We were talking at the office the other day about whether someone preferred being hourly or salary and someone remarked "sourly" instead of salary.
Very often, salaried positions can turn sour very quickly. We used to joke back in my salaried days that we worked undertime rather than overtime because the more we worked the less we made.
Salaried positions have their perks, but sometimes its best to evaluate some of the benefits that come with an hourly position, or a 1099 position.
Don't rush into a job because of a high salary. Look at the entire compensation package before making a rush decision on a job offer.
I have given up using Facebook until June 1st because I have grown tired of the whiny, condescending tone of many people who either choose to kiss each others butt, speak in vague ways, or make comments that stir up controversy.
I call the type of comments I see lately on Facebook FDR - Facebook Displays of Regression.
If you or are your staff do any of the following, you probably are committing FDR's
- Making comments about how you are mad at "someone", but not mentioning the person by name, therefore arising suspicion in everyone.
- Making claims that you were wronged by "someone" you have done business with, but not being clear on who exactly of the many people you do business with has done you wrong, therefore arising suspicion in everyone you have done business with.
- Complaining about some government official, business, or other entity in a public forum without any basis or claim, just to participate in the complaint.
- Giving credit where credit isn't do to pander and panhandle as a sycophant to get the supposed support of someone who you think has good connections
If you want to do serious business on the internet, I suggest you avoid FDR's entirely, or risk being looked at as someone who is just a perennial malcontent.
by Saratoga College Virtual Internship Program participant Annie Rosencrans
A little competitive spirit in the workplace is usually a good thing. Competition can be highly motivating, and often promotes self-improvement and group camaraderie. That is unless of course competition begins to overwhelm your bigger picture. When your employees' desire to beat one another overshadows their motivation to succeed at their job, businesses become dysfunctional. This is where you come in: The change agent.
If you are a team manager struggling to build solidarity in the work place, here are a few things that you can do: First and foremost, lead by example. If you want your employees' attitudes to change, you must first change the way you think and behave. When addressing your team, use inclusive words like "We" instead of "I" and "You". Make sure that everyone takes ownership in your company's successes, and shares responsibility in its failures. Along those same lines, treat all of your employees as equals. If you're trying to tone down the competitiveness in the office, the worst thing that you can do is play favorites. This will only deepen the resentment in the office.
You might also consider taking more creative action for unifying your company. This doesn't require anything fancy - something as simple as organizing happy hours once every couple of months can release inter-worker tensions and build camaraderie. If you're not satisfied with your company atmosphere, you have to be the one to make the change. So don't settle on the status quo, and be the change agent that your company so desperately needs.
Ian Kennedy has blossomed into a very successful pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, his career didn't get off to the greatest starts as he was banished to the minors a couple years ago by the Yankees when management didn't think he had the stuff to make it to the majors.
"Rosenthal points out how the pitcher he saw with the Yankees was "nervous and unsure of himself." Considering there is very little rope to hang yourself when pitching for the Yankees, it's not surprise.
2008 would have been the perfect year to stick with a struggling young pitcher like Kennedy. Joe Girardi was in the first year of his contract, and the team wasn't good enough to win a championship. Instead, the organization panicked and started to plug holes with mediocre stop-gap starters. Darrell Rasner was given 20 starts; Sidney Ponson 15.
After giving up 5 runs in 2 innings at Anaheim on August 8th, Kennedy was banished to the minor leagues. What's funny is that no one talks about how he was very good for Scranton that year. He struck out over a batter an inning with a 2.35 ERA."
If Kennedy hadn't had his character questioned, he may have made it as a tremendous part of the rotation for the Yankees instead of being included in the Curtis Granderson trade. Hopefully, with their patience with some of their latest young pitchers (Ivan Nova, David Robertson, Boone Logan), they have learned the errors of their ways.
In business, we need to give the young and untrained more leeway especially when they have the personality, interests and preferences we are looking for. Don't give up too early on people!
Today I will share how I work by the hour, not in a 4-5 hour block of time.
I enjoy working in powerful spurts of 30 minutes to an hour several times a day with breaks in between. Typically, I get started with an hour of work between 6 and 8am (either 6-7 or 7-8), followed by or preceded by some stretching or a workout. I then have a nice relaxing breakfast, and then do another hour of work around 9/10am.
I also work for about an hour after lunch (1-2pm), an hour mid afternoon (3-4pm) and an hour after dinner (7-8pm). By taking at least an hour between my power work periods, I am able to recharge, refocus, and maximize my productivity by combining it to short, powerful periods of time.
"Apple CEO Steve Jobs is well known for his electrifying presentations. Communications coach Carmine Gallo discusses the various techniques Jobs uses to captivate and inspire his audience -- techniques that can easily be applied to your next presentation."
A WWE wrestling faction a few years ago called the Straight Edge Society would go around beating up people to convince them that they needed to live a straight life and avoid alcohol and drugs. It's leader, CM Punk, has lived this lifestyle and even though his faction is no longer together, he still lives by its principles of a no smoking, no drinking philosophy.
Sometimes, we need to give up the good to get to the great, and for me that meant giving up any alcohol as well as coffee to get more focused on my business. The hardest part for me was coffee; I wanted to strangle people for a couple days when I gave it up but I've eased off of it with green tea and an occasional iced tea.
The mental clarity that has come from being "Straight Edge" has been amazing. I've been telling my colleagues, clients and students the benefits of this and how much it has done for my business by being completely clear of "ups and downs". (My wallet is a lot fatter too).
Next time you want to make a major change in your life or business, consider joining me in the "Straight Edge Society".
When I talk to fellow entrepreneurs as well as those employed by a corporation, the resounding reoccurring theme and commentary on innovation is that it begins inside of a company, not outside of it.
Many people turn to consultants and advisors to provide insight on how to innovate, and this often causes innovation to occur; however, there has to be innovation at the core of any organization in order for it to thrive.
Many business ideas have been born when someone works for an organization. If the organization doesn't see the value in the innovation, often the employee will take the idea and use it on there own or move on to a company who has more of an innovative mindset.
Don't feel constrained if passion for innovating is in your blood yet you are working for someone else. As many entrepreneurs will tell you, you can still work for someone else and innovate and create on the side; many great companies have been started by people who worked for someone else and eased out of the role as their own innovation grew.
Prior to hiring or prior to the start of the Virtual Internship Program at Braathe Enterprises and Saratoga College, I ask all of my interns to provide me with a resume "from the future". This resume contains an entry that includes what they want to accomplish during the internship as if it had already happened.
This resume from the future accomplishes many things; one is to get both the student and I on the same page on what they want to accomplish; another is to begin with the end in mind, and create broader goals that help shape the projects I design for them. By having the foresight to project larger goals for themselves and having me agree upon them, the internship becomes a fulfillment of a goal set months earlier and many of the goals are met prior to the end of the internship.
Next time you go on a job interview, consider building a "resume from the future" to show employers who may be considering hiring you.
I've been on committees over the years and I must say that the value of them is suspect. A good committee commits to creating a solution to a problem, where most committees I've encountered should be called Committ-ees because they are leery of committing to anything at all.
Committees require strong leadership and commitment, as well as the willingness for others to collaborate rather than compete.
Thankfully, of late, I've been a part of some great committees who actually work well together when necessary and get results!
Share your stories of committees or committ-ees via email to robert@saratogacollege.com. I'll share (anonymously) some of the best stories after the new years.
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