Archive for the Business
Harvard Business Publications Blogs always have something great to read. I can’t do much more justice in describing this article other than to say to you, working moms, READ IT. The article eloquently delivers a discussion of the differences that still exist for working mothers in today’s modern world regardless of how much progress we’ve made since the days of the first feminist. Bottom line is, issues that would never be discussed if Sarah Palin was a male surface for her everyday of her political career. Whether you are a fan or not of this woman, as another mother, you have to empathize with the fact that she must fight this noise everyday spending her energy on it instead the real issues facing our world.
Last night, I had the great pleasure to visit with my friend, Kim Crumpler, award winning Style Coach and Owner of Uniquely Savvy based in Seattle. Kim runs her business with one of my favorite life flavors, she uses authenticity in people to help them build confidence in themselves through wardrobe selection. Kim is here in San Diego to attend a Buffini and Company seminar. That’s another thing I love about her. She consistently works on herself and personal development reaching further to know herself on a deeper level and to push herself.
There have been a lot of articles in the media over the past few weeks debating whether Facebook actually has any value. This, in itself, indicates that there is a whole lot of value in Facebook. I wanted to share with you an interesting article from Harvard Business Publications by Jeff Stibel. Jeff talks about why Facebook is so much better than other social networks and why it fundamentally works. Personally, I continue to be amazed at the functionality of Facebook. Almost every day I discover something new that you can do with it. Did you know you can even hire a Facebook coach? Yes, it’s true, many mainstream corporate employees continue to choose LInked In and Plaxo over Facebook since some perceive Facebook is for a younger generation. I did an experiment last week after attending a UC-Irvine MBA Alumni event. For all of the business cards I collected, I checked to see if the folks were in Facebook and Linked In. >90% were only in Linked In. Interestingly enough, the next day I received a phone call from someone looking for a coach who had been refered to me in Facebook by the other 10%. These folks also happened to be the younger people in the crowd. Point in case, if you want to do business with Gen X, you’ve got to be in Facebook. You know what their vote is regarding whether Facebook has value.
Tammy Erickson at Harvard Business Publishing has written an interesting article about how today’s tweens see the world and how that might effect how they behave as adults. She makes great points about how these 10-13 year olds are very informed about war, the economy, conservation, ecology, gas prices, and the housing crunch. I posted a comment and asked Tammy to consider writing a followon article about how her predictions might impact the corporate work environment. It seems that the writing is on the wall. Corporations must change to address what this generation wants or risk losing altogether. Read her article and then consider what you saw around you everyday when you were a tween. The world is very different today and the access to information is almost unlimited. The cultural change that we are about to witness over the next 50 years should be an amazing ride. These kids want/need/require a different work arrangement than we did at their age. I see it as our responsibility to start opening doors for them by leading by example. It might not always be an option, but we need to pursue flexible and remote work options or at least be willing to ask for them. You can be a pioneer in this new age.
During a break at the ASTD conference last month where I was coaching, I wandered over to the conference book store to see what they had to offer. The selection was quite extensive. I smiled when I saw a stack of Nan’s books, Hitting Your Stride: Your Work, Your Way 
Well, it is! I love emoticons. I remember laughing at my desk at Qualcomm when chat software first became popular. I was chatting with three IT guys when we got into a laugh fest with tummy hurting giggles after learning how to send each other messages with emoticons. Looking back, we sure were silly but it was a much needed break from the technical project we were racking our brains on. Who knows? Emoticons might just have reduced job related stress a few decibles. Read more here about the history of emoticons. Have fun! Oh, and what are your good memories about these fun digital expressions?
So, I bet you’re wondering what in the world could rap music have to do with life lessons for executive women? Keep reading. I was perusing Tony Robbins’ newsletter when I noticed a link to an appearance on MTV. I thought, “Tony Robbins is going to take a shot at being a rapper now? Come on!”. Anyway, I was just curious enough to watch so I clicked through. Seems that Hurricane Chris in his 51/50 Ratchet CD has some serious clarity about personal leadership. The video from Hip Hop Owner’s Manual describes a rap music term, RATCHET. The definition of Ratchet is living your life’s dream and being yourself without regard for what anyone else thinks. In Rapper speak, “Doing YOU”. Ratchet comes with a few guiding principles:
Throughout your career, employers have likely invested thousands in your professional development. Maybe you took personality profiling assessments like DISC or Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Although you thought this was important, some of you just wanted to get through it so you could get back to mastering your core job duties. Understandable, but now take a second look. You might just have a drawer full of insightful things to use in building your Best Life.
If you don’t have these tools, Facebook is here to help. You can take the MBTI for free. All you need is a Facebook login and then you can download the widget.