When is Weve Always Done it that Way a Valid Excuse

When is “We’ve Always Done it that Way” a Valid Excuse When working in an office setting, there are certain themes or quotes that gain popularity, and suddenly you hear them over and over. Most are intended to be motivational or inspirational, and apply to everyone in a corporate environment in one way or another. One that I seem to hear a lot lately is, “The most dangerous thing you can say is, ‘We’ve always done it that way.’” I understand the point of the quote â€" those who are adverse to change get left behind. But the saying only looks at one side of the coin â€" sometimes, the reason it’s always been done that way is because other ways have been tried and proven ineffective. In my experience, there’s only one reason to implement change â€" to make things better than they used to be. It’s true that experimentation by creative minds leads to improved methodology. In a recent article on HR.com about the rewards of hiring risk-takers, it’s evident that employers who welcome change often see the most significant employee contributions. This is evidenced by 3M’s Post-it notes and Amazon’s Prime loyalty program â€" both unique and lucrative ideas introduced by employees. The problem lies in changes that are not for the better. Just because change can be implemented doesn’t necessarily mean it should. Let’s look at a few types of changes that may be counterproductive. The experiment: This is simply the “let’s try something new and see if it works” approach. Sometimes the gamble pays off; but if the research hasn’t been done and all possible outcomes thought through, the fallout can be catastrophic. Case in point â€" Ron Johnson’s decision to change J.C. Penney’s pricing strategy in early 2012. In an attempt to mirror Apple’s marketing plan, the retail chain’s CEO decided to eliminate sales and coupons, resorting instead to touting everyday low prices. The strategy failed to take into consideration their core customers’ love of sales, coupons and bargain hunting, and led to Johnson’s dismissal less than 17 months later. Not only has the change been considered one of the greatest marketing blunders in retail history, but J.C. Penney has struggled to regain their customer base ever since, proving that sometimes it’s better to do things “the way we’ve always done them.” The territory marker: This type of change can be seen when new leadership enters an organization. Once established, they begin making various changes simply to demonstrate authority. The changes serve no real purpose other than to let everyone know that there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’ll be calling the shots. After employees have adapted to the “out with the old, in with the new” mentality, management usually realizes that things were done the old way for a reason â€" because that’s what worked â€" and they gradually start changing things back to the way they were. Just because: These are changes simply made out of boredom. While I mentioned earlier that the only reason to change things is to make them better than the way they were, one exception would be to change them simply to keep the process from getting stale. The change may or may not yield better results than the old way, but at least it’s a change, and sometimes, as Bill Murray states in the movie Groundhog Day, “Anything different is good.” If the results of the change prove less effective, things can always be changed back, and the positive effects of a simple variation in procedure are doubled. I believe the overall point of the original quote is directed at employers who are not open to suggestions from employees. Hanging on to outdated processes out of tradition when forward-thinking employees’ ideas and innovations are systematically disregarded is not only ignorant, but is sure to kill both productivity and employee morale. But not all change is good and should be welcomed, and this may not be immediately evident by both employees and management. In the end, the consequences of any change must be weighed like any business decision. If the projected outcome isn’t favorable, and it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

How To Start Your Own Home Based Business

How To Start Your Own Home Based Business What is an Internet business income opportunity? This is one question that many people ask about when they first learn about working at home through the Internet. The fact is that you can make a good residual income by working at home with an Internet business. The startup expenses associated with an Internet business income opportunity are nowhere near what it would cost you to start up a regular brick and mortar business. Selling on the Internet is called business and millions of people have latched onto this new way of making money. Consider all the things you have to do to start up your own regular business. You can read more about what it takes to operate a business  here.    In short, office space, staff, salaries, cost of equipment â€" these all add up to a great startup expense. With an internet home based business, you get everything you need for your   business startup for a much lower cost. People from all walks of life are starting up their own home-based business which lets them work from home on a full or part-time basis. Internet business startup expenses only include the cost of a computer, an internet connection, the purchase of a domain name and web hosting services. If you already have your own computer and the internet connection, then you are already on your way to creating an internet business income opportunity. An Internet Home Based Business An internet business operates from your own home. Depending on what it is that you do, you don’t have to have a stockpile of inventory or deal with shipping products to customers. You can become a re-seller, which means you simply take the orders from customers through your website. You do need to find a supplier for your internet business startup, but this is   easy to do. With this type of business opportunity, you can sell products from your website by sending the orders to a company, which in turn sends them out to the customers. You retain the profit from each and every sale. One thing you do need to know about an internet business income is that it is not a get rich quick scheme. You do have to work at it and working from home requires discipline. It means that you do have to devote a specific amount of time each day to grow your business, whether that is finding new affiliates for your website, adding new products to sell or spending time writing. Most internet business opportunities give you all the tools you need to succeed, but you do need to work at it. Just setting up a website and not doing anything with it will not get you anywhere. If you are looking for an internet business opportunity there is no shortage of choices.

Find Out About The Companys Culture Early - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Find Out About The Companys Culture Early - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career One of the most important jobs of management is to make the organization a decent, enjoyable, productive, and creative place to work â€" in other words, to foster and nurture a positive corporate culture. If your most important work values aren’t shared by a company youre considering, think twice before signing on. This issue is so important that you shouldn’t rely on the accuracy of what youre told by the hiring executive or recruiter. You need to speak to your own business contacts, present and past employees, and company vendors and customers. Compare the company’s self-image with its outside reputation. (The latter is often more accurate.) Both you and the company benefit if the cultural fit works. · How do the company’s leaders describe the company’s culture (in recruiting materials or the annual report, for example)? How does this compare with the way rank-and-file employees, former employees, competitors, customers, and suppliers describe the culture? (A major difference here may forecast trouble.) · Are employees treated like partners, with respect for their individuality, creativity, and personal needs? Or are they treated like interchangeable parts, “troublemakers,” or wayward children? · What is the working environment like? What kinds of working spaces do most employees occupy? How great a gap is there between the accommodations of the top executives and those of lower-level employees? How well are shared spaces (meeting rooms, lounges, cafeteria) maintained and supplied? · What is the mood of the offices like? Does a visitor notice joking, laughing, music, conversation? Or is the atmosphere tense and hostile? · How do the employees dress? How do they decorate their offices, desks, cubicles, and other working areas? Is there an atmosphere of personal expression or one of regimentation and corporate control? · How does the company help employees develop professionally? What investments are made in training and education? How are mistakes viewed? · How do employees at various levels describe their work and the company’s mission? Do most employees regard their work as “just a job?” Do they view themselves as “changing the world?” Or is the prevailing attitude something in between or altogether different? For your own happiness and productivity thoroughly check to see if the company culture and your values are aligned.

How to make the most out of your trip to NYC

How to make the most out of your trip to NYC Whether you’re in town for a couple of days or you’re checking into the Big Apple for a big stay, there’s a lot to cram into a visit to New York City. If you’re to avoid coming home with a dose of regret at missing out, then you need a battleplan. Here’s how to squeeze the most out of your NYC adventure… Go at the right time You can get more from your break if you choose your timing carefully. If fashion is your thing, it could be a great experience to be in NYC for either the February or September fashion weeks, for example. Head to New York for Thanksgiving and you’ll have the chance to join in the Macy’s parade â€" while a visit for New Year’s Eve will let you countdown to midnight with the crowds in Times Square. A winter break, meanwhile, will give you chance to skate on the Rockefeller Center’s famous ice rink. Get a great view Manhattan’s magnificent skyline is crying out to be gazed upon â€" and to serve as the backdrop for the ultimate NYC vacation photo. Make sure you plan ahead to get the best views of it: sign yourself up for a helicopter tour or pre-book tickets to get to the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center. See a show Broadway offers some of the very best live theater in the world (only London’s West End even gets close), so you’ll be missing out if you don’t book yourself some show tickets. From pioneering new plays to out-and-out classics, there’s bound to be something showing that can add the finishing touches to the perfect NYC day. Make the most of the museums It’s easy to walk the streets of Manhattan with your neck craned up, star struck at the skyscrapers. Yet, it’s also important to dive inside New York’s magnificent museums and explore the incredible exhibits inside. The Museum of Arts and Design is a great example of the sort of high caliber attraction that you’ll struggle to beat anywhere in the world â€" and even puts on ‘pay what you wish’ entry on Thursday evenings. Be smart and save some money Speaking of which, New York can be an expensive city â€" so if you are on a tight budget it pays to think of ways to make your money go further. Taking in free sights, such as Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge, will give you a break from the spending, while the Staten Island Ferry is also free and gives you a great view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. Also, look out for early evening menu deals in restaurants â€" by being prepared to eat a couple of hours early you can save yourself a few bucks. Make your budget go further with some smart planning, book in to see a spectacular show, get a great view, and pick the right time of year you’ll get that little bit more from a visit to NYC.

How to Use Your Skills in Writing Your Resume

How to Use Your Skills in Writing Your ResumeOne of the best ways to get your resume noticed is to start writing page numbers and resume title at the beginning of each piece of work. With all the distractions out there, how can a job seeker write a resume that won't be knocked off by an advertisement?Most resumes today will have these preprinted page numbers in order to make it easy for the reader to track which pages are the resumes most important. But what about when the same person starts working on two resumes, one using these preprinted page numbers and the other without?The key to getting a resume noticed in today's world is to always have something new and different in your resume, something that makes you stand out from the crowd. A great way to do this is to add in a nice list of skills to demonstrate to potential employers that you have a wide range of options available to you.Because resumes are designed to be more interactive, instead of just listing a lot of identical 's kills' in a different part of the resume, you want to make a point of including one of your most valuable skills and then include several more. This will have the effect of highlighting the one skill that you think will get you noticed. The same applies to the jobs you apply for as well.When you're trying to get a job in the field of sales, one of the skills that many companies are looking for is someone who is not afraid to promote themselves. By having a list of skills that show that you can effectively use email marketing, social media, and online networking sites like LinkedIn, you can give yourself the edge over other applicants and get a lot of calls or interviews.In order to be able to successfully follow through with your list of skills, you need to make sure that your resume actually tells the reader what your resume is about. Using bullet points is a good way to make sure that your resume has an easy-to-read format that is both informative and eye-catching. When using bull et points, your resume should always be able to be browsed by anyone because it will look like a real resume!When the reader is reading your resume, it is their goal to see the individual skills in the list on the front of the resume and the title on the back. When you are presenting yourself, be sure to break up the titles and skills into sentences that will convey the message that you want to communicate. Remember, when you list your skills on your resume, it is also telling the reader which skills are the most important and why.It is never enough to just tell someone what your resume is about, you must be able to back up what you are saying with your resume! When it comes to writing your resume, you need to be able to take the best ideas from any other piece of writing you have ever read and incorporate them into your resume. If you keep this in mind, then you will be able to build a resume that will get you the job you want, anywhere you are in the business world!

Why Should an Employer Consider Switching to a Millennial Office Space

Why Should an Employer Consider Switching to a Millennial Office Space A conducive work environment plays a very important role in promoting positive vibes among employees. A harmonious environment also helps in improving the productivity of your team and you might be surprised how much importance millennials give to it. Did you know that UK millennials were found to have rejected potential job opportunities because they found the office layouts to be uninspiring? The millennials do not like the layouts that have conventionally been there till date as they reportedly find them to be restrictive. Having a functional desk space with multiple screens has been found to improve productivity by up to 50%. So, if you are wondering what else they dislike about the conventional offices, the second thing on the list is the lack of open spaces and poor utilization of space. To be able to stimulate creativity, workers need to work in an office that has open spaces to think besides collaboratively working alongside their team to keep the motivation up. The millennial generation also likes natural light a lot besides and want it to be incorporated into the office building. Next is the smell of blossoming flowers in the office for which employers can get a theme designed for the office layout to have various colorful plants and flowers grow in the workspace instead of restricting them to waiting areas and lobby. Next on the list is adding bright and interesting colors to the office as millennials find color themes of conventional office spaces to be dull and boring. Usage of colors lowers stress levels among employees and boosts their morale which helps with the creative process and hence improving their overall productivity.So, are you interested in making amends to your office space based on the aforementioned observations? Learn more  about the benefits of switching to a millennial office space, check out this infographic now!

How to Find a Job With LinkedIns New Search Feature - CareerEnlightenment.com

Review the example below (image). I searched for .NET to see what skills I should include in a client’s profile. I’ll admit, I would have never thought of .NET Compact Network.Give it a try. Start by typing your current job title or skills to see what LinkedIn suggests for you.3. The New Jobs PageLinkedIn’s new Jobs page provides some great features. I think the suggested jobs section is the best. LinkedIn gathers the information from your network and your profile, then reveals the logos of companies you might have some interest in working for.Below that, there’s a section that explains what jobs are open from people in your network. Of course, applying for a job where you have a referral is always best practice.Try setting up an e-mail alert so you know if any new jobs open up in your network. Pretty nice, right?Getting Your Profile to Show Up on an Employer’s SearchAs you can tell, search results are prioritized based on connection. So there is just no substitute for havi ng as many well-connected people in your network as possible. But you also need to make sure your profile has these elements:Tells a story.Includes relevant keywords.Convinces employers to connect with you.Yes, I know. Writing about yourself can be very frustrating. Which is why using a LinkedIn profile writing service is a smart investment.