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Your #Career : How to Build a Positive Relationship With Your Boss and Colleagues…Mutual Respect Makes the Office Much More Pleasant.

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In the past, an employee’s relationship with their direct supervisor was found to be one of the most influential factors on whether or not the employee enjoyed their job. Over time, this dynamic has somewhat changed.

Angle view of a business team discussing the future of their company on the foreground

In recent years, relationships with colleagues have become increasingly influential in the perception of job satisfaction. Part of this has to do with younger generational workers highly valuing collegial relationships — as demonstrated by their desire to work together on tasks more than Gen X or Boomers do.

Another aspect is that, in many settings, there is a greater amount of cross-departmental collaboration that creates more than one reporting relationship. For example, a team member in customer service may work with marketing to give input on how to market to existing clients, and the marketing supervisor oversees the project.

 

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Related: Building Healthy Relationship Requires Collaboration and Mutual Appreciation

Another factor that may reduce the importance of the relationship with one’s direct supervisor or boss is the myriad of ways an employee is assessed in today’s workplaces — including 360 degree feedbacks and other objective measures of work. A few thoughts about how to build a positive reporting relationship, even in shifting times:

  1. Be appreciative. Bosses and supervisors don’t hear thanks very often. They hear a lot of complaining and problems they are expected to solve. Occasionally thanking someone — and being specific as to why you are thanking them — can go a long way to start to build a positive relationship.
  2. Be respectful. One of the most common complaints I hear from supervisors, especially in cross-generational relationships, is that they feel disrespected. Most of us aren’t sure what makes us feel respected, but we clearly know when we feel it. Having a general conversation with your boss about actions that lead them to feel respected or disrespected would be wise.
  3. If you are going to raise a concern, make sure it is specific, not vague and general, and that it is a behavior or issue your boss can address. Don’t whine about management or a colleague in another department, where your supervisor has no influence.
  4. Do your job well, and be willing to go above and beyond. Remember, you are there to accomplish tasks and do them well. When you do quality work and, at least occasionally, do more than is required, you make your boss look good to his or her colleagues and supervisor.

Related: 9 Habits That Destroy Workplace Relationships

The goal of building a positive relationship with your boss isn’t try to suck up to them and win undue favoritism. The purpose is to develop a healthy, positive relationship of mutual respect, which will lead to better communication, the ability to work through disagreements and can build a partnership where you can support one another through difficult times.

Entrepreneur.com | December 9, 2016 | Paul White

Your #Career : 37 Free Online Marketing and Social Media Classes to Elevate Your Skills…Where Can you Go For the Best, Most Useful Marketing Information? Check Out these Free Resources.

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When I first started out with digital marketing, I was blown away by the sheer amount of online marketing resources and social media classes.

I read hundreds of articles and enrolled in as many marketing courses that I could possibly get my hands on. Even today, millions of resources continue to be published online every month.

 

Related: 15 Social Media Podcasts to Take Your Marketing Skills to the Next Level

Where can you go for the best, most useful marketing information? I’ve had the chance to test out and research a huge amount of resources, and I’m excited to share with you 37 free marketing and social media classes that you can enroll in to upgrade your skills across the board.

 

The list here includes free online courses in a number of social media-related topics and disciplines. If you’d like to dig into one area in particular, here’s a quick table of contents so you can jump to the section that’s most important to you:

Free online courses to learn and improve your social media marketing skills

1. What is Social?

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: Northwestern University

Topics include:

  • Social trends
  • Defining target audiences
  • Data analysis

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

“What is Social?” is a massive open online course (MOOC) for business owners, executives and marketing professionals who want to significantly improve their abilities to grow their social media strategyusing effective, proven methodologies. In short, it’s a really awesome, action-based intro to social media.

The exciting part with this hands-on class is that you not only get to hear about ways to grow your professional persona using social media, but you will actually do it! “What is Social?” is the first in a six-course specialization offered by Northwestern University (a top university in the United States). Once you finish this first course, you can continue on with the next steps of the track: Social Media Marketing: How to Profit in a Digital World. (The first course is free; the full track costs $426.)

2. Diploma in Social Media Marketing

Offered by: Alison

Created by: Advance Learning Academy

Topics include:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook pages
  • Blogging and podcasting
  • Social media images
  • Email list growth
  • Affiliate marketing

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Alison is a similar to Coursera as a site that offers a huge range of classes and certifications, including several in the marketing space. Their free social media class covers the use of email marketing, affiliate marketing, using social media tools such as Twitter, blogging and podcasting, and how to use Facebook to create a business page and get it noticed by current and potential customers. So you’re likely to get a social media foundation plus a handful of other digital marketing skills to boot.

3. Social Media Monitoring

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: Eric Schwartzman

Topics include:

  • Keyword filtering
  • Google related searches
  • Using Google Alerts and its benefits
  • Identifying influencers and content curation possibilities
  • Monitoring strategies for Facebook, Twitter and more

Skill level: All Levels

About this course:

This free social media class on how to monitor what your audience and customers are saying online is for marketers looking to keep a finger on the pulse of their community. Whether you’re just starting out in social media or are a seasoned veteran, this course has actionable social monitoring takeaways for people of all skills levels.

The course provides detailed examples of monitoring in action, allows you to get an overview of the different social media monitoring toolsavailable for use, and strategies for how you can use what you’ve learned and apply it to your own social media program.

4. The Business of Social

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: Northwestern University

Topics include:

  • Discovering where social media “fits in”
  • How to tie social media to real business results
  • Managing and measuring a successful social media program

Skill level: Beginner – Intermediate

About this course:

“The Business of Social” is for businesses owners, marketers and social media managers looking for ways to tie social media directly into real business growth objectives. In other words, those looking to drive real, measurable value from a social media strategy and program.

Instead of focusing on how marketers can create great content for social media, this class more focuses on how exactly to measure your social investments in terms of time, cost and opportunities.

5. Social Media Ethics

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: Eric Schwartzman

Topics include:

  • How to use good judgement when using social media for work
  • What constitutes ethical behavior on social media
  • Demonstrating consideration for others on social media

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Have you ever wondered what it means to use social media effectively and ethically? This free course on “Social Media Ethics” provides the framework for social networking and engaging in ethical conversations online for all professionals and employees. Touching on local, state and federal laws, it takes the guessing game out of what is and is not legal on social media for employees of businesses.

6. Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking up Clients

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: Brian Yang

Topics include:

  • Common social media myths and mistakes
  • The art of using Facebook Groups
  • Attracting YouTube subscribers and creating engaging videos
  • Creating quality (not spammy) content for social media

Skill level: Intermediate

About this course:

The tagline for this social media class is “picking up clients with social media in 48 hours or less.” Which points to the fact that this instructor dives into intermediate social media strategies. Moving beyond more beginner tactics like setting up social media accounts and basic posting strategies, this class assumes that you already know those things and provides details on how to best use the channels that you’re already familiar with.

All you need for this course is an active Facebook, YouTube and Reddit account and you’ll be on your way to learning the secrets behind picking up clients on social media.

7. Facebook Blueprint

Offered by: Facebook

Created by: Blueprint eLearning

Topics include:

  • Facebook terminology and know-how
  • Best practices for Facebook and Instagram posting
  • Optimizing Facebook and Instagram advertising
  • Creating a quality Facebook page and experience

Skill level: Beginner – Advanced

About this course:

Perfect for small businesses, marketers, agencies and advertisers, Facebook Blueprint is your one stop shop for everything there is to know about running successful advertising campaigns using your Facebook Business Page. This huge resource of free, self-paced social media classes will cover best-practices and top strategies used by the world’s largest brands.

With Facebook becoming very much a “pay-to-play” platform, this is the perfect opportunity for businesses and marketers to fully grasp everything there is to know about ensuring that your advertising dollar stretches as far as possible.

8. Social Media Quickstarter

Offered by: Constant Contact

Created by: Constant Contact

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Snapchat
  • And more!

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

All social media managers and marketers start somewhere. This free social media class from Constant Contact is a great resource for those who are looking to dive into the world of social media without all of the complications. It offers a step-by-step guide to building a presence on almost every social media platform you can think of.

For those unsure if social media is right for you or for your business, this class is a great way to dip your toes in and start small with social media marketing. Who knows, you may find that social media is just right for you!

Free online courses to boost your digital marketing know-how

9. Email Marketing for E-Commerce

Offered by: Skillshare

Created by: Mailchimp

  • Email marketing automation
  • Email marketing optimization
  • Email marketing personalization

Skill level: Intermediate to Advanced

About this course:

Marketers and social media professionals with a basic understanding of how email marketing works will love this free online course from Mailchimp. Perfect for those of you on the go, it’s a 25-minute, highly tactical class on developing the basic email marketing principles that you may already be familiar with.

By the end of this email course, you’ll have a great understanding of how to create engaging email marketing campaigns and how to optimize your strategy in order to increase business revenue.

10. Marketing in a Digital World

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: University of Illinois

  • How tools such as smartphones and 3D devices are changing the marketing sphere
  • How power is shifting from companies and brands to consumers
  • Offering product ideas that stick in a digital world

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

“Marketing in a Digital World” is one of the most popular free marketing courses on Coursera — with more then 100,000 students enrolled to this date. Taught by a professor at the University of Illinois, this class focuses on the transformation of marketing strategies an tactics into a digital-first world. Specifically, how technology is putting the power of marketing into the hands of the consumer.

This course is perfect for marketers looking to understand where the marketing field is today and how you can leverage new-age strategies to attract customers. And for those who are keen to continue their learning, this course is part of a larger Digital Marketing Specializationfor the University of Illinois.

11. QuickSprout University

Offered by: QuickSprout

Created by: Neil Patel

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Link building
  • Content marketing
  • Social media
  • Paid advertising
  • And more!

Skill level: Beginner – Advanced

About this course:

This awesome (or should we say huge?) set of classes from the one and only Neil Patel is a great place for marketers looking to learn about a huge variety of online and digital marketing tactics. Class topics range from beginner SEO and content creation strategies to advanced social media, email marketing and paid advertising.

What makes this course is that Neil Patel presents the information in very easy-to-learn and snackable ways. The lessons are presented in video format and range anywhere from 3:00-12:00 minutes. Each video also comes with a full transcript allowing more visual learners to follow along.

12. Inbound Marketing Certification

Offered by: HubSpot

Created by: HubSpot

  • Inbound marketing
  • Email marketing
  • Inbound sales techniques
  • Content marketing
  • Growth-driven design

Skill level: Beginner – Advanced

About this course:

HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Certification is full of super actionable, hands-on learning material that allows marketers to take their general inbound marketing know-how to the next level. The certification consists of 12 different classes and more than 4.5 hours of learning material in both video and text format.

You’ll learn all about SEO, blogging, landing pages, lead nurturing, conversion analysis and reporting come together to form a modern-day inbound marketing strategy. This free online marketing course is presented in different modules, where after successful completion of all the lessons and tests, you’ll be HubSpot certified!

13. Viral Marketing and How to Create Contagious Content

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: University of Pennsylvania

  • What makes ideas sticky
  • How social influence shapes behavior
  • The power of word of mouth

Skill level: Beginner – Intermediate

About this course:

Taught by University of Pennsylvania Professor and best-selling author, Jonah Berger, this free online marketing course helps to answer the mystery of why some ideas and products become popular and why others do not. It’s perfect for social media managers and marketers looking to put a “science” behind their content marketing method.

You’ll start with an understanding of why things catch on in the first place and how you can use those lessons to create viral content online. Then, you’ll move on to spreading your new and creative ideas through social media and other digital marketing channels.

14. Pay Per Click (PPC) University

Offered by: WordStream

Created by: WordStream

  • All about PPC (What it is, basic terminology, structuring)
  • Keyword research
  • Landing page optimization
  • A/B testing
  • PPC for lead generation and B2B

Skill level: Beginner – Advanced

About this course:

PPC University is a fully free online learning resource created by WordStream, to help build your PPC and digital marketing skills. The format is presented in three streams of learning plans which offer lessons for beginning to advanced users, with additional modules for social advertising.

Related: The Power of Emojis in Marketing and How to Use Them Efficiently

You can also access a number of webinars and white papers to enhance your digital marketing expertise, and best of all, everything’s mobile-friendly so you can learn on the go, whenever you have time!

15. Diploma in E-Business

Offered by: Alison

Created by: Google

  • Introduction to Google Webmaster
  • Using Google AdWords
  • Understanding and using Google Analytics Data
  • Conversion reports and collecting actionable insights

Skill level: Intermediate

About this course:

This “Diploma in E-Business” course is a comprehensive resource for marketers, business owners and advertisers who would like to get the most out of their digital marketing efforts. You’ll learn things like the fundamentals of promoting your business online, using various Google-powered tools and how to track and make sense of the vast amounts of data available to you.

Whether you have a deep knowledge of how to market your business online or are just getting started, this course is an awesome way to strengthen your digital marketing skills.

16. Google Digital Marketing Course

Offered by: WordStream

Created by: WordStream

  • All about PPC (What it is, basic terminology, structuring)
  • Keyword research
  • Landing page optimization
  • A/B testing
  • PPC for lead generation and B2B

Skill level: Beginner – Advanced

About this course:

Learning the ins-and-outs of all of the marketing tools that Google offers is quite the task. But marketers and business owners have seen the direct benefits of mastering the various Google advertising platforms in terms of business ROI. This course offers a direct line to always-updated resources for everything Google.

This course is also a part of a Online Marketing Challenge from Google. Students that plan to take the Online Marketing Challenge are encouraged to complete the Digital Marketing Course first. Marketers looking to learn everything there is to know about Google (and advertising), this is a great place to start!

17. Buffer’s Week of Webinars on Digital Marketing

Offered by: Buffer

Created by: Buffer

Topics include:

  • Content curation and sharing on social media
  • Getting your content seen on Facebook
  • Instagram Marketing to boost your business
  • Branding and PR outreach
  • Getting started with social media data

Skill level: Beginner – Intermediate

About this course:

While not a social media “class” in a traditional sense, Buffer’s Week-of-Webinars covers everything from content curation to social media analytics to getting your content seen in the Facebook News Feed.

The great thing about this series of online marketing webinars is that no registration is required to sign up and you can view all five of the videos at your own convenience. And we’d love to hear what you think of these webinars in the comments below!

Free online courses to level up with marketing analytics and data

18. Introduction to Analytics and the Language of SAS

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: Jigsaw Academy

Topics include:

  • What “analytics” means
  • What the field of analytics is and why it’s booming
  • Popular analytics tools and applications
  • Introduction to the language of SAS

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

This “Introduction to Analytics” course is a great starting point for marketers looking to understand what the field of analytics is all about and how to apply it to a variety of businesses and situations. If you’re looking to go beyond the very popular marketing spreadsheets, this course is perfect for you.

This class is broken up into 12 videos of varying length — anywhere from 5-30 minutes and will take you about 2 hours to complete from start to finish.

19. Google Analytics Academy

Offered by: Google

Created by: Google

Topics include:

  • Digital analytics fundamentals
  • Google Analytics platform principles
  • Ecommerce analytics
  • Mobile app analytics
  • Google Tag Manager

Skill level: Intermediate – Advanced

About this course:

Google Analytics Academy is an incredible online resource for marketers looking to up their game in everything Google-related. With the importance of tracking and incorporating data into your marketing strategy, there has never been a better time to learn all you can about one of the most data-rich resources in the world.

Some of the most popular modules from the Google Analytics Academy include Digital Analytics Fundamentals and Google Analytics Platform Principles. Both of those courses will give you a solid foundation of how to implement data into your strategy and how you can use the platform to best inform your decisions moving forward.

20. An Introduction to Consumer Neuroscience and Neuromarketing

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: Copenhagen Business School

Topics include:

  • What Neuromarketing is all about
  • Attention and consciousness
  • Sensory neuromarketing
  • Emotions, feelings, wanting and liking

Skill level: Beginner – Intermediate

About this course:

I put this fantastic course on Neuromarketing under the Analytics and Data section because it really gets into the nuts and bolts of why people make the decisions that they do online and in real life. Understanding that can help marketers and business make decisions based on data and research.

You’ll be taken on a journey through the basic brain mechanisms in consumer choice, and how to stay updated on these topics. The course will give an overview of the current and future uses of neuroscience in business and how you can apply it to your own social media and marketing strategy.

21. Data Analytics with Excel PivotTables

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: UpSkill Ladder

Topics include:

  • Intro to business analytics
  • Understanding Excel and PivotTables
  • Getting started with PivotTables
  • Terms such as Grouping and Custom Calculations

Skill level: Advanced

About this course:

I have the tendency to cringe when I hear the words “Excel PivotTables.” But I also understand how important the use of PivotTables can be in diving into your analytics and making informed decisions about marketing.

This course will teach you how to do Data analytics with Excel PivotTables effectively and efficiently. At the end of the lessons, you will understand the concept, various scenarios and types of Business analytics. Along with that you will learn, how to use one of the strongest features of Microsoft Excel, which is the PivotTables.

22. Digital Analytics for Marketing Professionals

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: University of Illinois

Topics include:

  • Data collection, analysis and visualization
  • How data fits into a company’s marketing strategy
  • Making informed marketing decisions based on data

Skill level: Advanced

About this course:

Taught by Kevin Hartman, Head of Industry at Google, this free marketing course on “Digital Analytics” focuses on the specific data collection, analysis and visualization techniques used by the world’s top brands. Unlike some of the other analytics classes offered online, this one focuses specifically on marketing.

This course will set you up with a full understanding of how to properly approach data analytics in marketing and how to make informed decisions based on your finding. In short, you’ll be a data wizard!

23. Marketing Measurement Strategy

Offered by: edX

Created by: University of California at Berkeley

Topics include:

  • How to identify marketing trends
  • How to predict future market conditions
  • An understanding of metrics used to measure marketing success

Skill level: Intermediate

About this course:

In this marketing class, you’ll learn the best approaches and practices for marketing measurement, including how to use metrics to measure success. The professor, Stephan Sorger, presents hands-on examples of how to identify market trends, how to predict future conditions and how to put those into action.

24. Social Media Analytics

Offered by: Quintly

Created by: Quintly

Topics include:

  • Introduction to social media analytics
  • The social media landscape
  • Differentiation between social networks for data collection
  • Finding KPIs that fit your goals

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

As social media continues to drive traffic and revenue for businesses, the need for marketers to fully understand the “why” behind social success (or downturns) will increase.

This free social media class from Quintly covers the basic principles of social media analytics both for beginners and for marketers who want to refresh their knowledge. It aims to help anybody involved in social media analytics, no matter whether you are working for a brand, an agency or in the media.

Free online courses to get up to speed on content, blogging and SEO

25. SEO Training

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: Eric Schwartzman

Topics include:

  • Integrating SEO in offline and online marketing activities
  • The vocabulary of search engine optimization
  • Most effective SEO strategies
  • White hat vs. black hat SEO

Skill level: Beginner – Intermediate

About this course:

This SEO Training class is perfect for social media managers, executives and entry-level employees. This SEO course will help you increase the search rank of your corporate website, your blog or LinkedIn profile.

Learn how to figure out which terms your customers actually search and how to create online content that is most likely to rank high in Google search engine page results. For most organizations, search engine optimization presents a greater conversion opportunity that social media outreach.

26. Writing for the Web

Offered by: Open2Study

Created by: Frankie Madden

Topics include:

  • How to structure a web page
  • Considerations for search engines and accessibility
  • Making your content scannable
  • Using keywords, headings, lists and links

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Knowing how to write well is an important skill for just about anything, but knowing how to write for the web is a whole different ball game. It takes clear and concise copy to gain the attention of your readers in just a few seconds.

This course will help just about anyone — from journalists to technical writers to developers to aspiring bloggers — create content that really engages and converts online. It also will teach you the skills needed to accommodate the requirements of online readers through web design, writing style, structure and SEO.

27. Writing for Brands: Freelancing in the Age of Content Marketing

Offered by: Skillshare

Created by: Contently

Topics include:

  • What content marketing entails
  • The basics of writing for, and working with brands
  • Marketing yourself as a writer
  • How to craft the perfect pitch to a brand

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Have you ever wondered how all of those great bloggers get writing gigs for brands online? This course provides the framework for starting a successful freelance career if that’s something you’d be interested in. Taught by Brian Maehl of Contently, “Writing for Brands” is an actionable, 30-minute writing course that breaks down the process into simple steps.

Whether writing turns into a full-time career for you or just a fun project to tackle on the side, the folks at Contently are happy to help prepare you to pitch your content ideas to brands both big and small.

28. SEO Training Course

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: Moz

Topics include:

  • Building a monthly SEO plan
  • 5 ways to use social media profiles for SEO
  • Link building with Twitter
  • Mapping keywords to content

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Optimizing a web site for search engines requires looking at a ton of unique elements both on and off your website. This course on SEO from the folks at Moz will help you to start making sense of it all. Most importantly, it will help you form consistent SEO habits that you can implement long after this course is over.

If you’re interested in getting started with optimizing your website for search engines and how social media has the power to fit within that strategy, this is a great place to start for beginners.

29. Content Marketing for B2B Enterprises

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: William Flanagan

Topics include:

  • End-to-end B2B marketing tactics and strategies
  • Content creation that converts
  • Identifying industry influencers
  • Building a data system to foster improvement

Skill level: Intermediate – Advanced

About this course:

B2B companies, products and services often require a slightly different approach to content marketing. Customer sales cycles are more drawn out and require various, targeted content types to help assist decision-makers to the next stage.

The entire set of classes in this content marketing course lasts roughy 35 minutes. You’ll learn how to get inside the mind of your market and build content that interests them in a short period of time. Allowing you to get back to running your business!

30. High-Impact Business Writing

Offered by: Coursera

Created by: University of California at Irvine

Topics include:

  • Introduction and basics to business writing
  • Various business document types
  • Informal and social media communication

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Writing great copy that is meant to drive people to take a specific business action is a unique and valuable skill to have for marketers and business owners alike. This “High-Impact Business Writing” course is aimed at helping you get your thoughts on paper in a clear and concise manner.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to GIFs: How to Create Them and When to Use Them

Structured as a 4-week class, you’ll start with the basics of businesses writing, including why it’s important, and move to more advanced topics such as preparing business documents and translating ideas to more informal channels such as social media. In short, helping to to become a business copy whiz!

31. Internet Marketing for Smart People

Offered by: Copyblogger

Created by: Copyblogger

Topics include:

  • Introduction and basics to business writing
  • Various business document types
  • Informal and social media communication

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

With the tagline, “you don’t have to be a genius to master internet marketing,” this 20-part email course from the folks at Copyblogger offers a great starting place for those new to the marketing field. What’s unique about this course is that it digs deeply into the areas of direct response copywriting and relationship building.

It’s set up in “4 Pillars” takes you through various topics such as customer relationships, writing, content marketing and delivering something that’s worth selling.

Free online courses to learn marketing design and imagery

32. Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Graphic Design

Offered by: Skillshare

Created by: Smithsonian Design Museum

Topics include:

  • Identifying and defining basic design principles
  • Effectively critiquing your own work for balance
  • Applying what you’ve learned to your own projects

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Have you ever wanted to get started with design so that you can create your own images for social media and marketing? This “Graphic Design Basics” from will set you up with a solid foundation to branch out as a beginner designer.

In this 35-minute class designers Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips walk students through what it takes to create great designs. Including, the 5 important and fundamental aspects of design and how you can apply those to every one of your projects moving forward.

33. How to Create Better Graphic Design

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: Inoshiro Design

Topics include:

  • Identifying and defining basic design principles
  • Effectively critiquing your own work for balance
  • Applying what you’ve learned to your own projects

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Did you know that in 2016, visual content is more than 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content? Today, it’s becoming important, even crucial for marketers to have at least some basic knowledge of key design terms.

This course does a deep dive into the five steps for better visual communication. These components include creating ideas and applying them to your design, communicating ideas effectively within the design and having a consistent design look and feel.

34. The Landing Page Conversion Course

Offered by: Unbounce

Created by: Unbounce

Topics include:

  • Landing page 101
  • 5 core landing page elements
  • The psychology of conversion

Skill level: Beginner – Intermediate

About this course:

Curious about the power of landing pages in marketing campaigns? Unbounce has the art of a perfect landing page down to a science. And in this comprehensive online marketing class, they share all of that knowledge with you, no questions asked.

The Landing Page Conversion Course takes you from “Landing Page 101” right on down to “Copywriting” and even “Testing and Optimization.” If you’ve ever been curious about the power of landing pages and how they can help you grow your business, this course is the perfect one for you.

35. Visual and Graphic Design

Offered by: ALISON

Created by: XSIQ

Topics include:

  • Using various design elements
  • Drawing and production systems in design
  • The production process for designers

Skill level: Beginner

About this course:

Great design starts with the fundamentals. The free course from ALISON examines various design elements including line, shape, form and texture and design principles, covering composition, balance, contrast and hierarchy. If you’re interested in exploring graphic design, industrial design or the design process in general, this free graphic design class is perfect for you.

36. Graphic Design 101

Offered by: Udemy

Created by: Design and Art Direction Mason Gentry

Topics include:

  • Concept-driven design and implementation
  • Why some design mediums need to communicate more quickly than others
  • Thinking behind great graphic design
  • A birds eye view of the entire field of graphic deisgn

Skill level: Intermediate

About this class:

Are you interested in deepening your knowledge of graphic design or how graphic design can be applied in the real world? The class “Graphic Design 101” is specifically for developers who may know a little about graphic design, but would like to learn more.

Many students who take this class have the ability to recognize a good design when they see one, but may not know why it’s a good design. This free online design class looks to help answer the “why.”

37. DIY Viral Video: A Class on Making iPhone How-To Videos

Offered by: Skillshare

Created by: Nicole Farb

Topics include:

  • Setting up for a great video
  • Tools and techniques for shooting a video
  • Finalizing and sharing a videos online

Skill level: Beginner – Intermediate

About this course: Video marketing is making a huge splash online and on social media. But one thing what we consistently hear is that marketers aren’t quite sure where to start. Yet, videos have the potential to engage an audience in new and exciting ways — just look at BuzzFeed Tasty for an example of the power of video!

In this short class, Nicole Farb shows how you can create your own video in a scrappy, easy and high-quality way and how she has seen huge success with it in the past. Perfect for marketers and social media managers just getting started with video.

 

Entrepreneur.com | December 12, 2016 | Brian Peters

 

#Leadership : How Inefficient Processes Are Hurting Your Company…Siloed, Difficult-to-Use Business Systems Complicate Processes and Hamper Operations. Is This True of your Organization?

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Companies today are burdened by siloed, difficult-to-use business systems that complicate processes and hamper operations. According to market research firm IDC, companies lose 20 to 30 percent in revenue every year due to inefficiencies.

iron works steel and machine parts modern factory indoor hall

Related: 5 Ways CEOs Can Empower Teams to Develop Collaborative Workplaces

And yet, many companies continue to “make do” with their current applications and systems even though those may not be the right solutions. Unfortunately, companies will often repurpose one of these systems for a task which has a plausible functionality for the project — imagine using a flashlight to crack open a walnut — but is still not the right tool for the job.

Sooner or later, that misapplication is likely to cause a problem.

The consequences for using antiquated business process solutions or, gulp, no solutions at all, can be multi-faceted and ultimately damaging to a company’s bottom line.

Here are six common pitfalls that plague companies in nearly every industry due to inefficient or siloed business processes.

1. The silos themselves

Regardless of what industry you are in, or the type of customers you serve, the challenge of managing process flow and operations across diverse platforms and systems is universal. Combining tedious manual tasks with the reliance that company departments have on a smooth daily workflow makes it virtually impossible to maintain any kind of competitive advantage. Yet, this is how most companies operate.

There have been studies done on the effect siloing has on efficiency within certain industries. And the general conclusion has been that silos eat up a huge amount of resources, particularly in terms of interdepartmental cohesiveness. One noteworthy example referenced by author Gillian Tett in her book, The Silo Effect was Sony, whose successful PlayStation department jealously guarded its independence, even as the company’s then-new CEO, Howard Stringer, tried to break down silos.

Related: Triple Your Business’ Efficiency by Using Virtual Assistants

As a result, Sony failed to capitalize on a series of technology shifts — such as the iPod and the rise of digital music devices — that at the time it was in a good position to dominate.

The fix. One of the ways companies can successfully break down work silos is to provide mechanisms to achieve transparency and openness. Companies may want to consider a “single system of record” to achieve transparency, streamline communications and manage performance.

A number of companies have built highly successful systems of record: Salesforce, in the sales function, Intuit in finance and Workday, in human resources are notable ones. Systems of record are typically the backbone of core business processes. Without a solution that keeps everyone and everything connected, an organization is vulnerable to the common issues that plague distributed teams.

 

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2. Poor systems integration

The growth of automation has led to more systems and solutions being in place than ever before, each requiring a set of processes to enable its successful use. According to an IDC survey, The Document Disconnect, over 80 percent of business leaders surveyed from sales, HR, procurement and other departments agreed that problems “arise because they have different internal systems/applications that don’t ‘talk’ to each other,” while 43 percent of workers surveyed said they often have to copy/paste or rekey in information.

Without a standardized solution, such as a SaaS platform that streamlines processes, employees are forced to continuously shift between disparate sources of information, resulting in productivity issues and even greater employee churn.

One major Fortune 500 automotive company cited in the report uses Sharepoint for document repository, Lync for collaboration, two separate document management systems and email for collaborating on critical business processes, such as managing supplies for a new product development initiative. Each process flow lives in a disparate system.

Those processes, in turn, help close the gaps between companies and their customers. And that leads to a more positive bottom line.

3. Bottlenecks

Just because a process has been executed one way for a long time doesn’t necessarily make it the best option. Often, companies will overlook sources of process slowdowns because of their lack of visibility and inability to understand the impact of a bottleneck.

These bottlenecks are sometimes the result of not adapting to new technologies — or “gatekeepers” demanding control over a specific phase of a process.

Regardless of the reason, process hurdles can cause major slowdowns, with far-reaching financial impacts.

General Electric reported that just a 1 percent improvement in oil recovery was worth 80 billion additional barrels per year — the equivalent of billions of dollars in additional revenue. Another GE finding: Avoiding just one day of down-time on an offshore platform can prevent $7 million per day in lost production. 

The fix. Adapting to new technologies and being open to new solutions is the best way to improve processes. Be aware of a process that seems to be slowing down your business and actively pursue a way to improve it.

4. Redundancy

Another common problem for companies of all sizes is process duplication. Repeating steps dilutes the quality of a process and confuses those who execute the steps. This is commonly seen when there is a lack of departmental collaboration, or processes have been adapted in a less-than-systematic way.

The fix. Improving departmental collaboration can bring major benefits. One Fortune 50 consumer-package goods company was able to manage and improve its process flow by eliminating non-value-added activities. These included wasted time, wasted movement, wasted inventory due to overproduction, customer delays, waits for approvals, delays due to batching of work, unnecessary steps, duplication of effort and errors and rework.

5. Lack of insights

Even when companies have the right business intelligence information available, it may be inaccessible or erroneously reported due to a lack of real-time data. Leaders who don’t have the most relevant insights at their fingertips are less likely to make smart choices.

If a leader or sponsor doesn’t know exactly how you’re progressing (for example, where in the given initiative tasks are stalled, how cycle times are being  impacted, whether the time line is being adhered to or whether a task is in the red or the black), it’s difficult to competently prioritize activities.

The fix. Oil and gas companies are an example of what can be gained by using real-time data analysis. They generate massive volumes of data from wells and sensors on their equipment and other assets they have already deployed. Concurrently, drillers and maintenance staff add to this volume by documenting their observations and the issues that concern them.

However, this potentially valuable data is often inaccessible or difficult to analyze because it’s in a text format or locked away in data silos.

6. Loss of operational performance

Without a complete understanding of all components of their business, executives lose the ability to identify critical weaknesses and plan for predictable growth. Simply put, they cannot remain reactive to operational vulnerabilities or mitigate the complexities of running a business in a global economy.

Ultimately, a lack of process visibility leads to the assumption of greater risk, a loss of stakeholder trust and less positive growth.

The fix. Processes that digitally connect suppliers, customers and assets are creating unique and unheralded efficiencies and customer value. From connecting machines on the shop floor to connecting data from different asset vendors, operations in the new digital economy entail using information to inspire new processes.

Related: 3 Ways to Make Your Business More Efficient

Those processes, in turn, help close the gaps between companies and their customers. And that leads to a more positive bottom line.

 

Entrepreneur.com | December 8, 2016 | NICK CANDITO

#Leadership : IKEA Introduces Trailblazing Parental Leave Policy in Retail Sector…Sad but True: The U.S. is Still One of only Four Nations in the World that Fails to Guarantee the Right to Paid Maternity Leave.

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Sweden, on the other hand, is unequivocally the sweetest country for working moms or dads, lavishing parents to a whopping 480 paid days off per child. Several top companies here in the U.S. are finally starting to catch up with the progressive Scandinavian nation, particularly in the tech sector.

Most recently, IKEA expanded its paid benefits to up to four months for new parents — a major breakthrough for a company in the retail industry. Last year, Netflix unveiled a trailblazing unlimited paid leave policy for new moms and dads, inviting them to take off “as much time as they want” in the year following the birth or adoption of a child. Software giant Microsoft also upped its parental leave offering. Adobe quickly followed suit, doubling the paid maternity leave it grants employees.

The message is clear and long overdue: American companies are finally grasping that workers with families require more flexibility than ever before. To get the best out of them — and to keep them from jumping ship — employers must step up and seriously support their charges, and not just in the workplace. On the homefront, too. It’s a smart business move, one that we hope goes viral, coast to coast.

Here are 14 leading U.S. companies offering exceptionally generous parental leave policies:

IKEA

Swedish furniture company IKEA has expanded paid benefits to up to four months for parents with a newborn in their lives. The policy applies to dads, moms and adoptive or foster parents, and to both salaried and hourly employees as well.

Extended paid leave like this is not as common in the retail sector as it is in industries such as technology and finance. For example, Wal-Mart offers 90 days paid maternity leave and 14 days paternity or adoption leave to salaried employees. Target doesn’t commit to any paid parental leave policies.

 

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Etsy

Image credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images

Started in April of this year, Etsy announced it will be giving parents up to six months of paid parental leave. Not only that, but the company has gone so far as to offer new adoption and surrogacy benefits as well coaching programs for new parents and their managers.

“It was the most important way I could have spent that time. Building a company is a team effort that includes the immense support we get from our families,” said Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson.

Spotify

Image credit: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/Stringer | Getty Images

With its roots in Sweden, it’s no surprise the music streaming company offers an awesome parental leave policy. Spotify offers six months of paid leave to full-time moms and dads across the globe. Employees are also offered flexible work options such as the ability to work from home or a part-time schedule upon their return.

The policy is “born out of a Swedish culture that places an emphasis on a healthy work/family balance, gender equality and the ability for every parent to spend quality time with the people that matter most in their lives,” writes Spotify’s chief HR officer Katarina Berg.

Netflix

Image credit: Shutterstock

The 18-year-old Los Gatos, Calif.-based streaming media provider offers new parents unlimited paid leave for one year. The pioneering policy enables them to take off as much time as they want during the first 12 months following the birth or adoption of a child. They also have the choice to come back part-time, full-time or to “return and then go back out as needed.” Not bad on top of unlimited vacation time. The company went even further in early 2016 to include hourly workers in the policy as well.

Related: Netflix Sets a New Standard With Unlimited Parental Leave

Adobe

Image credit: Adobe | Facebook

Starting Nov. 1, the multimedia software juggernaut will provide 16 weeks of paid time off for primary caregivers, “allowing new parents more time to spend bonding with their children.” The generous policy, available to Adobe’s 6,000 U.S. workers, will be extended to mothers and fathers who become parents “through childbirth, surrogacy, adoption or foster care.” With combined medical and parental leave, birth mothers who work at the San Jose, Calif.-based company — which views its employees as its “most important assets” — will be eligible for a total of up to 26 weeks of paid leave.

Twitter

Image credit: Twitter | Facebook

Birth mothers receive a none-too-shabby 20 weeks of paid maternity leave at the eight-year-old company. Meanwhile, new fathers and adoptive parents at Twitter get 10 weeks paid time off. Further cementing its commitment to supporting families with children, the San Francisco, Calif.-based tech social media mammoth also hosts new parent and new parent-to-be roundtables on a quarterly basis. During the meetups, moms and dads ask questions about leave and swap war stories from the messy trenches of parenthood.

Related: Twitter: What Went Wrong

 

 

Google

Image credit: Google | Facebook

Google, which will soon morph into Alphabet, grants biological moms 18 weeks of fully paid and vested maternity leave. Mothers who experience complications during childbirth are given 22 weeks paid time off. Primary caregivers, regardless of gender, are eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid baby-bonding leave, adoptive and surrogate caregivers included. Non-primary caregivers can carve out up to 7 paid weeks off.

On the heels of its maternal leave expansion from 12 weeks to 18 weeks in 2007, Google reported an uptick employee retention. “It just felt like the right thing to do,” a company spokesperson told The Atlantic. Additional perks for parents include priority placement at Bright Horizon child care centers across the U.S. and $500 in “baby bonding bucks.”

Cool fact: Google’s first employee to go out on maternity leave is current YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. She has taken a total of five parental leaves since joining Google in 1999.

Johnson & Johnson

Image credit: Johnson & Johnson | Facebook

Perhaps best known for its baby products, Johnson & Johnson sure knows how to take care of those who take care of babies. New parents, whether by birth or adoption, who work for the 129-year-old consumer products conglomerate are privy to grocery and laundry pick-up services. Mothers get all of up to 17 weeks of paid leave and fathers nine weeks. The Brunswick, N.J.-based legacy brand’s recently expanded parental leave policy extends to parental units of all stripes — maternal, paternal, same-sex or adoptive. Time off can be spread outover the first year following birth or adoption.

Related: Johnson & Johnson Just Gave New Parents Seven More Weeks of Paid Leave

Facebook

Image credit: maxpro | Shutterstock

Facebook, and its hot photo-sharing subsidiary Instagram, furnishes all new mother and father employees with 17 weeks of paid leave. Additionally, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social media behemoth provides a $4,000 “baby cash” stipend for each child adopted or born.

 

We’re curious as to how long founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will head out on leave when he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, welcome their first child, a baby girl. Zuck can divvy it up over a year or use it all at once, that is unless the head honcho is an exception to the rule. Facebook also subsidizes adoption programs, child care, and, somewhat controversially, surrogate parenting, sperm donation and egg freezing initiatives.

Goldman Sachs

Image credit: Goldman Sachs | Official Website

Per its policy published on its official website, Goldman Sachs provides new moms with 16 weeks of paid leave. That includes four weeks of parenting leave at full pay for primary caregivers. Fathers and non-primary caregivers are eligible for four weeks of paid leave. Paid surrogacy and adoption leave is also offered for up to 16 weeks. Breastfeeding new mothers at the New York City-based global financial services firm enjoy around-the-clock access to lactation consultants and are privy to use on-site lactation rooms.

Related: The Ban on Talking in the Elevator at Goldman Sachs Can Finally Go Away

Reddit

Image credit: Reddit | Facebook

Reddit, which has been struggling to clear a path following a string of controversial leadership decisions, offers new mothers and fathers 17 weeks of paid parenting leave. The San Francisco-based company allows for leave to be taken within the first year in two-week stretches at minimum. Like Zynga, HubSpot and Groupon, the troubled social-sharing platform also offers unlimited vacation time.

Bank of America

Image credit: Alexey Rotanov | Shutterstock

The global banking giant boasts a progressive family “life management” program, offering employees who have worked at the company for at least a year up to 12 weeks of paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave. If more time is needed, workers can take up to 14 weeks additional time off without pay.

When it comes to adoption, the Charlotte, N.C.-based banking giant goes above and beyond, reimbursing eligible employees up to $8,000 per legally adopted child. BofA also pays for up to 25 days of childcare center babysitting for kids ages six weeks to 12 years of age, should the primary caregiver be temporarily unavailable during work hours (as in out sick or on vacation). It also reimburses employees up to $240 a month per child for childcare costs incurred while working.

Related: Randi Zuckerberg’s Simple Secret for Juggling Career and Kids

Microsoft

Image credit: Microsoft | Facebook

On Nov. 1, Microsoft will roll out its most expansive parental leave policy yet. Piggybacking the tech industry trend, the Redmond, Wash.-based global software colossus will lengthen its maternity and paternity leave to 12 weeks at full pay, with an additional eight weeks of paid leave for birth mothers. Leave can be taken all at once or in intervals. Birth mothers also have the option to go out on short-term disability during the two weeks leading up to their due dates.

Related: The 7 Books Bill Gates Wants You to Read This Summer

Yahoo

Image credit: KAREN BLEIER | Getty Images

In 2013, after giving birth herself, CEO Marissa Mayer installed a parental leave policy letting mothers take 16 weeks paid leave and fathers eight weeks. The company also offers them an additional $500 to help with any expenses related to the newborn.

 

Entrepreneur.com | December 8, 2016 | Kim Lachance Shandrow

 

 

#Leadership : This Is The Hidden Challenge In The Future Of Work…New Research Suggests we Need to Stop Worrying about Robots Taking our Jobs and Concentrate on Workforce Development.

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On the heels of a mostly positive jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (4.6% unemployment is the lowest it’s been in nine years), the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) released a more sobering snapshot of the world of work.
FutureView

A briefing by MGI director James Manyika, compiled from the company’s extensive research, took a deeper dive into employment numbers. He writes:

In the United States and the 15 core European Union countries (E.U.-15), there are 285 million adults who are not in the labor force—and at least 100 million of them would like to work more. Some 30% to 45% of the working-age population around the world is underutilized—that is, unemployed, inactive, or underemployed. This translates into some 850 million people in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Japan, Brazil, China, and India alone.

Manyika says that unemployment figures typically get the most attention at the expense of those who are underemployed. Indeed, the latest figures from the BLS indicate that the labor force participation rate (a combined total of those who are either working or actively seeking work) is just over 62%, which represents a steady decline since 2000. Parsing the meaning of this decrease is complicated, yet it is often referred to in the broadest sense as proof that the labor market is shrinking due to a variety of factors. The result, regardless of the cause, is a lot of “untapped human potential,” according to Manyika.

THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

This has serious economic consequences that affect every country. Wage stagnation has affected advanced economies despite increases in productivity. The brief also states that globally, 655 million fewer women are economically active than men. In a previous report, MGI revealed that advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to the global GDP by 2025.

 

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WHY MORE PEOPLE AREN’T WORKING

Why is this happening? The MGI brief offers several reasons, including the fact that education hasn’t keep pace with the skills needed for a changing workforce.

McKinsey research found as many as 40% of employers in nine countries said lack of skills was the main reason for entry-level job vacancies. Sixty percent of them said that new graduates were not adequately prepared to work. They cited the lack of both technical and soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and punctuality as reasons they couldn’t fill open positions. A survey conducted by PayScale reached a similar conclusion. Chief among the complaints by hiring managers were that communication, leadership, ownership, and teamwork were missing in this new crop of workers.

The brief also found that cross-border migration has a somewhat negative impact on the labor force. Manyika writes, “Migration boosts global productivity, but its consequences are often feared by native workers, who face labor market disconnects and a lack of well-paid jobs.” He also notes that in the midst of such challenging labor market conditions, “popular sentiment has moved against immigration.”

DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF ROBOTS STEALING JOBS

Perhaps surprisingly, the MGI brief reveals that automation won’t vacuum up jobs and further hurt the labor force.

MGI research on the potential for automation across 54 countries and more than 2,000 work activities indicated that the number of jobs that can be fully automated by adapting currently demonstrated technology is less than 5%. That number could go as high as 20% in some middle skill categories.

That said, even if a job isn’t completely taken over by a robot, MGI found that about 60% of all jobs have a least a third of activities that could be automated based on current technology (think: virtual assistants).

For those workers who might still be worrying they’ll become obsolete, Manyika points out, “One-third of new jobs created in the U.S. in the past 25 years were types that did not exist, or barely existed, in areas including IT development, hardware manufacturing, app creation, and IT systems management.” So while part of your job is likely to become automated in the next few years, chances are there will be something else to take its place.

SOME SOLUTIONS

Manyika notes that the net impact of new technologies on employment can be positive. However, there is still a vast number of people across the globe who aren’t tapped into the potential labor market because they don’t have internet access. He writes:

More than 4 billion people, or over half of the world’s population, is still offline. About 75% of this offline population is concentrated in 20 countries, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania, and is disproportionately rural, low income, elderly, illiterate, and female. The value of connecting these people is significant, and as they enter the global digital economy, the world of work will transform in fundamental ways and at an unprecedented pace.

Training for both those who haven’t had online access before and those who are currently employed can go a long way to driving change in the labor force. Manyika also suggests that policy makers offer companies tax and other incentives to invest in their workforce. Public-private partnerships could also advance online infrastructure to facilitate participation.

Additionally, Manyika recommends rethinking incomes. “If automation (full or partial) does result in a significant reduction in employment and/or greater pressure on wages,” he explains, “some ideas such as universal basic income, conditional transfers, and adapted social safety nets could be considered and tested.”

 

FastCompany.com | LYDIA DISHMAN 12.07.16 5:00 AM

Your #Career : 7 Things That Will Destroy Your Career… Most People Kill their Careers in Subtle, Decidedly Undramatic Ways. And It’s a Shame Because it Happens All the Time.

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There are so many things that can kill the careers of good, hard-working people. Honest mistakes often carry hard-hitting consequences.

man-on-staircase

Most people  kill their careers in subtle, decidedly undramatic ways. And it’s a shame because it happens all the time.

A recent survey by VitalSmarts found that 83% of people had seen someone make a blunder that had catastrophic results for their career, reputation, or business, and 69% admitted that they themselves had done something that had damaged their careers:

• 31% said it cost them a promotion, a raise, or even a job

• 27% said it damaged a working relationship 

• 11% said it destroyed their reputation

These numbers show how damaging you can be to your own career if you’re not careful. There doesn’t have to be a single, sickening moment when you realize that you just shoved your foot firmly in your mouth, either. Little things can add up over time and undermine your career just as much as (or more than) one huge lapse in judgment. The good news is that if you stay aware of them, these are all things that you can control before they creep up on you and kill your career.

1. Playing politics. Working hard to build strong work relationships is very different from instigating conflict, choosing sides, undermining colleagues, spreading rumors, and all of the other things that fall under the umbrella of “playing politics.” Again, it comes down to authenticity. If you find yourself sneaking around or if you’re embarrassed if some of your behind-the-scenes manipulations come to light, that’s politics. Stick to strategies you’d be proud to discuss in front of your colleagues.

 

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2. Over-promising and under-delivering. It’s tempting to promise the moon to your colleagues and your clients, especially when you’re honest and hardworking and believe that you can do it. The problem is that there’s no point in creating additional pressure that can make you look bad. If you promise to do something ridiculously fast and you miss the deadline by a little bit, you’ll likely think that you did a good job because you still delivered quickly.

But the moment you promise something to someone, they expect nothing less. You end up looking terrible when you fall short, which is a shame, because you could have done the same quality work in the same amount of time with great results if you’d just set up realistic expectations from the beginning. This is one of those situations where perception matters more than reality. Don’t deliberately undershoot your goals; just be realistic about the results you can deliver so that you’re certain to create expectations that you will blow out of the water.

3. Complacency. How long has it been since you proactively learned a new skill, reached out to your networking contacts, or even polished up your resume? If you can’t remember, you might have become a bit complacent, and complacency is a real career killer. It’s what happens when you’re just along for the ride and assume that nothing will ever change. But we’ve seen enough disruption—technological and otherwise—over the last few years to realize that change is inevitable. If you’re always too busy to learn something new or to expand your network, you’ve got your priorities mixed up. However, if you make continuous growth and development a priority, you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way.

4. Fear of change. Fear of change is complacency’s evil twin. It actively works to keep things the same. I’m sure you’ve seen this one first hand at work when someone uttered the dreaded words, “But we’ve always done it this way.” Things are changing too fast these days to latch on so tightly to the status quo, and the costs of doing so can be huge.

In one survey, 91% of respondents said that the most successful employees are the ones who can adapt to the changing workplace. Change is a constant part of our lives, both personally and professionally. It doesn’t matter whether you think things should change or whether you prefer the old ways—change just is. You don’t have to learn to love it, but you do have to learn to stop resisting it and to start adapting to it.

5. Having an inflatable ego. Did you ever work with someone who had a string of successes and started thinking that they were the be-all and end-all of superstardom? Success is great. It definitely boosts your career, and it feels really, really good. The problems start once you let it go to your head. You start thinking that success is going to last forever and that you’re entitled to it. Never, ever be content with resting on your laurels. Once you start thinking that you’re the cat’s meow, you’re setting yourself up for very painful failure.

6. Low emotional intelligence (EQ). Everyone knows that you can get fired for being unable or unwilling to play nicely with others, but what trips up a lot of people is having a poorly developed poker face. If everyone can tell when you’re bored or irritated or that you think something a colleague says is stupid, this will catch up with you. Emotional outbursts, belittling others, shutting co-workers down when they speak, low self-awareness, and just generally being difficult are other ways that a lack of emotional intelligence will do great harm to your career.

7. Sucking up to your boss. Some people suck up to their boss and call it managing up, but that isn’t the case at all. Sucking up has nothing to do with a real relationship built on respect; it is sneaky and underhanded. Suck-ups try to get ahead by stroking the boss’s ego instead of earning his or her favor. That doesn’t go over well with colleagues who are trying to make it on merit. Yes, you want to bolster your relationship with your boss, but not by undermining your colleagues. That’s the key distinction here. For a boss-employee relationship to work, it has to be based on authenticity. There’s no substitute for merit.

Bringing It All Together

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they can only damage their careers by making one huge misstep, but the reality is that it’s usually not that dramatic.

Have you seen people killing their careers? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

 

Forbes.com | December 6, 2016 | Travis Bradberry

 

#Leadership : The 9-to-5 Workweek Is Dead. Here’s What’s Next…Could Reimagining the 40-Hour Week Grind Make your Company More Productive?

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Your mind could have drifted thousands of miles away, but as long as your body showed up to work at Dallas-based tax firm Ryan, that was all that mattered. “We literally ranked people by hours,” says Delta Emerson, president of Ryan’s global shared services.

Conceptual portrait of a business lady with clock being short of time

“Even if someone worked 24 hours the day before, they still had to book at least eight hours Monday through Friday.” The clock was seen as an easy proxy for work ethic, and employees who logged marathon sessions at their desks “wore their hours like a badge, practically tattooed on their foreheads,” Emerson says. “But it was at a cost.”

Emerson didn’t want to just tweak the workweek. She wanted to bust it open. But when she pitched the idea of flexible hours, she was almost thrown out of the CEO’s office. A resignation letter from a rising star finally got her the green light. Now the firm measures results–not time. Some staffers work as little as 20 hours a week; some start at 7 a.m., others at 10 a.m.; some commute to the office only twice a week. Since the 2008 shift, revenue has grown 15 percent year over year, customer satisfaction is higher than ever before, and turnover has plummeted.

The Case for the Enlightened Schedule :  In the war for talent, flexibility is no longer just a perk.
29%
of college students think being able to work remotely with a flexible schedule is a right, not a privilege.
66 percent
of Millennials say having a boss who doesn’t support flexible schedules has factored into their decision to leave a job.
72%
of working parents say that people who work flex hours have fewer pay/promotional opportunities.

Is the headache of uprooting an orderly 40-hour, anchored-to-the-desk schedule worth it? All the indicators point to yes. “Millennials may have sent flexibility to the top of HR agendas, but now it’s increasingly the norm across all generations,” says Lisa Horn, a director at the Society for Human Resource Management. Technology has made working from anywhere possible, and the uptick in dual-earner families makes rigid hours less attractive to talent.

“The idea that employees are like machines–if they put eight hours in you’ll get x dollars out–is absurd,” says Ryan Carson, founder and CEO of Portland, Oregon-based startup Treehouse, an education technology company, which lets its employees set their own schedules. “Why not give people flexibility so they don’t have to choose?” You can reinvent your company’s workweek using this advice as a guide.

1. Debunk the 40-Hour Myth

The eight-hour workday was introduced by Henry Ford in the early 1900s as a way to attract autoworkers, many of whom were accustomed to 12-hour shifts. More recently, Basecamp’s Jason Fried thought it was time to modernize the workday to fit the needs of employees at his Chicago-based software company. “There’s nothing magical about 40 hours,” says Fried, whose staffers work just 32 hours a week from May through August. The co-founder (and Inc. columnist) says having fewer hours to complete a task sharpens employee focus.

 

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2. Adapt to Peak-Performance Styles

When Nate Reusser revamped the schedule at Roanoke, Indiana-based web developer Reusser Design to four 10-hour days, he realized he’d traded in one type of rigidity for another. “Some people loved it, but others were so wiped by Thursday that they couldn’t keep up,” he says. Now he lets employees pick whichever schedule best suits their working style. “The real goal is to remove interruptions so that people can be productive,” says Reusser.

3. Synchronize Schedules

When Ryan first began unshackling teams from the clock, “our biggest mistake was not training our managers,” says Emerson. Now managers have a blueprint to help with their team’s unorthodox schedule: Are there any days when the whole team comes into the office? Are there certain hours that are off limits for meetings? Emerson says, “You have to do the work to set those ground rules so people can really work together”–even when they’re in different places or putting in different hours.

FROM THE DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 ISSUE OF INC. MAGAZINE
By Kate Rockwood

Freelance writer

Your #Career : 22 Things that Make you Sound Rude in a Job Interview…Here are Some Particularly Inconsiderate, Alienating Things to Avoid Saying in an Interview.

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Most people don’t try to come across as rude — for whatever reason, they just don’t realize how their actions look to others. That can lead to a rather rude awakening for them down the line, once they’re confronted with the consequences of their conduct.

interview-desk-2

One of the worst places that you can come off as disrespectful is during a job interview. You want to charm and impress your interviewer, not turn them off with bad behavior.

Here are some particularly inconsiderate, alienating things to avoid saying in an interview:

1. ‘I’ve been waiting a while’

You are totally justified in being annoyed that your interviewer kept you waiting. That being said, you get no brownie points for grumbling.

2. ‘Hi! I know I’m late…’

Yes, it’s a bit of a double standard that the interviewee typically can’t be late while the interviewer can get away with it. But the interviewer is typically the one with the power, so just get over it.

Make sure you give yourself enough time to get to the job interview — even if that means showing up super early and waiting around at a nearby Starbucks.

And if you are late, don’t draw attention to it or make excuses. Quickly apologize and move on.

 

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3. ‘What happens if I don’t get along with my boss or coworkers?’

This doesn’t necessarily make you sound rude, per se. It’s a weird question, though. Your interviewer may just assume that you’re impolite and unable to work with others.

4. ‘Are you married?/Do you have kids?/How old are you?/etc.’

Never ask the interviewer any personal questions.

5. ‘I heard this rumor about the CEO. Is it true?’

You should never bring gossip into a job interview. It’s highly unprofessional.

6. ‘Who should I avoid in the office?’

Don’t embroil yourself in coworker drama before you’ve even stepped foot into the office. This just makes you sound like a petty person.

7. ‘What does your company do?’

You didn’t care enough about the job to run a quick Google search? Questions like this will make you look unprepared and inconsiderate.

8. ‘I don’t have weaknesses’

Yes, you do. Claiming not to have shortcomings just makes you come across as arrogant.

9. ‘S—,’ ‘b—-,’ ‘f—,’ etc.

Hold off on the profanities. Curse words will make you sound vulgar and unprofessional.

10. ‘How did I do?’ or ‘Did I get the job?’

This one puts the interviewer on the spot. If you really want feedback, wait until you get the offer or rejection, and then ask in an email what you did well or could have done better.

11. ‘I feel like this is your organization’s big weakness’

It’s great if you’re coming to the table with a lot of ideas on how to improve the organization. Try to keep your language positive, though, or your interviewer may wonder why you’re even interviewing in the first place.

12. ‘Excuse me, I need to take this call really quickly’

Are you kidding me?

13. ‘I just need a job’

Seriously, contain your enthusiasm. This may be true, but definitely don’t admit it to your interviewer.

14. ‘Hi — let’s get started’

Don’t just barge in and start talking. You may be nervous and eager to get it over with, but remember to introduce yourself first.

15. ‘Sorry — I’ve got to run!’

What have you got, a date or something? Try to keep your schedule relatively uncluttered on the day of the interview.

16. ‘I’d like a coffee/water/tea’

If the interviewer offers, then it’s fine to ask for a beverage. Just don’t forget to say “please” and “thank you.” In fact, you should show off that you have good manners when you can during the interview.

17. ‘I … I … I …’

Yes, job interviews are all about discussing yourself and your abilities. That being said, you want to keep the focus on how you can help the organization. The conversation should always go back to that main thesis.

18. ‘The office isn’t what I thought it would be’

You’re here as a job candidate, not as a super-critical interior decorator. Don’t imply that you’re disappointed or underwhelmed.

19. ‘How did you get this role?’

You really don’t want to say anything that could be considered condescending to the person standing between you and a potential job.

20. ‘Can you believe this election?’ or ‘Who did you vote for?’

Keep politics out of conversations with your interviewer. If they bring it up first, then do what you can to change the conversation.

21. ‘Dude/honey/girls/ladies/man’

This one’s a toss-up. Some people are totally cool with being called things like “guys” or “ladies.” Others get really irked. It’s probably better to err on the side of caution here, lest you come off as belittling or disrespectful.

22. ‘That’s not how I’m used to doing it’

If you start talking about the nitty gritty details of your new job, make sure to avoid coming across like you think you know better than anyone else. Criticizing the company’s way of doing this is a surefire way to alienate your interviewer.

 

Businessinsider.com | December 5, 2016 | Jacquelyn Smith, Rachel Gillett and Áine Cain

 

Your #Career : Job Hunting Through The Holidays…Now is Not the Time to Stop All that Momentum you Have Been Developing.

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Can I tell you a little secret? Smart people keep job hunting through the holidays.

Free- Holiday Dinner

Smart people realize a few things about job hunting through the holidays:

  • There is less competition
  • Hiring managers are still looking
  • HR professionals get to pick from a very smart and select group

Family will understand

Your friends and family will understand and appreciate that you are actively on the job hunt. If you need to jump out of a family gathering to make a phone call or perhaps even make a quick trip to a job site or a city you’re interested in. Trust me, they’ll understand.

Related: 6 Ways to Use the Holiday Season to Your Advantage

 

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Just keep swimming

Of course this is a famous line from Dory in Finding Nemo. Her philosophy works well for job hunting too. Sometimes even though the waters might be getting deep and dark and a little scary you need to… just keep swimming.

Keep your energy up

While it may seem like everyone else is out having fun and enjoying the holidays your current job is to find a job. While you continue that hunt you need to make sure you keep your energy up. Eat right, exercise and get some sleep. You’ll be ready to dive right in when that hiring manager calls.

Keep your effort up

Without a doubt people will be taking vacations and breaks at this time of the year. However, by being diligent and smart about your job hunt you can stay top of mind and ready to hit the ground running when someone realizes you are still looking and available.

Related: Job Search Tactics That Work

Keeping these points in mind will help you stand out in your career. Even though you might be kickstarting or expanding your career you will be in a select group of people that realize the benefits of continuing the job search through the holidays. These efforts will help you now and in the future to stand out in your career.

 

Entrepreneur.com | December 3, 2016 | Jeff Shuey

#Leadership : The Productive Manager’s Guide To The Holiday Season Slump…Easing Up on Certain Rules this Time of Year Rather than Enforcing them May Actually Lead to Better Outcomes.

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 The approach of the holiday season is something many managers greet with quiet dread. From Thanksgiving onward, a steadily rising wave of excitement and distraction can threaten to get in the way of focused work. But the wisest—and, ultimately, most productive—approach is not to fight it.

Free- Holiday Dinner

Making room for a little festive fun, within limits, can be a great way to bring your team together when they’re having trouble staying focused on their own.

Rules can’t be regularly flouted, as every good manager knows. But there are certain times when enforcing them as strongly as you would at other times is actually counterproductive. As the author Terry Pratchett once wrote, rules exist “so that you think before you break ’em.”

Maybe you have a rule that every team needs to have someone present during business hours in case of an inquiry—makes sense. But is your B2B sales team really going to generate any major leads between Christmas and New Year’s? Is anyone going to be contacting the internal auditors when other teams are down to skeleton crews? Maybe at this time of year, some teams can be let off the hook while vital services like IT keep someone on site.

Think through the typical rules you enforce during the rest of the calendar year, and ask yourself whether they’ll really lead to the desired outcome during the run-up to the holidays.

If there are any you can ease up on, make sure you clearly explain why it will or won’t be enforced. You don’t want it to look arbitrary. Flexibility and understanding are easy ways to show employees that you see them as human beings, and this is an ideal time of year to remind them of that.

 

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MAKE SPACE FOR SILLINESS

People will want to have some fun this time of year. Maybe it’s wearing a Santa hat, or racing tinsel-covered wheelie chairs down the office hall 10 minutes before closing. Don’t license mayhem, but realize that stamping out all the fun will make people grumpy and disengaged. Letting them get away with too much, on the other hand, will stop any work being done. So strike a balance.

Let people get a little more playful in controlled ways—festive decorations are probably fine, for instance, as long as they don’t intrude on others’ concentration. Let people mess around a little in the last week before the holidays, but keep an eye out for too much time being lost.

REWARD GOOD DISCIPLINE

With people so easily distracted, this is the perfect time to give rewards and praise for those who stay focused.

Public praise or recognition from your usual reward system can help deserving team members feel validated, rather than left out for working hard while their coworkers may be slacking off. It’ll also encourage others to knuckle down at a time of year when that tends to get harder.

JOIN IN THE FUN

Trying too hard to be the “fun boss” can backfire. But as a manager, keeping your distance and staying too remote can turn out just as badly.

The holidays are a perfect time to show your fun side. Join in with festivities, but do it as an equal. For the length of a team dinner or happy hour, let yourself be part of the crowd, and talk about sports, TV, and holiday or vacation plans. Just don’t try to dominate the socializing—that will only remind people that you’re still fixated on being their boss.

LET EMPLOYEES CRAFT THEIR OWN CELEBRATIONS

The business—or just you as a boss—can actually facilitate some work festivities this time of year. A lunch together to celebrate the past year’s accomplishments is an easy way to help a team bond. An after-work holiday party can bring folks together and help everyone relax.

A little funding helps, too. Even small investments can create a nice show of goodwill. If you’re paying for a celebration, even in part, then employees are more likely to turn up, rather than ditching work festivities for personal plans.

But there’s a big difference between paying and running the show. If possible, let employees shape the celebrations for themselves. This might mean letting your team pick where to eat or improvising a social committee to plan an office party. Whatever you do, make sure any year-end celebration is inclusive, and that your employees are in control. The more it’s to their tastes, the more they’ll engage with it, decompress, and have fun. All of which adds up to better engagement with the business and their work once the party’s over.

BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT TIME

The holidays can put a lot of pressure on people, especially on their time. They’re shopping for gifts, attending their kids’ school functions, making travel arrangements, and trying to attend a host of social functions—all while working. So try to avoid adding to that pressure.

Wherever possible, try to be a little more flexible than usual about time. Shuffle schedules around so people can let off some steam when they need to and take care of the responsibilities in their personal lives that tend to pile up during the season.

If you offer flex-time, now’s the chance to let employees use it, and simply make up any additional time off in the New Year, once things settle down. They’ll feel less stressed, better engaged, and more positive about work—not to mention their lives outside it.

 

FastCompany.com | MARK LUKENS |  12.02.16 5:00 AM