage and having low birth-weight babies.
Quit Smoking: What's Your “Pack Years” Number?
One way to determine your risk of getting a smoking-related disease is by calculating your pack years. Multiply the number of packs you smoke per day by the number of years you have smoked. For example, if you smoke 30 cigarettes a day (1.5 packs) for three years, that’s 4.5 pack years. The more pack years you have, the greater the health risk.
But once you quit smoking, the numbers start to change in your favor.
• Just 20 minutes after you stop smoking, your blood pressure and heart rate drop.
• In 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your body is back to normal.
• In 2 weeks to 3 months, your lung function increases.
• In 1 to 9 months, your smoker's cough and shortness of breath decrease.
• In 1 year, your increased risk of heart disease is half of what it was when you smoked.
• In 5 years, your stroke risk declines to that of a non-smoker.
• In 10 years, your chances of dying from lung cancer are cut in half.
• In 15 years, your risk of heart disease is on a par with somebody who doesn't smoke.
Quit Smoking: Personal and Social Benefits
Besides the health benefits, quitting means your breath, hair, and clothes will smell better. The taste of food and smell of flowers will delight you. And, you won't feel the social implications, worrying about when and where it'll be okay to light up.
There's more content below this advertisement.
One last reason to stop smoking: money. At $5 and more per pack, quitting a pack a day habit will save you at least $1,825 every year.
Quit Smoking: Keys to Success
Most people who stop smoking permanently say there are four key factors that lead to success:
• Making the decision to quit
• Setting a date and choosing a plan
• Dealing with withdrawal
• Changing habits to maintain success
Sticking to these four points works: Some 45 million people have quit smoking in the United States alone. Many didn’t make it the first time around, so don’t despair if you’ve tried before. You can do it, just as they did.
Quit Smoking: The Psychological Challenge
You may be able to toss the pack and say goodbye to smoking on your own, but most people need outside help. For the mental part of ending a smoking addiction, you can tap into these resources:
• Telephone counseling services are available in all states. The American Cancer Society's Quitline tobacco cessation program will connect you with a trained counselor.
• Get support from family, friends, and groups. Tell them what you're doing and ask for moral support. You can also try Nicotine Anonymous, a support group with a long-term approach to quitting. (Watch out for gimmicky programs that promise instant results, those that push pills or injections, and programs that are extremely expensive.)
• Online help is 24/7. There are great Internet resources for you, starting with Everyday Health’s Smoking Cessation Center.
Learn more about disease prevention.
Quit Smoking: The Physical Challenges
As for the physical challenges of giving up smoking, there are a variety of nicotine replacement products, ranging from gum to patches, that work by reducing your cravings and withdrawal symptoms. But they're only meant to be used for a few months at most.
If you feel like you need help longer term, ask your doctor about medications, such as Zyban (bupropion) or Chantix (varenicline), which can reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
You also might want to check out alternative methods for quitting, such as acupuncture or herbs, but the Cancer Society reports that there is no solid scientific proof that they work.
About 4 to 7 percent of smokers successfully quit on their own, but results are much better if you put together a support plan that addresses all of the immediate side effects of stopping smoking. And the best news: Long-term motivation to stay away from tobacco will soon come from within, once you start feeling healthier and happier about this life-saving step you’ve taken.

Shantanu Deshpande stated on linked in:

2010-12-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

Everyone is gifted - but some people never open their package

John Hrastar, CEO Advisor

2010-12-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

Though a leader might be able to create a shared image for his work community, what does leadership really look for in an employee?
Personal support?
Bringing tools that might not be the strong suit of that leader ?
Someone who understands the needs of the company, can create their own job description and be fully engaged in that description's fulfillment?

John Hrastar
CEO Advisor
answered the above question:

Most CEOs say they want someone who “thinks like an owner”. By that they mean an employee who:

* Knows the overall purpose of the company
* Prioritizes their tasks towards the company goals
* Improves their subordinates’ skills and capabilities
* Keeps abreast of industry trends
* Spots opportunities for the company
* Serves as a leader no matter what their position

Note that it is the responsibility of the CEO to create the environment that enables all that. Not all companies are that kind of environment. Things like technical competency, teamwork, reliability, communication skills, etc. are a given.
Links:
http://www.InterSource.net

AllianceQ

2010-12-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

http://blog.allianceq.com/

here is a job seekers blog to check out! Get on board....its free and they are on a mission.

Sir Ken Robinson is phenomenal

2010-12-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

http://fora.tv/2009/01/29/Sir_Ken_Robinson_A_New_View_of_Human_Capacity#fullprogram

The best gift to all is the gift of self investment

2010-12-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

Take Erika's Challenge: Join Her And Start The Lose Weight In 8 SystemPosted 12/22/2010 12:49 by ExerciseTV24_7Categories: challenges, Fitness, Exercises, Stretching, Health, Lose Weight In 8, Motivation, Accountability, Nutrition

Hi! I’m Erika. Many of you may have seen me on ExerciseTV’s recent ExerciseTV Holiday Livestream Event with Fit Life Expert Laurel House and ExerciseTV Trainer Kathy Faulstich. As I mentioned in the show, I’m a busy working professional who is just beginning (or rather, beginning AGAIN) my weight loss journey. I’m turning 30 in about eight weeks and will also be in a wedding, so it’s high time I got my tail into shape -- once and for all! That’s why I was so excited when Kathy mentioned on the show that she would be launching Lose Weight in 8 on December 28.

It’s also why I am excited to share with you my weight loss journey as I follow the Lose Weight in 8 plan. Lose Weight in 8 launches the last week of December! Over the next few weeks, I will share stories, photos, successes and challenges.

My challenge to you is: Will you join me?

I had a chance to see a “sneak preview” of the program featuring Kathy and the team of trainers and the videos look amazing! I’m so excited to try some of the moves. Also, they provide an easy and convenient eating plan and a calendar outlining which workouts you should do on each day. If you are a planner like me, you’ll definitely appreciate the tools and resources.

Five Reasons to Lose Weight in 8 With Me:

1. Don’t be “2000 and Late” to Lose Weight in 8 – I should really join the Black Eyed Peas. In all seriousness, the seeds you plant in 2010, will come to harvest in 2011. Starting just before the New Year is a great way to establish a habit ahead of all of those New Year’s Resolution folks, and may help you stay in line when it comes to holiday party food indulgences.

2. I love a workout plan that requires no more than 30 minutes – Most of the videos are between 15-35 minutes, which is perfect for a working gal such as myself. There is literally no excuse not to find 30 minutes in the day. In my career I live by the mantra: “work smarter, not harder” and these videos do just that.

3. Raise your hand if you like to wait for a treadmill at the gym? – Yeah, me neither. The biggest detractor for me to go to the gym (especially in January) is waiting for a treadmill. During the cold winter months, exercising outdoors can also prove to be a challenge. I love that I can download these directly to my computer, clear space on the floor and go for it! I also won’t feel intimidated by the super hot, fit gal at the gym who can do every move perfectly.

4. Baby steps – This video series provides a lot of great advice on how to modify the moves to best fit your fitness level, while motivating you to push yourself harder and grow your agility and strength.

5. It’s all about YOU! – I decided that I wanted to look as good on the outside, as I feel on the inside. I hope that you will commit to the investment in yourself too.

Feel free to leave me a comment, ask questions or post your own thoughts.

If you missed the ExerciseTV Livestream event with me, Laurel and Lose Weight in 8 trainer, Kathy Faultisch watch it here: http://bit.ly/ecUAsT

The Lose Weight in 8 System launches next week--so stay tuned for the workouts, plan and meal guidelines! Plus, Kathy has a free bonus workout plan for you!

Talk soon!

-Erika

just a bit of journaling some future educational thoughts I want to keep

2010-11-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

http://www.uncfacultyassembly.org/

I am excited about the opportunity to start viewing university structures and the behaviors of traditional approaches to education in an informal approach to better understand the behaviors and costs in order to meet future student needs. It seems the outline of traditional approaches need redesign and my experience in business, education and retail changes needed are moving at a frustrating pace to protect jobs. Defense and pretense seem to be continually building walls to block real progress and change. Educators are hopefully the cutting edge thinkers, or the catalyst to synergetic sustainable environments that continue the evolutionary approaches we want but are we so steeped in traditional methodologies, we forget our role because it lacks a comfortable reality? We behave and create our beliefs on what we know and have experienced. How do we create the brave explorers to break the echo of our past approaches? It would seem if this is unatainable at the university levels education will not keep up where parts of the world are first designing some of their future university vision. They do not have traditions to create the border of limits.

Personal Development sites

2010-11-07T18:03:00.001-08:00

personaldevelopmentsupport.blogspot.com/ - Similar
Personal Development Plans for Self Awareness and Manifesting
with the right personal development plan and support in place. There is no doubt that this new you is possible. In fact, life really wants you to experience ...

www.higherawareness.com/ - Similar
IEEE Xplore - An Agent Model for Personal Development Support
Oct 8, 2009 ... An Agent Model for Personal Development Support. 5285129 abstract; Download Citations; Email; Print. Cookies must be enabled to login. ...

ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5285129 - Similar
The Importance of a Strong Support Group | Simple Personal ...
Jul 10, 2010 ... Strong Support Group Is Important When you are planning to better yourself and go through a personal development change, something you need, ...

www.simplepersonaldevelopment.com/personal-developmen... - Similar
Personal Support & Development Network, Careers in Transition ...
Personal Support & Development Network commenced operations as a deliverer of career counseling and adult education in August 1988. ...

www.psdn.ca/who.php - Similar
Athletics Academic Support - Academic, Career, and Personal ...
Academic Support Services and Career and Personal Development Staff. Left to right: Thad Hathaway, Heather Erwin, Wanda Tennant, Gail Gleason, ...

www.athletics.wsu.edu/arc/Staff/ - Similar
Parenting Support and Personal Development
Finding balance in our fast paced, high stress lives can be a real challenge. Loss of focus, overwhelm emotions and lack of tools are just a few of the ...

www.empoweringnrg.com/ - Similar
[PDF]An Agent Model for Personal Development Support
support model for personal development. In Section 4, simulation results of the personal development ..... To illustrate the personal development support ...

doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/WI-IAT.2009.203 - Similar
[PDF]Open Access, Personal Development, Support and Aftercare Services
Jan 15, 2010 ... The Open Access, Personal Development Support and Aftercare Services may have different aims, but most include work in the following areas: ...

wales.gov.uk/docs/dsjlg/publications/commsafety/100115trea... - Similar
Personal Development Planning - Supporting Teaching & Learning ...
Supporting Teaching and Learning ... Personal Development Planning: What does it mean? An Interactive Working Paper · Progress File Implementation Group ...

www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/teachingandlearning/pdp - Similar

Open for Business

2010-11-07T17:58:00.001-08:00

Open for Business
Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice

From the hardliners of authoritative silo approach to a collaborative transparent participative approach. Easier said than done even when you think you have everyone on board.

I do not want this book to be filled with rhetoric to fill the pages but it will be about provoking the reader to answer some questions and share ideas, images and steps to a more innovative process that made our country great and can bring us back to where we need to be in society.

Most books are written from an experience and bring limited information other than what the author brings to its readers. I want this to be a bit interactive in a sense, a dialog of thought that readers can interact on the internet blog about in a collaborative, transparent fashion.

The goal is to create an interaction about possibilities and what the ramifications of those possibilities in action can bring. This is where I believe this can be an interactive book with the world of business. The hope is that we will spur on some thinking much deeper than profit and immediate gain but business that is sustainable in its evolution to aid in building new business opportunities of the future.
Everything once thought impossible we have seen come to light. What I believe is that we can be competitive in innovation rather than the isolated competitiveness of taking each other out and being price point oriented. Lets become more innovative in the process that makes our pricing more profitable. This can become the norm by looking at the truth of pricing together. Why is the price set at a certain number? Is it because of the pricing strategy? Is it because of the accounting approach? Is it because we have not been innovative enough to come up with a different approach that costs less and meets the demand of the contract's agreed price?
Who would you say has control over the price? How are some companies able to stay in business, offer great benefits to their work community and pricing still be so low when we cannot even buy material at the price they are offering?
IN a global society do we understand the part of government in the pricing game?
What price is on time of delivery, customer service that some may need and others do not?

Business is so complex and interwoven in so many ways today. Culture, government interaction, policies, laws, materials available in certain parts of the world, skill levels, education levels, hunger for work, etc.

How does anyone come to any conclusions? If a leader or a group pretends to have the answers without a deep level of Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice, I do not believe it to be true in reality.

I was told once that feelings were subjective and numbers were reliable. I believe numbers can be used to create the results needed to persuade.

The amount of information I have taken in from so many different perspectives seems to give me a different point of view and philosophy to work from. I only feel this way because people tell me it is different and unique but that may be because their perspectives are more narrowly formed or experiences may be less than global.

Global forums have changed me forever. Attending classes with different educational and financial backgrounds, races, religions, people from all over the world in open forums and free from dichotomous words bring me to a level of Maslow's hierarchy call transcendence.

Writing this book will be without a need to persuade, make money or ego centered thinking. This book will be written soley to engage others in thinking differently about possibilities, how important each person's role in society is to each of us no matter what level of anything they come from, they are equally important.

It is with this approach and its use of questions or in its use of creating images, I hope to bring the reader a different experience with a different outcome than if they had not read this book. If I can create an opportunity to raise the level of curiosity, motivation and hope that will drive something unique with a more inclusive approach, I will be a happier person than if I did not take the time to put these words on paper to share with others in a sustainable way throughout many evolutionary changes and generations.

Where do we start this journey not knowing much about you? I will have to make some assumptions.
People are people
People generally want the same thing: comfort, to be cared about, to be productive citizens, to feel a purpose and to be part of something without criticism and judgment.
People want acceptance so let's agree that there are never any right or wrong questions or answers in this exploratative approach. You can use this for a deep dive of self or you can share the ideas you have openly with others who agree to this approach.
Lets start with a blank piece of paper and a thought process that everything is possible.
Lets state that we need to draw upon our imagination and openness to reveal what we can imagine as possible.
Lets agree that if we do not have anyone in our group that brings an answer in pursuit of how to or what the next step is, we stay open until another person who may be out there with the answer comes forward with more information about the next step.
Sometimes I believe that people may come up with an idea before the technology has caught up and patience is golden because chances are, that technology or material or approach is just around the corner if you are thinking about it. Seriously, think about electricity, phones, computers, the string theory, and inventions we think about but don't follow through that eventually come into play.

We are all much more artistic, skilled, imaginative, knowledgeable than we believe ourselves to be. What we do not always realize is the importance of connections to bring together the other talents we need to make our ideas come to fruition. When we are driven, when we become passionate enough to take risk, when we continue to take risks amongst the naysayers, we accomplish great things.

The words we use in our day become extremely important to the outcome of our vision and the image of the end result. Surrounding ourselves with the right people, the right vocabulary and the right energy is also important. Our ability to look past another person's off day or personal "feeling" that we are ultimately in charge of that might take us off course. The course that takes us directly to the end result we create the image for is increasingly important as you head forward.

Just like any other circumstance we get distracted from, we need to pull ourselves back on course. It is important to understand the responsibility to ourselves and the others we are working with to be able to pull ourselves back. No one else is responsible for our course of action. Blaming anyone else is irresponsible no matter what the circumstance. Reasons for being off course are your own choice.

I am feeling quite passionate about journaling these rough ideas down on paper this evening on my blog. I am just typing as the ideas come to mind and it this is not meant to be any scholarly paper or with any grammar in mind but just a free spirited thought process.

As an interactive process, I encourage you to do the same without any judgment or social pressures. And when I ask a question, it is not meant to receive an answer unless you want to share an idea or thought process. Lets remind readers that responses that are anything but encouraging or builds upon the idea in a respectful and positive way will not be published. Nothing dichotomous / black and white will be allowed because none of us has all the answers to the possibilities.
This is meant to be a think tank of Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice. If you want to bring a piece of information that you may think is important but limiting, present it in a question that leaves room for more information to be brought forward in a synergetic way.

Here is the first set of questions:
What have you always wanted to do but felt inadequate in making it happen because you did not have the knowledge about its approach?

What do you believe would be a good small first step?
Who do you believe might bring more information to the table? What skills or education do you believe they would have?

With regard to bringing this idea to life...
What do you hate to do?
What do you love to do?

We have not seen yet where we are going......

2010-10-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

Get Ready for Web 3.0

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, once said, “The web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past.” It’s only a matter of time before web 3.0 -- better known as the “semantic web”-- rolls around, making web 2.0 -- the web as we know it today -- a thing of the past. Though there is a debate among experts as to when exactly web 3.0 will arrive, most predict it’s sooner rather than later.

In the beginning…
Web 1.0 was all about basics. With this first iteration, social networking was merely a dim glimmer in the minds of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and MySpace founders Tom Andersen and Chris DeWolfe. Back then, websites provided information with little opportunity for user interaction and feedback -- a one-way process dubbed “read-only”. The most interactive user activities involved chat and instant messaging.

Then web 2.0 came along and introduced the world to blogs, social-networking sites, and a host of self-publishing tools. Articles are now accompanied with “comments” tools, and any hack with a computer can create a blog. Content exploded on the web, and a considerable portion of it is created by average users.

Booming web audience
The first decade also saw a tremendous leap in the growing number of online users. Mobile devices have also made 24-hour access to the web -- anywhere, anytime -- readily available: Simply sit at Starbucks and read email, check the news, and browse the web while sipping a Frappucino.

What Web 3.0 holds in store
What industry analysts foresee for the next version is a more personalized and easy-to-use web, eliminating several steps from your online searches to make them quicker. Hence, your computer is 'smarter’ and can better understand what you are searching for. According to PC Magazine, “the Semantic Web is a place where machines can read web pages much as we humans read them, a place where search engines and software agents can better troll the Net and find what we're looking for.”

For example, if you are planning a weekend getaway to a mountain lodge and you want to make sure that there are convenience stores nearby, you wouldn’t have to conduct separate searches for lodges and stores. The web would simply deliver search results for both and categorize it in such a way that you would know which places are more convenient. What web 3.0 then promises is a more personalized, faster method of search that is tailored to your needs. And experts predict that this could also simplify the current problem of sifting through pages and pages of irrelevant web search results.

Virtual world: Others also speculate whether web 3.0 will eventually develop into a virtual world. Writing in About.com, Daniel Nations explains that it’s a possibility that Web users would eventually be able to walk into virtual buildings and stores online.

What this means for your computer
With every technological advance, older gadgets are eventually replaced by new ones. While web 3.0 doesn’t necessarily mean you'll need a more powerful computer, the average lifespan for most computers is still 4 to 5 years and that isn’t expected to change. You can have your computer in top-notch shape as web 3.0 approaches by doing preventive maintenance to keep it healthy with help from programs like Computer Checkup Premium or System Mechanic.

Computer Checkup Premium, for example, cleans registries, removes clutter by clearing out temporary or unwanted files, and helps your hard drive run more quickly by rearranging data to remove fragments. It also speeds up your computer and ensures your PC’s hard drive is operating at its maximum potential.

WWW and information overload
One drawback, some say, to these web technologies is that they could make it easier to rely on the web to do the bulk of your work for you. Once upon a time, the fear was that television would dull creativity and mental stimulation, and now the worry is that the Internet has replaced TV in this regard.

As Chris Christensen, a computer executive and host of the Amateur Traveler podcast, says: “So we will hear stories about people for whom the web becomes an obsession. But that is no different from the couch potatoes who did not make good decisions about their TV habits.”

As we write this, tech experts are busy working on the advancement and improvement of an ever-evolving web. As the New York Times explains, “Their goal is to add a layer of meaning on top of the existing web that would make it less of a catalog and more of a guide -- and even provide the foundation for systems that can reason in a human fashion.”

Case Weatherhead Blog

2010-10-01T16:24:00.001-07:00

http://weatherhead.case.edu/blog/

Chicago’s best meeting spaces for idea-generation

2010-09-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

By: Michelle Evans September 27, 2010
These venues remove employees from their typical office settings and put them in a space that will ignite their imaginations.

CATALYST RANCH

656 W. Randolph St.; (312) 207-1710; www.catalystranchmeetings.com

Catalyst Ranch has seven meeting rooms designed to stimulate creativity.
Photo by: Stephen J. Serio
Capacity: Up to 120 people. Individual rooms can accommodate six to 120 people, though the average group size is usually 30.

Cost: A day's room rental is a flat fee of $480 to $2,400, depending on the room's size. Snacks, supplies and technology services are included, but breakfast and lunch catered by Big Delicious Planet are extra.

Why: Catalyst Ranch specializes in hosting meetings that stimulate the right side of the brain. Each of the seven meeting rooms in this West Loop space is decorated with vintage furniture, ethnic art, funky furnishings, brightly colored walls and nostalgic toys. "What we're trying to do is to help them remember when they were kids and there were no boundaries to their thought processes," owner Eva Niewiadomski says. One member of the Meeting Professionals International, which nominated the former sausage factory space, says it "invokes creativity and out-of-the-box thinking." Dry-erase boards, easels, projectors, wireless Internet, office supplies and beverages are available in the rooms, too.

THINKUBATOR

312 N. May St., Suite 6A; (312) 829-2852; www.solutionpeople.com

Capacity: The main room can seat 20 to 30 people.

Cost: A day's rental is a flat fee of $2,000 to $3,000 and includes supplies and technology services. Guests can order breakfast, lunch or dinner from any number of nearby restaurants for an additional fee.

Why: The Thinkubator studio is a creative haven in the West Loop neighborhood of Fulton Market. Its loft-style space has 19-foot ceilings, a winding staircase to the building's rooftop terrace, exposed brick walls and large windows that showcase the Chicago skyline. The idea is to turn the typical work environment on its side. "Cubical creativity is such a big challenge," says President Gerald Haman, whose primary business is an innovation and creativity coaching company called SolutionPeople. "The size of people's ideas is proportional to the size of perceived space they think they have to think." Mr. Haman uses functional art in the shape of question marks, red lip-shaped chairs and an Einstein-themed bathroom to invoke guests' creative side. Staff even will arrange for the Good Humor ice cream truck to stop by for a surprise mid-afternoon snack to spark memories of childhood. The Thinkubator will expand this fall with a 1,500-square-foot space called the Aha Spa, which will be decorated with themes from nature.

WORKSPRING

12 E. Ohio St.; (877) 824-1441; www.workspring.com

Capacity: The facility can accommodate up to 50 people. Individual rooms can accommodate four to 30 people.

Cost: A day's room rental is $150 to $750, depending on the room's size, plus $100 per head to cover technology services, meeting supplies, meals, snacks and beverages. Companies also can rent the entire space for a flat fee of $5,000 per day for up to 30 people, plus $100 for each additional person.

Why: Stepping off the elevator, guests at Workspring in River North are greeted by a sleek, modern dining area featuring the day's breakfast buffet. The facility, which opened in November 2008 as a business venture of office furniture retailer Steelcase Inc., was designed to be a blank canvas upon which clients could innovate. Every detail is considered in this space, from the height of the tables to the menu of high-octane food intended to keep guests chugging at their highest energy level. "The goal was to build a place based on ultimate collaboration," Workspring's Director of Operations Gina D'Ercoli says. The facility has five breakout rooms, each decorated in neutral colors and designed to maximize the natural light from the courtyard. All rooms have dry-erase boards, projection capabilities, individual thermostats and access to the latest meeting technology.

© 2010 by Crain Communications Inc.

Protecting a Business IdeaBy Geoff Williams

2010-09-26T18:20:00.001-07:00

Protecting a Business IdeaBy Geoff Williams

5 Things You Need to KnowThink you've got a million-dollar invention on your hands and worried someone will steal it? How to protect your business idea.

5 Things You Need to Know, Starting a Business, Home-based Business, Legal Issues, Inventions & Innovations

It happens to almost every aspiring entrepreneur. You have a brilliant idea for a groundbreaking business, an innovative product or a better-than-the-competition service. You're daydreaming about becoming the next Bill Gates or Ron Popeil, and suddenly it hits you -- "What if I tell people about this idea and someone steals it?"
This is a problem because, eventually, you have to tell somebody about it. To get your idea off the ground, you need vendors, investors, employees and maybe a partner or at least a mentor. So how do you market your idea to the masses without having someone rip you off? Here are five things you need to know.
1Yes, you can get a patent.
But you probably shouldn't waste your time right now. After all, you can't patent or copyright an idea. If your idea is tangible -- say you've designed a new way to cook eggs and you have a blueprint for your egg cooker -- you can patent that design. Chris Stamos, a patent attorney and partner with the international law firm Goodwin Procter, explains it the way he would if the Wright Brothers had been his clients back in the 1890s. "Basically, you have to have invented something," he says. "It's not enough to say, for example, 'Gee, it would be great to fly and go from place to place.' An idea is an invitation to invent, but until you actually figure out if you can make a wing with an airfoil design and put it with an engine and get lift, then you shouldn't be thinking about getting a patent."2Patents cost money.
If you think you're at the patent stage, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has a great website with all of the information you need. But remember, patent fees can range from the low hundreds to low thousands of dollars. The process isn't something you go through on a whim. "Patents have filing fees and maintenance fees over the life of the patent," says John Reddish, a Drexel Hill, Pa.-based business consultant. "Patent defense is extra and can cost into the mega-bucks. Most patents generally don't generate enough profit margin to justify these fees. Moreover, once filed, any competitor knows where to begin to 'get around' the patent. In short, it better be worth it."3Consider a non-disclosure agreement.
If you really feel you're onto something new and want to discuss it with some people, and you want to protect your idea from being stolen, Stamos suggests having them sign a non-disclosure agreement. True, some people might bristle at the idea ("Don't you trust me?"), but Stamos says that "business folk realize there's value in that invention, and there's only value if you own and protect your idea." He says a non-disclosure agreement is a good way "to test drive the idea." Keep in mind, however, that your idea better be pretty unique or compelling. If you have someone go through the trouble of signing a non-disclosure agreement, and then you lay it on them that you have an idea for a restaurant that sounds like any other restaurant out there, you probably won't be taken too seriously thereafter.4Mark your territory.
"I deal with this problem on a weekly basis," says Chicago-based attorney Steven J. Thayer. "The dilemma is that the entrepreneur is excited about his new idea and wants to tell everybody about it, but at the same time, doesn't want anybody to run off with it." He suggests putting a "CONFIDENTIAL" stamp on anything you have down on paper related to your idea, "so you can claim ownership to your work. You can also add copyright symbols, like '© 2010 Steven J. Thayer' and trademark claims, 'TM,' to logos, which help establish that you are claiming copyright and trademark protection to your works. This may legally prevent someone from making a physical copy of a business plan or summary of your idea."

This said, just so there's no confusion, copyrighting does not, according to the U.S. Copyright Office, actually protect your idea. The website's FAQ page says, "Ideas and discoveries and not protected by the copyright law, although the way in which they are expressed may be." (Yes, it's very confusing.)

In any case, putting copyright symbols by your business plan or logo is a good idea even if you aren't sure you'll ever go through the trouble of copyrighting or trademarking your idea. It's like when homeowners put a sticker on their window saying they have a security system even when they don't. A burglar knows it might just be a sticker with no actual alarm system rigged to the house, but they probably won't want to take the chance. Same goes for unethical businesspeople thinking about taking your idea. If they see that copyright symbol next to your work, they know you may not have actually gone to the trouble of registering at the U.S. Copyright Office, but probably won't take the chance of trying to rip you off.5Stop worrying.
Scott Fox, an online business coach and founder of ClickMillionaires.com, says ideas alone are not worth that much -- it's how they are implemented. "Get over yourself and get on with the business," he says. "What makes the difference for successful businesses is not the idea alone. Today, the Internet's free worldwide communication means that ideas are instantly accessible and potentially infinitely copyable, too. It's the implementation of the idea, a commitment to delivering the products, services or information on a daily basis, that makes the difference. You can spend your time and money investing in legal insurance like patents, trademarks and copyrights -- or you can get out there and build an audience of paying customers. The latter will make you far more money than the former."

Another way to look at it: Most professionals are indeed professionals, not crooks. It takes a lot of energy to run a business, and there's no guarantee that any business will be successful. If you have an idea for a product, service or business, odds are, you also have the passion, energy, and smarts to figure out how to make it profitable. For most time-starved, overworked people, ethics notwithstanding, the idea of stealing your idea will sound like way too much work.

Geoff Williams is a time-starved, overworked freelance journalist. He is a regular presence at AOL Small Business and is the co-author of the book Living Well with Bad Credit.

How to Build a Great Website (Even If You Don't Think You Need One)

2010-09-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Using a few free tools can help lure customers to your website -- and keep them coming back.

By Steve Strauss
Posted 9/ 7 10 at 7:45 PM | Technology, Advertising & Marketing, Sales, Management, Starting a Business, Online Business, Ask the Expert
Text Size:
A A A Comments (4)
Q: I really don't think that I need the "Greatest Website in the World." I own a one-person business and use my site mostly for promotion. A few pages and I'm good. Why would I need anything more?

-- Sam

A: I hear variations of this question quite often and my answer is always the same: Any small business that is not maximizing its Web presence is wasting an incredible opportunity and, moreover, likely losing valuable business in the process.

Usually, small-business owners avoid adopting new technology because they don't see the value, think it will be too expensive or worry that it will cost too much. In the case of your website, all three are incorrect assumptions. Let me dismiss the last two first, and then explain why you simply must put up a crackerjack site -- no ifs, ands, or buts.

Today, there is no shortage of inexpensive ways to create powerful, elegant, Web 2.0 websites. Whether it is Microsoft's OfficeLive. Google Websites, Intuit Websites, or pre-made templates like those offered by WordPress, there are plenty of tools for creating a great looking website today, and most are free, or practically so.

So that is no excuse.

As for whether it is necessary, whether it is valuable, just think about how your own habits have changed in the past decade or so. Is it not true that when you learn about a new business, you often look the business up online first and make a judgment based on its site?

Well, don't you think your customers and potential customers are doing the same thing?

People today spend as much time online as they do watching TV. That is a remarkable shift in habits. But even more significantly, when people go online, what they expect, what impresses them, is to be able to do more than read some boring content when they hit a website. They expect to watch a video, comment on a blog, vote in a poll, take a quiz or participate in a webinar.

That is called Web 2.0. Web 2.0 means that websites today are far more interactive than they were before.

By using some of these Web 2.0 tools on your site, you give potential customers more of a reason to stick around (hence the term "sticky site") and forge more of a connection with your business. Indeed, having some nice Web 2.0 tools on your site gives you

•Enhanced credibility. Today, people judge you by your site. Make a good first impression.
•Marketing opportunities. Posting a video on your site for instance is a far more powerful marketing tool than simply having two paragraphs about your business.
•Additional profit centers. Learning how to sell some of your stuff online is not hard and affords you the chance to have your business open 24/7/365. Why would you not do that?

OK, so if this makes sense to you (and it should), then what sort of Web 2.0 tools should you add to your site? Here are some easy ones with which to start:

•Blogs. Blogs are great because they give your business a more personal feeling. Don't worry if you are not a writer - just share what you know (but it must be grammatically correct, of course). Offer some insights. Tell people about a new product you just got in. Share a good story.

•Comments. Similarly, offering readers the chance to comment on your blog and/or article is another good way to make your site more interactive. Try offering polls or even a forum. Google those terms and you will find tons of resources to add these things to your cool new site.

•Video. Video is all the rage online, and the good news is that yours need not be super professional -- YouTube is proof of that. Make a video introducing your staff, or have your daughters interview you. Make it personal and post it on your site. Do you see what a great opportunity that is to make a more personal connection with your customers?

•E-newsletters. E-newsletters allow you to stay in Constant Contact with your audience. How great is that?

Adding just a few of these tools to your site will make it friendlier, more sticky, and more appealing. The time is now.

Steven D. Strauss is one of the nation's leading small-business experts. A USA Today columnist, author and speaker, his latest book is The Small Business Bible. If you would like Steve to speak to your group, or if you would like to sign up for his free newsletter, Small Business Success Secrets! please visit his website at MrAllBiz.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/SteveStrauss.

Want to be part of this column? Ask Steve a question at AOL@MrAllBiz.com.

Tags: Ask the Expert, Google Websites, how to build a website, how to start a website, Internet marketing, Intuit Websites, OfficeLive, online marketing, online tools, Steve Strauss, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 tools, Web tools, WordPress

Search Engine Optimization: 5 Things You Need to Know

2010-09-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

Just because you have a website doesn't mean people can actually find it. So what's the best way to get on Google? How to craft an effective SEO strategy.

By Amanda Kooser
Posted 6/ 22 10 at 5:00 PM | 5 Things You Need to Know, Technology, Advertising & Marketing, Starting a Business, International Business, Online Business, IT Services, Telecommunications
Text Size:
A A A Comments (4)
Search engine optimization may be better known by its acronym -- SEO. That's one way to simplify a complicated topic. The basic concept behind SEO is improving your website, so that it appears higher on Google and other search engines. Most Web surfers don't click past the first page or two when using a search engine, so you want your site to rank as close to the top as possible when people are searching for related terms.

SEO is a simple equation. Clicks from search engines translate into website visitors. Website visitors translate into customers. Higher rankings mean more clicks. But actually making SEO work for you is a little more complicated. You can't just pepper your site with repetitive rounds of keywords and expect a search engine to respect you. SEO is a process, but once you get into the rhythm, it can become a natural part of your online efforts. Ready to get started? Here are five things you need to know.

1Start with SEO.
It can be difficult to shoehorn SEO into a website after the fact. Talk with your Web designer about building SEO in from the ground up. This may translate into reducing the use of Flash, maximizing internal links, skipping the use of frames and finding creative places for content. Check out Building a Website: 5 Things You Need to Know to see where SEO fits in.2Content is the king.
You'll hear that phrase a lot when talking about SEO. Fresh, original, well-written content is a huge part of the battle. This is when keywords can come into play -- as part of the natural flow of your content. Keep the content relevant. Add a blog, include strong product descriptions in your online store, write up some how-to guides or industry news articles. This isn't a "set it and forget it" step. Keep the content coming. Search Engine Watch looks at where content and links intersect with Powerful SEO Content: Understanding Breadth of Coverage.3Know the dark side.
SEO has often been the target of gamesmanship and dirty deeds. Once upon a time, websites put hidden text into their pages in order to trick search engines into ranking them higher. Now those sites are caught and labeled as spam. Search engines have gotten a lot smarter and most of those get-rich-quick schemes don't work anymore. So don't be tempted by an SEO sales pitch that promises you a certain ranking with a flurry of fairy dust. If you get caught gaming a search engine, your site could end up in the Google graveyard.4Get your links on.
Part of SEO is who you know -- and who knows you. Link to relevant sites and have relevant sites link back to you. Think quality, not quantity. This is another place where content comes in. Good content encourages other sites to link to you. Search engines send out spiders that crawl around from link to link to index content. Make it easy for them to find you.

Links aren't just about outside sites. Link within your own site. Once again, we get back to the content concept. If you're posting new blog entries, be sure to include links back to older posts with similar subject matter. Put relevant keywords in the link text.5Remember, the fight never ends.
Monitor your search rankings and keep an eye on your site stats to see where your visitors are coming from. There is no 1-2-3 formula for successful SEO. It's OK to experiment to see what gets results. Try different keywords. If you're trying to corner the search engine market on the word "shoes," you probably won't have much luck. You'll be in better shape if you go after "Phoenix sandals" or "Gore-Tex hiking boots." Keep the content coming, put some effort into building quality links and throw your weight behind SEO for the long haul. Google has plenty of tips available on its Search Engine Optimization page.

Your Professional Image

2010-09-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

An Image Consultant Makes a Difference

Studies show that working with an image consultant makes a measurable, positive difference not only in self esteem, but in one’s ability to connect with others.

Marion Gellatly, President of Powerful Presence, has been helping individuals understand the true power of their professional image since 1991. Through one-on-one consultations and/or group trainings and regardless of your age, profession, gender, or life goals, Marion can help you …

Communicate your power through appearance, attitude, behavior, and etiquette.
Gain positive attention, confidence, loyalty, and success in the workplace.
Align your professional presence with your professional goals and corporate culture.
Enlighten employees on the ABC’s of image in the workplace: Appearance, Behavior and Communication.
Refine your dining skills for greater confidence and comfort when entertaining clients and guests.
Help you feel great about how you look and feel confident in how you behave in any situation--both in and away from the workplace.

Your Professional Image

Is your professional image enhancing or hindering your success?

When you leave the room, what impression do you leave behind?

Do you instill confidence and trust in the first few seconds of meeting someone?

We can help you answer these and other important questions.
Click here to take our FREE Image Assessment.

Featured Products

Style Source: The Power of the Seven Universal Styles by Alyce Parsons and Mimi Dorsey. Style Source is an industry standard text on style for women and men who want to show their inner essence through their outer expression of clothing and accessories.

With full color illustrations, charts and assessment tools, you’re sure to uncover, understand, and articulate your natural style preferences along with a greater acceptance of other styles that may have been intimidating to you before reading this book.

order your copy today!

Marion is a passionate top image expert, who along with 19 of her colleagues, brings hundreds of insights that will instantly update and enhance your image. Solutions for all image issues are revealed. Comprehensive and for all shapes, sizes and lifestyle situations, you’ll love all the sound and doable advice—about style, body shape, color, wardrobe, shopping, fit, accessories, eyewear, makeup, communication skills, business & dining etiquette, business casual, after weight loss, petite and full-figured—there’s something for you! With Image Power you can be your best everyday.

order your copy today!

Caroline Howard

2010-09-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

Best Questions To Ask In Your Job Interview
By CAROLINE HOWARD
Anyone who’s ever been on a job interview knows the pause: The moment when the interviewer’s q&as come to a stop, she looks you in the eyes and says: “And do you have any questions for me?”

Preparing for that crossroads in the interview is crucial, say recruiters and hiring managers. It’s the time to turn the table. And you don’t want to be caught off-guard with crickets in your head. You’ll appear indifferent, or worse, clueless. Alternately, if you’re buzzing with questions and give the interviewer what feels like the third-degree, it will immediately signal that you are unfocused or too aggressive.

12 Worst Questions To Ask In Your Job Interview

“This is an opportunity to look like a leader and show that you are engaged in the interview,” says Cynthia Shapiro, a career strategist based in Woodland Hills, Cal., and author of What Does Somebody Have To Do To Get A Job Around Here?

“The best questions are really all about them and not about you,” says Louise Garver, an executive coach for the past 23 years from Broad Brook, Conn., and founder of Career Directions, LLC. “They have one thing at their core: How can I contribute value to the team and the company.”

Here, the five most important questions to ask at a job interview–plus a debatable no-no–so that you’ll make the right impression and get the job offer.

1. How would you describe the ideal candidate?

What this question does is enable the hiring supervisor to imagine you actually in the job as he or she is describing the position, says Shapiro. Technically, it is a form of transference. But practically it’s a way to role-play. “I’m so glad you said you need an Excel wiz. In my last position I…” Grab this as an opportunity to describe yourself doing the very things the interviewer outlined by using past experiences and wins.

Continuing this line of questioning–”What are the top three qualities you’re looking for?”–will reveal key information. Take mental or actual notes (it’s OK to have pen and paper handy–it’ll keep your hands busy) in order to shape your responses accordingly for future interviews or later in the conversation.

2. How do you envision this position supporting you?

At face value, this question has nothing to do with the job candidate herself–and the interviewer will certainly appreciate that. You’ve likely already listed all your past job and educational experiences. Instead of more me-me-me talk, it translates to I’m-all-about-you. “What you’re saying to your potential employer without saying it is, ‘I’ll make your life easier,’” says Shapiro. “That alone will put you at the top of the list.”

3. How does this position fit into the company’s long-term plans?

This query will open the door to discussions about the position and overall business strategy. It is perfectly appropriate at this point to ask about the person who is leaving (left or promoted?) or why the position was created, says Garver. You will also want to ask about the specific challenges and goals of the job, and the company’s vision for it in the next six months, year and five years.

If you feel uncomfortable, you can always couch your queries as permission-based statements, as in, “May I ask…,” says Garver.

4. How would you define “success” for this position?

The question drills down into a win looks like to the hiring supervisor and the company, says Shapiro. (Hint: many companies do not have performance evaluation systems in place, so you may catch your interviewer by surprise.)

This question not only reveals the kind of boss you are applying to–is he or she hands-off or a micro-manger?–but will give you insight into the company’s procedures and culture. “You need to put on your Sherlock Holmes hat during a job interview and be a silent observer,” continues Shapiro. “That is the only way you can determine what kind of a boss your interviewer will be and the kind of company you may be working for.”

5. What can I do for you as follow-up?

You want to know how you can grease the process in your favor. What you are saying, though, is “How can I help you.” And the more you find out about who or what group will be making the decision and their timeline, the more influence you have in terms of making the right contacts and sending follow-up information. “What employers are looking for are people who really want to work in the organization and are enthusiastic about affecting the outcome of the interview,” says Garver.

What’s the salary range?

Of course you want to know. But this matter of keen interest, along with other forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, child care, vacation, 401(k) and tuition reimbursement, is of some debate.

“This is my career, this is my life, I’d better bring up money,” says Debra Benton of Benton Management Resources of Ft. Collin, Col., a professional speaker and executive coach with 30 years experience working with such companies as Verizon, Campbell’s Soup and the USDA. “One subject you want bring up is money: ‘Money is not my main motivation in this job but what is the range?’ That shows my character. It takes courage and confidence to ask those questions.”

But many other experts advise a don’t-ask-don’t tell policy prior to a job offer in writing. “Never ask about salary and benefits,” says Garver. “Don’t ask any questions related to your needs.”

Why? You don’t have much negotiating power until they decide they want you on board. “Bring salary up too early and they’ll think that’s all you care about,” says Shapiro. So what should you do if THEY bring up salary before the offer? Simply say it would be something you’d consider. “Once they make the offer, it means they want you. Then negotiate. It shows that you’re serious.”

Share your favorite (or worst) questions to ask a potential employer in a job interview

FPYC Personal Career Profile for Karen

2010-09-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share this process with you. I strongly remind you these are only ONE tool for your decision about what makes you feel a sense of purpose in life.

http://www.futureproofyourcareer.com/?hop=interns40

I answered a career profile questionaire and this combination of letters has never shown up on a career evaluation. I find it interesting that I have had many similar combinations but this one actually seems more correct, other than it may have been taken from a more general and shorter format of questions. Here is the web site in case you are interested. It is quite quick. You know yourself best ....and remember this is one tool only. Doing a deep dive into why you behave the way you do, what sets off your defensive mechanisms and what you are cautious about are a first step to finding a purpose in life that creates self motivation and drive, fulfillment and great health! Eat to live like you have never lived before and do the same with work. Find a place that nurtures your happiness, along with those in your circle of influence. You will feel your energy rise. You will smile more. Sarcasm will disappear from your conversations.

http://www.futureproofyourcareer.com/?hop=interns40

FPYC Personal Profile for Karen

FPYC temperament type: EIFS - Encouraging, cooperative, enthusiastic, sensitive to others, hard working, creative, expressive, loyal.

Dominant intelligences: Logical Mathematical, Interpersonal, Visual Spatial, Naturalist and Linguistic.

Dominant abilities: Commercial, Caring and Serving, Teaching and Coaching, Scientific, General Visual Spatial and Art and Design.

Fields of Work: Art and design, Education, training and library and Management.

Knowledge worker status: Level 2 Knowledge Worker - Knowledge User and Creator.

Knowledge age skills: Communication - Strong
Adaptability - Strong
Business - Strong
Team Work - Strong
Computer - Reasonable
Learning - Strong

Welcome, Karen , to the New World of Work!

The workplace is now a very different place to even 10 years ago. It's called the New World of Work (aka the new economy and the knowledge age) and has serious implications for your career!

As management guru Tom Peters said recently over ninety percent of jobs will disappear over the next decade, or be reconfigured beyond recognition.

Developing a career that can withstand the constant change you will encounter is the key issue facing workers, like you, in the New World of Work!

Karen , your FPYC Personal Profile below consists of the following five sections:
1. Your Temperament Type
2. Your Dominant Intelligences and Dominant Abilities
3. Your 3 Fields of Work
4. Your Knowledge Worker Status
5. Your Knowledge Age Skills

These sections are all laid out below on this page...

1. Your FPYC Temperament Type

More than anything else, understanding of your personality type is the key to your career satisfaction and success in the New World of Work.

If intelligences and abilities guide the field of work, or profession, that you work in, your temperament type is about finding the best type of work for you within each profession.

The FPYC Temperament Type methodology is the modern day progression of a tradition of personality analysis that stretches back to the famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.

Your FPYC Temperament Type is defined by the four letter combination: EIFS

First and foremost you are an outgoing type who likes to be well organised and who thrives on high energy activities dealing with other people.

You can see all sorts of possibilities in all situations and you are often scornful of the ordinary and mundane.

Your career prospects would be best where you are able use your abilities in ways where you can express your inner values in creative ways.

You would perform work well that gives you the opportunity for self-expression and creativity. If you are denied this opportunity then you are likely to find your work situations stressful and unsatisfying.

You naturally seek high-energy action packed situations rather than being a thoughtful and reflective type. This suggests that you would work best dealing directly with other people in face to face situations.

You are more comfortable working in structured situations where there is a measure of order and predictability. You like to reach closure on the things you are dealing with rather than leaving matters undecided. Beware, because this can sometimes lead to hasty decision-making.

Does this sound like you?

If this content sums up aspects of your personality, you can explore these issues in greater depth in your personalized copy of Authentic Direction: How to Find Your Life's Purpose and Ideal Career.

An entire chapter is devoted to your FPYC Temperament Type. You'll find out the types of work situations you are best suited to, as well as the types of situations that you should avoid.

Click here for information about Authentic Direction: How to Find Your Life's Purpose and Ideal Career.

Your FPYC Personal Profile continues below with your Dominant Intelligences and Dominant Abilities...

Authentic Direction ebook reader comment:
"Your book came at exactly the right time for me and helped me clarify the direction I am headed. I had an idea about what I should be doing, but your system 'cleaned my lenses' and brought my vision into sharper focus. What was previously a murky view is now cystal clear!"

- Dayle Lindsay, Canada

2. Your Dominant Intelligences and Dominant Abilities

In the New World of Work it is dangerous to define your work by the tasks that make up your job description.

If those tasks are no longer required when things change (as they inevitably will) then YOU may no longer be required.

To future proof your career, you need to understand yourself as a person with certain basic strengths that can be utilized in many different ways in many different situations.

This is why talent is one of the key concepts that you need to base your future career around.

In a rapidly-changing environment, an employer - rather than worrying about formal qualifications - is more likely to want someone who has demonstrated certain talents.

For example you are a person who thrives in a commercial environment, can pass on skills and knowledge to others and is good at analyzing the underlying causes of problems.

These talents, and others, are a crucial part of what you have to offer any employer, and to the way your career will unfold in the future.

Modern psychological theory suggests there are at least eight separate human intelligences, and we have broken these intelligences down into 20 separate human abilities.

Applying this theory to you reveals the following three Dominant intelligences and six Dominant Abilities.

YOUR DOMINANT INTELLIGENCES: Logical Mathematical, Interpersonal and Visual Spatial.
YOUR DOMINANT ABILITIES: Commercial, Caring and Serving, Teaching and Coaching, Scientific, General Visual Spatial and Art and Design.

How can you package these intelligences and abilites for maximum benefit in your future career? Is the area you currently work in, or are considering working in, an area where you can use your strengths. If not you may need to consider your options.

By centering your career - in terms of the field of work you concentrate on - around your dominant intelligences and abilities, you stand the greatest chance of success.

A full discussion of your eight intelligences and 20 abilities

The largest chapter of Authentic Direction: How to Find Your Life's Purpose and Ideal Career covers the FPYC Intelligences and Abilities Analysis. This deals with the implications for your future career of each of the eight intelligences and 20 abilities and how you can use your talents to get ahead in the New World of Work.

Every intelligence and ability is dealt with separately (a total of 28 personalized articles) with an individualized discussion on how you can make the best use of your strengths, at the same time as minimizing the effect of your weaknesses.

Click here for information about Authentic Direction: How to Find Your Life's Purpose and Ideal Career.

Your FPYC Personal Profile continues below with your 3 Fields of Work...

Authentic Direction ebook reader comment:
"Remarkable! I have never read anything like this before. While reading it, I kept catching myself saying 'that is so true'. It is a great mix of self-discovery, inspiration and practical know-how!"

- Maria Gomez, USA

3. Your 3 Fields of Work

Your individual mix of intelligences, abilities and interests is what determines the fields of work you are best suited to.

Your three Fields of Work, chosen from the 26 in the FPYC WorkMatch system are listed below.

The FPYC WorkMatch system is based on the official US Department of Labor O*Net database which includes over 1200 individual work titles, divided into 23 Fields of Work

On top of the 23 Fields of Work in the official O*Net database, we have broken the category: Art Design Media Sports and Entertainment into the four separate categories: Art and Design, Media, Sports and Entertainment to come up with 26 Fields of Work.

The 26 Fields of Work used in the WorkMatch system are: 1. Management 14. Building/Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
2. Business/Finance 15. Personal Care and Service
3. Computer and Mathematical Science 16. Sales
4. Architecture and Engineering 17. Office and Administration Support
5. Sciences (Physical, Social and Life Sciences) 18. Farming, Fishing and Forestry
6. Community and Social Services 19. Construction and Extraction
7. Legal 20. Installation, Maintenance and Repair
8. Education, Training and Library 21. Production
9. Art and Design 22. Transportation and Material Moving
10. Healthcare Practitioner and Technical 23. Military
11. Healthcare Support 24. Media
12. Protective Service 25. Entertainment
13. Food Preparation and Serving 26. Sports

The three Fields of Work that best match your abilities, intelligences and interests are:
Art and design
Education, training and library
Management

How to get your full WorkMatch analysis...

Chapter four of Authentic Direction: How to Find Your Life's Purpose and Ideal Career expands on this analysis and details the 30 individual careers that are the best match with your profile.

Your five top Fields of Work (including the three above) are drawn from your abilities, intelligences and interests. Following this, six Work Titles are chosen for each Field of Work on the basis of your FPYC Temperament Type (detailed above) which indicates the types of roles you are best suited to.

The result is a list of 30 Work Matches drawn from the 1200 possibilities in the US Department of Labor O*Net database.

Click here for information about Authentic Direction: How to Find Your Life's Purpose and Ideal Career.

Your FPYC Personal Profile continues below with your Knowledge Worker Status...

Authentic Direction ebook reader comment:
I was very impressed with the personalized book. Even from the little I have really had time to read, I have gained much more insight to myself and what moves me, inspires me, and what direction I want to go in. I could go on for awhile, but I have no time. Do you have any other work out? Interestingly I have been thinking about several of the options which came up in my WorkMatch, although I am not sure about my ideal career being here. Thanks!

- Sallie M. Wilton, USA

4. Your Knowledge Worker Status

The trouble with most career planning these days is that it is still based on thinking from the “old economy” of the Industrial Age.

Career thinking in the New World of Work starts by considering your status as a Knowledge Worker and your readiness to do knowledge work.

You are a Level 2 Knowledge Worker

The first piece of good news is that you have all the basic attributes required to succeed in the workplace of the knowledge age. According to the FPYC Knowledge Worker Index, which uses a complex formula that draws on 32 of the 86 questions from the FPYC Questionnaire, you are a Level 2 Knowledge Worker.

Since the guru of management gurus Peter Drucker coined the term over 40 years ago, there has been a lot of conjecture about what actually constitutes a knowledge worker.

Our definition of knowledge worker is much more useful than most, and includes three separate levels of workers: Industrial Workers, Level 1 Knowledge Workers and Level 2 Knowledge Workers.

Work that uses knowledge as a core component is not going to go away in the foreseeable future, so the fact that you are a Level 2 Knowledge Worker is a very positive sign for your career.

However, Level 2 Knowledge Work will continue to change, so a highly adaptable frame of mind is going to be necessary for you to handle the surprises that will inevitably come your way.

Your first strategy is to commit to lifelong learning to stay ahead of the game. By continually upgrading your knowledge you will learn new ways you can contribute to your organization, and secure your position as a Level 2 Knowledge Worker.

Your second major strategy suggested by the automation of left brain tasks is to look for work opportunities which use your right brain, creative, complex intuitive powers and judgments.

How good are your communication skills? Are you an effective team player? Do you have a clear set of goals and do you have a disciplined approach to achieving them?

When it comes to these interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of work, employers need human beings, not computers, so these are areas that need continuous improvement.

Knowledge User, Knowledge Provider or Knowledge Creator?

Knowledge work can be broken down into three categories: Knowledge Use, Knowledge Provision and Knowledge Creation.

You seem to be a Knowledge User and Creator .

Again, this information has serious implications for how your career unfolds in the future.

Your FPYC Personal Profile continues below with your Knowledge Age Skills...

Authentic Direction ebook reader comment:
"This is powerful stuff, and is in my experience a first. Too many people in the community just do not know where they can make their best contribution, but this book shows the way into a bright future. A MUST for all who can read, from age 14 to 100 ranging from students to top executives.

- Andrew Young, Australia

5. Your Knowledge Age Skills

The Knowledge Age Skills are the six basic skills which all knowledge workers need to work with information and knowledge, and with the new structures that are now part and parcel of the New World of Work.

These are communication skills, team skills, adaptability skills, computer skills, business skills and learning skills.

You seem to be very strong in these fundamental knowledge age skills.

1. Communication skills - your rating: Strong
In the industrial age, communication flowed from the top down. You took instructions from those above and passed them on to those below. These days hierarchies are much flatter requiring more communication between equals, rather than order giving and taking between people at different levels.

2. Team skills - your rating: Strong
Work in the knowledge age is often the result of collaboration between groups of people working towards a common goal. Self-managing teams charged with the responsibility for certain outcomes are increasingly common. This is in stark contrast to the production-line model of the industrial age.

3. Adaptability skills - your rating: Strong
One of the defining features of the workplace in the knowledge age is change. Being able to adapt quickly from one situation to the next is therefore a core requirement of knowledge workers – something your industrial age counterparts had to give little consideration.

4. Computer skills - your rating: Reasonable
The driving technological force of the knowledge age, the computer, is a critical aspect of the majority of knowledge work. Basic computer skills are now as fundamental as basic literacy skills were in the industrial age.

5. Business skills - your rating: Strong
It is much more important in the new economy to have a clear idea of your own contribution to the bottomline success of your organization. This helps secure both your position and the company’s in these turbulent times. This is quite different to the industrial age, when all you needed to worry about was completing your narrow range of tasks.

6. Learning skills - your rating: Strong
New knowledge, products and processes are being generated at such a rate these days that we all need to learn at a fast pace just to keep up-to-date. Gone are the days where you could simply undertake training after leaving school that would see you right throughout your career.

Because these skills are basic requirements of work in the knowledge age, you should look to improve in any areas that aren’t listed above as “Strong”.

A full discussion of your Knowledge Age Skills is included in "Future Proof Your Career" a free personalized ebook that you will receive download instructions for within the next couple of days.

If you are serious about finding the key to your life and career click here

We hope you have found your FPYC Personal Career Profile useful. You can explore these issues in greater depth, and begin a process that could change your life, click here for more information.

Click here for more information about the personalized eBook Authentic Direction: How to Find Your Life's Purpose and Ideal Career.

Authentic Direction ebook reader comment:
"I have always had a secret dream of what I would like to do in my career. However, until recently I have always had jobs that paid the rent, but left me feeling empty. This has all changed as a result of your inspirational message that you can realise your dreams, do the work you love and achieve the potential you have as a person. My talents were accurately summed up and I was shown step-by-step how I can use these to be the person I have always thought I could be. I got so much out of it that I have not stopped telling all of my friends about how they can also give away the jobs they hate and do what they are really meant to do in this life."

- Val Scott, New Zealand

In memory of Carol Gabbert, a great story teller and friend

2010-08-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a hectic time in my life. As life usually has highs and lows, I had been experiencing a long roller coaster ride of life experiences. This week was no different but I was looking forward to finishing my certification and becoming a Grandmother within a few weeks. My week was full and I was about to get on a roller coaster. Monday thru Wednesday, I would be finishing my certification at Case Western Reserve University and then finish out the week on business visits before heading back home in Illinois. Monday afternoon I had learned that my daughter in law was taken into the hospital early with HELP syndrome and my grandson to be would be making his entrance into the world sooner than expected. I was waiting to hear the details. About 6:26pm Boone Levi was born. Still waiting for parts of the story to be revealed, all I could do was pray for a rebound to health for my daughter in law and peace remain with my son through it all. I am blessed that my daughter in laws mother was able to fly out to be with her and being a nurse, my sense of calm had been somewhat restored. I was thankful she was there for Geoff as well. I made a few more business visits, keeping as close to the news on the home front as my cell phone would allow. Being in Pennsylvania, also kept me closer to the response of going to Charlotte, NC to be with my son if needed. The visits went well and was feeling good about the opportunities to bring home to my work community. On my way home from Hersey, Pennsylvania (a great place to visit) I started on my way toward Erie, PA. ON the way I was able to spread the good news via cell phone. I sent a picture of Boone Levi to my son's Godmother / Aunt Carol. She was a dear friend who was a great story teller and kept me sane through my early days of motherhood. She was like having live comic relief anytime I needed to laugh instead of cry. I had about a six hour drive ahead of me but decided to start looking for a hotel about 1/2 way there. It seemed everywhere was filled so I just kept driving toward Erie hoping to find someplace soon. My car started making whining sound and I thought to myself that it sounded like a belt might be getting worn and I will have to take care of that when I get back home. It caused me a little bit of anxiety because it was getting late in the day and I wanted to find a hotel and settle in for the evening. I just kept driving. About 10ish or so, I started to feel a dull pressurized pain in my chest and quite frankly it was a bit unsettling. I was not near any big city or town it seemed so a nearest hospital might take a bit to find. I started to ask myself some "heart attack symptom questions" such as: Did my left arm have any tingling? pain? Was I sweating? Did I feel nauseous? Since I seemingly was rational enough to go through the check off list so I decided that I was not having a heart attack. That was a relief, I said to myself...and about that time I found a hotel to spend the night. It wasn't my first pick but I was glad to have somewhere to rest my head after a very full week so far! I slept and woke to a beautiful morning. Now it was Friday morning and I started off on my day. I drove onto 79 North and was about a mile from my destination when the alternator bearing froze and the pulley on the alternator was no longer able to keep my car running. I was able to coast to the shoulder of the expressway. I love AAA motor club these days and I called them and told them of my plight. They put me in touch with Person Towing and a gentleman showed up, opened up the hood of my car and said you need a new alternator. I asked him to take me to the nearest Volkswagen dealership and he took me to New Motors and was introduced to Derrick in customer service. Let me stop the story right now and let you know, these two gentlemen were truly a blessing to me and did whatever they could to offer me their assistance...a true act of charity as they were willing to go out of their way to help me out. (a strong recommendation for these two businesses in Erie, PA) I had hoped we could get things taken care of quickly but it would take more than that day to receive the part from New Jersey and then install it, plus it was the weekend. Best case scenario they thought it might be Monday before I could expect to receive the car back. I decided to have Peterson Towing take me to the car rental since it would be at least a half hour before the Dealership shuttle would be available for me. I went to Enterprise and they asked me if I would mind if I got a VW Beetle. I told here my friend Carol had a powder blue VW Beetle as one as her first cars back in the 70s and it was a stick so I never got a chance to drive it. I mentioned I had just spoken with her about our possible plans to visit my new grandson, Boone Levi in North Carolina together. I told her about his early arrival and that I had gotten a chance to share his picture reliving some of the days when my children were born and some great toddler stories. I was glad Carol and I laughed together about old times. The hope was to check our calendars when I got back home to make plans. Anyway, I was happy to get a chance to finally drive a Beetle. I made my way, though quite late in day to Erie Press to deliver the fruit basked I had purchased to thank everyone for their support through our shared project and we looked forward to a long business relationship. Shortly after I left Erie Press, I pulled into a parking lot to figure out a route to Lake Erie for a visit before I started home. I had a voice message with a phone number of my friend Carol. I listened to the call and the directions were to call Carol's mother. There was no answer, so I returned the call to Carol's number. Her brother answered and told me that Carol had passed in the night after getting to bed that evening. I told him the story that I have just shared with you. I told him how I got a VW Beetle as a rental choice and how happy I was to be in one. He went on to tell me that he inherited that Beetle from his sister Carol. The moment she gave me the keys, he went on to say, I took it to Earl Screib to get it painted. I asked Steve what color he got it painted. He said green. I said, Steve, the Beetle I am in right now is green. I think she has been with me since she passed because the day went so well for not going to plan. Carol the story teller just helped me write her last story....she became the story. What a great gift to share with my children to tell them of her passing. Thank you, Carol. Thank you, God, for placing a great story in our life, Carol Gabbert.

Look at life with an appreciative lens and see the abundance laid before you in your journey

2010-08-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

> *One day a man saw a old lady, stranded on the side of the
> road, but
> even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So
> he pulled up
> in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still
> sputtering when
> he approached her.* *
> Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had
> stopped to help
> for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't
> look safe; he
> looked poor and hungry.
>
> He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the
> cold. He
> knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.
>
> He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the
> car where
> it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.'
>
> Well, all she had was a flat tire,
> but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under
> the car
> looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a
> time or two.
> Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and
> his hands
> hurt.
>
> As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window
> and began
> to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was
> only just
> passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.
>
> Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how
> much she owed
> him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already
> imagined all
> the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.*
> *Bryan never thought twice about being paid.
> This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and
> God knows
> there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had
> lived his
> whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any
> other way.
>
> He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next
> time she saw
> someone who needed help, she could give that person the
> assistance they
> needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me.'
>
> He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a
> cold and
> depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home,
> disappearing into
> the twilight.
>
> A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in
> to grab a
> bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg
> of her trip
> home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old
> gas pumps. The
> whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and
> brought a
> clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one
> that even being
> on her
> feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the
> waitress was
> nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and
> aches change
> her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so
> little could be
> so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan .
>
> After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar
> bill. The
> waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill,
> but the old
> lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time
> the waitress
> came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then
> she noticed
> something written on the napkin.
>
> There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote:
> 'You don't
> owe me anything. I have
> been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping
> you. If you
> really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this
> chain of
> love end with you.'
>
> Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
>
> Well, there were tables to
> clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the
> waitress made it
> through another day. That night when she got home from work and
> climbed into
> bed, she was thinking about the
> money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have
> known how much
> she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it
> was going to
> be hard....
>
> She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping
> next to her,
> she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low,
> 'Everything's going to
> be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'
>
>
> There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around.' Today I
> sent you
> this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine.

Linking Leadership Development to Community Development

2010-08-21T14:39:00.001-07:00

Title: Pricewaterhouse Coopers: Linking Leadership Development to Community Development
Organization: Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Region of Impact: Western Europe
Themes: Community Development, Ecological Flourishing, Human Empowerment, Human Health, Human Rights, Micro-enterprise, Peace making
Keywords: Responsible Leadership, Diversity, Cross-cultural Sensitivity, Sustainability, Leadership Development Program
Reference No.: 001214

Key Ideas
Ulysses is the innovative leadership development program for the partners at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) that is based on the idea that experiencing the positive impact of one’s contribution to environment and community generates sensitivity and learning that are carried forth in other aspects of work. Ulysses is a leadership development program designed to build a network of global leaders for PWC. The main aim of this experiential leadership development program is to develop an understanding in future PWC leaders of the firm’s responsibility toward planet and people, and then to integrate this sensitivity in the firm’s strategic business focus.

Innovation
Ulysses was born in 2000 out of a business need to develop an ongoing ‘leadership bench’ that can effectively operate in a changing global economy. It was also aimed at attuning the future leaders toward more sustainable business models. The following objectives were defined for the program:
• Develop responsible leaders who can take leadership positions in a high performing global organization.
• Build a global network of PwC leadership who understand value-based relationships with diverse stakeholders and create a sustainable brand for the firm by the quality of these relationships
• Help the leaders understand changing role of business in influencing well-being of economic, political and social environment and collaborate with stakeholders to create sustainable success through responsible worldwide practices
• To develop a model of leadership that will create responsible next generation leaders and make this model a framework for all developmental initiatives across the firm.

Ulysses comprises of five learning modules including an eight week project assignment where the participants work in multi-cultural teams in developing countries in collaboration with social organizations in these countries. The five learning modules are preparation and selection (on the job), foundation (residential), in the field projects (fieldwork), review (residential), follow-up and network (on the job).

An eight-week field project is selected based on geographic location, scope of the project, skills contribution, learning environment and available support. The success stories for these projects are plenty and are testimonies to the positive impact of the program.

Impact
The impact is wide spread and is visible at the individual and organizational level. The impact is also felt by the positive changes made in the community. All who go through this program define the experience as ‘life changing’. Broadening sensitivity toward different cultures and diversity, desire to make a positive impact in the world, and empathy toward others are some of the immediate benefits.

At the organizational level the impact is visible in the alignment of the ‘transformation’ and ‘learning’ of the future leaders with the strategic focus adopted by the firm. Participant stories delineate many take-aways like understanding the global nature of issues such as gender diversity in organizations, understanding of cultural differences in approach to problem solving, learning to communicate clearly in a global context, importance of actions and walking your talk, believing in one’s potential to make a valuable change and most importantly building a network within the firm by working on projects with participants from all over the world.

A direct impact is also experienced in the communities in which these leaders work. Whether it is reviewing a UN development project in East Timor to provide community stability and employment in the war–torn nation, or living for two months in a tent in Zambia to work on a local economic development project, each story changes the community and changes the executive teams going through this experience. Some of the participants continue their contribution toward community development even after the completion of the program.

Inspiration
Ulysses was inspired by the hope to chart a continual journey of learning for the future leaders of the firm. The formal program is the first trigger of a personal transformation in the participants. The metamorphosis in the leaders is an on-going process, encouraged by the firm in the form of the Ulysses Network- a global network of Ulysses participants that share, reflect and support each other toward responsible leadership. The investment in building a cadre of global leaders and sustainable communities is more than justified for the firm. Through learning how to create shared values, understanding and collaboration with multiple stakeholders and sectors these leaders are able to deliver responsible and sustainable business solutions.

Organization Links
•Pricewaterhouse Coopers:Ulysses Webpage

Additional Resources
•Ulysses Webpage

http://www.bawbglobalforum.org/

2010-08-17T18:48:00.001-07:00

I am looking for leaders of major corporations that are working hard at becoming a positive agent of change in the business world. What are you doing that we need to know about? Even if you are humble, people really need to hear the positive things that the business world is doing.....and there is so much going on. Please let me interview you and visit the web site above so you are familiar with other great leaders just like you!

I look forward to meeting with you and would be honored to interview you.

Karen Schultz