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Company Seeking Account Receivable Agent / Debt Collector

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COMPANY PROFILE:

NAGASE & CO., LTD is a manufacture and international trade of electrical cars, solar modules, solar street lights, solar garden lights and other industrial machinery. As an high-tech company, we develop, manufacture and market reliable, high- quality products and service to create long-term value and potential growth for our customers’.

We target developing markets and areas, and design tailored solutions to meet all customers’ requirements. Due to our aggressive debt recovery to recover some outstanding Debt been owed to us by some independent customers in North America region, we are in search of competent and goal oriented individuals/company who can act as our companies’ payment representative (Account Receivable Agent / Debt Collector) in which customers scattered all over North America can effect payments owe to us through you to our company here in Asia.

DUTY FOR THIS POSITION:

Your duty is to work diligently and partner with us as an (Account Receivable Agent / Debt Collector), which means we will be in charge of marketing and sales of the Electric Vehicles and industrial machinery to North America region, while our companies’ payment representative in the region will be the one in charge to receiving and process payments from customers (either old customer that still have some outstanding debt yet to been paid or new customer making payment for new orders made) on behalf of NAGASE & CO., LTD in north America region, It is very important to note that no initial investment is required except your ability to work diligently and this opportunity will not interfere with your current job.

HOW YOU WILL BE PAID:

You will be pay a monthly salary of $4,000 USD and 7% service commission which will be deducted by you on every successful Payment you receive and Process from our customers in North America.

ADVANTAGES:

You do not have to go out as you will work as an independent contractor right from your home office. Your job is absolutely legal. You can do the Work easily without leaving or affecting your present Job.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE JOB:

This opportunity is opened for resourceful individual and companies with excellent track records and Educational discipline. If interested with this opportunity, kindly provide us with your details in the following order.

FULL NAME:
COMPANY NAME (IF ANY):
COMPANY/MAILING ADDRESS:
MOBILE PHONE NO:
CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS:

This details shall be forwarded to our company’s board of directors for verification and approval, upon approval, we shall provide you with our representative agreement which makes you our companies’ payment representative in North America. Should you have any difficulty or questions, please feel free to write us so we can clarify.

Your prompt response is awaited.

Contact our VP Client Services, Chris Laughter @ chrislaughter@firstsun.com , also visit our website @ www.firstsun.com

Strategy: Al Sharpton, Hillary Clinton, Lois Lerner Share Recordkeeping Tips

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We may never get the full story of Hillary Clinton’s emails, or Lois Lerner’s for that matter. Both were savvy enough to be selective. One can add Al Sharpton to the clever trio, although his contribution to the game may be more old-fashioned: fires that destroy tax records. In his own low tech way, Rev. Sharpton has managed to keep tax problems under raps that would be catastrophic for mere mortals.

As Americans look for receipts and pour over their records, some may be  struck by the odd serendipity. Maybe we all will learn that no one in government knows how to use email except Hillary Clinton. Even before we knew that Mrs. Clinton never used the State Department email system, President Obama was adamant that there was no smidgen of corruption at the IRS. Employees were confused. Cincinnati went rogue. Etc.

Yet in recent hearings of the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform,the Treasury Inspector General testified that he is investigating possiblecriminal activity at the IRS. All this as Mrs. Clinton’s remarkable e-mail drama is acted out–and acted is right. Meanwhile, Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Tex.) introduced a bill to bar IRS employees from using non-official e-mail for government business. Lois Lerner allegedly also used her personal account to discuss IRS matters.

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Oh, texts too (listen up Mrs. Clinton). In 2013, when the IRS targeting scandal was already brewing, Ms. Lerner asked an IT specialist if the IRS saved texts? No, not automatically, he said, but the IT person also said saving them was possible, so be careful. “Perfect,” was Ms. Lerner’s response. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testified that he was unaware of the instant-messaging system. Of course, he also testified at how hard the IRS looked for Lerner’s emails.

Remember all those many millions of dollars of taxpayer money the IRS spent looking? Yet House Members were recently told by the Inspector General that the IT staff of the IRS said they were never even asked for backup tapes to find Lerner’s emails. Deputy Inspector General Tim Camus said finding the emails was easy. “They were right where you would expect them to be,” he told the Oversight Committee on Feb. 27.

A probe for potential criminal activity related to covering-up Lerner’s emails? The fact that the C word is being used by the Inspector General is remarkable. That isn’t proof, of course, but it is astounding, even if that is as far as it goes.Records reveal that Ms. Lois Lerner received $129,000 in bonuses, averaging $43,000 a year on top of her salary during the time she was presiding over alleged discrimination against conservative nonprofits.

Even before Ms. Lerner became the face of the IRS targeting scandal, there were allegations she had prior history of targeting conservatives. She would become what George Will called the scowling face of the state. She repeatedly refused to testify, yet collects a nice federal pension. Proof is so terribly important

And that brings us to Rev. Al Sharpton. He has achieved much and rendered comfort to many. Yet his reputation is not exactly spotless. Mr. Sharpton has been accused , for example, by Eric Garner’s daughter, of being all about the money. Yet the reverend and activist owes New York State over $900,000 in taxes, and greater sums to the IRS. With about $4.5 million in tax liens, most taxpayers know they would be pushed and prodded to pay.

Mr. Sharpton seems unfazed. There might be some serendipity here too. Despite multiple run-ins with the tax man, on several occasions he suffered fires that destroyed his records just as he was about to turn them over to officials. He may have explained the tax receipts rule the IRS keeps quiet. In Cohan v. Commissioner, the Appeals Court rocked the IRS back on its heels with the Cohan Rule. It allows taxpayers to prove by “other credible evidence” they actually incurred deductible expenses.

In any case, outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder defends Rev. Sharpton’s ties to the White House,although other people have questioned why President Obama would elevate Rev. Sharpton, when he owes millions in taxes. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has suggested that the Justice Department may try to pick up where the IRS and Ms. Lerner left off. The team Mr. Holder has assembled, including Richard Pilger, who first contacted Ms. Lerner in 2010 about going after certain organization, has been called Eric Holder’s speech police.

In 2010, Ms. Lerner relayed to the Justice Department a database of 1.1 million documents, including protected taxpayer information. Are you worried your tax records might be among them? Cheer up. With all the time Rev. Sharpton is spending in Washington, there could be a fire.

For alerts to future tax articles, follow me on Forbes. You can reach me at Wood@WoodLLP.com. This discussion is not intended as legal advice, and cannot be relied upon for any purpose without the services of a qualified professional.

 

 

Strategy: 5 Important Business Lessons one Man Learned from Successfully Climbing Mount Everest…With any Goal you Set, you Have to Learn How to Fight, to Suffer, & to Strive, Whether in Business or on Everest

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Los Angeles native Jeff Gottfurcht is the first person to have ever reached the peak of Mount Everest with rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating auto-immune disease.  He summited the world’s highest mountain — which approximately 4,000 people have attempted, and just 660 have successfully completed — on May 14, 2011 at 6:10 am.

Jeff Gottfurcht

 

The climb took two months total, and Gottfurcht, who is now 41, tells Business Insider that his amazing feat of climbing Everest has taught him incredible lessons about life and business.

Jeff GottfurchtCourtesy of Jeff GottfurchtJeff Gottfurcht climbing Mount Everest.

Gottfurcht is now a franchisee of Fractured Prune Doughnuts, and plans to open over 20 stores in Northern California in the coming years.

Here are five important lessons he learned from conquering Everest that help him in business today:

1. You need to enjoy (and celebrate) every success, no matter how big or little.

“Too many people in business seem to have a negative outlook on everything,” Gottfurcht. “There will always be obstacles in life and business, but in every moment, you have to celebrate your successes, whether you’re climbing a mountain or opening a new franchise business like I am.”

Gottfurcht likes to focus on an acronym he created to remind himself of this frame of mind: POC. “It stands for positive, optimistic, constructive,” he explains. “It helps me to focus my thoughts during the day-to-day to remind myself to have a bright outlook on life and business.”

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Jeff GottfurchtCourtesy of Jeff Gottfurcht“You have to be persistent and work through the obstacles in order to reach your goals.”

2. The good times might not always last.

Sometimes when we do have a success at work, we tend to forget that the good times may end and difficult times will most likely come along.

“In every business, you will hit a stumbling block, just like you do on the mountain. Things come up and it might be unexpected. You have to be prepared and be ready for it, or it could destroy your business,” he says.

3.  Your success is not luck.

Your will to win and your determination is what enables you to achieve success — not luck.

“To be successful, your mind must be clear on the task at hand, you have to work hard and persevere,” he explains. You can’t just sit and hope good luck will come your way.

4. Persistence is key.

“With any goal you set, you have to learn how to fight, to suffer, and to strive, whether in business or on Everest,” Gottfurcht  says. “You have to be persistent and work through the obstacles in order to reach your goals. You have to be prepared to give up a lot to get to where you want to be, but it will be worth it. Work hard and you can become the master of your destiny.”

Jeff GottfurchtCourtesy of Jeff Gottfurcht

5. The most important ingredient to becoming successful is your network of friends and family.

“Success is wonderful and gratifying,” he says. “It often comes with prestige and high accolades.” But, he adds, it’s important to know that without a great support system of friends and family, it’s almost impossible to achieve.

Whether you’re climbing Mount Everest or climbing the corporate ladder, you’ll want to share your plan and goals with your network, and rely on those people along the way for guidance and encouragement.

 

Businessinsider.com | March 16, 2015 | JACQUELYN SMITH

\http://www.businessinsider.com/business-lessons-from-climbing-mount-everest-2015-3#ixzz3UYzW4VJj

Leadership: Can We Get Rid Of Managers?…What Would Happen at your Organization If there Were No Managers?

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In 2011 Gary Hamel wrote a seminal article called, First Let’s Fire All the Managers where he explores the challenges with modern management and hierarchy. These include large overhead costs, poor decision making, sluggishness due to bureaucracy, and employee disengagement and lack of empowerment. Managers have long been considered to be the bedrock of organizations so even thinking about getting rid of them is considered by many to be taboo. But, it’s time for us to challenge convention and think differently about the world of work.

question-mark-post-its-1940x900_35749

According to the article:

“A small organization may have one manager and 10 employees; one with 100,000 employees and the same 1:10 span of control will have 11,111 managers. That’s because an additional 1,111 managers will be needed to manage the managers.”

So what’s the alternative? If managers are doing more harm than good than can we really just get rid of them and still operate a successful organization? Yes! In my recent book, The Future of Work, I chronicle several “managerless” companies including Morningstar Farms, Sun Hydraulics, Valve, Medium, W.L. Gore ,Inc, and several others.

Some of these companies like Valve, the gaming company that has produced such hits as Half-Life and Counter-Strike, are very tech savvy whereas others are far more traditional such as Sun Hydraulics which creates valves and manifolds or Morningstar Farms which produces canned dices tomatoes and tomato paste. Clearly this isn’t just something that cool, hip, modern companies are doing.

When I first heard about these companies without managers I became quite curious, after all,  how can anything possibly get done in this type of environment? In the visual below you can see a breakdown of how traditional organizations compare with “managerless” organizations in various areas ranging from hiring and firing to leadership to what happens at the company if something goes wrong.

The_Managerless_Company

Of course this type of a structure doesn’t make sense for every company in the world but the point is that this type of a scenario is possible and the organizations that have adopted this approach are doing very well. Most companies that I speak with and research are all trying to figure out ways to “flatten” their structures and getting rid of managers may be a bit extreme for some.

However, other organizations such as Tangerine (formerly ING Direct Canada) do have managers yet they don’t focus on these titles or roles internally, for example in a meeting nobody would bring up seniority as a way to shut someone down. Other companies like Whirlpool have also shifted away from traditional managerial roles by creating four different types of “leadership,” where everyone at the company is considered a leader of some kind (for example if you are an entry level or junior employee you may be called “a leader of self.”)

Whether your organization decides to get rid of managers or not, one thing is clear, the traditional models and approaches to how work gets done are dramatically changing. The future of work will see some very interesting experiments emerge, some will be successful and others won’t. I’ll be writing more about these companies individually in the future but for now I wanted to introduce the idea to get you thinking about it.

What would happen at your organization if there were no managers? Would everything fall apart and go into chaos or would you see a more engaged workforce and a more successful organization?

Jacob Morgan is a futurist, author, and speaker. You can get the first 30 pages of his book for free as well as weekly content on the future of work by subscribing to his newsletter.

 

Forbes.com | March 16, 2015 | Jacob Morgan 

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Your Career:12 Things Successful People Never Reveal about Themselves at Work…The Following List Contains the 12 Most Common Things People Reveal that Send their Careers Careening in the Wrong Direction

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You can’t build a strong professional network if you don’t open up to your colleagues; but doing so is tricky, because revealing the wrong things can have a devastating effect on your career.

 

Successful people steer clear of stories from their wild college days.

Sharing the right aspects of yourself in the right ways is an art form. Disclosures that feel like relationship builders in the moment can wind up as obvious no-nos with hindsight.

The trick is to catch yourself before you cross that line, because once you share something, there is no going back.

TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). Emotionally intelligent people are adept at reading others, and this shows them what they should and shouldn’t reveal about themselves at work.

The following list contains the 12 most common things people reveal that send their careers careening in the wrong direction.

1. That they hate their job

The last thing anyone wants to hear at work is someone complaining about how much they hate their job. Doing so labels you as a negative person who is not a team player. This brings down the morale of the group. Bosses are quick to catch on to naysayers who drag down morale, and they know that there are always enthusiastic replacements waiting just around the corner.

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2. That they think someone is incompetent

There will always be incompetent people in any workplace, and chances are that everyone knows who they are. If you don’t have the power to help them improve or to fire them, then you have nothing to gain by broadcasting their ineptitude.

Announcing your colleague’s incompetence comes across as an insecure attempt to make you look better. Your callousness will inevitably come back to haunt you in the form of your coworkers’ negative opinions of you.

3. How much money they make

Your parents may love to hear all about how much you’re pulling in each month, but in the workplace, this only breeds negativity. It’s impossible to allocate salaries with perfect fairness, and revealing yours gives your coworkers a direct measure of comparison.

As soon as everyone knows how much you make, everything you do at work is considered against your income. It’s tempting to swap salary figures with a buddy out of curiosity, but the moment you do, you’ll never see each other the same way again.

cash hundred dollar bills

4. Their political and religious beliefs

People’s political and religious beliefs are too closely tied to their identities to be discussed without incident at work. Disagreeing with someone else’s views can quickly alter their otherwise strong perception of you. Confronting someone’s core values is one of the most insulting things you can do.

Granted, different people treat politics and religion differently, but asserting your values can alienate some people as quickly as it intrigues others. Even bringing up a hot-button world event without asserting a strong opinion can lead to conflict.

People build their lives around their ideals and beliefs, and giving them your two cents is risky. Be willing to listen to others without inputting anything on your end because all it takes is a disapproving look to start a conflict. Political opinions and religious beliefs are so deeply ingrained in people, that challenging their views is more likely to get you judged than to change their mind.

5. What they do on Facebook

The last thing your boss wants to see when she logs on to her Facebook account is photos of you taking tequila shots in Tijuana. There are just too many ways you can look inappropriate on Facebook and leave a bad impression.

It could be what you’re wearing, whom you’re with, what you’re doing, or even your friends’ commentary. These are the little things that can cast a shadow of doubt in your boss’ or colleagues’ minds just when they are about to hand you a big assignment or recommend you for a promotion.

It’s too difficult to try to censor yourself on Facebook for your colleagues. Save yourself the trouble, and don’t friend them there. Let LinkedIn be your professional “social” network, and save Facebook for everybody else.

6. What they do in the bedroom

Whether your sex life is out of this world or lacking entirely, this information has no place at work. Such comments might get a chuckle from some people, but it makes most uncomfortable, and even offended. Crossing this line will instantly give you a bad reputation.

 

7. What they think someone else does in the bedroom

A good 111% of the people you work with do not want to know that you bet they’re tigers in the sack. There’s no more surefire way to creep someone out than to let them know that thoughts of their love life have entered your brain. Anything from speculating on a colleague’s sexual orientation to making a relatively indirect comment like, “Oh, to be a newlywed again,” plants a permanent seed in the brains of all who hear it that casts you in a negative light.

Your thoughts are your own. Think whatever you feel is right about people; just keep it to yourself.

8. That they’re after somebody else’s job

Announcing your ambitions at work when they are in direct conflict with other people’s interests comes across as selfish and indifferent to those you work with and the company as a whole.

Great employees want the whole team to succeed, not just themselves. Regardless of your actual motives (some of us really do just work for the money), announcing your selfish goal will not help you get there.

9. How wild they used to be in college

Your past can say a lot about you. Just because you did something outlandish or stupid 20 years ago doesn’t mean that people will believe you’ve developed impeccable judgment since then. Some behavior that might qualify as just another day in the typical fraternity (binge drinking, minor theft, drunk driving, abusing people or farm animals, and so on) shows everyone you work with that, when push comes to shove, you have poor judgment and don’t know where to draw the line.

Many presidents have been elected in spite of their past indiscretions, but unless you have a team of handlers and PR types protecting and spinning your image, you should keep your unsavory past to yourself.

10. How intoxicated they like to get

You might think talking about how inebriated you were over the weekend has no effect on how you’re viewed at work. After all, if you’re a good worker, then you’re a good worker, right?

Unfortunately not.

Sharing this will not get people to think you’re fun. Instead, they will see you as unpredictable, immature, and lacking in good judgment. Too many people have negative views of drugs and alcohol for you to reveal how much you love to indulge in them.

liquor shots binge drinking drunk

11. An offensive joke

If there’s one thing we can learn from celebrities, it’s to be careful about what you say and whom you say it to. Offensive jokes make other people feel terrible, and they make you look terrible. They also happen to be much less funny than clever jokes.

A joke crosses the line any time you try to gauge its appropriateness based on how close you are with someone. If there is anyone who would be offended by your joke, you are better off not telling it. You never know whom people know or what experiences they’ve had in life that can lead your joke to tread on subjects that they take very seriously.

12. That they are job hunting

When I was a kid, I told my baseball coach I was quitting in two weeks. For the next two weeks, I found myself riding the bench. It got even worse after those two weeks when I decided to stay, and I became “the kid who doesn’t even want to be here.” I was crushed, but it was my own fault; I told him my decision before it was certain.

The same thing happens when you tell people that you’re job hunting. Once you reveal that you’re planning to leave, you suddenly become a waste of everyone’s time. There’s also the chance that your hunt will be unsuccessful, so it’s best to wait until you’ve found a job before you tell anyone. Otherwise, you will end up riding the bench.

Bringing it all together

Let me know what you think of this list. Do you disagree with any of these items? Did I miss any? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book,Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world’s leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.

More from LinkedIn:

This article originally appeared at LinkedIn. Copyright 2015. Follow LinkedIn on Twitter.

LinkedIn Influencer Dr. Travis Bradberry published this post originally on LinkedIn.

Businessinsider.com | March 10, 2015 | TRAVIS BRADBERRY, LINKEDIN

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/12-things-successful-people-never-reveal-work-dr-travis-bradberry#ixzz3UT7icmWl

Leadership: Culture: Why It’s The Hottest Topic In Business Today…No Matter if You’re a CEO, HR Executive, Manager, or Team Leader – Culture Really Matters. Consider it One of your Most Powerful Tools for Business Success

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Last year Merriam Webster’s dictionary stated that ”culture” was the most popular word of the year. Well, it has now become one of the most important words in corporate board rooms, and for good reason.

Change

We have a retention crisis. New Deloitte researchshows that culture, engagement, and employee retention are now the top talent challenges facingbusiness leaders. More than half business leaders rate this issue “urgent” – up from only around 20% last year.

What’s going on? It’s very simple: as the economy picks up steam (unemployment now below 5.5%), employees have more bargaining power than ever before. Thanks to social websites like LinkedIn LNKD -2.74%, Glassdoor, and Indeed, a company’s employment brand is now public information so if you’re not a great place to work, people find out fast. This shifts power into the hands of job-seekers.

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And many companies have work to do. Gallup’s latest research shows that only 31% of employees are engaged at work (51% are disengaged and 17.5% actively disengaged). Analysis of the Glassdoor database shows that the average employee gives their company a C+ (3.1 out of 5) when asked whether they would recommend their company to a friend (Bersin by Deloitte research with Glassdoor).

We have arrived in a world of “haves” and “have-nots” when it comes to attracting and engaging top talent.

Let me cite some examples:

I recently met with one of the world’s biggest industrial manufacturers on the east coast and they lamented losing top aerospace engineers to Google GOOGL -1.48%. They’re scratching their heads to figure out how to prevent more top engineers from leaving.
A large well-known Silicon Valley company considering a major facelift of its corporate campus to attract young people. They’re not sure if it will work or not, but they feel they have no choice. Here there is a war to build the “best workplace in the world” – free food, unlimited vacation, yoga classes, beer bashes, and bright open offices are everywhere. (Check out Google’s new space age campus design.)
Most financial services companies I meet with tell me they are struggling to hire top people. While the industry is still popular with MBAs, the recession damaged the reputation for this industry and it’s just starting to recover.

Companies that focus on culture are becoming icons for job seekers:

  • Fortune’ Best Companies happen to be many of the same companies listed in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work and also LinkedIn’s Most In-Demand Employers. This shows that companies with strong positive cultures (Fortune and Glassdoor’s list is based on employee surveys) are now the most in-demand.  So the “culture winners” are winning bigger.
  • Younger companies that focus on culture see a huge payoff. HubSpot, a growing New England tech firm focused on its culture (around 1,000 employees), has Glassdoor ratings of 4.6, far above the industry average. They give their staff free books and education and believe so strongly in transparency that they post their board meeting notes and culture manifesto online.
  • NetFlix’s culture manifesto ”freedom with responsibility” is one of the most popular documents on the internet, 11 million+ viewers. Everyone wants to copy it.
  • Value statements have popped up everywhere. Zappos’ cultural values focus on innovation, Quicken Loans  uses its colorful “ISMS” to guide values (“call back every client the same day” is one of their values), Google has its 10 ”truths” (focus on the user is one), RW Baird has its “ unique culture,” Salesforce focuses on community, and it goes on and on.
  • Culture-driven companies explicitly put their people first. Wegmans, the #7 best place to work in the Fortune list, reset business goals just to create the jobs and career growth they want for their people. “Take care of your people and they will take care of your customers,” as the saying goes.
  • Traditional companies like Aetna are now heavily focused on culture. Recently the New York Times published an article about Aetna’s CEO Mark Bertolini. He has raised wages, improved health benefits, and introduced yoga and mindfulness training to his entire company to improve retention and culture in the call centers. Their $100M + turnover problem is rapidly going away and he claims to have already improved the bottom line by 3-4 %.

Look at how office space is now part of building a great culture. Fortune’s new “25 coolest offices of the 100 Best Companies” shows how most of these great places to work are actually great PLACES to work. Flexibility, entertainment, and bright colorful offices and art make these companies a fun place to work.

People now believe that culture has a direct impact on financial performance. I just talked with two industry analysts who read Glassdoor comments before they publish analyst reports.  Both told me they use this data to understand employee sentiment read comments about the CEO as part of their core research. It also helps them compare competitors.

As the saying goes, “Culture eats Strategy for Lunch.”  (And free lunch is now part of the culture.)

Ok it’s a Popular Topic. What is culture anyway?

Culture is a big and somewhat vague term. Some define it as “what happens when nobody is looking.”

In reality, it’s much more complex. Culture is the set of behaviors, values, artifacts, reward systems, and rituals that make up your organization. You can “feel” culture when you visit a company, because it is often evident in people’s behavior, enthusiasm, and the space itself.

I visit a lot of companies and I can often sense the culture in a few minutes. Are people busy and working with customers? Or are they quietly working alone? Do they get in early and leave late? Or does the parking lot empty at 4:30? Is the office beautiful and inspiring with values and icons around, or is it messy and busy? Is there a sense of order or a sense of family?  All these clues help diagnose culture.

The Competing Values Framework, by Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn, is a terrific textbook on organizational culture. After years of research the authors grouped organizational cultures into four types and their research shows that most teams fall into one of these four types. You can diagnose your culture using tools like theirs (and others) and it will help you align your values and hiring to the culture you want to build.

competing-values-framework

Our research shows that culture and employee engagement are tightly linked. When you clearly define and guard your culture, people know what to expect and feel comfortable. One CEO I interviewed told me that “calling people back the same day” was part of his culture – so he monitors that behavior and it makes the organization a customer-centric organization.

When I asked the SVP of HR at a financial institution how they guard their culture she said “people who don’t work as a team just don’t like it here. They leave.” Culture is like a flywheel: it gets stronger the more you reinforce it.

As a company grows or acquires another company, the culture will often shift. IBM has been through many culture changes over the years, and one can trace them to major transitions in the business. Sometimes an acquisition will damage a well-honed culture, so watch out here. (When HP acquired Compaq, for example, a culture of engineering quality was mixed with a culture of low-cost production, causing a historic challenge.)

Many HR and management practices will drive or support culture. Do you value employee development? Are people empowered to take charge or do they follow the rules? How are people promoted and why? The Simply Irresistible model describes many of the factors. If you’re focused on culture, we encourage managers and HR teams to think about the “total employee experience”: everything from the coffee in the coffee machine to the quality of management plays a role.

simply irresistble

How Do We Build and Manage Great Culture?

Ultimately culture is driven by leadership. How leaders behave, what they say, and what they value drives culture.

I proved this myself: I analyzed the Glassdoor database and found that the factor most highly correlated with an individual’s recommendation of their company as a place to work was “quality and trust in leadership.”

So the selection of leaders, development of leaders, and the coaching of leaders are all critical to building the right culture. Companies that focus on building great leaders spend almost 3X the average on leadership development, and they get a tremendous return for it.

Once culture is established and communicated, it becomes a tool to screen candidates. Zappos uses culture as a screening tool for all hires, by trying to see if they are “wacky.” Southwest Airlines reinforces its culture of fun by asking candidates to tell a joke. These companies realize that some people just won’t fit, regardless of their pedigree.

When I asked the SVP of HR at a financial institution how they guard their culture she said “people who don’t work as a team just don’t like it here. They leave.” Culture is like a flywheel: it gets stronger the more you reinforce it.

culture
Culture Drives Employment Brand: Source: Liz Pellet, Fellow, Johns Hopkins University

If you want to improve your culture, look carefully at how you coach and evaluate your people. Do you believe in “forced ranking?” or “up or out?” That process in itself creates a type of culture – one most companies are moving away from. Today more than 60% of the companies we surveyed are changing how they evaluate performance because they want to drive empowerment and innovation into their organization. We call performance management the “secret ingredient” to building a highly engaged culture.

The ISMS Culture Book of Quicken Loans
The ISMS Culture Book of Quicken Loans, one of the best culture-building artifacts I’ve seen!

A New Industry of Culture and Engagement Tools

An industry of new culture diagnostic and feedback tools is emerging. Historically culture assessment has been a niche market of small psychology firms (companies like Human Synergistics, Dennison Consulting, and Senn Delaney have been around for years). Now, driven by the need to engage and attract people, this market is going mainstream. New, mobile and real-time tools to assess culture, collect regular and real-time feedback, and analyze employee sentiment are disrupting the $billion market for employee engagement and culture surveys.

Some of the new vendors include CultureAmp, TinyHR, BlackbookHR, Achievers, Globoforce, BetterCompany.co, Glint.io, OfficeVibe, Waggl, Canary, and dozens of others now offer real-time engagement and employee feedback tools to help you better understand and improve your workplace environment. Deloitte has a new culture assessment tool which is gaining great momentum. (Read Why Companies Fail to Engage Today’s Workforce for more information on this new market.)

Keeping it Simple: Part of Building a Great Culture

Remember also that great cultures are easy to understand. So keep it simple. If you can’t write your values and culture down in a few words, it’s probably too complex to understand.

simplification

We believe simplification is becoming the next big thing in business. More than 60% of the companies we surveyed told us that their employees feel “overwhelmed” by the volume of activity and messages they get at work. So part of your cultural facelift should also be “decluttering” of the workplace.

GE recently launched a major new strategy to simplify its business: the company is teaching managers how to focus, showing people how to spend more time with customers, and simplifying its back office processes. SAP did the same thing, and saw employee engagement rise by almost 30%.

Simplification can also improve the culture of compliance. New research by Deloitte Australia shows that financial services firms that focus on culture instead of compliance systems have better compliance. The research believes $240 billion is wasted on overly-complex compliance systems which could be replaced by a “culture of compliance.”

Great corporate cultures have always thrived on simplicity. Remember the mantra at IBM in the 1970s and 1980s? It was very simple: “Think.” The Nordstrom’s rule? ”Use good judgement.” These are simple statements that help people focus. When the rules and values are simple, we remember them.

One of the 10 ”Isms” in Quicken Loans’ manifesto is “ keep it simple.” Don’t make things complicated and don’t design for the “edge cases.”

Design thinking, agile and distributed management is all a part of simplifying work and improving corporate culture. This is an area where HR has work to do (read The Decluttering of Human Resources for more).

Ok I get it. Culture Matters. What should I do?

The prescription is pretty simple. Do you take culture seriously? Do you understand and monitor your culture? Does leadership use culture as a way to communicate values and strategy? Are you investing adequately in your people programs?

There are many role models to follow: Southwest Airlines’ culture of customer service and fun (elegantly described in The Southwest Way); Apple Inc.’s culture of innovation and technology elegance; Google’s culture of focusing on the user; even the US Post Office’s culture of service and reliability. Most of the companies in the Fortune Best Places to Work have a strong focus on culture – usually embodied by the CEO.

Your culture, like your strategy, is unique to your organization. It builds over time and is often hard to change. And when things don’t seem to be going well, turn back the clock. Sometimes the culture is what changed: remember what made your company great in the first place.

Finally, remember that culture lets you focus on your purpose and mission. As Joey Reiman describes in his book The Story of Purpose, people are not intrinsically motivated by profit or market share – it is purpose and values that bring us to work every day.

The Purpose of Work is to Work on Purpose. Meaning makes money., by Joey Reiman

No matter if you’re a CEO, HR executive, manager, or team leader – culture really matters. Consider it one of your most powerful tools for business success.

—–

About the Author: Josh Bersin is a leading analyst in HR, talent, leadership, and HR technology. He is also founder and Principal of Bersin by Deloitte, a leading research and advisory firm.

Forbes.com | March 13, 2015 | Josh Bersin

Strategy: Only Idiots don’t Play Office Politics — Here’s How to Master the Game…Don’t Answer Questions If you Don’t Know Why They are Being Asked

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The idea of playing politics gets a bad rap.  Often you’ll hear people say, “Oh, you’re just playing politics with that decision” in a context that usually means, “You don’t really believe what you’re doing, but you’re doing it in order to avoid doing the right thing.”

House of cards

Success in business requires you to be an expert at getting what you want.

The truth about success in business, sports, or any other venture is that it requires you to be an expert at navigating the people part of getting what you want — in other words, playing politics.

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You can’t avoid playing politics.

Especially if you care about being successful.

If you’re not good at playing politics, you’ll find yourself frustrated and angry because of how ineffective you are. Your good ideas don’t get listened to. Your good plans don’t get taken seriously. Your good intentions and hard work ethic never seem to get the attention they deserve.

Maybe it’s time for you to figure out how to play better politics. Here are a few helpful ideas to get you started:

  1. It’s OK to point the finger as long as you’re honest when it comes to pointing the finger back at yourself when appropriate.
  2. Someone else acting inappropriately isn’t a valid argument for why you shouldn’t get in trouble when you do the same.
  3. If those around you don’t know what you’re doing, their natural assumption is that you’re not doing anything at all.
  4. A little bit of respect and humility goes a long way in your relationships with other people.
  5. It’s no one else’s fault that you’re not as successful as you want to be, so stop taking your frustration out on them.
  6. Small details left unresolved always become the huge obstacles that eventually bring about your demise.
  7. Don’t answer questions if you don’t know why they are being asked.
  8. If you’re not sure what your value is, don’t expect to be satisfied by the compensation other people give you.
  9. Fewer meetings and more short, personal conversations are the secret to getting people to see it your way.
  10. How you say what you need to say is more important than what you actually say.

You need to master the game.

The truth about playing politics is that you don’t hate the game itself. You just don’t like it when the game is played poorly.

You don’t like being lied to. You don’t like being talked down to. You don’t like not knowing where you stand.

So don’t be that guy who does that to others around you. Get better at playing the game.

Businessinsider.com | March 11, 2015 | 

http://danwaldschmidt.com/2015/03/business/only-idiots-dont-play-politics#ixzz3UMHF7Djz

Leadership: 15 Body Language Blunders Successful People Never Make…Avoiding These Body Language Blunders will Help you Form Stronger Relationships, both Professionally/Personally

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Our bodies have a language of their own, and their words aren’t always kind. Your body language has likely become an integral part of who you are, to the point where you might not even think about it.  If that’s the case, it’s time to start, because you could be sabotaging your career.

argue-conflict-workplace

TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). These people know the power that unspoken signals have in communication and they monitor their own body language accordingly.

What follows are the 15 most common body language blunders that people make, and emotionally intelligent people are careful to avoid.

1. Slouching is a sign of disrespect. It communicates that you’re bored and have no desire to be where you are. You would never tell your boss, “I don’t understand why I have to listen to you,” but if you slouch, you don’t have to—your body says it for you, loud and clear.

The brain is hardwired to equate power with the amount of space people take up. Standing up straight with your shoulders back is a power position. It maximizes the amount of space you fill. Slouching, on the other hand, is the result of collapsing your form—it takes up less space and projects less power.

Maintaining good posture commands respect and promotes engagement from both ends of the conversation.

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2. Exaggerated gestures can imply that you’re stretching the truth. Aim for small, controlled gestures to indicate leadership and confidence, and open gestures—like spreading your arms apart or showing the palms of your hands—to communicate that you have nothing to hide.

3. Watching the clock while talking to someone is a clear sign of disrespect, impatience, and inflated ego. It sends the message that you have better things to do than talk to the person you’re with, and that you’re anxious to leave them.
4. Turning yourself away from others, or not leaning into your conversation, portrays that you are unengaged, uninterested, uncomfortable, and perhaps even distrustful of the person speaking.

Try leaning in towards the person who is speaking and tilt your head slightly as you listen to them speak. This shows the person speaking that they have your complete focus and attention.

5. Crossed arms—and crossed legs, to some degree—are physical barriers that suggest you’re not open to what the other person is saying. Even if you’re smiling or engaged in a pleasant conversation, the other person may get a nagging sense that you’re shutting him or her out.

Even if folding your arms feels comfortable, resist the urge to do so if you want people to see you as open-minded and interested in what they have to say.

6. Inconsistency between your words and your facial expression causes people to sense that something isn’t right and they begin to suspect that you’re trying to deceive them, even if they don’t know exactly why or how.

For example, a nervous smile while rejecting an offer during a negotiation won’t help you get what you want; it will just make the other person feel uneasy about working with you because they’ll assume that you’re up to something.

7. Exaggerated nodding signals anxiety about approval. People may perceive your heavy nods as an attempt to show you agree with or understand something that you actually don’t.

8. Fidgeting with or fixing your hair signals that you’re anxious, over-energized, self-conscious, and distracted. People will perceive you as overly concerned with your physical appearance and not concerned enough with your career.

9. Avoiding eye contact makes it look like you have something to hide, and that arouses suspicion. Lack of eye contact can also indicate a lack of confidence and interest, which you never want to communicate in a business setting.
Looking downas you talk makes it seem like you lack confidence or are self-conscious, causing your words to lose their effect. It’s especially important to keep your eyes level if you’re making complicated or important points.

Sustained eye contact, on the other hand, communicates confidence, leadership, strength, and intelligence. While it is possible to be engaged without direct, constant eye contact, complete negligence will clearly have negative effects on your professional relationships.

10. Eye contact that’s too intense may be perceived as aggressive, or an attempt to dominate. On average, Americans hold eye contact for seven to ten seconds, longer when we’re listening than when we’re talking. The way we break contact sends a message, too. Glancing down communicates submission, while looking to the side projects confidence.

11. Rolling your eyes is a fail-proof way to communicate lack of respect. Fortunately, while it may be a habit, it’s voluntary. You can control it, and it’s worth the effort.

12. Scowling or having a generally unhappy expression sends the message that you’re upset by those around you, even if they have nothing to do with your mood. Scowls turn people away, as they feel judged.

Smiling, however, suggests that you’re open, trustworthy, confident, and friendly. MRI studies have shown that the human brain responds favorably to a person who’s smiling, and this leaves a lasting positive impression.

13. Weak handshakes signal that you lack authority and confidence, while a handshake that is too strong could be perceived as an aggressive attempt at domination, which is just as bad. Adapt your handshake to each person and situation, but make sure it’s always firm.

14. Clenched fists, much like crossed arms and legs, can signal that you’re not open to other people’s points. It can also make you look argumentative and defensive, which will make people nervous about interacting with you.

15. Getting too close. If you stand too close to someone (nearer than one and a half feet), it signals that you have no respect for or understanding of personal space. This will make people very uncomfortable when they’re around you.

Bringing It All Together

Avoiding these body language blunders will help you form stronger relationships, both professionally and personally.
Are there any other blunders I should add to this list? Please share your thoughts on body language in the comments, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

Travis co-wrote the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and co-founded TalentSmart, the world’s #1 provider of emotional intelligence tests and training, serving 75% of Fortune 500 Companies.

Strategy: 9 successful People Share the One Thing they Buy that Makes their Lives Easier or Better…I’ve had the Great Privilege to Interview Some of the World’s Top Business Minds, Authors, & Influencers

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How do some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs spend their money to make their lives easier and/or better?  It’s one of my favorite questions to ask of my guests on my daily podcast, So Money.

Robert Kiyosaki: 'My education.'

Since launching the show two months ago, I’ve had the great privilege to interview some of the world’s top business minds, authors, and influencers including Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and Robert Kiyosaki.

Here’s what they — and six others — had to say.

Farnoosh Torabi is an award-winning financial author and host of the daily podcast So Money. Want to learn more? Download her free e-book, “SoMoney Secrets: Financial Habits of Highly Successful People.“

 

Tim Ferriss: ‘Laundry and housecleaning.’

Tim Ferriss: 'Laundry and housecleaning.'

Courtesy of Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss.

Tim Ferriss, the multiple New York Times bestselling author of “The 4-Hour Workweek,” “The 4-Hour Body,” and “The 4-Hour Chef” is also an entrepreneur, angel investor, and wildly popular podcaster.

Understandably, he doesn’t have time to wash and fold his clothes. And mathematically speaking, outsourcing these tasks is more than worth it, since the $10 per hour or so that he pays to have someone else perform his laundry is much less than Ferriss’ personal hourly earnings.

“It is almost impossible to find anyone who has made millions of dollars who doesn’t delegate at least a handful of time consuming things in some fashion,” he says.

Listen to the full interview with Tim Ferriss.

 

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Tony Robbins: ‘Private jets.’

Tony Robbins: 'Private jets.'

Courtesy of Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins.

“Of all the privileges I have in my life, this is the greatest … to go when you want, where you want,” Tony Robbins, author of “MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom,” tells me. “There’s nothing that changes your quality of life when you travel as much as I do, as [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”][private jets].”

The decision to switch from commercial to chartered flights happened in Robbins’ early 30’s after flying from San Diego to Aspen to visit a wealthy friend over the holidays. Due to delays and cancellations, what should have been a three or four hour trip took Robbins nearly half a day.

When he arrived, his friend pulled him aside and asked, “Why would you spend 12 hours of your time traveling? You could have been here in 90 minutes.” Next time, charter a plane, he suggested. “It will change your productivity more than anything on earth.”

Listen to the full interview with Tony Robbins.

Robert Kiyosaki: ‘My education.’

Robert Kiyosaki: 'My education.'

Robert Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki.

“I’m constantly studying,” Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” tells me. “I’m reading books constantly … and they cost only twenty bucks!”

At the time of our interview the finance guru was studying currency collapses, a topic he discusses deeply in his new book, “Second Chance.”

The financial guru also makes sure to surround himself with smart, wealthy individuals, as part of his ongoing education. “I have my advisor friends who are … all entrepreneurs, all multi-millionaires … My time is valuable.”

Listen to the full interview with Robert Kiyosaki.

Amanda Steinberg: ‘My own little studio in New York.’

Amanda Steinberg: 'My own little studio in New York.'

Amanda Steinberg

Amanda Steinberg.

Amanda Steinberg is the founder and CEO of DailyWorth, a leading financial media company for women that boasts over 1 million email subscribers and has raised over $5 million in funding.

Since the site was founded in 2009, she had been commuting between her home in Philadelphia and office in New York, staying in hotels during weekly business trips — which wasn’t saving her any money.

Finally, she realized it would be far more worth it to rent her own little place in the Big Apple. Eventually, she may make a bid to buy an apartment. “I am evaluating that right now,” she says.

Listen to the full interview with Amanda Steinberg.

James Altucher: ‘Waiter pads.’

James Altucher: 'Waiter pads.'

James Altucher

James Altucher.

If you’re lucky enough to have James Altucher, entrepreneur and bestselling author of “Choose Yourself” sitting in your boardroom meeting, chances are you’ll find him carrying his favorite accessory: a waiter pad.

They’re inexpensive, eye-catching (which helps to strike up a conversation) and most importantly, a great place to jot down his countless ideas and “flex” his “idea muscle.”

“I’m constantly practicing coming up with ideas,” Altucher tells me.

“I write 10 ideas a day … for other companies or other people and how their lives can benefit … and that boomerangs back to me in the form of money often.”

Listen to the full interview with James Altucher.

Lewis Howes: ‘My team.’

Lewis Howes: 'My team.'

Lewis Howes

Lewis Howes.

Outsourcing is integral to Lewis Howes‘ seven-figure success as an entrepreneur and business coach. (Reading Ferriss’ book “The 4-Hour Workweek,” which teaches the benefits of outsourcing, was actually instrumental in catalyzing Howes’ career, he says.)

The single best investment that helps him achieve a better life is his team, “people that work with me to support my vision,” he tells me. “I have a full-time assistant … who makes all healthy meals for me every single day, who takes care of all my schedules, who manages my whole life … Spending money on great people, for me, makes my life really easy,” Howes says.

Listen to the full interview with Lewis Howes.

Danielle LaPorte: ‘Food, delivered to my door.’

Danielle LaPorte: 'Food, delivered to my door.'

Danielle LaPorte

Danielle LaPorte.

Following her passions and doing what she truly loves is important to former think tank executive and business strategist Danielle LaPorte, the creator of “The Desire Map: A Guide To Creating Goals With Soul” and the author of “The Fire Starter Sessions.”

And she confesses that cooking is not one of them. Instead, LaPorte hires a personal chef to prepare fresh, healthy meals like salads and fish. And the meals are delivered straight to her door three times a week.

Listen to the full interview with Danielle LaPorte.

Mr. Money Mustache: ‘Good tools.’

Mr. Money Mustache: 'Good tools.'

Mr. Money Mustache

Mr. Money Mustache.

Popular money blogger Mr. Money Mustache, who saved enough to retire at age 30, reports an average of 700,000 monthly unique visitors to his website.

While carpentry is one of his passions, he’s talking about a different set of tools that make his life easier and better.

“I like good tools for life … a good office in which I can work, which is in my house … and good bikes to get around. Nothing has to be fancy or over the top, but I like stuff to be functional,” he says.

Listen to the full interview with Mr. Money Mustache.

Nicole Lapin: ‘Lattes.’

Nicole Lapin: 'Lattes.'

Nicole Lapin

Nicole Lapin.

Nicole Lapin, the former CNBC anchor and author of New York Times bestseller “Rich Bitch” is all about enjoying life to the fullest — even if it means paying $5 for a daily latte.

She knows she can save that $5 and, over 35 years with compounding interest, have a nice nest egg, but she’s not willing to give in. She’d rather find that savings elsewhere in her budget.

For her, the pricey drinks are not only a gratifying indulgence, they add to her productivity and provide the small lift she needs to keep up with her demanding work schedule.

Listen to the full interview with Nicole Lapin.

 

Businessinsider.com | March 12, 2015 |  

http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-what-makes-my-life-easier-2015-3?op=1#ixzz3UBo4Hiwr

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Leadership: Is Your Company Ready For Email Collaboration?…Called the Productivity Gap,which is Between all the Content/Information we can Access on Mobile & the Limits to What we can Do With It

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Are mobile and email holding us back? I’m beginning to think so. In the department of What Happens Next In The World of Work, they’re what has to happen: We need to have seriously better ways of communicating both via mobile and via email. Both need to catch up to the way we want to work, which is more collaborative, interactive, agile, and fast.

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Yes: mobile is a great big shiny new awesomeness. But it’s shiny and fast like a speedboat: not much room inside that racing machine. And no matter what we may have speculated, email is simply not going away. But mobile needs to be bigger, and email needs to be smarter. And they need to play better with each other too.

We’re Stalled In Mobile

In terms of mobile, we’re in a holding pattern. A Pew survey revealed that a third of mobile owners access the Internet mainly from the phone, and more than half of all emails are first opened via mobile. But then what? The functionality of mobile is nowhere near what we need it to be in terms of the tasks involved in conducting business.

How about managing and sending large documents? And just try finding that one text in a long string that includes the actual details of a meeting (was it the longishballoon with the nine thumbs up emojis?). Or try rallying your team to craft a strategic, timely response to a breaking business development. You see it happening right before your eyes, but can you actually do anything about it? Tap swish tap, curse.

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It’s been called the productivity gap, and that’s a good term for it. It’s the gap between all the content and information we can access on mobile, and the limits to what we can do with it. We can use mobile for consuming lots of content, but we can’t yet create much content on it.

So we detour. We hop from mobile to desktop, desktop to mobile to desktop again. We Facebook message that we are emailing a document we created on our laptop. And every time we detour, we lose out in productivity. Stepping from one platform to the other takes time. The advent of mobile (and social) means everything happens fast, but we don’t yet have the mobile tools to keep up.

Seems Like Old Times

What about email? We’ve certainly gotten way past those robo announcements of the 1990s. The emergence of the Cloud is taking care of those baffling log jams that plagued many an inter-office network — though I just got a phone call recently asking me to confirm that I’d gotten an email since the in-house email system tends to stall if nearing capacity. But size isn’t the only issue here: it’s how email can be processed, sorted, organized, read, responded to.

Apparently we waste a heap of time dealing with emails: managing email today consumes an estimated 28 percent of the average knowledge worker’s week. (In case that seems like a downswing, consider that a 2012 McKinsey Global survey found that workers spend more than a quarter of the day reading and answering emails.) Is it that workers are spending all this time on purpose? Probably not. I’d blame the messenger here.

We still have to manage emails one message at a time, most commonly according to the hierarchy of time, conversation, then people. Yes, time matters, but more in terms of here’s the latest. Yes, we need to have conversations, but it’s hard to bring more than one other person into the mix. And at least in the workplace, people are more often than not acting as part of a team. And partially because chronology is so critical, the etiquette of email hasn’t changed: we expect each other to answer each and every email as it comes in, or we get lost in the thread.

What we need is an email system that can allow us to collaborate not justmano a mano but as a team; a collaborative, a collection, a culture. In the future we will see more email systems with customized analytics: designed to ask the right questions in order to learn our habits. This will allow users to narrow the pipeline so we get the emails we need when we need them, and the ones we don’t need we can access later. A more fluid and agile reliance on the Cloud would help.

Innovations are coming our way, and they just may be able to transform the world of work in the coming year. No matter how brilliant our metrics or global our network, no matter how quick or adaptable our business strategies, if we can’t have equally agile conversations, we can’t hit our marks. So let’s see what happens. Hashtag cautious, but — optimistic.

Forbes.com | March 8, 2015 | Meghan M. Biro