To Share or Not To Share
Mind your own business when it comes to background checks
What items gathered during the recruitment process can I share with others? We require approval from several parties before making an employment offer, and I am concerned that we may be sharing confidential information when “check complete” should be enough.
Strategic Thinking
Are you employing your highest quality of thought?
You’ve been there. You’re on a deadline with limited information, and what you’ve got to draw from is a similar episode that transpired eight months ago, or eight years ago or with an entirely different company. But hey, there are some parallels. This time sounds like that time (sort of), so you base your present reaction on your past experience. The process is called reasoning by analogy, and while it can be a powerful method in the decision making process, it can also be problematic and limiting.
MTV Marketing
Win with gen Xers by acknowledging to their skepticism
I recently asked a gen-X friend of mine to give me her take on generational communications in the U.S. today. Her response was perfect: “In the words of MTV’s cultural phenomenon The Real World, it’s ‘The true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite — and start getting real.’”
Light Accordingly
Cost-effective lighting is good for owners and tenants
Depending on the type of business you operate, lighting can account for 20 to 50 percent of electricity consumption. This means significant cost savings can be achieved with energy-efficiency upgrades, and due to continually improving equipment, lighting usually provides the highest return on investment of major updates.
Hidden Benefits
How an online MBA prepares students for today's workplace
Students who have opted for an online MBA instead of a traditional on-campus program often come into jobs better prepared for the challenges of remote work. If you’re skeptical of online college degrees, here are nine areas in which remote learning might give you an edge in the brave new world of the solo office.
Winners Know When to Quit
4 situations where it's OK to walk away
Business owners and entrepreneurs are often lauded for working against all the odds and being too stubborn to quit. But in reality, there are times when quitting is the best option available.
Be a Better Board Member
Strategic ways to improve your nonprofit service and personal gain
Board members are introduced and then immediately expected to get along, share ideas and be productive. But that’s a difficult pattern for boards to follow effectively. So what makes a stellar board member?
Finding the Perfect Fit
The Evil HR Lady on how to get a team of introverts working together
About 70 percent of my team are introverts, and all of them were here when I came on board as a manager. They won’t come together to solve problems. In fact, one of my employees told me, “I like to figure things out on my own.” It’s like each one of them lives on an island, and it’s too hard to take their boat over to collaborate. Any advice?
Cold Cash
3 marketing lessons we can learn from the ALS #IceBucketChallenge
Last summer, the ALS #IceBucketChallenge provided some of the coldest warm-fuzzies imaginable. If you’re part of nonprofit that relies on charitable giving watching these videos, you’ve probably started to pensively rub your chin, wondering if and how you could get something like this to work for you.
How Does Your Desk Chair Measure Up?
If you work at a desk, chances are you spend the majority of your day seated at its accompanying chair. There are alternatives available—including treadmills, exercise balls and kneeling chairs all designed for the desk-bound worker. But if that’s too avant gard for you (or your office), here’s a few things to consider when looking for a chair that won’t send you home hunched over and craving the fetal position. Then, tell us how you really feel.