Permanent employment may be disappearing faster than anyone thought. In recent weeks, both the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review have published articles on crowd-sourced labor, or the hiring of a temporary team to accomplish a very specific task. In increasing numbers, large organizations are using crowd-sourcing instead of permanent hiring to achieve their goals. AOL used it recently when it hired a team of contractors to build software to help the company best leverage its video assets. It makes sense if you think about it. For one thing, hiring and... More »
My husband is planning a conference right now, and at the same time, I am starting to organize a one-day event. Both of us feel pretty daunted, so I thought it might be helpful to us – and to others – to streamline the process into ten simple steps. 1. Determine the “Why” Sit down with your partners (if you have them) and talk through the end goal of the conference. Is it to generate revenue? Secure new clients? Get publicity? Keep this goal in mind as you proceed through the rest of the list.... More »
We have all been there. You have nothing of consequence to do at work today, and you glance at your computer. It’s 9:08AM. You’re already bored, and you wonder painfully how you are going to make it through the next eight hours without jabbing a pen in your eyes. Tick tock. Your check your e-mail, then your Facebook account. You return a phone call and look at some paperwork on your desk. You steal another look at the time. 9:21. Tick tock. You go to the kitchen and fill up your water... More »
189 Shares My husband and I were walking down a busy street in downtown Chicago. Suddenly, my husband gasped. “What?” I said. “You didn’t see that?” “No, what are you talking about?” “In front of us. A bird just swooped down and tried to grab a sandwich out of that woman’s hand.” “No kidding, that’s crazy!” “You’re really not that observant, you know that?” He was right. Even though I’m a writer and have been told countless times that keener observation makes for more interesting prose, this is not my strong suit. When I’m... More »
89 Shares Most people who work in the business world today regularly interface with colleagues and clients all over the globe. In an economy without borders, enabled by instantaneous technology, they must actively collaborate with people in unfamiliar nations, speaking unfamiliar languages. The key question is – do up-and-coming twenty-first century leaders have the diplomatic skills and cultural savvy to be successful in this new climate? The answer in many cases is no. In a recent study conducted by the Career Advisory Board established by DeVry University, hiring managers noted that global outlook was... More »
It’s no secret that career success often depends on the quality of the relationships you develop with your managers and co-workers. Although office personalities vary considerably, there are certain rules that always apply because we are all human. Here are 9 to keep in mind as you strive to lead, influence, and collaborate with people at work. 1. We always want more As human beings, we are usually not comfortable with our current level of achievement. Once we attain success in some fashion, we scarcely take the time to celebrate before moving... More »
136 Shares The last few months, I’ve been wondering about something. I am self-employed. I work in an office by myself. No one watches me or looks over my shoulder. I work flexible hours. Do those hours really add up to 40 or more a week? My Productivity Experiment I did an experiment in which I calculated all of the hours I was actually working (i.e. writing, attending phone meetings, pursuing leads, responding to business-related e-mails) versus doing personal tasks or surfing the Internet. It turns out that I do indeed work 40 or... More »
98 Shares I have a family member who is always clashing with her boss. I wonder if part of the problem is that she takes professional criticism personally. Over Thanksgiving one year, she explained to me that she is rejection sensitive, meaning that she’s attuned to any cue that she is being rebuffed, and has the tendency to react strongly to even the most minor rejection by another person. Co-workers are like family – but not in a good way Experts always talk about how to deal with rejection when you’re looking for a... More »
257 Shares At dinner with a friend last weekend, we lamented our husband’s incessant use of smartphones while “spending time” with our children. It turns out we are not alone. Smartphones are not just for work. They are for everything, all the time. A Documented Phenomenon According to a recent study by the UK-based Ofcoms, smartphone addiction is reaching epidemic proportions. When asked about the use of their smartphone devices, 37 percent of adult participants admitted they were highly addicted to their devices. Over half of adult respondents claimed they have used their smartphones... More »
122 Shares You received glowingly positive comments about your presentation from several colleagues, but when one person said something critical, you obsessed about that comment for days and ignored all of the positive feedback. Does this sound familiar? Beware of Cognitive Distortions In the mid-twentieth century, renowned psychologists Albert Ellis and David Burns popularized the notion of cognitive distortions, or exaggerated thoughts and irrational beliefs that make us feel badly. One such distortion is the mental filter, in which you pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it, so that your vision... More »
126 Shares Do you read people’s e-mail auto-replies? They can be pretty interesting. In the last few weeks, I’ve had not one, but two friends respond to my e-mail with an auto-reply that says something to the tune of: “I’m traveling to A, or doing B, and I’m not available to answer your message right now. Please don’t be offended. I’m not even reading mail from my family!” Work Will Always Be There In my humble opinion, this is not acceptable. What could these people possibly be doing that necessitates ignoring their family members?... More »
56 Shares overworked from Vinet_ on flickr There are few managers out there today who are not coping with this issue. Many of us are working on departments that are expected to be more productive with a lower headcount. However, when your staff begins to complain that they’re overworked, you have received a dangerous signal that they are burning out and may look elsewhere when the market improves. Stop the Fire Hose A good first step in managing your team’s workload is to sit down with each employee individually and list the tasks they... More »
87 Shares My first boss disliked me so much I thought I had hurt one of her relatives. She’d call me into her office and yell at me for dressing too casually, interrupting colleagues in meetings and other infractions real and imagined. I didn’t know how to talk to her but I couldn’t stand the situation anymore, so I quit the job. The next time I had to work with someone who was mean to me, I was stuck. I really liked the job, and since he was an equal-opportunity offender, I knew his... More »
183 Shares Everyone makes mistakes, and most people know that the most mature way to deal with them is to own up to the foible, apologize to the parties involved, and learn as much as you can from it so that you don’t find yourself in the same situation again. But here’s another piece of advice you seldom hear. Stop Beating Yourself Up A few weeks ago, I accidentally made a huge, work-related blunder. I realized what I did immediately after it happened and called my colleague on the project. After taking responsibility and... More »
103 Shares was at the pool recently with my son when a stranger tapped me on the shoulder. “Your bathing suit top is on backwards,” she said. Embarrassed, I hurried to the restroom and put the suit on correctly. Was I glad this woman I didn’t know pointed out my mistake? Not particularly. I was actually a tad annoyed because she’d made me feel insecure. And who did she think she was, anyway? Then there’s the time that I sent out pre-printed holiday cards and a casual friend asked if I knew that there... More »
