There she was, tufts of purple hair framing her face as she stood daring the policeman to arrest her. “What if I punch you in the eye?” she queried. “What if I knee’ d you in the groin?” she challenged. She was told she would not be arrested if she stayed with the protestors and that made the day much brighter. Think about it. What do you do when you feel the passion … [Read more...]
The Capable Employee
As a modern business owner, I’ve caught the fever to rely on gadgets and depend on electronic communication in lieu of actually picking up the phone; but I wonder, have I done my company a disservice? As I visit client sites and assess the challenges they face, it becomes clear that sometimes the culprit is not the employee, it’s the technology. Excessive reliance on … [Read more...]
Hey Boss, Your Policy is Stupid!
As business owners we often set policies and procedures from a reactive point of view. Something happened that brought the situation to our attention and then we put things in place to ensure they don’t happen again. But is this the best way to create policies? Can your staff weigh in on their effectiveness and when they do, do their opinions matter? If you have a sense that … [Read more...]
Gloria Steinem and Fear Busters
There were all kinds of sizes, shapes and ages at the Pa. Women’s Conference in October. Close to 4,000 women gathered to listen, compare, critique, and collaborate. It was stimulating. One well deserved standing ovation went to Gloria Steinem, still beautiful in her 70's. With hair pulled back and little make-up, she is a great example of how one can age gracefully and … [Read more...]
The Inside Scoop on Recruiting
Once you strike out on your own, your relationships with recruiters change. When you were looking for a full-time job, they represented a way to get your foot in the door at a company. As an entrepreneur, their roles shift slightly. They still help you get a foot in the door, but now they also bring the ability to provide new projects. The one thing that continually frustrates … [Read more...]
GUTSY WOMEN RELATE RADICALLY at WORK
Knowing the difference between men and women is easy when we look at body parts. It is not so easy when we think about how our brains operate differently, yet they sure do. Let’s just take the example of men and women in meetings. Now, we all know meetings are most likely to have some stress components. Knowing the differences in ways that we respond to stimuli can make the … [Read more...]
Are They Contractors or Staff?
One of the more complicated tasks for a business owner is being able to correctly classify the people working for you. As a one man shop it it’s fairly easy, when you pull someone in it is a temporary arrangement. As a larger operation, it gets a bit tougher. The Department of Labor and the IRS have just made this issue more complicated. The Department of Labor and the IRS … [Read more...]
Retaining and Developing Talent that Represents the Future
Jill is an African American woman with ten years of experience in consulting. She is certified and versatile in the areas of practice in which she might contribute now and in the future. She has deep community roots in the major metropolitan area in which she works and she has shown great promise in promoting the organization in the market. She has demonstrated ability to … [Read more...]
HP Headed to Hotel California?
HP has made some controversial decisions lately, but is Meg Whitman a great strategic move or the kiss of death for this once great tech company? HP announced Whitman’s appointment on September 22, 2011 but given the public comments, customers seem to think it’s a bad choice. It’s my stance that HP usually leaps before it looks and I am not sure that I am sold on Whitman as … [Read more...]
Women Entrepreneurs: Tory Johnson; Fired Up Rather than Fired From
Were you ever fired from a job? Just the thought is chill-inducing. Fired, it means failure, finished, foolish, and a lot of words that are meant to be esteem-downers. That’s how it was for Tory Johnson when she was a twenty something and on the rise in corporate America. Within one hour she had fallen from grace and was out on the street. Fast forward to today. Tory is a … [Read more...]