Tuesday, May 29, 2012
5 steps for managing ‘difficult’ employees
Managing someone with whom you have a personality clash can cause major tension. Experienced managers know how to separate emotions from how to separate emotions from the work at hand when dealing with employees.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Rejection Lessons
It’s happened to almost everyone. Your résumé gets picked, you land an interview and then there’s nothing but radio silence. Weeks of uncertainty go by until you receive an email that says, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
Getting rejected is both devastating and unnerving, and it’s easy to obsess over what went wrong. Was the interview bad? Was the position filled internally? Instead of wallowing in self-doubt, take the opportunity to conduct an honest assessment. Don’t be afraid to follow up and ask why you weren’t the right fit. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
When you do ask a hiring manager or recruiter for feedback, and you actually receive it, you should always be gracious. Regardless of how smart or dumb their reasons for rejecting you, smile and thank them multiple times for giving you wonderful help and wise insights. Your thankfulness and compliments will make the hiring manager want to help you. Also, your kind, considerate listening to their reasons will make the hiring manager feel good about you. And a hiring manager who feels good about you will want to help you.
It is better to ask a mentor or trusted colleague for feedback on your cover letter and résumé. It never hurts to have someone with an objective eye provide suggestions and areas for improvement.
Getting rejected is both devastating and unnerving, and it’s easy to obsess over what went wrong. Was the interview bad? Was the position filled internally? Instead of wallowing in self-doubt, take the opportunity to conduct an honest assessment. Don’t be afraid to follow up and ask why you weren’t the right fit. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
Following up with the employer
Some employers may be nervous to tell you why you weren’t hired because of potential litigation. Instead of asking “Why,” ask how you can improve so you’re a better candidate for the company in the future.When you do ask a hiring manager or recruiter for feedback, and you actually receive it, you should always be gracious. Regardless of how smart or dumb their reasons for rejecting you, smile and thank them multiple times for giving you wonderful help and wise insights. Your thankfulness and compliments will make the hiring manager want to help you. Also, your kind, considerate listening to their reasons will make the hiring manager feel good about you. And a hiring manager who feels good about you will want to help you.
Tapping mentors or colleagues
It helps to talk through your experience with a trusted colleague or mentor who has hiring experience. Describe what transpired with the employer, and see if your contact has any ideas on what you might have done better. If you aren’t even getting to the interview stage, start by assessing your cover letter and résumé. Go back and read the job description again, and compare it to your résumé. Does your résumé include keywords that were in the job description? Would a reader be able to recognise within 10 seconds that your qualifications are relevant for the job? If the résumé does not include language from the job description, you’re missing a major opportunity.It is better to ask a mentor or trusted colleague for feedback on your cover letter and résumé. It never hurts to have someone with an objective eye provide suggestions and areas for improvement.
Seeking professional help
You can also consider paying for a professional critique or rewrite of your résumé, or you can seek out a career coach. If you’re operating in a bubble where you receive no feedback, you won’t change. And that could mean the difference between getting picked for a rejected from a position. — Agencies
Quiter Women are More Competent: Study
Warning to women readers: This story may make you really annoyed. New research out of Yale University suggests that the quieter women are in the workplace, the more likely they are to be perceived as competent. And the opposite is true for men.
“When men talk a lot and they have power, people want to reward them, or just giving them more power and responsibility at work,” lead researcher Victoria Brescoll, a management professor, said in a statement. “But when women do it, they are seen as being too domineering, too presumptuous. Women perceive this, and that’s why they temper how much they talk.”
The research involved asking 156 subjects to read an article about a fictional chief executive. Those taking part were either a talkative man, quite man, talkative women or quiet women. They were then asked to rate the executive’s competence on a seven-point scale.
Even though the conditions were exactly the same, the talkative woman was ranked on average at 4.83, while her garrulous male counterpart was giving an average ranking of 5.64. (The results were flipped for shy types of both genders: 5.62 on average for quite women, 5.11 for quite men.)
The results have already provoked some anger. In speaking to Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper, relationships expert Jean Hannah Edelstein said the findings showed there “were still idiotic, negative associations with women who are outspoken as being ‘nags’.”
She went on to interpret the findings as a call to arms to address sexism in the workplace.
“Maybe the findings here are less about whether women talk more about an overarching lack of respect for women in leadership positions.”
Other studies indicate that being quite can benefit a career — whether you’re a women or a man. A slew of research released over the past few months has emphasized the power of introversion in the workplace. Adam Grant, a management professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, for instance, sent questionnaires to workers and managers at 130 pizza delivery franchises. He found that too many loudmouths can hamper workplace productivity by creating friction, and that an introverted at bringing out the best in ambitious workers.
“Because extroverted leaders like to be the centre of attention, they tend to be threatened by employee proactivity,” Grant notes. “Introverted leaders, on the other hand, are more likely to listen carefully to suggestions and support employees’ efforts to be proactive.” — Agencies
“When men talk a lot and they have power, people want to reward them, or just giving them more power and responsibility at work,” lead researcher Victoria Brescoll, a management professor, said in a statement. “But when women do it, they are seen as being too domineering, too presumptuous. Women perceive this, and that’s why they temper how much they talk.”
The research involved asking 156 subjects to read an article about a fictional chief executive. Those taking part were either a talkative man, quite man, talkative women or quiet women. They were then asked to rate the executive’s competence on a seven-point scale.
Even though the conditions were exactly the same, the talkative woman was ranked on average at 4.83, while her garrulous male counterpart was giving an average ranking of 5.64. (The results were flipped for shy types of both genders: 5.62 on average for quite women, 5.11 for quite men.)
The results have already provoked some anger. In speaking to Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper, relationships expert Jean Hannah Edelstein said the findings showed there “were still idiotic, negative associations with women who are outspoken as being ‘nags’.”
She went on to interpret the findings as a call to arms to address sexism in the workplace.
“Maybe the findings here are less about whether women talk more about an overarching lack of respect for women in leadership positions.”
Other studies indicate that being quite can benefit a career — whether you’re a women or a man. A slew of research released over the past few months has emphasized the power of introversion in the workplace. Adam Grant, a management professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, for instance, sent questionnaires to workers and managers at 130 pizza delivery franchises. He found that too many loudmouths can hamper workplace productivity by creating friction, and that an introverted at bringing out the best in ambitious workers.
“Because extroverted leaders like to be the centre of attention, they tend to be threatened by employee proactivity,” Grant notes. “Introverted leaders, on the other hand, are more likely to listen carefully to suggestions and support employees’ efforts to be proactive.” — Agencies
Is Your Job Taking Over Your Life?
Most workers have to clock in overtime at some point in their careers, and they do so for a variety of reasons. It could be because of a big project with a tight deadline, the desire to make time-and-a-half pay or the nature of the job. Others work long hours just because they are workaholics. Yet if you’re finding yourself working late into the evening most nights, you may be harming your health.
According to a British study — which looked a more than 2,000 middle-aged British workers for an average of nearly six years — employees who work at least 11 hours per day were up to 2.43 times more likely to experience depression compared with those who worked between seven and eight hours a day.
Take a break: Take a midday break. If you can’t take a full hour to sit in the sun or take a walk, schedule two 15-minute breaks where you go out of the office to do something completely unrelated to the office. Call a friend, Listen to your iPod or browse a book store.
Put the phone down: Workers should put themselves on a ‘data diet’. You do not need to be connected to your job and the whole world every second. Schedule your social media time. Let co-workers know that you intend to focus and devote total attention to projects.
Speak up: Your manager or leadership in your organisation should be supportive of creating a balanced work environment for you. If you aren’t getting the support from your boss, speak with someone in human resources to discuss how you can get a better handle on your workload and work hours. — Agencies
According to a British study — which looked a more than 2,000 middle-aged British workers for an average of nearly six years — employees who work at least 11 hours per day were up to 2.43 times more likely to experience depression compared with those who worked between seven and eight hours a day.
Warning signs
The following signs mean your job may be taking over your life- A whole week goes by and you have no conversation or contact with anyone who isn’t related to a work issue or errand (for example pizza delivery guy and dry cleaner).
- You spend zero time outdoors except for your commute to work or other work-related events.
- You can’t remember the last time you worked out, took an exercise class or even took a walk.
- You dread vacations, since it just means you’ll have to work even more before you depart or when you come back to get caught up. You may even cancel vacations, just to avoid behind.
What you can do about it
Aim for balance: When you work too much, it can throw your entire personal life out of whack, too. Now is the time to be an advocate for yourself and your needs. Drink lots of water, get enough sleep, make an effort to eat healthy foods and squeeze in some exercise.Take a break: Take a midday break. If you can’t take a full hour to sit in the sun or take a walk, schedule two 15-minute breaks where you go out of the office to do something completely unrelated to the office. Call a friend, Listen to your iPod or browse a book store.
Put the phone down: Workers should put themselves on a ‘data diet’. You do not need to be connected to your job and the whole world every second. Schedule your social media time. Let co-workers know that you intend to focus and devote total attention to projects.
Speak up: Your manager or leadership in your organisation should be supportive of creating a balanced work environment for you. If you aren’t getting the support from your boss, speak with someone in human resources to discuss how you can get a better handle on your workload and work hours. — Agencies
Cleaning around the office
Spring brings thoughts of warm weather, outdoor activities ... and cleaning. Although few people truly took forward to the last item on this list, almost everyone understands it needs to get done.
Don’t concentrate solely on your closet, dining-room table or other household areas. Also look to your workspace. Chances are your desk and computer could use some freshening up, too.
Here are some of the benefits of cleaning around the office:
Don’t concentrate solely on your closet, dining-room table or other household areas. Also look to your workspace. Chances are your desk and computer could use some freshening up, too.
Here are some of the benefits of cleaning around the office:
It increases your efficiency:
Filing emails about the training session you organised six months ago, deleting outdated messages that clog your inbox and going through papers crowding your desk will make it easier to find necessary information. This can be especially important when under a tight deadline or if you’re out of the office unexpectedly and need a colleague to fill in for you.It reduces your stress:
Having a cluttered workspace can be stressful. Just think of the last time you had to rifle through a stack of papers or a mountain of emails for a single buried document. Tidying up can reduce your feeling of pressure and constraint.Enhance your image at work:
When you entertain guests at home, you usually straighten up beforehand so people feel welcome — and impressed. Take the same approach with your workspace. The appearance of a person’s workspace affects their perception of that person’s professionalism. The tidier your desk, the more put together you’ll seem.Uncover forgotten items:
One immediate impact of cleaning your workspace is discovering forgotten ideas from past brainstorming sessions, assignments that never made it to your to-do list or emails that have gotten lost among other unread items. Even if you don’t consider yourself particularly messy or unorganised, it’s easy for any number of things to slip through the cracks during a busy workday.Gain a sense of accomplishment:
Don’t forget that cleaning up simply feels good. Unlike other items on your to-do list, giving your desk a good once-over can be crossed off relatively quickly, and you can see tangible results afterward. — Agencies
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Manager Vs Leader
You might be managing people, but are you actually leading them? Gone are the days when simply pulling your weight guaranteed advancement. Top talent in today’s workplace knows that both management and leadership skills are necessary for success.
In earlier times, it was easy to differentiate the two. However, in the new economy, where people are wearing many different hats, it’s now expected that managers will come to the table prepared to both lead and manage, with the ultimate goal being to maximize productivity and profitability.
Are you doing both? Here are some ways to tell —
Some managers are just abusive. They believe that the best way to motivate is through fear and intimidation. That never works. Employees may work harder, but they either exit far too soon and turnover becomes an embarrassment, or damage your reputation through ‘nonaggressive evangelism’ — showing others in the company and outside that you’re an undesirable manager to work for.
In contrast, great leaders practice intentional influence. Managers often struggle to achieve the results they desire because when their team fails to deliver, managers typically blame lack of motivation and ask their team to simply work harder. The most influential leaders — the five per cent who succeed consistently at influencing profound and essential behavior change — spend as much as half of their time thinking about and actively influencing the behaviours they know will lead to top performance. They understand that to reserve entrenched habits and improve results they need to create a multifaceted plan to change behaviour across their teams and organisations.
The manager is more into the details of getting things done than the leaders. The leader is more into communicating where the organisation is trying to go. She has a vision of what direction her group should go, what the group can accomplish and generally how it should accomplish tasks that lead towards her vision.
Leadership requires good management skills, but the reverse is not necessarily true. Finally, remember that it is one thing to have ideas but quite another to see them through. Leaders use their managerial skills to carry out visions to their full potential.
The best leaders are also good managers. But the bets managers may or may become good leaders. They may not have the vision to know where the organisation should be healing.
At most levels in an organisation, one can be good manager without being a leader by getting tasks done effectively and accomplishing goals set by higher managers and leaders. But at the highest levels, solely being able to manage people well is not enough to be asked to lead the organisation. The board or current Chief Executive Officer must believe you have the vision to take the organisation to greater accomplishments and new heights. — Agencies
In earlier times, it was easy to differentiate the two. However, in the new economy, where people are wearing many different hats, it’s now expected that managers will come to the table prepared to both lead and manage, with the ultimate goal being to maximize productivity and profitability.
Are you doing both? Here are some ways to tell —
Accomplish Vs Inspire
Both managers and leaders care that work get done. A manager should be able to organize and pull together the necessary elements to finish a project on time. But just because a deadline is met doesn’t mean that the person in charge exhibited leadership.Some managers are just abusive. They believe that the best way to motivate is through fear and intimidation. That never works. Employees may work harder, but they either exit far too soon and turnover becomes an embarrassment, or damage your reputation through ‘nonaggressive evangelism’ — showing others in the company and outside that you’re an undesirable manager to work for.
In contrast, great leaders practice intentional influence. Managers often struggle to achieve the results they desire because when their team fails to deliver, managers typically blame lack of motivation and ask their team to simply work harder. The most influential leaders — the five per cent who succeed consistently at influencing profound and essential behavior change — spend as much as half of their time thinking about and actively influencing the behaviours they know will lead to top performance. They understand that to reserve entrenched habits and improve results they need to create a multifaceted plan to change behaviour across their teams and organisations.
Plan Vs Vision
Managers are good at following through on directions. They may have exceptional ability to stick to budgets, organise resources and stay on track, all of which are important to the day-to-day operations of a company. But these strengths do not always translate into being a leader.The manager is more into the details of getting things done than the leaders. The leader is more into communicating where the organisation is trying to go. She has a vision of what direction her group should go, what the group can accomplish and generally how it should accomplish tasks that lead towards her vision.
Leadership requires good management skills, but the reverse is not necessarily true. Finally, remember that it is one thing to have ideas but quite another to see them through. Leaders use their managerial skills to carry out visions to their full potential.
The best leaders are also good managers. But the bets managers may or may become good leaders. They may not have the vision to know where the organisation should be healing.
At most levels in an organisation, one can be good manager without being a leader by getting tasks done effectively and accomplishing goals set by higher managers and leaders. But at the highest levels, solely being able to manage people well is not enough to be asked to lead the organisation. The board or current Chief Executive Officer must believe you have the vision to take the organisation to greater accomplishments and new heights. — Agencies
Lasers to erase ink from paper
LONDON: Engineers have developed a way of using lasers to remove ink from paper so it can be reused in printers and photocopies.
The new technique could drastically reduce the number of tress cut down to produce paper and even provide a cheaper alternative to recycling, said Julian Allwood, who led the research team at the University of Cambridge.
The researchers used short pulses of laser light to delete words and images that have been printed on paper. The laser vapourises the toner ink without damaging paper and opens up the prospect of future computer printers and photocopies having an “unprint” function to allow paper to be reused.
“The process works on a wide range of toners. It does not damage the paper so the feasibility for reusing paper in the office is there,” said Allwood, the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society A reports.
Allwood estimates it would cost £19,000 to build a prototype unprinter but that the costs would come down as technology improves and it is commercialized, according to the Telegraph.
They found that while lasers that used ultraviolet light and infrared light were all effective at removing the ink, the most efficient was using a visible green laser. This removed the ink without causing any physical damage to the paper or discolouration.
They believe that it could be kinder to the environment by reducing the need to use as many chemicals to recycle paper and cutting carbon emissions savings of up to 79 per cent. — IANS
The new technique could drastically reduce the number of tress cut down to produce paper and even provide a cheaper alternative to recycling, said Julian Allwood, who led the research team at the University of Cambridge.
The researchers used short pulses of laser light to delete words and images that have been printed on paper. The laser vapourises the toner ink without damaging paper and opens up the prospect of future computer printers and photocopies having an “unprint” function to allow paper to be reused.
“The process works on a wide range of toners. It does not damage the paper so the feasibility for reusing paper in the office is there,” said Allwood, the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society A reports.
Allwood estimates it would cost £19,000 to build a prototype unprinter but that the costs would come down as technology improves and it is commercialized, according to the Telegraph.
They found that while lasers that used ultraviolet light and infrared light were all effective at removing the ink, the most efficient was using a visible green laser. This removed the ink without causing any physical damage to the paper or discolouration.
They believe that it could be kinder to the environment by reducing the need to use as many chemicals to recycle paper and cutting carbon emissions savings of up to 79 per cent. — IANS
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Facebook goes public
Not top of the pops
Investors have gotten used to a swift run-up, or “pop”, in the share price of tech firms that stage an initial public offering (IPO). But doubts swirling around Facebook’s business model meant that the giant social network’s stock failed to take off as some had expected on its first day as a public company on May 18th. Instead the IPO’s underwriters were forced to step in to prevent the shares slipping below their offer price of $38 as trading progressed on America’s NASDAQ stockmarket. At the market’s close they were swapping hands at $38.23, giving the company a market capitalisation of $105 billion.
That is still an absolutely breathing valuation, propelling Facebook ahead of the likes of Amazon and other high-tech behemoths such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard (which is rumoured to be about to lay off some 30,000 staff). Facebulls argued that the closing price was proof that Facebook and its advisers had pitched the offering perfectly. They also pointed out that early trading in the stock, whose price initially soared, was disrupted by unfortunate glitches in NASDAQ’s system, which temporarily caused confusion amongst investors who were not clear if their orders had been processed.
True, but the firm’s share price would almost certainly have dipped anyway without support from Facebook’s investment-banking friends. Some analysts reckon it will nowfall to around $30 as the euphoria surrounding the world’s largest internet IPO fades. (The Economist argued before the flotation that a valuation towards the lower end of the $28-35 price range that Facebook initially set for its shares was reasonable for a company whose long-term money-making prospects are still so uncertain.)
Facebook’s IPO has already caused some investors to reassess their holdings in other publicly listed internet firms. On the same day that the social network staged its flotation, Zynga, a social-gaming company that relies heavily on Facebook to generate customers for its games, and Groupon, which touts online coupons, were among several internet firms who saw their share prices plummet. Trading in Zynga’s stock on the NASDAQ was briefly halted on a couple of occasions because the price of its shares had fallen so sharply. By the time the market closed, the company’s stock price had dropped around 13%, to $7.16.
There are a number of theories as to why these firms’ shares tumbled. One is that when Facebook’s share price fizzled instead of popped on its debut, investors began to reappraise the prospect of other high-profile web outfits. Another, more plausibly explanation is that some investment firms dumped other holdings in web companies in order to switch the cash into the shares of the social-networking world’s 800-pound gorilla. This would explain the especially steep fall in the share price of Zynga, whose stock had been seen as a proxy for Facebook’s because of the firm’s close ties to the social network. (Zynga accounts for some 15% of Facebook’s total revenues.)
The heads of these firms will have to deal with this new headache. Facebooks’ hoodie-toting boss, Mark Zuckerberg, whose stake in the company is now worth $19 billion, also has some challenges to deal with. For one thing, he and his team need to show they can increase revenues fast enough to justify a stockmarket valuation that is more than 100 times Facebook’s 2011 profit. For another, they will have to deal with ongoing concerns about the network’s approach to data privacy, including a recently revised legal challenge brought by some aggrieved Facebook users.
A further challenge will be to hang on to Facebook’s brightest computer engineers once the lock-up period on their shares expires. On the eve of its IPO, the firm staged an all-night “hackathon”, in which programmers coded into the wee hours, as a signal that it intends to stay true to its start-up roots. But that may not be enough to motivate newly minted gazillionaries to stick around. And the lofty valuation applied to Facebook’s shares in the IPO could limit any upside in their price, making it harder for the firm to use stock options to lure bright engineers to it. In Silicon Valley hoodies and hackathons may be cool, but the prospect of Croesus-like riches is ever cooler. — economist.com
Investors have gotten used to a swift run-up, or “pop”, in the share price of tech firms that stage an initial public offering (IPO). But doubts swirling around Facebook’s business model meant that the giant social network’s stock failed to take off as some had expected on its first day as a public company on May 18th. Instead the IPO’s underwriters were forced to step in to prevent the shares slipping below their offer price of $38 as trading progressed on America’s NASDAQ stockmarket. At the market’s close they were swapping hands at $38.23, giving the company a market capitalisation of $105 billion.
That is still an absolutely breathing valuation, propelling Facebook ahead of the likes of Amazon and other high-tech behemoths such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard (which is rumoured to be about to lay off some 30,000 staff). Facebulls argued that the closing price was proof that Facebook and its advisers had pitched the offering perfectly. They also pointed out that early trading in the stock, whose price initially soared, was disrupted by unfortunate glitches in NASDAQ’s system, which temporarily caused confusion amongst investors who were not clear if their orders had been processed.
True, but the firm’s share price would almost certainly have dipped anyway without support from Facebook’s investment-banking friends. Some analysts reckon it will nowfall to around $30 as the euphoria surrounding the world’s largest internet IPO fades. (The Economist argued before the flotation that a valuation towards the lower end of the $28-35 price range that Facebook initially set for its shares was reasonable for a company whose long-term money-making prospects are still so uncertain.)
Facebook’s IPO has already caused some investors to reassess their holdings in other publicly listed internet firms. On the same day that the social network staged its flotation, Zynga, a social-gaming company that relies heavily on Facebook to generate customers for its games, and Groupon, which touts online coupons, were among several internet firms who saw their share prices plummet. Trading in Zynga’s stock on the NASDAQ was briefly halted on a couple of occasions because the price of its shares had fallen so sharply. By the time the market closed, the company’s stock price had dropped around 13%, to $7.16.
There are a number of theories as to why these firms’ shares tumbled. One is that when Facebook’s share price fizzled instead of popped on its debut, investors began to reappraise the prospect of other high-profile web outfits. Another, more plausibly explanation is that some investment firms dumped other holdings in web companies in order to switch the cash into the shares of the social-networking world’s 800-pound gorilla. This would explain the especially steep fall in the share price of Zynga, whose stock had been seen as a proxy for Facebook’s because of the firm’s close ties to the social network. (Zynga accounts for some 15% of Facebook’s total revenues.)
The heads of these firms will have to deal with this new headache. Facebooks’ hoodie-toting boss, Mark Zuckerberg, whose stake in the company is now worth $19 billion, also has some challenges to deal with. For one thing, he and his team need to show they can increase revenues fast enough to justify a stockmarket valuation that is more than 100 times Facebook’s 2011 profit. For another, they will have to deal with ongoing concerns about the network’s approach to data privacy, including a recently revised legal challenge brought by some aggrieved Facebook users.
A further challenge will be to hang on to Facebook’s brightest computer engineers once the lock-up period on their shares expires. On the eve of its IPO, the firm staged an all-night “hackathon”, in which programmers coded into the wee hours, as a signal that it intends to stay true to its start-up roots. But that may not be enough to motivate newly minted gazillionaries to stick around. And the lofty valuation applied to Facebook’s shares in the IPO could limit any upside in their price, making it harder for the firm to use stock options to lure bright engineers to it. In Silicon Valley hoodies and hackathons may be cool, but the prospect of Croesus-like riches is ever cooler. — economist.com
What are you giving today?
Excerpted from a speech delivered by John Brody to the graduating class of John Hopkins University on May 26, 2005
There is a man who I’d like to tell you about. His name is Sandy Greenberg. Sandy was a very good student, but he came from a poor family. And so he went to Columbia University on a scholarship and there he met his roommate, who also was receiving financial aid.
Now while he was a sophomore at Columbia University, Sandy contracted an eye disease that eventually proved to be glaucoma… and as a result he became legally blind. I ask you all to imagine having been sighted all your life, and then all of a sudden being faced, in a very competitive school, with losing so much sight you could no longer read. This is what happened to Sandy Greenberg. But something else happened to Sandy. When he lost his sight, his roommate would read his textbooks to him, every night.
So I’m going to put you in that position, in a competitive school like Columbia, or Johns Hopkins. If your roommate had a serious disability would you take the time to read textbooks to him every night, knowing the more you spend time reading to your roommate, perhaps the less well you might do with your other activities? That’s not as easy a question as it first appears. But luckily for Sandy, his roommate did. And as a result, Sandy went on to graduate with honours. He got a Fulbright Scholarship, and he went off to study at Oxford. He was still quite poor, but he said he had managed to save about $500.
His roommate, meanwhile, also went on to graduate school. One day, Sandy got a call from him. “Sandy I’m really unhappy. I really don’t like being in graduate school.”
So Sandy asked, “Well what do you want to do?”
And his roommate told him, “Sandy, I really love to sing. I have a high school friend who plays the guitar. And we would really like to try our hand in the music business. But we need to make a promo record, and in order to do that I need $500.”
So Sandy took all his life saving and sent it to his roommate. He told me, “He made my life; I needed to help make his life.”
So, I hope you’ll remember the power of doing well by doing good. Each of you, in your own lives, will be faced with challenges, with roadblocks, with problems that you didn’t anticipate. How you are able to deal with adversity will be influenced, to no small extent, by how you deal with others along the way. What you get will depend a lot on what you give.
You probably are wanting to know who Sandy’s roommate was. Sandy’s roommate was a fellow by the name of Art Garfunkel, and he teamed up with another musician by the name of Paul Simon. That $500 helped them cut a record that eventually became The Sounds of Silence.
Recently, we had the pleasure of going to Sandy’s daughter’s wedding, and it was Art Garfunkel who sang as Sandy walked his daughter down the aisle.
When you get to be my age, you will find yourself beginning to ask, did my life make a difference? That’s the day of personal reckoning. And I think the only way to face it is to consider, every day of your life: How can I do something for somebody else? How can I give back to others?... no matter what your career path, there will always opportunity to give back. The chance will present itself to be giving of your time, giving of your money, but mostly, to be giving of yourselves, of your own heart and soul.
My hope today, as you commence to new beginnings, is you will always keep your eyes open for those opportunities to give and embrace them as your best sure way of doing well.
Read further.
There is a man who I’d like to tell you about. His name is Sandy Greenberg. Sandy was a very good student, but he came from a poor family. And so he went to Columbia University on a scholarship and there he met his roommate, who also was receiving financial aid.
Now while he was a sophomore at Columbia University, Sandy contracted an eye disease that eventually proved to be glaucoma… and as a result he became legally blind. I ask you all to imagine having been sighted all your life, and then all of a sudden being faced, in a very competitive school, with losing so much sight you could no longer read. This is what happened to Sandy Greenberg. But something else happened to Sandy. When he lost his sight, his roommate would read his textbooks to him, every night.
So I’m going to put you in that position, in a competitive school like Columbia, or Johns Hopkins. If your roommate had a serious disability would you take the time to read textbooks to him every night, knowing the more you spend time reading to your roommate, perhaps the less well you might do with your other activities? That’s not as easy a question as it first appears. But luckily for Sandy, his roommate did. And as a result, Sandy went on to graduate with honours. He got a Fulbright Scholarship, and he went off to study at Oxford. He was still quite poor, but he said he had managed to save about $500.
His roommate, meanwhile, also went on to graduate school. One day, Sandy got a call from him. “Sandy I’m really unhappy. I really don’t like being in graduate school.”
So Sandy asked, “Well what do you want to do?”
And his roommate told him, “Sandy, I really love to sing. I have a high school friend who plays the guitar. And we would really like to try our hand in the music business. But we need to make a promo record, and in order to do that I need $500.”
So Sandy took all his life saving and sent it to his roommate. He told me, “He made my life; I needed to help make his life.”
So, I hope you’ll remember the power of doing well by doing good. Each of you, in your own lives, will be faced with challenges, with roadblocks, with problems that you didn’t anticipate. How you are able to deal with adversity will be influenced, to no small extent, by how you deal with others along the way. What you get will depend a lot on what you give.
You probably are wanting to know who Sandy’s roommate was. Sandy’s roommate was a fellow by the name of Art Garfunkel, and he teamed up with another musician by the name of Paul Simon. That $500 helped them cut a record that eventually became The Sounds of Silence.
Recently, we had the pleasure of going to Sandy’s daughter’s wedding, and it was Art Garfunkel who sang as Sandy walked his daughter down the aisle.
When you get to be my age, you will find yourself beginning to ask, did my life make a difference? That’s the day of personal reckoning. And I think the only way to face it is to consider, every day of your life: How can I do something for somebody else? How can I give back to others?... no matter what your career path, there will always opportunity to give back. The chance will present itself to be giving of your time, giving of your money, but mostly, to be giving of yourselves, of your own heart and soul.
My hope today, as you commence to new beginnings, is you will always keep your eyes open for those opportunities to give and embrace them as your best sure way of doing well.
Read further.
Do your homework
The philosophy of successful people is often easy to understand. The more I look at how successful people got that way, the more I realize how straightforward they think. For example, consider these comments from Mark Cuban, billionaire, mercurial owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and star of the reality TV series The Benefactor.
When asked the key to recognizing opportunity, he sites doing one’s homework as the most important factor.
“The hard part is doing the homework to know if the idea could work in an industry?” he says. “Then doing the preparation to be able to execute on the idea?”
He admits that he does not have original ideas. He combines existing ideas in unique ways that no one else is doing. Of course, he knows no one is doing it because he has thoroughly studied his industry.
He says that the characteristics of an entrepreneur are willingness to learn, focus, ability to absorb information, and no illusions about competitors’ desire to overtake you. Cuban says that when he set the goal to retire at 35, he studied everything he could find about business and the industries that interested him. He actually considered any job as a paid opportunity to learn more about a business.
He advises young entrepreneurs to learn as much about their businesses as possible and never take shortcuts.
Over and over again, he emphasises homework, superior knowledge, the drive to learn, and the need to get to work.
Nothing complicated in this philosophy, is there?
Anyone could adopt his ideas and do well at anything.
Regardless of your dream, if you do your homework, you greatly enhance your odds of success.
Do yourself a favour. Do your homework. It’s simple and insures success. And you can be your own benefactor.
— Tony Papajohn
When asked the key to recognizing opportunity, he sites doing one’s homework as the most important factor.
“The hard part is doing the homework to know if the idea could work in an industry?” he says. “Then doing the preparation to be able to execute on the idea?”
He admits that he does not have original ideas. He combines existing ideas in unique ways that no one else is doing. Of course, he knows no one is doing it because he has thoroughly studied his industry.
He says that the characteristics of an entrepreneur are willingness to learn, focus, ability to absorb information, and no illusions about competitors’ desire to overtake you. Cuban says that when he set the goal to retire at 35, he studied everything he could find about business and the industries that interested him. He actually considered any job as a paid opportunity to learn more about a business.
He advises young entrepreneurs to learn as much about their businesses as possible and never take shortcuts.
Over and over again, he emphasises homework, superior knowledge, the drive to learn, and the need to get to work.
Nothing complicated in this philosophy, is there?
Anyone could adopt his ideas and do well at anything.
Regardless of your dream, if you do your homework, you greatly enhance your odds of success.
Do yourself a favour. Do your homework. It’s simple and insures success. And you can be your own benefactor.
— Tony Papajohn
Secrets of life
An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes, and asked, “I understand you’re a very wise man. I’d like to know the secret of life.”
The old man looked down at younger and replied, “I’ve thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words.”
“The first is think. Think about the values you wish to live your life by.”
“The second is believe. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you’ve done about the values you’re going to live your life by.”
“The third is dream. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you’re going to live by.”
“The last is dare. Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values.”
And with that, Walter E Disney said to the little boy, “Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare.”
The old man looked down at younger and replied, “I’ve thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words.”
“The first is think. Think about the values you wish to live your life by.”
“The second is believe. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you’ve done about the values you’re going to live your life by.”
“The third is dream. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you’re going to live by.”
“The last is dare. Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values.”
And with that, Walter E Disney said to the little boy, “Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare.”
It’s Good Actually
The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life — positive or negative — and remarking, “This is good!”
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after talking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!”
To which the king replied, “No, this is not good!” and proceed to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to say clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.
“You were right,” he said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that just happened. “And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”
“No,” his friend replied, “This is good!”
“What do you mean, ‘This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?”
“If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you.”
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after talking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!”
To which the king replied, “No, this is not good!” and proceed to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to say clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.
“You were right,” he said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that just happened. “And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”
“No,” his friend replied, “This is good!”
“What do you mean, ‘This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?”
“If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you.”
Insight to get through today
Give people more than they expect, and do it cheerfully.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
When you say, “I love you,” mean it.
When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams, don’t have much.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it’s the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. Please — no name calling.
Don’t judge people by their relatives.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
Remember great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Remember the three R’s — Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realise you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Spend some time alone.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
When you say, “I love you,” mean it.
When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams, don’t have much.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it’s the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. Please — no name calling.
Don’t judge people by their relatives.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
Remember great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Remember the three R’s — Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realise you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Spend some time alone.
From One’s Heart
A couple years ago, I came to a lady’s house to buy some vitamins. I noticed that there was an electronic keyboard on the stand. Being a piano music lover and player, I asked if the women played.
She said yes and added she had been talking lessons at age 54! Then she reciprocated the question. “I have been playing for eight years now,” I answered.
“Then you must play a song for me before you leave,” she requested.
By the end of purchase of the vitamins, she reminded me of our musical “deal”. She then showed me to an old upright piano in the living room and asked me to play a song for her. I thought for a moment and decided to play David Lanz’s Return to the Heart, since she had much passion for music, and it’s one of my soul-searching songs.
I played the song with my best ability, with much emotions pouring into it as possible. She loved it. As I was about to step out of the door, I heard a weak voice calling out, “Young man!”
I turned around. And there was an old lady talking one little step at a time with the help of another woman. “I wanted to come out to thank you for the beautiful song you played. I have been very sick, and it’s very hard for me to get off my bed, but I really wanted to thank you for the song. It made me feel good…” she said.
With that, she turned around and walked slowly back to her room.
I was deeply touched by her appreciation and felt a deeper understanding for the song. It served its purpose beautifully, returning to one’s heart for peace and joy. — Author Unknown
She said yes and added she had been talking lessons at age 54! Then she reciprocated the question. “I have been playing for eight years now,” I answered.
“Then you must play a song for me before you leave,” she requested.
By the end of purchase of the vitamins, she reminded me of our musical “deal”. She then showed me to an old upright piano in the living room and asked me to play a song for her. I thought for a moment and decided to play David Lanz’s Return to the Heart, since she had much passion for music, and it’s one of my soul-searching songs.
I played the song with my best ability, with much emotions pouring into it as possible. She loved it. As I was about to step out of the door, I heard a weak voice calling out, “Young man!”
I turned around. And there was an old lady talking one little step at a time with the help of another woman. “I wanted to come out to thank you for the beautiful song you played. I have been very sick, and it’s very hard for me to get off my bed, but I really wanted to thank you for the song. It made me feel good…” she said.
With that, she turned around and walked slowly back to her room.
I was deeply touched by her appreciation and felt a deeper understanding for the song. It served its purpose beautifully, returning to one’s heart for peace and joy. — Author Unknown
10 Twitter Tips for Businesses
Use the powerful social media as a tool for marketing and promotion
Twitter is a great social media marketing tool for business that can lead to more customers, an increase of profit, and long-term success. Businesses can use it to its full potential by applying the tips below:
1. Twitter is about discussion rather than a hard-sell of products or services. So if companies decide to try it as a platform for blatant sales tactics they will most likely quickly make their followers ‘unfollowers.’
2. Promote Twitter-only sales and specials on your account. Whether a special phrase customers have to say at your restaurant to get two drinks for the price of one, or a unique code that customers can use for 25 per cent off on your products, this is a good enticement for Twitter followers.
3. If you want to run a contest, or promote a product or service, turn it into a hashtag and get followers to join in. This provides a way for your community to interact with each other and for you to keep track of what people are saying about your brand. Example: ‘Like’ us on Facebook for a chance to #win a Custom QR Code! RT this enters you to win too! #QRcode.
4. Some companies are now utilising Twitter as a way of talking orders for products and services. The direct messaging feature on Twitter allows companies to utilise on their own accounts.
5. Use Twitter as a direct customer service line for your customers. This only works if your Twitter account is managed on a regular basis, but it can help establish trust and credibility, as well as encourage repeat business.
6. Twitter is a great way to recruit new talent to your company’s team. Since Twitter is community-focused, tweets about open positions will be retweeted many times by followers, giving the company more exposure and possibly helping it gain more followers — as well as new employees.
7. Twitter is a fantastic way to promote a business event or lunch. Be sure to include reasons why this event is so great — whether it is giveaways in-store promotions, free food and drink, et cetera. Entice followers with the benefits and they will begin retweeting it to their followers too, gathering a great turnout.
8. Use the twitter page as a way of fundraising for a designated charity and highlighting the company’s charitable contributions. Showing a company’s followers that it gives back will reveal the ‘human’ side to the enterprise and leave a positive impression on followers.
9. Offer valuable tips to followers to establish credibility and encourage interaction. Give industry advice on whatever topics the company is knowledgeable about, whether it is nutrition, fashion, web development or home improvement.
10. Utilise tools, like Bitly and Friend or Follow to give you valuable insight about how many people are clicking on the links you post and who is following you back on Twitter. After a couple of weeks, it is best to ‘unfollow’ anyone who is not following you.
Image: Mashable, Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
3 best ways to celebrate business anniversary
The best business anniversary celebration helps generate publicity for the occasion while showing customer appreciation. Choose an event that is appropriate for the type of business you are running and can help you promote it.
Appreciation open house: Consider hosting a special event exclusively for people who have done business with you. Invite loyal customers. Provide refreshments, entertainment, and an appreciation gift.
Anniversary sale: Offering a special sale is a great way to mark an anniversary. If you have been in business for five years, possibly offer five per cent off on all your products and services throughout the company’s anniversary month.
Charitable donation: Consider marking a successful year of business by gifting a local charity. You could set aside a portion of sales made in the week or month of your anniversary to give to non-profit organisation. — Agencies
Appreciation open house: Consider hosting a special event exclusively for people who have done business with you. Invite loyal customers. Provide refreshments, entertainment, and an appreciation gift.
Anniversary sale: Offering a special sale is a great way to mark an anniversary. If you have been in business for five years, possibly offer five per cent off on all your products and services throughout the company’s anniversary month.
Charitable donation: Consider marking a successful year of business by gifting a local charity. You could set aside a portion of sales made in the week or month of your anniversary to give to non-profit organisation. — Agencies
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
5 tips to prioritise when everything is a priority
Getting up for work in the morning with the feeling of having so much to do that you do not know where to start— we have all been there. Oftentimes, everything that you have to do seems like a priority, which makes it tough to figure out where to begin.
In order to move the ball forward, you need to start somewhere. Here are some planning tactics that are helpful when you need to set your mind on immediate execution. Although long-term prioritisation and planning is also essential, these techniques help you make progress on the micro-level, day-to-day basis.
Make a list: First thing in the morning, write down everything that needs to get done that day. Once you have everything down, separate the items into urgent versus non-urgent to determine the top priorities.
Assess the value: Completing certain tasks will offer more benefit than others. For example, client work comes before internal work because it not getting done has bigger ramifications.
Be honest: When creating your list of priorities, be realistic about your bandwidth. Setting unattainable goals will only cause disappointment down the road.
Be flexible: To be able to effectively prioritise, you must be able to deal with changing priorities. Take them as they come and decide if they are urgent or not.
Cut the cord: When something is really important, it is easy to get caught up in the details and end up spending way too much time on a project or task. Spending too much time on one priority, however, prevents you from getting other stuff knocked off your list. Acknow-ledge when you are doing this and enforce strict deadlines to prevent going down the rabbit hole. — Agencies
In order to move the ball forward, you need to start somewhere. Here are some planning tactics that are helpful when you need to set your mind on immediate execution. Although long-term prioritisation and planning is also essential, these techniques help you make progress on the micro-level, day-to-day basis.
Make a list: First thing in the morning, write down everything that needs to get done that day. Once you have everything down, separate the items into urgent versus non-urgent to determine the top priorities.
Assess the value: Completing certain tasks will offer more benefit than others. For example, client work comes before internal work because it not getting done has bigger ramifications.
Be honest: When creating your list of priorities, be realistic about your bandwidth. Setting unattainable goals will only cause disappointment down the road.
Be flexible: To be able to effectively prioritise, you must be able to deal with changing priorities. Take them as they come and decide if they are urgent or not.
Cut the cord: When something is really important, it is easy to get caught up in the details and end up spending way too much time on a project or task. Spending too much time on one priority, however, prevents you from getting other stuff knocked off your list. Acknow-ledge when you are doing this and enforce strict deadlines to prevent going down the rabbit hole. — Agencies
Tips to welcome new staff
It is one of the most underestimated aspects of business, but the induction really sets the tone for your relationship with new employees. Here is how to do it right.
Do not overlook new employees: If induction is not handled well, how are employees expected to play their role effectively? They need to be shown the way and have everything laid out to them from the start. Do not expect them to figure everything out on their own.
Remember to cover the basics: Take the time out to show new employees around the office building, introduce them to their new colleagues and fill them in on company policy regarding dress code, leave time and the like.
Do not cut corners: When it comes to the actual job training, be as a clear as possible. Supply the new employee with a training schedule so that they know what to except in their first days or weeks with you.
Do not overdo it: While it is important to give induction your time, there is no need to drag it out. Do not spend weeks putting your new employee through training exercises before you allow them access to real work; this will only make them feel inadequate. — Agencies
Do not overlook new employees: If induction is not handled well, how are employees expected to play their role effectively? They need to be shown the way and have everything laid out to them from the start. Do not expect them to figure everything out on their own.
Remember to cover the basics: Take the time out to show new employees around the office building, introduce them to their new colleagues and fill them in on company policy regarding dress code, leave time and the like.
Do not cut corners: When it comes to the actual job training, be as a clear as possible. Supply the new employee with a training schedule so that they know what to except in their first days or weeks with you.
Do not overdo it: While it is important to give induction your time, there is no need to drag it out. Do not spend weeks putting your new employee through training exercises before you allow them access to real work; this will only make them feel inadequate. — Agencies
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Working from home
Those of you who work from home full time know it’s not as easy as it appears to the people who try to ring you when there’s tennis on. It requires organization, self discipline and, above all, experience. However, by following a few simple guidelines, even a harried employee can enjoy a relaxed and productive home stint.
Take this unique opportunity to order all those goods that won’t fit through your letter box. Learn the harmonica while typing with one hand. Paint your skirting boards during conference calls.
Create a dedicated space
Set aside an area of your home that can serve as a self-contained office. It needn’t be very big — space enough for a chair and a small table will suffice — nor does it have to be tidy, well-lit, comfortable or airy. You won’t be spending much time there. Make some tea, grab your laptop and go back to bed. Working from home? You’ve already started!Efficiency is the by-word
Do not waste a single moment doing things you normally do only because you’re going to come into contact with other humans. This might include shaving, applying makeup, brushing your hair, finding matching socks or checking to see if your jumper is on the right way round.Multitask
Once you are ready to begin your working day, power up your computer and open the following windows — email, official; email, personal; eBay, Things I’m Watching; your novel so far; YouTube; spread-sheet application; Facebook; web pages related to your weird hobby. This comprises your work-life balance. Start juggling. Let home-working work for you.Take this unique opportunity to order all those goods that won’t fit through your letter box. Learn the harmonica while typing with one hand. Paint your skirting boards during conference calls.
Eat lunch at your desk every day
This will make you feel slightly hard done by, which will in turn make you feel like you have done some work. Also, you really shouldn’t eat lunch in bed.Tweet with care
A note on social networking: monitor the traffic all you like, but be careful about contributing. Sending a tweet that says, “Best Cash in the Attic EVER!!” will only alert office-based colleagues to the fact that you are at a loose end watching day-time TV at 11:47am.Snack sensibly
Let’s face it — you’re probably going to eat a lot of biscuits, out of either boredom or a sense of entitlement. In the low-shame environment of your own home, you may end up tipping them into your mouth straight out of the packet. So, it is suggested that you confine yourself to purchasing biscuits you don’t really like. You’ll still eat them, but over the course of long weeks it will make a big difference to your overall intake.Ignore the landline
Under no circumstances should you answer it during the day. Calls placed to home numbers during office hours are invariably from one of the following — robots offering to consolidate your debt; robots reminding you that you haven’t paid your telephone bill; robots blathering on about payment protection insurance refunds; wrong numbers; defeated-sounding men pushing dodgy investments; or someone from your bank bearing bad news. After a few weeks you may ask yourself — why do I need a landline at all? The answer is simple — it’s there to receive and harmlessly discharge all those pointless calls. If they couldn’t ring your landline, they’d find another way.Go outside
By virtue of having to commute and conduct personal business at lunchtime, most office workers tend to spend at least a little bit of their day out-doors. The home-worker, by contrast, can go for weeks without putting on shoes. Make a point of going out to stand in the sun once or twice a day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. There are plenty of unpleasant side effects to home-working — deteriorating hygiene, loss of affect, audible self-narration. You really don’t want to add rickets to the list.Take care of yourself
In an office, there are teams of people dedicated to making sure the working environment is safe, hospitable, hygienic and conductive to the best practice. At home, the only person responsible for your wellbeing during working hours is you and everything depends on you. — The Guardian
Why Do Workers Quit?
There’s no shortage of workers who get fired for doing stupid things on the job. But some people also have very weird reasons for quitting their jobs, according to a recent survey of employers by the staffing firm OfficeTeam. In telephone interviews with more than 1,300 senior managers at the US and Canadian companies with 20 or more employees, managers reported some strange excuses. There was the worker who said that he was making too much money and felt that he wasn’t worth it. Another said he needed to stay home — to feed his dog.
Some weird explanations
Managers in the OfficeTeam survey reported these weird explanations given by workers for leaving
- Someone quit because she was going to live off her trust fund.
- An employee said work was getting in the way of having fun.
- The worker informed he just couldn’t get up in the morning.
Some managers said workers complained about the look of the office.
- A person quit because he hated the carpet.
- One worker did not like the colours of the walls.
- The employee quit because the office building was unattractive.
- Someone felt the lobby area was too small.
Others reported annoyance with small things.
- He quit because he didn’t like the way the office smelled.
- One employee didn’t enjoy the cafeteria food.
- An individual did not like the sound of file cabinets being slammed.
Graceful exit
It’s always better to exit gracefully and with a sound reason for doing so. With that in mind, here are some tips on how to quit a job the right way
Give proper notice: Tell your boss about your departure first so that s/he doesn’t hear it through the grapevine. Providing two weeks’ notice is standard.
Get things in order: Supply written instructions to team members on projects.
Stay positive: Say goodbye and thank your colleagues and provide your contact information.
Don’t slack off: Use last weeks on the job to complete outstanding projects.
Talk before you walk: Participate in an exit interview if it’s offered. Your suggestions could help to improve the workplace. — Agencies
Understaffing’s Harmful Business
Paying for worker wages is one of the largest expenses for many businesses. It is not uncommon for owners and managers to make cuts in this area. However, understaffing at a business can cause major issues for the company. Before you assume that reducing or limiting your workforce will save you money, first understand issues related to understaffing in the workplace.
Lack of staff: When a company is understaffed, it does not have enough employees to cover the regular workload and complete job tasks efficiently. In some cases, the lack of workers is because of challenges in finding suitable workers, while in other causes it is intentional due to cost-cutting measures by managers. The burden of understaffing falls mostly on the shoulders of the existing workers.
Low productivity: When a business is understaffed, workers become exhausted because they must often perform the work of two or more employees. Their creativity and ingenuity decrease, because they are more concerned with catching up with work than thinking outside of the box.
Low morale: Over time, as existing employees lose hope that they will get relief from the overly oppressive working conditions, they often become dissatisfied with management and the job in general. Low morale leads workers to take more days off of work, blow off deadlines, and lower overall productivity at the business.
Turnover: One of the worst possible effects of understaffing in a business is sudden high turnover. A high turnover rate is an expensive problem for a business. The company must pay to recruit and train new employees. A sudden drop in the existing staff can exacerbate the already existent understaffing problem. Too much turnover in a period in an already understaffed workplace causes operations to come to a halt. — Agencies
External Hires Get Paid More
…But don’t do a good job as internals
WASHINGTON: Finding a new job may be the only way to get a big pay raise, according to a new research.
The study also revealed companies withheld employees’ promotion in favour of someone from outside the organization — who often gets paid more.
But it turns out that external hires don’t do nearly as good a job as people who are promoted from within.
It indicated that companies might be better off hiring or promoting from within, Live Science reported.
“Companies should understand that it can often be harder than it seems to bring in people who look good on paper,” said Matthew Bidwell, management professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and author of the study.
“In addition, there is a suspicion that ‘the grass is always greener’ attitude plays a role in some companies’ desire to hire from the outside. Managers see a great CV and get excited about playing ‘Let’s make a deal,’ even when it’s hard to know what weaknesses the external hires bring with them,” he stated.
Bidwell found that hiring from the outside has two major drawbacks. Chief among them is that it generally takes about two years for new hires to adjust to new responsibilities within an organization.
Additionally, hiring managers reported that they typically pay these hires more, between 18 and 20 per cent more, to lure them away from their current position.
However, those who made it past the first two years were promoted more quickly than internal candidates.
Even if external hires are qualified for the job, Bidwell noted that success is not guaranteed.
“This is not a free lunch for the external hires. There is a much greater risk of being let go during those first few years, mainly because they may not develop the necessary skills and thus will not perform as well as expected. Then, too, they might decide to leave voluntarily,” Bidwell said.
While being passed over for a position within an organization for a person from outside the organization may frustrate employees, Bidwell does not recommend quitting as a move to improve your situation.
According to Bidwell, that is nothing more than a way to show disloyalty toward your organization and potentially be fired.
“If you like where you are, stay there,” Bidwell said.
“Or at least understand how hard it can be to take your skills with you. You think you can go to another job and perform well, but it takes a long time to build up to the same effectiveness that you had in your previous organization. You need to be aware that often your skills are much less portable than you think they are. While the pay may be less, your performance is better, and there is more security,” he added.
The study was published in the journal Administrative Sciences Quarterly.
What Not to Say to a Co-worker
The following five things should never be said to a co-worker. Have you made one or more of these communication faux pas?
Who’s texting you
You are in a meeting and your co-worker’s cell phone starts buzzing. He grabs it casually and glances at the text. You blurt out, “Who’s texting you?” Putting a co-worker on the spot like that is a sure-fire way to get them to resent you. If you want to draw attention to the action without embarrassing the co-worker, try saying, “Is everything okay? Is the text important?” Not only, will he politely get the point to shut it off, but if it is important, he’ll tell you and you’ll look like a nice person for inquiring.
Why are you so dressed up today?
Your office is business causal, but your co-worker shows up in a suit. You and everyone else are thinking, “job interview”. But, there are lots of reasons for getting dressed up. Even if you know she is going on an interview, you shouldn’t put her on the spot about it. It’s better to leave the fashion commentary to the pros.
What did you think of that meeting?
Your boss just conducted a horrible meeting. It was boring, contradictory, and in your opinion, a complete waste of time. It means you are seeking negativity and are opening yourself up for a discussion that will ultimately lead to some boss trash-talking.
Will you cover for me?
Asking co-worker to help you lie to your boss is recipe for disaster. For starters, you are putting him in an uncomfortable situation. While he may agree to assists you, rest assured it leaves serious doubts in his mind about you and your ability to be honest.
Can you tell the boss I’m better for the job than…
Getting a recommendation for the job is one thing, but asking a co-worker to criticize another co-worker so you look better implies you have doubts about your professional credibility. — Agencies
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Prank Or A Gift?
A university student came out one day and went for a stroll with a professor whom the students considered a friend due to his kindliness for those who followed his instructions. While walking, they saw on the path a pair of old shoes and they assumed it belonged to an old man who worked in the neighboring field and who was near finishing his daily labour.
The student told the professor, “Let’s play a prank on him. Let’s hide his shoes and we hide ourselves behind those bushes to see his face when he cannot find them.”
“My dear friend,” Said the professor, “we should never have fun at the expense of the poor. You are rich and can give joy to this man. Place a coin in each shoe and then we hide to see how he reacts when he finds it.”
That he did and both hid among the nearby bushes. The poor man finished his tasks and crossed the terrain searching for his shoes and coat. When he put on his coat he slid his foot in the shoe but when he felt something inside, he bent down to see what it was and found the coin. Flabbergasted he asked himself what could have happened. He looked at the coin and looked at it again. Then he looked around, on all sides, but did not see anybody. He put it in his pocket and put on the other shoe; his surprise was double when he found the other coin.
His feelings overwhelmed him. He fell on his knees and raised his sight to heaven pronouncing a fervent thankfulness in a loud voice, speaking of his sick wife and without help and of his children that did not have food and that sue to an unknown hand they would not starve to death.
The student was profoundly affected and his eyes welled with tears.
“Now,” said the professor, “aren’t you more pleased than if you would have played a prank?”
The youth answered, “You have taught me a lesson that I will never forget. Now I understand something that before I did not — it is better to give than to receive.” — Author Unknown
The World is Your Mirror
The good you find in others, in you too.
The faults you find in others, are your faults as well.
After all, to recognize something you must know it.
The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well.
The beauty you see around you, is your beauty.
The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.
To change your world, you must change yourself.
To blame and complain will only make matters worse.
Whatever you care about, is your responsibility.
What you see in others, shows you yourself.
See the best in others, and you will be your best.
Give to others, and you give to yourself.
Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful.
Admire creativity, and you will be creative.
Love, and you will be loved.
Seek to understand, and you will be understood.
Listen, and your voice will be heard.
Teach, and you will learn.
Oasis of Peace
A popular story of the Middle East tells that a youth arrived at an oasis next to a town and approaching an old man asked, “What kind of a people live in this place?”
“What kind of a people live in the place” Where do you come from?” asked the old man instead.
“Oh, group of selfish and wicked,” replied the young one. ‘I am happy I left the place.”
To that the old man answered, “You will find the same kind of people here.”
That same day another young man approached the oasis to drink water and seeing the old man, asked, “What kind of people live here?”
The old man answered with the same question, “What kind of people live in the place you are coming from?”
“A magnificent group of people, honest, amicable, hospitable, it hurts very much to have left them.”
“You will find the same kind of people here,” answered the old man.
A man who had heard both conversations asked the old man, “How is it possible to give two different answers to the same question?”
To which the old man answered, “Each one carries in his heart the environment where he lives. That one that did not find anything new in the places where he stayed, cannot find other things here. The one that found only friends there, can also find friends here, because, to tell the truth, your mental attitude is the only thing in your life over which you can maintain absolute control.”
When you always have a positive attitude you will find the true richness in life. If you look within, you will know that you possess a great strength to give and to find all the good things in others.
May you always find an oasis of peace! — Author Unknown
Dare to Be
When a new day begins, dare to be smile gratefully.
When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.
When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.
When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.
When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.
When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.
When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.
When times are tough, dare to be tougher.
When love hurts you, dare to love again.
When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.
When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.
When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.
When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.
When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.
When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.
Dare to be the best you can — At all times, Dare to be!
— Steve Maraboli, from Life, the Truth, and Being Free
Handling Adversity
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed egg, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.
She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about 20 minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the young women replied.
The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity — boiling water — but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened!
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” the mother asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Think of this — Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean? — Author Unknown
Being Who We Are Meant To Be
A king went to his garden and discovered that his trees, bushes and flowers were dying. The Oak told him that was dying because it could not be as tall as the pine.
Turning to the Pine, he found it fallen because it could not give grapes as the Vine. And the Vine was dying because it could not blossom as the Rose. The Rose cried because it could not be as tall and solid as the Oak. Then he found a plant, a Strawberry, blossoming and fresher than ever.
The king asked it, “How do you grow so healthy in the mist of this withered and sombre garden?”
“I do not know. Perhaps it is because I always supposed that when you planted me, you wanted strawberries. If you would have wanted an Oak or a Rose, you had planted them. At that time I said to myself — ‘I will try to be Strawberry the best way I can’.”
Now it is your turn. You are here to contribute with your fragrance. — Author Unknown
9 Best FB Practice Tips for Businesses
Paying attention to content does wonders for business
Today, instant feedback can be obtained by giving fans opponents access to a Facebook (FB) page, blog comment box or a Twitter account. The tips below will help increase a company’s engagement and interaction with fans so that they keep coming back and provide valuable feedback. This will drive inquiry and sales and keep you on top of your market segment with real time comments.
1. Keep posts short: The news feed of FB page typically contains a lot of information, so having a good headline for your post and keeping its length to less than 250 characters generates more interaction and engagement. According to FB, posts of that length generate 60 per cent more likes, comments and shares than longer ones.
2. Put up photos, videos and quotes: High definition photos and videos provide engagement levels that far exceed plain and simple text. Research shows that posts including a photo album, picture or video generate about 180 per cent, 120 per cent, and 100 per cent more engagement respectively than the average post.
3. Be Consistent: Educational or entertaining content will not be seen as over-sharing or too promoting. A good rule of thumb is to have one marketing message for every nine to 10 informational posts.
4. Ask for fan opinions: If the company is thinking of launching several new products, this will allow you to quickly crowd source opinion that may help you determine which one to actually manufacture or produce.
5. Ask questions using FB app: FB has a native questions app that is very easy to use. Through this, find out what is important to people by asking customers and prospects how you can improve business.
6. Use ‘Fill in the Blank’: The simple way to engage fans with your posts is to ask them to finish your sentence. Such posts generate about 90 per cent more engagement.
7. Give fans access to exclusive information: This could be done by either breaking the news first on Facebook or providing special content such as a videos or an article when they ‘like’ your page.
8. Reward fans with deals and perks: The page can be used not just to promote but also distribute coupons or link to promotions.
9. Localise posts: Some posts are only relevant for a subset of fans. For example, if some products are available only in specific countries or region, promote them only to people in the place. When using the status button when you post to your news feed, send a post just to one country. Use geo-targeting to make sure that only the people who would find your post valuable will see it.
Image: ReadWrite
Save Time and Money
Trying to save money when shopping often means spending a lot of time instead. If you don’t like to shop or if you don’t have time to go from store to store, here are some ways to shop thrifty without spending all your time.
Shop with a list: Obvious? Yes, but it’s still true. Making your list ahead of time helps prevent guesswork and trips back to the store for something you forget. If you keep to the list, you can avoid making impulsive buys.
Always eat first: You don’t want to end up with a ton of impulse buys that you would ‘never’ have bought if you were not hungry. It is a waste of money and probably not helpful on the waistline either!
Buy quality: Some may say that being frugal means paying the lowest price, but it means getting the best value for your money. Quality items work better and last longer. You can buy one great pair of shoes to wear for years instead of going shopping to place them every season. Sure, there’s a time and place for temporary purchases. But, in general, having fewer, better things means you spend less time to maintain and place your stuff.
Know your brands: It’s good to compare prices, but sometimes you need to be able to choose something quickly. If you know which brands are usually the best deals, then you have a better chance of getting a value even if you don’t stop to compare prices that day.
Check the store’s return policy: If you don’t have time to shop, you definitely don’t have time to deal with a difficult return policy. Ask if you need the receipt, how many days you have, and if you can receive a full refund instead of store credit in case you return the item.
Stick to the plan: Department stores put the men’s section on the first floor by the door. They understood most men just want to buy something fast, and not wander around the store browsing. Let that be your strategy. Choose a time when the store won’t be so busy (not Saturdays), and then go. Don’t get distracted by other good deals — only come home with the item you planned to buy.
Stick to your budget: You should know in advance the maximum you’ve allotted to spend at the grocery store. Many people go to the grocery store and pay using a credit card. This is a big mistake. Leave the credit cards at home. Only go to the supermarket with cash or debit card. This is an easy way to keep on track with your budget.
Mixing and matching: Instead of buying new clothes, learn to use the ones you already own. Many people have more than enough clothes in their closets and bureaus. Save time shopping by learning to mix and match your existing wardrobe in new ways.
Shop once a week: To save time and money on transport do not shop more than once per week. Buy items once a week and make sure it lasts the entire week so you don’t need to waste time on weekdays for regular shopping. For perishable items like fruit and vegetables, do not buy large quantities that will last more than a week. The money you try to save by buying in bulk will be eaten up, as most of the vegetables will remain unused and rot, and likely, end up in the garbage bin.
Ask and you shall find: Here is the technique that will save you lot of time and some money. Inside the shop if you don’t know the location of an item, simple; ask the shop people where to find it. If it’s takes you 10 minutes to find the items, asking will land you straight to the item in less than a minute. Also you won’t be tempted to buy other ‘stuff’ you happen to see when you are searching. So don’t hesitate, just ask.
Buy near and save more: If there is a shop near your home choose to shop there, instead of at a discount shop 10 miles away. Even if the shop close by is a bit more expensive you will end up saving on time and transport costs. — Agencies
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Intoxication Called Love
Falling in love makes you feel on cloud nine; it is the feeling of intoxication! Scientists have discovered that the same chemical process that takes place with addiction happens when you fall in love. Flushed cheeks, a racing heart-beat, sweaty hands together with an altered biochemistry within your body are signs of being in love.
Scent’s effect
Scents have a powerful effect when it comes to romance; they are like aphrodisiacs, which evoke desires. The concept of pheromones is all about sexual scents of attraction. It has been well understood in animals but in humans it is a debated issue.
In 1985 researches from the University of Colorado, US found that similar to mammals, a vomeronasal organ (VNO), which responds to pheromones, was also found in the noses of humans. But Dr Richard Doty at the Penn State University’s School of Medicine, US and the author of the book The Great Pheromone Myth has opposing views. According to him human pheromones do not exist and the attraction chemicals are all in the mind.
Every pheromone molecule carries with it your one-of-a kind chemical signature. It is thought that the sweat gland produce an odourless chemical; a pheromone that is detected by the opposite sex and processed through an area of the brain that determines sexual suitability. The function of pheromones is to identify and attract a potential mate. Animals do so by sniffing pheromones in the urine or sweat.
Feel-good factor
Some chemical within your brain make you feel wonderful when you are in love. Your skin glows, you tend to blush more often and you want to look good – all this relies on the biochemistry within. Dr Helen Fisher at the Rutgers University, New Jersey, US has reported that falling in love involves sex hormones testosterone and estrogens, which play a major role in the sex drive of women. For the attachment to last, two hormones; oxytocin and vasopressin released by the central nervous system are essential.
Dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, — neurotransmitters in the brain act in the love-struck phase when you lose your sleep and appetite and you begin to daydream.
Norepinephrine causes the heart to pound and the palms to sweat while dopamine gives you pleasure. According to Dr Ashit Sheth, consultant psychiatrist and honorary professor of psychiatry, Bombay Hospital, “When you fall in love, the brain is aroused and there is an increase in the dopamine secretion, which motivates a person thus developing an attitude towards the partner.”
Love potion
Pheromones, chemicals in the brain and hormones have attracted perfume ma ire to increase or decrease love. Scientists suggest that your genes seem to be the masters of employing and deploying these odours and chemicals. There may not be pheromone magic potions or special concoctions of attraction. But you can simply raise your own natural pheromones according to the Pheromone Information Library. All in all you need to take care of your health and wellness to ooze out those attraction chemicals.
Some tips that’ll help
Good health and fitness exudes self-confidence and attracts the opposite sex. Regular exercise helps release toxins from the body through sweat. Exercise also boosts testosterone levels. Zinc helps raise the production of testosterone levels and raise immunity. Be sure to take medical advice before you start a supplement; excess zinc can be toxic Synthetic form of DHEA (10 mg per day) can help. However, DHEA is produced naturally by the body. Personal hygiene is an important aspect of attraction. Make sure you keep yourself clean. — Agencies
Women Staffers More Honest Than Men
Women may or may not be the weaker sex, but it appears that they work longer hours than men. Fifty-four percent of women reporting working nine or more hours a day, compared to 41 percent of men, according to a survey. The report also found
Women work more
Although Ninety-one percent confine their working hours to five days each week, 47 percent claim to work more than eight hours each day.
54 percent of women report working nine hours or more a day, compared to 41 percent of men.
On vacation, 65 percent do some amount of work.
Women perceive their compensation more positively
Of respondents who reported receiving a bonus (49 percent), 40 percent of women said they could use it to either spend a week on the beach or take world tour, compared to 30 percent of man.
Twenty-six percent of men said their friends would feel bad for them if they knew how much they made, compared with 17 percent of women.
Fifty-five percent of men and 47 percent of women reported of not receiving bonus last year.
Women are more honest
Eighty-four percent of all employees report that they were “actually sick or caring for a sick child” the last time they called in sick.
Roughly one-in-five men and one-in-seven women are lying. When it comes to their most recent sick day. They revealed that they were playing hooky, taking mental health days, suffering from hangovers or interviewing for another job. — Agencies
Set Your Career Goals
When it comes to mapping out your career, you can’t do it alone. If you think you’re ready to move up within your company, or even move beyond your company, can you tell your boss? Take the time to sit down and figure out what you want from your career. That way you’ll be better able to determine the necessary milestones for meeting your goals and whether you’re ready to share your thoughts with your boss.
Use personal networks: In cases where you don’t feel comfortable approaching your boss about your career path, utilise your personal networks instead. Connect with mentors or peers who may have advice on how to grow within your own company or how to position yourself to make an upward move when changing companies.
It’s crucial to get a sense foe how your boss will handle your ambition before engaging him or her in career conversations. The best managers are the ones who help you, even knowing that, ultimately, they will lose you. It’s a selfless, nurturing relationship. In contrast, when discussing career paths with their employees, some agitated and think more about who is going to take on this employee’s word about who is going to take on this employee’s word load, over how they can help that person achieve their goals.
Keep track of your success: A good way to help prove you’re ready to make an upward move is to document your successes. Do this throughout your career, not just when you’re ready to move up. Keep examples of stellar work or client kudos so you’re ready for a work-performance conversation.
Take responsibility: It’s your responsibility to advice own career. Take ownership of the process and make it as easy on your boss as possible to help you achieve those goals. You aren’t the only person with goals. Your manager has other people to manage. Address your boss when it’s important, but don’t monopolise his/her time.
Express gratitude to anyone helping you with your career, especially if it’s your boss. People are more willing to help someone who is polite and thoughtful.
Manage Improper Employee Behavior
Address unacceptable employee behavior the moment it comes to your attention. Managers should nip bad behavior in the bud to prevent employees from flaunting workplace rules, whether the issue is inappropriate clothing, personal phone calls or unauthorized Internet use.
Identify the specific infraction of a workplace rule the moment it occurs or as soon as it’s called to your attention by another employee. Record details of the incident, the time and the date of the infraction and place it into the personnel file of the offender. Check your company’s employee manual to make certain the behavior you’ve cited is clearly noted.
Wait for a second infraction of workplace policy to make certain the original unacceptable behavior wasn’t an isolated incident. Call the employee to your desk for a chat or arrange to meet with her outside the office environment — for lunch, perhaps. Be direct. Use “I-speak” to avoid making accusations that could put the employee on the defensive.
Listen. Sift through the explanations offered by the employee and query her on points you find confusing. Jot down notes for accurate record of her responses. Inquire into incidents that may have triggered the unacceptable behavior.
Discuss with your employee remedies that could get her back on track. Offer assurances that your door is always open should she need to talk about whatever led her to break the rules in the first place.
Issue a written reprimand if, despite the aforementioned actions, the unacceptable behavior recurs. Copy higher-ups, appropriate department heads, the direct superior of the offender and your company’s legal counsel, advising everyone of your employees’ apparent unwillingness to remedy her unacceptable behavior despite your repeated intervention. — Agencies
Eating at Workplace
Whether you work in a culture where lunch is ‘for wimps’ or it’s simply commonplace to find people snacking or even taking their lunch at their desk or you’ve been asked to work overtime and a quick bite to eat at your desk or work station is all you can fit in to your schedule, there are some very important dos and don’ts when it comes to eating etiquette at work. Assuming the company allows you to do that, here are some rules to follow.
Keep it simple
It doesn’t matter if you prefer a plate of spaghetti to eating a chowmein — in the workplace, keep it simple if you are planning to eat at your desk. Stick to things like sandwiches, a pie or pastry, or something that can be kept in a pot or small plastic container and eaten simply with a fork or spoon.
Be aware of customers
Be very aware of customers/clients coming into your place of work and don’t eat in front of them if you’re at your desk. And, for those of you whose work involves using the telephone, make sure you only eat at your desk when it’s your designated break time. Many call centre personnel in particular have been caught out by taking a large bite out of a sandwich or munching a mouthful of crisps when they suddenly hear the ‘bin-bong’ that signals another call is coming through.
No smelly stuff
Don’t bring food into work to eat at your desk that gives off a pungent smell. Garlic and rich spicy floured foods are a complete ‘no-no’. You might think they smell and taste delicious but your colleagues sitting close to you may hold a totally opposite view, at least in the workplace.
Watch your timing
If you work at a nine to five job, be very careful about bringing things in for breakfast. Unless it’s the norm around the workplace, it could be perceived that you’re not in the right frame of mind to start your working day. After all, your boss will usually expect you to begin work promptly on time at the start of your shift so if you’re eating you’re obviously not working which might be looked upon unfavorably by your boss or immediate supervisor. Likewise, if you’re on a 10 minute break and you’re eating at your desk or workstation, make sure you’ve completed your snake and cleared up before the 10 minutes is up — your employer isn’t paying you to eat on their time, after all.
Respect the cleaners
Cleaners play a vital role in the efficiency of a company but they are not employed to wipe down food stains or to pick up crumbs except in the canteen so show them and your colleagues nearby some respect and clean up your mess and get rid of any wrappers, food containers, cups when you’ve finished eating.
Consider your colleagues
Remember that whilst you might be on your break, you colleagues might still be working so show them some respect and keep chat to a minimum if you have to eat at work. If you do engage in any kind of conversation with them, don’t talk with your mouth full. There’s nothing quite as repulsive as something spitting remnants of food at you when you’re having a conversion.
Practice good hygiene
Once you finish eating and clear up, go to the bathroom and clean your teeth. A toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste kept in a bag or pocket is always useful in the workplace. Wash your hands thoroughly also before resuming work, especially in a shared workspace where somebody might have to use the same equipment as you’ve been using when they come in for their shift.
Eating at workplace
You are offensive office eater if
- There are remnants of your lunch on your desk and equipments like in between keys of keyboards
- You are eating a smelly lunch. People will walk into you office and then immediately turn around
- You produce noise while eating. Some people have a hatred of certain sounds, especially related to chewing, lip-smacking, or crunching
Style Your Bathroom The Green Way
A bathroom is a place where you begin and end you day. If you want your bathroom to provide you with a healthy space, follow these eco-friendly tips.
Add green plants: You can add a basket of ferns of place indoor plants in the corners of your bathroom or on the windowsills. Ensure that plants get low light and high humidity for them to be fresh and healthy. Adding plants makes your bathroom an eco-friendly place and adds more natural colour to your bathrooms.
No to carpeting: Avoid carpeting in the bathroom. Wet and mouldy carpets contribute only an unhealthy atmosphere. If bathroom flooring is slippery then use bathroom mats or rugs over tile or vinyl floors.
Keep away chemicals: Avoid using harsh chemical for cleaning and use common household items to clean. Baking soda and vinegar are capable to remove tough stains in the bathtub and sink. Use white vinegar and newspaper to clean up mirrors and windows.
Send out impure air: A small window or small ventilation is enough to let the impure air out from the bathroom. — Agencies
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Top 10 Facts
The stomach’s digestive acids are strong enough to dissolve zinc. Fortunately for us, the cells in the stomach lining renew so quickly that the acids don’t have time to dissolve it.
The lungs contain over 300,000 million capillaries (tiny blood vessels). If they were laid end to end, they would stretch 2400 km (1500 miles).
A man’s testicles manufacture 10 million new sperm cells each day – enough that he could repopulate the entire planet in only 6 months!
Human bone is as strong as granite in supporting weight. A block of bone the size of a matchbox can support 9 tones – that is four times as much as concrete can support.
Each finger and toenail takes six months to grow from base to tip.
The largest organ in the body is the skin. In an adult man it covers about 1.9 m2 (20 sq. ft). In a lifetime each person sheds around 18 kg (40 lb) of skin.
When you sleep, you grow by about 8 mm (0.3 in). The next day you shrink back to your former height. The reason is that your cartilage discs are squeezed like sponges by the force of gravity when you stand or sit.
The average person in the west eats 50 tones food and drinks 50,000 liters (11,000 gallons) of liquid during his life.
Each Kidney contains 1 million individual filters. They filter an average of around 1.3 liters (2.2 pints) of liquid during his life.
The focusing muscles of the eyes move around 100,000 times a day. To give your leg muscles the same workout you would need to walk 80 km (50 miles) every day.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Whether it is ever right to lie?
Is it ever right to lie? Of course not. Instinctively, we all know that it is not. But often when faced with the decision of whether or not we should lie, we overlook the morality of the situation, and do what seems best for us at that moment. Let us consider that a patient is going to die, but if the doctor withholding bad news from patient in order to give them hope. Is it good to lie? Absolutely no. Its right to salute Kant’s position that being moral means being consistent in each and every instance.
It will be the wrong choice or decision of a doctor to give a hope to patient instead of being consistent. According to Immanuel Kant, “If you want to be moral, you must never contradict the personal rule that you use to make a decision.” He insisted that there was no concept of “sometimes.” Kant suggests, “Lying is a form of manipulation, a way of using someone as a tool.” Human being should always be treated with respect because they “posses dignity.” If one doctor lie to one patient, but “what if everyone acted this way?” The answer would be that no one could trust anyone. Patient is wholly depend and believe on doctor but if doctor lie to him it is not moral. Kant’s position is summarized as, “Because we cannot predict consequences, we must ignore them and be consistent”.
Sometimes people don’t want to hurt other people from bad news and they lie or keep secret and try to be moral. Same way doctor also don’t want to hurt the patient and give them hope. So, that they will enjoy their moment of life for some more days. In some context it is moral to lie. It is moral to keep people happy by lying for some time. But in the end the lie will be known by all. Then after there will not be good relationship between them. Nevertheless, it is dangerous concept to lie, for keeping people happy for a moment.
When lie is not known by all, it didn’t hurt all however it hurt doctor by telling lie to patient. But in the end when lie is known by all it also hurt to all. Since, if doctor was absolutist, it won’t be happened. Moreover, he will always look back on his incident with same and regret. He will always suggest that telling lie is wrong. And he will hold Kant position, there is no concept of “sometimes”. Doctor hurt himself by his action, which is obvious by his regret. His action made it harder for him to be a good doctor he could respect.
Our instincts tell us it is wrong to lie and our instincts are right. It is wrong for doctor to lie his patient with holding bad news. Perhaps Kant’s position that people should never lie is too idealistic for our complex world, but his broader idea is still valid: it is wrong to undermine someone else’s integrity in order to achieve our personal goals. In addition, it was wrong for doctor to focus only on the consequences of keeping patient happy for some time. Though it is easy to argue that this is sometimes true, it can also put us in the position of being untrue to ourselves, as with doctor. Instead, doctor should have thought about to keep patient happy for some time by holding bad news. How would he feel about another doctor withholding bad news from him in order to give him hope?
Ethics is the study of right and wrong. The Philosopher Immanuel Kant is the leader of the Bergen Ethical Culture Society.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
His Answers
Come in,” God said. “So, you would like to interview me?”
“If you have the time,” I said.
God smiled and said, “My time is eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?”
“What surprises you most about mankind?”
God answered —
“That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.
That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for present nor future.
That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived.”
God’s hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked, “As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?”
God replied with a smile —
“To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.
To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis!
To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them.
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.
To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally different.
To learn that true friend is someone who knows everything about them… and likes them anyway.
To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves.” I sat there for a while I thanked Him for His time and for all that He has done for me and my family, and He replied, “Anytime. I’m here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and I’ll answer.” — Author Unknown
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