I have often wonder why some great men were able to start movements that carried their work far and wide, while others never made the impact they should have. This short video clip presents an interesting perspective, in an even more interesting fashion. A highly recommended video.
When doing business in India, you'd best pad your schedule with at least 10 minutes for every meeting and telephone call. In many African countries, hire more people than you need because it will be difficult to train, retain, and replace qualified executives and staff. If you want to do business in China, it is essential to have a partner who speaks Mandarin.
Why so many Americans are broke
No matter which book you pick up nowadays on how to save money or get out of debt, you are likely to get a similar array of strategies. While these strategies do work, I often wonder why people continue writing books with these same old tips (and why publishers keep publishing them).
This one, however, is different. Professor Stuart Vyse of Connecticut College isn't even a finance professor. His subject is psychology and he takes a rather interesting approach to discussing how people fall into debt and how they can get out of it. Check the link above for some very interesting experiment results.
As for the mistakes people make:
- we are more likely to overspend if you pay by credit card instead of cash
- if we get a windfall we are likely to splurge
- we tend to get more enthusiastic about 50% sales on $10 items than on 5% sales on $100 items we need
- we don't mind paying more for image even if what we get is the same
So what does the good professor suggest for strategies?
- automatic contributions to savings accounts as soon as your pay is deposited
- building delays into buying non-essential items
- using windfalls to pay down debt or to save if there is no debt
- paying by cash as much as possible
Sounds like an interesting book but the summary on Vanguard's site is probably sufficient for most.
Always keep your eye open for new opportunities. Always have a basic résumé updated and ready. Always stay up-to-date in your field. Always say yes to manageable projects. Always look to meet new people in your industry. Always let outsiders know you are interested in moving forward with your career. Always look for ways to be successful working for yourself. Always have options.
As we get out of universities and step into the real world, we often make for ourselves a fantasy world in which we remain loyal to the employer and the employer is expected to stay loyal to us. The economic crash of 2008 was a wake-up call for many as the companies that had never fired anyone started cutting fat in huge chunks. So what do we learn from that?
While there are many benefits to staying with one employer long-term, it is absurd to do so without knowing your alternatives ... or as I would call it, your BATNA.
The eight tips given in the blog post above are must-dos for every professional. Keep your eyes and options open doesn't mean changing your job every couple of years. But it does mean treating your employers like they will most definitely treat you if the times were rough!
Nov 11, 2009 -
Who’s got the time and energy to interview people these days? My buddies Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon, authors of I Hate People!, came up with this solution for this problem: Watch how they cross the street.
If you can’t arrange for an interviewee to cross the street to get to your building, arrange for the interview at a Starbucks, cafe or restaurant—preferably in Manhattan during rush hour, but any reasonably-sized city will do. Watch carefully. Secretly videotape it, if at all possible. These few seconds will tell you more about their workplace capabilities than an hour of tough questions.
Here are five types of crosswalkers and how they would perform in the workplace:
Matador. Fearless, the Matador thinks nothing of daring the cars and taxis with his elegant dance through traffic. Crosswalks are just paint to a Matador. Red lights are mere suggestions. Nor does the Matador care whether the oncoming traffic shows no sign of stopping. After all, what’s a little glancing blow? Best Positions: Entrepreneurs, super salesmen, and financial mavericks.
Wader. Bold but not fearless, the Wader is eager to cross, demonstrating ample initiative but a little more common sense. Waders may phone and text while on the move…but not when venturing into traffic. They recognize that getting struck by any part of a car is a bad thing. That’s why they let the Matadors run interference. While the hotshots are busy tempting fate, the Wader is getting to the other side first. Best Positions: Excellent CEOs, vice presidents, software designers, project leaders and design heads.
TextWalker. Having mastered typing, talking and walking at once, the TextWalker tends to forget that crossing a car-clotted street is real life while tapping keys on a little plastic box is not. TextWalkers may appear on the surface to be Waders or even Matadors, but with one critical distinction—progress in their case is often an illusion. The Textwalker tends to meander, drift, and even pause midway. They lack the presence of mind to stay on task. Best Positions: Creatives and lower-level programmers. They exhibit flashes of talent but are ill-suited for management or higher-level responsibilities.
Light Jumper. Though a Light Jumper starts out determined to follow the letter of the law, when the crosswalk light turns yellow he can’t help but jump the curb. Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde. A Light Jumper is not above shouting and glaring at motorists who narrowly miss him even though they still legally have the right of way. Best Positions: Dependable but ballsy attorneys, independent CPAs and trusty managers with hidden tattoos.
CurbHuggers. No matter how empty the street, CurbHuggers would never dream of leaving the sidewalk for the crosswalk a second earlier than the law (or the “Walk” sign) allows. Ironically, CurbHuggers rarely make it across before the light turns and, by playing it safe, are often sitting ducks for signal-jumping taxis. Best Positions: Accountants, statisticians, or rules-based occupations. Excellent at scheduling and attending meetings, especially when the purpose is to schedule new meetings.
While you’re at it, you should think about how you cross the street, too. You might learn something about yourself—and what you’re communcicating about your outlook on life.
Looking for a new job? Want to get the salary you deserve?
This is a pretty good video that drives home some good points on how not to give a salary expectation without knowing what the employer is willing to pay. It is a bit long winded though, so only watch from about the 5 minute mark and stop at the 10 minute mark. As expected, more tips would cost :-)
Word for word, these are two of the most useful books I’ve ever read.
The first is Strunk’s & White’s Elements of Style, whose 50th anniversary is ably celebrated today by Mark Garvey in the Wall Street Journal. The second is Economical Writing, by Deirdre McCloskey.
Does your credibility improve when you admit ignorance?
Olivia Mitchell, via Twitter, has posted news from a Stanford Graduate School of Business research project showing 'that an expert who expresses minor doubts seems more credible'.
