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Your #Career : 5 Crazy Reasons You Could Get Fired…Whether you’re the Best Employee in the Office or the Worst, There has Likely been a Time — Even if Only for a Moment — That you’ve Thought About your Losing your Job.

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This List of Crazy Reasons People have Lost their Jobs contains ATypical Reasons: These Terminated Employees Broke Rules that you Wouldn’t Necessarily Find in a Traditional Employee Handbook or Code of Conduct.

Show up to your job on time, always turn in your best work, and be a team player — these are all characteristics of a good employee. Every office has great employees and employees who are, well, not so great. You know, those employees who do just enough to get by and just enough to keep their jobs. Maybe you are one of those employees, and maybe you know one.

Whether you’re the best employee in the office or the worst, there has likely been a time — even if only for a moment — that you’ve thought about your losing your job. Maybe this fear was the result of an emergency that warranted an unplanned absence, or perhaps you had life stressors that just rendered you off your game for a few weeks. Job security has become a major concern during and after the recession and the mass layoffs that came along with it. In February 2009 alone, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employers took more than 3,000 mass layoff actions involving over 325,000 workers.

 Even considering these mass layoff situations, most people like to think they know what to expect when it comes to job security. “If I do what I’m supposed to, I will keep my job,” people think to themselves reassuringly. But sometimes, the task of doing what you’re supposed to is more ambiguous than you could ever imagine.

This list of crazy reasons people have lost their jobs contains atypical reasons: These terminated employees broke rules that you wouldn’t necessarily find in a traditional employee handbook or code of conduct.

1. EMAILING IN ALL CAPS

 

Source: Thinkstock

WHEN YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS, IT KIND OF SEEMS AS THOUGH YOU’RE YELLING, DOESN’T IT?

 

In the office, this is a big no-no. As we all know, a large degree of our communication back and forth to one another is via email, and writing emails to co-workers in ALL CAPS may be viewed as the equivalent of shouting at your co-workers, a behavior that is cause for termination.

 This was the case for one New Zealand worker. According to CBS News, the worker had a pattern of writing emails in all caps and — to add insult to loud, obnoxious injury — she also drafted her emails in red font. Upon her canning, she sued her employer for wrongful termination and actually won a judgement for $17,000.

If this worker lived in the U.S., she may have had a harder time suing an “at-will” employer for wrongful termination. Some employee handbooks even spell out email etiquette to help avoid these types of occurrence.

 

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2. Too Much Customer Interaction

 

Source: Thinkstock

Customer service is a big problem these days. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to get a knowledgeable and caring associate to help you with your concerns. Accenture reports that in 2013, more than 60 percent of global consumers changed service providers due to poor customer service.

Walmart may not have the best reputation when it comes to customer service, but the corporation does have one strict philosophy: Employees should never touch customers. Well, according to ABC News, one Black Friday a few years back, a 73-year-old Walmart worker said she had to break this rule, supposedly in efforts to protect herself and to contain a situation. The megastore fired the employee, citing to ABC that “based on the information we have, the situation led to a bad experience for our customer and it could have been avoided. We had to make a tough decision — one that we don’t take lightly.”

 Without being there or seeing any video footage, no one will ever know what truly happened, except for Walmart, the former-employee, and that customer.

3. Too Sexy for Your Job?

 

Trust is the foundation upon which every relationship is built — or is it? The New York Times reported on an Iowa-based dentist who fired his dental assistant because she was just too darn beautiful.
Why? He found her irresistibly attractive and, as a married man, he was concerned about the possibility of temptation. Apparently, this was the optimal choice over simply exercising self control and reviewing all of the potential ethical ramifications associated with such a move.

Consequently, the dental assistant took the case to court, where it was shockingly dismissed. The court found that the assistant was fired “not because of her gender but because she was a threat to the marriage of Dr. Knight.” The former employee appealed but to no avail, and the lower court’s decision was upheld; the state supreme court found that she “may be lawfully terminated simply because the boss views the [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][her] as an irresistible attraction,” reports the Times. 
The lesson? You can be fired for something you have absolutely no control over — namely, your looks and the way someone else views your physical appearance.

 

4. Angry Waitress

 

immy Fallon’s show is pretty much always good for a late-night laugh. A while back, the show had viewers tweet reasons why they got canned on Twitter using the hashtag #howigotfired. There were some real doozies, but one that stood out involved a waitress who took the old “you need this 50 cent tip more than I do” to the next level.

This particular waitress served a party of 10 people who left her only a 48 cent tip. She then proceeded to go out to the parking lot and throw the change at their cars. Perhaps this is a move deserving of a good canning.

5. Social Media Mishaps

 

With only 140 characters to say what you want to say, it can be tough to get your thoughts across and be completely PC, all while ensuring your message is a clear and readable one. Generally, as a rule of thumb, if you have any question as to whether or not your post is appropriate, don’t post it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Social media mishaps occur regularly, and CNN reported on a few. A Denver math teacher published revealing photos on her social media account and tweeted about pot smoking and other behaviors that we would not think of as characteristic of a teacher. These posts got her fired in spite of their popularity among her students.

A California Pizza Kitchen worker was also fired for his tweeting. His profanity on the company’s Twitter page, along with his strong negative opinions about the company’s new uniforms, led to his dismissal. Then, there was good old Gilbert Gottfried, who “gottfired” from Aflac after insensitive remarks about the Japan tsunami.
These are just a few of the many, many examples of social media-related cannings. Think before you post. And, of course, don’t drink and post.

 

Cheatsheet.com | August 23, 2015 | Erika Rawes

http://www.cheatsheet.com/personal-finance/5-crazy-reasons-you-could-get-fired.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3jfyp4ahC[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

#Leadership : How To Manage People Who Are Older Or Have More Expertise Than You…Here’s What you Need to Know When it Comes to Managing People Who are Older or Have More Expertise than You.

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You were just Promoted into a Management Position or Asked to Lead a Project Team – and You’re the Youngest Person in the Group. Here’s what you need to know when it comes to managing people who are older or have more expertise than you.

 

When I began my career in the sales operations department at a large medical equipment company, I was like most college graduates – excited and willing to work hard to learn everything possible. Within a year, my employer acquired another company and I was chosen by management to work on integrating the sales operations departments of both companies. I was 23 years old.

To make matters worse, I was also petite in size (former gymnast) and had blonde hair. In baseball terms, you could say that I had three strikes against me: young, petite and blonde.

I still remember my first trip to the acquired company as if it were yesterday. After taking a taxi from the airport, I checked in with the receptionist and waited in the empty reception area. A few minutes later a man, who appeared to be in his early 50s, came down the stairs, looked around the reception room (ignoring me) and then went over to the receptionist. I watched the receptionist point to me, the man shook his head, and then the receptionist pointed to me again.

As the man walked toward me, his expression changed from surprise to shock. “You’re the person they sent here for the integration work?” he asked, with disbelief (bordering on disdain) dripping from his voice. “How old are you anyway? Sixteen?”

That integration project was my first experience managing a group of people who were older than me. It was challenging, frustrating and yet exhilarating. Over time and as the team got to know me, the negative comments about my age took on a different tone and evolved from “I thought this was take your daughter to work day” and “I can’t believe they sent someone so young” to “I can’t believe you know so much about the computer system and processing orders.”

Through my own experiences and as a career coach helping others, here are seven insights when it comes to managing people who are older or more experienced.

Be confident in your skills, and don’t let other people’s comments negatively affect your performance. If you’ve been given a leadership position, there’s obviously at least someone who believes you can do the job. So stop worrying about your age, dig deep for inner self-confidence and try to let any negative comments about your age roll off your back.

 

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Value the expertise of others, but don’t shy away from being the leader. Generally speaking, the older the employee, the more knowledgeable they are. Get to know the people on your team, so you can take advantage of each individual’s areas of expertise. Treat all employees with the same level of respect and give credit to others where credit is due. But, never forget that you’re the group’s leader – and that you must act accordingly.

Be a leader, but don’t over-exert your authority. While we’re on the topic of leadership, remember that it’s about inspiring others. As John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” A good leader is part of the team and willingly participates; a bad boss expects the team to work for them. Avoid using the power of your management position or coercive power (threats of punishment) to get things done – as this is a key sign of an insecure manager.

 Be “real” with your team, and don’t claim expertise you don’t have. No one is an expert in every topic, so don’t try to pretend that you are. Most people appreciate honesty about strengths and weaknesses, so be willing to share yours with the team and encourage others to do the same. Being truthful with your team will also help to build trust.

Share your vision, but ask for the input and feedback from others. You might be young, but that doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing. So share your vision for the team/department/group. Just don’t forget to solicit their advice and feedback. This will also help ensure buy-in to the final solution or strategic plan.

Manage with compassion, but don’t be afraid to address issues. Being a compassionate manager means showing kindness, treating others with respect and demonstrating a willingness to help everyone on your team. But it doesn’t mean employees can take advantage of you, simply because of your young age. Compassion is also about holding others accountable for their life lessons when there are performance, behavior or ethical issues – so don’t shy away from conflicts; address them immediately when they occur.

Learn everything you can about how to be a people manager, and use your HR department as your career development partner. Becoming a people manager (especially of employees who are older or have more expertise) sometimes feels like jumping into the deep end of a really cold swimming pool for the first time – both terrifying and exciting. Don’t feel like you have to go it alone. Most HR specialists are excellent at helping new managers create career development plans, connecting them with experienced mentors and helping them obtain training to learn all the necessary skills for managing others.

Lisa Quast, author of the book, Secrets of a Hiring Manager Turned Career Coach: A Foolproof Guide to Getting the Job You Want. Every Time. Join me on Twitter @careerwomaninc

 

Forbes.com | August 17, 2015 | Lisa Quast 

#Strategy : How to Find Someone’s Work Email Using Just their Name … Automated the Process of Hunting for Someone’s corporate Email with a Nifty New Chrome Extension Built on Top of Gmail.

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If you’ve ever tried to figure out what someone’s work email address might be — knowing only their name — you know how frustrating it can be. “First initial plus last name” is a safe bet, but it’s not always right.

 

But now developer Oleg Campbell has automated the process of hunting for someone’s corporate email with a nifty new Chrome extension built on top of Gmail. It’s called, descriptively, Name2Email.

 

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Here’s how it works.

After you install the Name2Email extension, you simple open Gmail and enter the person’s first name, last name, and work domain email — starting with @ — into the “compose” box. Name2Email will then automatically generate the most common corporate email patterns for you.

Next, simply hover your mouse over the generated addresses, and when you see a popup with the person’s name appear, bingo — that’s the right address.

Commenters on Product Hunt have already suggested that a little machine learning could eventually reduce the number of possible emails the extension pulls up.

This extension is similar to Rapportive, which lets you see if your guesses for someone’s corporate email are correct. But Name2Email does the guessing work for you.

Get the Name2Email extension here or visit its page on Product Hunt.

 

 
  • Aug. 21, 2015, 3:08 PM

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-find-someones-work-email-with-name2email-chrome-extension-2015-8#ixzz3jU4mlQYD

#Leadership : A CEO Shares the Letter he Sends to Every Job Candidate before Making an Offer…You are Receiving this Letter Because we Believe You are the Right Person to Lead our Much-Needed Growth at this Important Stage of our Organization, & We are Honored you are Considering Joining the Possible team.

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A few years ago, I Read a Letter a Social Entrepreneur Sent to Every Candidate Before he Made an Offer. It had a profound impact on me even as someone who wasn’t considering joining his team, so we started the practice at Possible.

 

Mark Arnoldy, CEO of Possible.

I wanted to share the letter we use in hopes that it will encourage others to do the same. We’ve found that potential team members appreciate getting this candid, longer-form “inside look” at the implicit expectations of how we operate.

 

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As a result, there are fewer surprises on both sides, and we find people who are able to immediately evangelize for our culture from the moment they enter the organization.

—

Dear John,

You are receiving this letter because we believe you are the right person to lead our much-needed growth at this important stage of our organization, and we are honored you are considering joining the Possible team.

Please know this is not an invitation we dole out liberally. Quite to the contrary, an extraordinary amount of time and energy has been put into identifying and recruiting the very special type of committed individual it takes to do this work, to put our patients first, and to advance our for-impact culture.

The purpose of this letter and the two documents that come along with it is to give you an inside look at the organization as you consider an upcoming offer from us.

Often, it is very difficult to get a sense of certain elements of an organization  —  elements like core values, management style, implicit expectations, and culture.

And second, we’ve taken the time to clarify our approach to management  —  including the goals, tools, and techniques we use. Please also make sure you’ve taken the time to read about The Role of Management at Possible. Please take the time to read through our For-Impact Culture Code, and make certain the principles we operate on resonate with you.

Even after reading these two documents, I think there is a lot of value in you seeing the long-form of a few ideas that are really influential in our organization.

Efficiency as a moral must

It is the job of all team members to turn time into resources and opportunity for our patients. Thus, there is a critical and constant push towards making our individual and organizational systems as efficient as possible. There is a belief here that purpose ought to triumph over profit, thus the need to have clear expectations, 100% follow-through, and efficient systems of management and operations is considered greater than in the private sector.

We aren’t perfect, but that’s the framework we work within. We value hard work and long hours. But we value smart work, productivity hacks, and incredibly well-run meetings even more. We don’t need you to be a martyr or live an extraordinarily austere lifestyle to fit in. We just need you to care about getting the most important work done most efficiently and pushing everyone to be better at doing the same. To keep it simple, a bit crass, and put into popular parlance of the times — we have a “get s— done” culture where concision and results are king.

Deep mission integrity

We ensure that what we think is what we say, and what we say is what we do. We constantly worry about our actual impact rather than appearances, and thus select goals that represent truly meaningful progress, even if they are difficult to achieve or market.

You will pick up a sense of skepticism from team members in regards to work, internally or externally by others, that seems driven too much by hero stories, ego, magic bullets, or marketability without impact. We avoid that and are authentic about our successes and shortcomings. This is why we believe so deeply in … (see next section).

Transparency

We believe in being transparent until it hurts. It is an accountability guarantee against our own human frailties, and it is a way to shift an important global paradigm. We also do not believe that, over the long-term, it serves our movement to make this work appear easier than it actually is.

Hiding challenges and failures for fear of punishment from the media or funders hurts the ability of our own organization and others to learn, iterate, and improve. It also disguises and delays the roll-out of truly effective solutions. The things we believe are most important to be transparent about are our impact data, finances, and failures.

Sense of humility and respect

It takes a special commitment to do this work. We value those who are part of this community and have a commitment to curiosity in order to learn from other individuals and organizations. In any debate or question that comes up within the team, our mission and data provide the metric for the answer, and discussion is founded upon a respect for one another.

Possibility

We bring a sense of possibility to this work and act as if it is within our control to achieve something great and world-changing. Everything is impossible until it isn’t.

Lastly, here are a couple of hints about how we try to operate in terms of decision-making and delegation of responsibility.

Cover photoPossible

Hierarchy vs. collaboration

While we have an extremely collaborative and inclusive culture  —  with a lot of information made available to the entire team and even the public  —  for any given project there should always be one clear decision-maker. Taking this philosophy from Apple, we call this person the “DRI” (or directly responsible individual).

That person will typically listen to all views and then make the best decision they can. We call this “consult and decide.” For this working strategy to be effective, there is an informal social contract that has to be followed by each party.

The ‘decider’ must create an efficient and clear architecture for feedback, listen to understand, and be willing to change. The ‘consulter’ has to respect the decision, regardless of initial personal views, and be committed to implement it with excellence. We cannot have people spending time butting heads on small day-to-day or week-to-week issues or else we sacrifice efficiency and results for the sake of collaboration. We do invite respectful conflicts on big and important issues at sessions and forums dedicated to vision and strategy.

Welcome feedback. Only offer it “in real life” (IRL)

Everyone requires a healthy amount of steady feedback to continue to learn, grow, and produce higher quality work. We’ve set a few ground rules about how that feedback should occur:

  1. Don’t give long-winded feedback on small matters. Lions can catch, kill, and eat mice, but they will die doing so because this is a calorie-negative activity. Instead, they have to hunt antelopes. Give time-intensive feedback on the organizational antelopes, not the mice.
  2. More broadly, we ask that any critical feedback that is unsolicited not be sent over email. Despite any attempts at clarification that can be made, history has shown that there are too many misinterpretations through this chain. The only way we give critical feedback is ‘IRL’ (in real life — call or in-person) unless an individual asks for critical feedback over email specifically. The space for feedback is structured into weekly one-on-one meetings between managers and team members.
  3. Those giving feedback must have the humility to know they could be wrong or that their feedback won’t always manifest in the next decision by the decision-maker.

Responsibility is earned and mission-driven

Possible is a meritocracy  —  within our contracts, everyone’s responsibilities and work are determined by both our capabilities to do an excellent job and by the organization’s needs. Our own particular desires for what we’d like to accomplish play a role, but only within those constraints. We look for people who have the right kind of ambition: ambition for the organization’s success, as defined by remarkable results for our patients.

I look forward to transforming healthcare with you.

Sincerely,

Mark

—

Mark Arnoldy is the CEO of Possible, a nonprofit healthcare company that delivers high-quality, low-cost healthcare in rural Nepal. To date we’ve treated over 275,000 patients, and most recently announced our commitment to rebuild the healthcare system in one of the worst-hit districts since the devastating earthquakes this spring.

Read the original article on Medium. Copyright 2015. Follow Medium on Twitter.

 

Businessinsider.com | August 21, 2015 | Medium

http://www.businessinsider.com/a-ceo-shares-the-letter-he-sends-to-every-job-candidate-before-making-an-offer-2015-8#ixzz3jTutYDWP

#Leadership : Are You A Leader Or A Follower?…Leadership is the Art of Persuasion—The Act of Motivating People to Do More than They ever Thought Possible in Pursuit of a Greater Good.

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It has Nothing to Do with your Title. It has Nothing to Do with Authority or Seniority. You’re not a Leader just Because you Have People Reporting to You. And you don’t suddenly become a leader once you reach a certain pay grade. A true leader influences others to be their best. Leadership is about social influence, not positional power. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. —John Quincy Adams

Navy-SEALs-in-water

You don’t even need to have people reporting to you to be a leader. A janitor can influence people and lead just as a CEO can. Likewise, anyone can become a follower, even while holding a leadership position.

If you’re a slave to the status quo, lack vision, or don’t motivate everyone around you to be their absolute best, then you’re a follower. Even if you happen to have a leadership title, people won’t follow you when they see those behaviors present.

A senior executive who creates unnecessary bureaucracy, locks himself in his office, and fails to interact with others in any meaningful way is no more a leader than an antisocial software engineer who refuses to do anything but write code.

Of course, the real question is—are you a leader or a follower?  To find out, you need to ask yourself some very important questions. Think carefully as you respond to each one, and you’ll soon know for certain.

Do you go above and beyond? Followers do their jobs, and that’s it. No matter how good they may be at those jobs, it rarely occurs to them to go beyond their basic functions. Leaders, on the other hand, see their job descriptions as the bare minimum—the foundation upon which they build greatness. Leaders see their real role as adding value, and they add it whenever and wherever they see an opportunity.

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Are you confident? Followers see the talents and accomplishments of other people as a threat. Leaders see those same talents and accomplishments as an asset. Leaders want to make things better, and they’ll take help anywhere they can find it. Leaders are true team players. They aren’t afraid to admit that they need other people to be strong where they’re weak.

Are you optimistic? Followers see the limitations inherent in any given situation; leaders see the possibilities. When things go wrong, leaders don’t dwell on how bad things are. They’re too busy trying to make things better.

Are you open to change? Followers are content to stick with the safety of the status quo. They see change as frightening and troublesome. Leaders are maximizers who see opportunity in change. Because leaders want constant improvement, they’re never afraid to ask, “What’s next?”

Are you decisive? Followers often hesitate to act, out of fear that they’ll do the wrong thing. Leaders aren’t afraid to make a call, even when they’re not sure if it’s the right one. They’d rather make a decision and be wrong than suffer from the paralysis of indecision.

Leaders would rather make a decision and be wrong than suffer from the paralysis of indecision.

Are you accountable? When mistakes are made, followers are quick to blame circumstances and other people. Leaders, on the other hand, are quick to accept accountability for their actions. They don’t worry that admitting fault might make them look bad, because they know that shifting the blame would just make them look worse.

Are you unflappable? Followers often let obstacles and mishaps throw them off course. When something goes wrong, they assume the whole project is doomed. Leaders expect obstacles and love being challenged. They know that even the best-laid plans can run into unexpected problems, so they take problems in stride and stay the course.

Are you humble? Followers are always chasing glory. Leaders are humble. They don’t allow any authority they may have to make them feel that they are better than anyone else. As such, they don’t hesitate to jump in and do the dirty work when needed, and they won’t ask anyone to do anything they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.

Are you passionate? Followers are trapped in the daily grind. They go to work and complete their tasks so that they can go home at the end of the day and resume their real lives. Leaders love what they do and see their work as an important part of—not a weak substitute for—real life. Their job isn’t just what they do; it’s an important part of who they are.

Are you motivated from within? Followers are only motivated by external factors: the next title, the next raise, the next gain in status. Leaders are internally motivated. They don’t work for status or possessions. They are motivated to excel because it’s who they are. True leaders keep pushing forward even when there’s no carrot dangling in front of them.

True leaders keep pushing forward even when there’s no carrot dangling in front of them.

Do you focus on titles? Followers care a lot about titles, both their own and those of the people they work with. They’re very conscious of who outranks whom, because they lack the skill and motivation to create leadership from within. Leaders, on the other hand, focus on what each individual brings to the table, regardless of what’s printed on a business card.

Are you focused on people? Followers focus on what they can achieve individually. Leaders are team players, because they know that greatness is a collective feat. A leader is only as good as what he or she can achieve through other people.

A leader is only as good as what he or she can achieve through other people.

Are you willing to learn? Leaders, while confident, know that they’re neither superhuman nor infallible. They’re not afraid to admit when they don’t know something, and they’re willing to learn from anyone who can teach them, whether that person is a subordinate, a peer, or a superior. Followers are too busy trying to prove they’re competent to learn anything from anyone else.

Bringing It All Together

Take another quick look at the questions above. There’s not a single one about title, position, or place on the org chart. That’s because you can have the title and position without being a leader.

You may have worked for someone who fits that description. And you probably have colleagues who serve in leadership roles without a title.

Leadership and followership are mindsets. They’re completely different ways of looking at the world. One is reactive, and the other is proactive. One is pessimistic; the other is optimistic. Where one sees a to-do list, the other sees possibilities.

So don’t wait for the title. Leadership isn’t something that anyone can give you—you have to earn it and claim it for yourself.

And please, share your thoughts on the topic in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

 

Forbes.com | August 18, 2015 | Travis Bradberry

#Leadership : How Servant Leaders ‘Fill The Gap’…Leadership Is a byproduct of Serving Others; It’s the Intangible Value you Create in Others Who Don’t Even Realize They’re Being Led.

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To Fill the Gap Means to Serve Others Before Serving Oneself. Servant Leaders Recognize that Enabling Others Serves the Betterment of the Team while also Building Oneself. To fill the gap is to serve a purpose. What gap will you fill today?

Image credit: Hamed Saber on Flickr

 

Image credit: Hamed Saber on Flickr

Last week, August 6th, was the fifth anniversary of Extortion 17, the helicopter flight that carried 32 of our nation’s most elite counter-terrorism forces to attempt to answer the call to protect their brothers in arms until it was shot down by Taliban forces. Two Army ranger elements, entrenched in volleys of gunfire with Taliban insurgents, each found themselves in situations where they needed support. With US forces and resources spread all over Afghanistan, a quick reaction force of Navy SEALs boarded a helicopter to answer their comrades’ calls.

Working in small numbers already, the SEALs had no choice but to bring everybody. They boarded Extortion flight 17 to help their Ranger brethren and, in the end, paid the ultimate price. One lucky shot made by the Taliban took down the helicopter with a rocket propelled grenade. All aboard perished.

The story of Extortion 17 and the heroes aboard underpin the selflessness that every leader, every organization aspire towards yet few actually achieve: to work and live for something greater than oneself; to “fill the gap” and answer the call for help whenever and wherever it is needed.

Filling the Gap

In ancient Greek battles, Spartans were considered elite through their warrior repertoire of unique fighting skill blended with insurmountable will. They did everything together—eat, sleep, train, fight—which ultimately led to their main battlefield advantage– the phalanx.

Image credit: Gioi-hoplite17 on Flickr

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Forbes.com | August 18, 2015 | Jeff Boss

#Strategy : 11 Easy Ways to Boost your Willpower & Concentration…There are Dozens of Ways to Filter Out Distractions & Improve your Ability to Concentrate for Extended Periods of Time.

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Few things are more frustrating than knowing you need to finish a project and absolutely not being able to focus on it. In these moments, everything — email, Facebook, tying your shoe — seems more exciting than the task at hand.

Messy Desk

Avoid the siren call of email and Facebook.

Fortunately, there are dozens of ways to filter out distractions and improve your ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. To find out what some of these strategies are, we sifted through the Quora thread, “How do I improve my concentration and willpower?” and highlighted the most practical techniques.

Some of them involve small tweaks (think changing the way you write your to-do list), while others involve a bigger commitment (like a daily meditation practice). All of them will make you more productive in both your professional and personal lives.

1. Create a quick-hit agenda.

1. Create a quick-hit agenda.

Flickr/john.schultz

Keep your to-do list short.

If you’ve got 30 items on your to-do list and half of those are things that need to happen sometime this week, it’s no wonder you feel stuck.

A better bet is to give yourself some super-short-term goals. Quora user Ravi Mandliya suggests creating a list of things you’d like to finish in the next 45 minutes.

That forces you to be realistic in thinking about how much you can actually accomplish in a limited time frame, so you don’t end up with something vague and intimidating like “write three project reports.”

2. Work on your most pressing projects first thing in the morning.

Each day is chock-full of experiences that can sap your willpower, from turning down a coworker’s freshly-baked brownies to ignoring the siren call of your overflowing inbox. By the time 3 p.m. hits, it may be hard to muster up the cognitive resources to focus on anything work-related.

That’s why Vince Favilla says, “You need to work on your most important tasks early in the day, while you still have the focus and willpower to complete them.”

Psychologist Kelly McGonigal offers another reason why willpower may be highest in the morning: The brain is refreshed by sleep. (That’s also why an afternoon nap may work to boost your willpower and productivity.)

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3. Practice concentrating for long stretches.

3. Practice concentrating for long stretches.

REUTERS/Gil Montano

Learning to play chess can improve your concentration and memory.

Steve Denton recommends playing chess (or a similarly complex game) with challenging opponents to develop your ability to concentrate for extended periods of time.

In fact, educational organizations across the globe advocate adding chess instruction to school curricula. That’s because it helps increase concentration and memory — skills that can improve performance in other areas of life.

 

4. Start an exercise routine.

Physical activity has myriad benefits — but one of the less obvious is that it helps sharpen focus.

That’s because, according to one study mentioned by Mukul Shukla, regular aerobic exercise may spark development in parts of the brain related to attention and memory.

Other research suggests it might not take too long to reap the cognitive benefits of exercise. Kids who engaged in 10- to 40-minute bursts of exercise showed an immediate increase in concentration and mental focus, probably because of improved blood flow to the brain.

5. Figure out why you’re distracted.

5. Figure out why you're distracted.

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Don’t beat yourself up for getting distracted.

It’s tempting to beat yourself up when you find yourself scrolling through your Facebook news feed instead of answering client emails. A better bet is simply to accept that you’re having trouble focusing and move on to figuring out why.

“I think the biggest thing is just acknowledging that you’re distracted and facing it head-on rather than trying to suppress it,” says Vinny Inverso.

Inverso says it’s important to understand whether it’s a physical or mental distraction that’s getting you sidetracked. If it’s mental, try putting away your phone or using a plug-in that blocks certain websites. If it’s physical, consider taking a walk or having a snack.

The point is not to waste time getting upset because you’re struggling, but to get to the root of the problem and eliminate it.

6. Take regular breaks.

A growing body of research highlights the importance of incorporating regular break times into your work schedule.

That’s possibly because prolonged attention to a single task hurts performance. One study found that people who took two breaks during a 50-minute cognitive task performed much better than those who worked straight through.

The question is: How long do you have to toil away before you can take a respite? Some research suggests the perfect formula involves working for 52 minutes and then taking a 17-minute break.

Eric Pepke recommends more frequent pauses: “Take a five-minute break at least every 20 minutes, get up, walk around, and reset your brain. It not only makes it possible to do [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][the task] for a longer time, but it makes every 20-minute chunk much more effective.”

7. Check emails in bulk.

7. Check emails in bulk.

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Wait until you have ten messages to check your email.

Jan Kulisek says he only checks his email and Facebook when he’s got at least ten new messages. That way, he’s able to resist the urge to continually refresh his inboxes instead of buckling down on whatever project he’s supposed to be working on.

Of course, you should probably tell your coworkers that you’ve instituted this rule, so they know to instant-message you or stop by your desk if something’s urgent.

8. Practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the general term for cultivating greater awareness of your experiences in the present moment, and it can help you stay focused on the task at hand.

One simple mindfulness practice is to “do what you are doing with full focus,” says Paras Trehan. For example, Trehan says, pay attention to every bite of food you take, including the taste, the temperature, and the texture. Eventually, you’ll get accustomed to zeroing in on single tasks, while minimizing external distractions.

9. Learn to meditate.

9. Learn to meditate.

Flickr/mrhayata

Find a quiet place to sit and concentrate on your breath.

As meditation gains a foothold in Western societies, more people are starting to appreciate its psychological benefits. One study found that people were better able to concentrate after they spent several months at a meditation retreat.

For those who aren’t interested in dedicating that much time to their meditation practice, an anonymous user outlines an exercise you can do for a few minutes every day.

Find a quiet space, sit in a comfortable position, and start breathing. Count to six as you breathe in and six again as you breathe out. Keep doing this for as long as you can. The key is to notice when your mind is wandering instead of focusing on the task at hand. (There are variations on this technique, but counting your breaths is a basic meditation practice.)

 

10. Take an interest in the task.

Deepak Dev has a clever strategy for getting better at focusing: Find out why the task is important.

“If it’s a ‘dry’ subject, get to know the applications of what you’re studying or the history of how the concepts of the subject [have] evolved,” he writes. “Think about what you could contribute/achieve in your field after you acquire deep knowledge in the subject.”

So if your current assignment involves inputting numbers in an Excel spreadsheet, remind yourself how this task fits into your company’s work as a whole. How is your work on this project helping to advance the organization’s mission?

11. Be patient.

11. Be patient.

Albert Gea/Reuters

It takes time to develop a new cognitive skill.

Abhisek Rai Arrant says that when he started playing chess, he would lose some games simply because he couldn’t concentrate for hours at a time. Eventually, through meditation and simply more practice playing chess, he was able to increase his ability to focus.

From this experience he learned that developing any new cognitive skill takes time — and you can’t be too hard on yourself.

“While you’re busy increasing your concentration span, you shouldn’t give up on yourself,” he writes. “Be optimistic and enthusiastic about the progress.”

 

Businessinsider.com | August 17, 2015 | 

http://www.businessinsider.com/easy-ways-to-improve-concentration-2015-8#ixzz3jADbuuGd

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#Leadership : 3 Pitfalls Of Remote Work That You Probably Aren’t Thinking About…Ask yourself a Few Key Questions to Suss Out Whether a Home Office makes More Career Sense than an Open-Concept Office.

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Before you Decide to Accept a Remote Role or To Take Advantage of your Company’s New Work-from-Anywhere Policy, it Makes Sense to Ask yourself a Few Key Questions to Suss Out Whether a Home Office makes More Career Sense than an Open-Concept Office. You know the conventional wisdom about having a dedicated workspace and avoiding taking conference calls in your PJs, but there are weightier factors you should also be considering.

ProductiveWorker

If the concept of workplace flexibility conjures up happy visions of writing code on the beach in Bali or designing marketing materials on your laptop at a Bushwick coffee shop, you’re very likely one of the many, many, young workerswho romanticizes remote working as a golden ticket to having your cake and eating it, too — a steady paycheck and the ability to govern your own daily schedule.

Of course, there is a catch. Not all remote work opportunities are created equal. Even though the growth of the gig economy means that teleworking (including contract and permalance roles) is on the rise, many companies don’t excel at managing a dispersed workforce or prioritize career development and cost-cutting equally and not all remote work setups will benefit your own work style or future goals. Before you decide to accept a remote role or to take advantage of your company’s new work-from-anywhere policy, it makes sense to ask yourself a few key questions to suss out whether a home office makes more career sense than an open-concept office. You know the conventional wisdom about having a dedicated workspace and avoiding taking conference calls in your PJs, but there are weightier factors you should also be considering.

How much is face-time valued at my company?

I knew a manager who was very puzzled by the fact that a survey of his team uncovered the fact that many of them thought they were working harder than their teammates. It turned out that having a flexible work schedule and no set policies governing remote work meant that the employees who came to the office every day for 9 a.m. felt that those who came in later or worked from home weren’t being as productive. Out of sight, out of mind is a real danger for remote workers , especially in companies that have an old-fashioned more time in the office = more commitment and productivity mindset. Think of Yahoo’s decision to halt all remote work in order to improve “speed and quality,” for example. The not-so-subtle message there is that remote work is both less productive and of lower quality than what can be achieved in the office.

Not seeing your team every day does mean that you obviously miss out on spontaneous, synergistic conversations, but it also means that no one sees you performing your job and in-the-moment opportunities to display leadership are much rarer — both factors that affect which employees get recognized and promoted. You might be a valued member of the team, but your ability to be a day-to-day influencer is limited by the fact people don’t see you day to day. If career advancement is one of your goals, understand that moving up the ladder when you aren’t in the same room with it is often a tricky proposition.

 

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Am I good at setting boundaries?

The typical corporate workday provides inherent structure. You start. You go for lunch for a predetermined amout of time. You end the day. In between, you may have meetings, do calls with clients or serve customers. How heavily do you rely on this built-in structure and associated norms to keep you on track? If the answer is “a lot,” working remotely is going to be a big adjustment for you. If you tend to be an overachiever type, the temptation to work through lunch or to keep answering emails into the evening (after all, there’s no commute to worry about) is strong and there’s little to check it but your own willpower. By contrast, if you tend to procrastinate by nature, working remotely removes the checks and balances on this tendency that a formal workplace offers. If you were one of those college students who pulled all-nighters to finish papers and you haven’t built better habits since then, remote working provides a prime opportunity to slip into your old ways.

How much of my social life revolves around work?

As companies increasingly compete on the basis of amenities and perks,especially when trying to attract young talent, our workplaces are morphing into social hubs. And as we work longer hours and take greater advantage of those offerings, more of our social lives become dependent on the office. Sure, grabbing a beer with colleagues is nothing new, but now you can also play on the corporate dodge ball team, join a group of coworkers training for Tough Mudder or take part in the monthly poker night. If you work for one of these super-social employers and/or this is a facet of your working life that you value, be aware that going remote will limit your opportunities for non-work engagement with your colleagues. If you’re a die-hard introvert, you may welcome the free pass this gives you on socializing, but if you’ve been used to converting coworkers into friends, it might be a rougher transition.

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Forbes.com | August 17, 2015 |  J. Maureen Henderson

#Strategy : 3 Ways The Internet of Things Will Change Every Business…Have you Entered the Internet of Things Yet? If you Have a FitBit or other Activity Tracker(alarms, thermostat,lights, etc.) that Talks to your Smartphone, you Have.

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Have you entered the Internet of Things yet?  If you have a FitBit or other activity tracker that talks to your smartphone, you have. If you have a thermostat, alarm system, or lights in your home that you can control with your computer or phone, you have.

The line of Fitbit Internet-enabled products (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

But even if you haven’t got one of those devices yet, I’m betting you will within the next 3–5 years.

And I’m not making that prediction based on how useful or cool the current Internet of Things products are right now, but rather based on the fact that I believe the Internet of Things is going to change business as a fundamental level.

I believe there are three key ways in which the Internet of Things will change every business:

1. It will allow companies to make smarter products.

It used to be that we only expected our phones to be able to make phone calls. Today, most consumers expect a lot more from the device they carry in their pocket. So, while it might seem strange or unnecessary at first glance to have a smart tennis racket, an internet-enabled frying pan, or a smart yoga mat, these are just the first forays into the world of the Internet of Things.

Only time will tell which will stick and which will go the way of pet rocks, but the point is that businesses will have the opportunity — and eventually, the imperative — to make “smarter,” more useful, more connected products.

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2. Enable smarter business operations and smarter decisions.

A big part of the Internet of Things isn’t so much about smart devices, but about sensors. These tiny innovations can be attached to everything from yogurt cups to the cement in bridges and then record and send data back into the cloud.  This will allow businesses to collect more and more specific feedback on how products or equipment are used, when they break, and even what users might want in the future.

Rolls Royce aircraft engines contain sensors that send real-time data on the engine’s function back to monitoring stations on the ground. This information can be used to detect malfunctions before they become catastrophic, and possibly to investigate — and hopefully prevent — the causes of aircraft disasters. Microsoft uses software that constantly collects data on what features are being used for its products, so it can strip away the least popular ones and focus on the most popular.

3. Change in business model

Above and beyond all this, I believe the Internet of Things will also signal the possibility of a change in business model for some businesses.

 Take John Deere, for example.  For decades, they’ve sold the tractors that make farming on a 21st century scale easier and more profitable. But since 2012, they’ve added data connectivity to their equipment, giving farmers information about which crops to plant where and when, when and where to plow, and even the best route to take while plowing.  They are essentially now in the business of selling data as much as they are selling tractors.

Other similar business models will no doubt emerge.  Fitness trackers like FitBit and Jawbone already aggregate data about our fitness habits and health stats and share these their strategic partners.  There are certainly plenty of organizations that would love to get their hands on that kind of data for marketing and other purposes.

The most important thing to do when considering how the Internet of Things will affect your business is to think bigger — much bigger. It’s not just about what kind of products you can make “smart,” or how information could impact your business efficiencies, or how you might sell that data to customers and partners.

The Internet of Things represents a fundamental tilt in the lens through which we view the world.  The same way most of us would never want to go back to a phone that’s just a phone, soon we won’t be able to imagine going back to a world without smart cars, smart roads, smart infrastructure, etc.

In other words: The Internet of Things could change everything and every business needs to consider its implications.

Bernard Marr is a best-selling business author, keynote speaker and leading business performance, analytics and data expert. His latest books are ‘Big Data‘ and ‘KPIs for Dummies‘.

 

Forbes.com | August 17, 2015 | Bernard Marr