As the economy has gotten worse, I’ve noticed an upswing in the number of people asking me to work for free.  I don’t think these organizations quite understand that I make my living writing and speaking, so when I do these things for no pay, I don’t eat.  They rationalize that they are paying me in exposure – meaning that more people ...

Can you imagine a workplace with no pointless meetings, no boss hovering over your shoulder, and no punishment for arriving at 9:05AM?  Two online friends of mine, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, have just released a new book based on their popular Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) concept, which they pioneered with electronics giant ...

Touche, Scot Herrick.  Over at Cube Rules, Scot suggests that innovation may be overrated, and that innovation means very little without the ability to execute on great ideas.   Innovation is important, says Scot, because we all need to be adapting to the changing business environment.  But too often, we see innovations as meaning ...

In their 2008 Investor’s Guide, Fortune Magazine offered ten tips to help us prevent the heat of the moment from melting our better judgment. The tips form an acronym – Think Twice – and are worth keeping in mind no matter what you’re thinking about or what decision you’re trying to make. Take the Global View. Always keep an eye on where ...

Have you noticed that if you send an e-mail to a Web site address labeled “Info” (for example, info@company.com), you will never, ever hear back from a real person?  It seems that this “Info” address is akin to a black hole, and it’s particularly upsetting if the site lists no other person or entity you can contact with a question or ...

[ImageAttachment] When employers talk about desirable skills they look for in new hires, they usually mean things like writing, data analysis, interpersonal communication, and project management.  But what about the ability to LEARN?  I’m not kidding.  Let’s say a twenty-something employee, we’ll call her Amy, starts a new job as ...

[ImageAttachment] In my excitement to get this blog up and running, last week's posts were a tad on the verbose side - which brings up an important point. Most people in Corporate America have a very short attention span and are way too busy for their own good.  When writing business communications, don't underestimate the importance of ...

[ImageAttachment]   It doesn’t add up.  The workday has been roughly the same length of time – eight hours – since the early part of this century.  Today, though, we have access to a variety of technological advances designed to increase our productivity, from fancy schmancy office software to search engines that supply a ...