8 Creative Businesses That Will Inspire the Artist in You

Business

8 Creative Businesses That Will Inspire the Artist in You

00:59 Komentar

Art is a beautiful gift that plays more of a role in society than we realize. Without it, we wouldn't have books, movies, architecture, paintings and more. However, this doesn't make the business a simple one – just consider the "starving artist" cliché.

Credit: Africa Studio/Shutterstock

Though artists might be intimidated by the industry, it's not impossible to get off the ground as an art-based company. Businesses like these eight successful startups keep art alive and inspire fellow artists to do what they love.

Artsy

If you're an art enthusiast but don't have the time or money to travel to various museums, consider using Artsy, an online resource for art and museums. Artsy is a platform that features popular galleries, museum collections, foundations, artist estates, art fairs and benefit auctions in one place, according to their website. Their mission is to "make all the world's art accessible to anyone with an Internet connection." Keeping art alive and appreciated, especially in an increasingly digital world, is important to the industry's success.

Bucketfeet

Raaja Nemani and Aaron Firestein met and became friends while traveling through Argentina. Firestein drew a design on a pair of plain canvas sneakers for Nemani, who soon found his shoes were a popular conversation starter throughout his travels. This inspired the pair to start Bucketfeet, a company that sells canvas sneakers in a variety of styles that feature original art by more than 40,000 creators from 120 countries around the world. These artists cover every medium, from graphic design and graffiti to photography and painting, and anyone can submit their artwork for consideration by the Bucketfeet committee. [See Related Story: Business Ideas for Artists]

ImageThink

Based in New York, ImageThink makes art functional in the office and the classroom. The ImageThink graphic-recording team creates illustrations based on keynote speeches, presentations, strategy sessions and more to help audiences visualize and better remember the information they see. ImageThink team members create these illustrations live during the meeting or event to accompany the presentation. The business also offers its services for creating animated videos and infographics.

Instapainting

Have you ever posted a photo on Instagram that's so beautiful it could be a painting? With Instapainting, you can transform that digitally captured sunset or portrait into a real-life work of art. You can order either a mixed-media painting (the artist will print your image onto a cotton canvas and then hand-paint over at least 90 percent of the image with oil paints) or a 100 percent hand-painted painting (the artist will start from a blank canvas and paint the entire picture by hand with oil paints) based on your photo. Throughout the process, you can view all the progress and changes made, and talk directly with the artist. You'll have a finished product delivered to you from Instapainting within about three weeks.

JuicyCanvas

With JuicyCanvas, anyone can customize art, turning it into canvas prints, shirts, phone cases, tote bags, throw pillows and greeting cards. Juicy Canvas allows customers to select a medium and an original design, and then "remix" the piece into a custom product by altering colors, rotating and cropping the image and adding text. Artists can submit their work to be used on the site, and customers can easily search through the available designs by style and country of origin.

Meural

Ever wish you could have the works of your favorite artists at your fingertips? Meural offers that accessibility with a digital library of precious works of art, displayable in a "digital canvas" frame. Meural renders each image as lifelike and textured as a real painting, down to the last brushstroke, the site says. The canvas comes in a wooden frame. With a range of art collections from the Romantics to the Renaissance to Contemporary art and classic photography, there are more than 20,000 pieces (and the option to upload your own images) to bring a little culture to your home, office or art space. The website ensures it's easy to upload, curate and schedule images to display in your frame.

Tekuma

Art can transform a bare room into a gallery. With Tekuma, a Boston-area startup, anyone looking to enhance their interior design can choose from artwork by independent artists to decorate their home. They just snap a photo of their space and let the curators find content to match. Not only does this allow homeowners to display beautiful decor, it also promotes and rewards the artists.

TurningArt

Are you fickle about your home or office decor? TurningArt is an art-rental subscription service that allows you to select new art to feature in your home or office as often as you like, for a monthly fee. As a subscriber, you can search through thousands of pieces to find what you want, and the pieces are delivered to you at no extra cost. Your first order will come in a frame, and when you're ready for a new masterpiece, all you have to do is slide the old artwork out of the frame, send it back to TurningArt, and put the new order in. If you fall in love with a piece, you can purchase it through TurningArt as well.

--Sammi Caramela

Read more »

Business Plan Tools for Startups and Small Businesses

Business

Business Plan Tools for Startups and Small Businesses

00:53 Komentar

Have a killer business idea? A killer business plan can help you turn it into a successful business. Creating a well-crafted business plan is no easy task, however. You'll need to not only flesh out your idea, make some educated guesses and have a deep understanding of the different aspects of running a business — before you even start one. 

Credit: Ollyy/Shutterstock

Figuring out how to do this correctly is hard enough, but there are several tools available to make this arduous task a little bit easier for would-be entrepreneurs. Instead of starting from scratch, here are a collection of business plan templates, software, apps and services to help you start a business the right way with a professional business plan.

Business plan templates

Business plan templates show you exactly what a business plan is supposed to look like and what goes in each section. You can find them as downloadable sample business plans that you can copy and modify to fit your business, or as fill-in-the-blank or question-and-answer forms. There are also different types of business plans: simple business plans that cover the essentials, comprehensive ones that cover every aspect of a business, and those designed for a specific purpose, such as to raise funding or find business partners. Here are some business plan templates worth considering.

The $100 Startup One-Page Business Plan. One-page business plans take the fuss out creating a business plan by getting down to the basics of what your business is about and how you intend to meet its goals. Think of it like writing down your business on a napkin, but with a purpose. The $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan is one such business plan template. Simply answer a few questions like "What will you sell?" "What will you charge?" and "How will customers learn about your business?" in a couple sentences and you're good to go.

SCORE Business Plan Templates. Small business resource SCORE has a collection of free PDF and Word business plan templates for startups, established businesses and even nonprofits. The organization also offers additional types of business planning resources and templates, such as financial projections, market research, sales forecasts, SWOT analysis and more. Once your business plan is finished, you can meet with a SCORE mentor for feedback and guidance.

Bplans.com. Looking for free sample business plans? Bplans.com offers a wide range of them for all types of businesses, including retailers, online businesses, service providers, restaurants and more. These sample templates come complete with a table of contents and sections like executive summary, company summary, products and services, financial planning, market analysis and other standard business plan sections. Bplans.com offers more than 500 sample business plans that can be downloaded as Word, PDF and other file formats. 

Rocket Lawyer. If you need to make your business plan a legal document, check out Rocket Lawyer. Rocket Lawyer lets you create your own legal documents and provides access to various legal services. Its business plans section lets you create business plans in three steps: build, save and sign. You can also print and share your business plans for easy access. Rocket Lawyer business plans come with standard parts of a business plan, as well as sections for funding requests and appendix for supporting documents.

Find more using our list of free business plan templates for small businesses.

Business plan apps

You don't have to be glued to your desk to create a business plan. There are several business plan mobile apps that will let you write a business plan anytime, anywhere right on your smartphone or tablet. Here are two worth checking out.

StartPad. Recognized by Entrepreneur and Forbes, StartPad is one of the top business plan apps available for the iPad. This app offers a wide range of business planning resources, such as strategic business planning tutorials, professionally made sample business plans, financial projections and other reports. Business plans created on StartPad can also be exported as high-resolution PDFs or printed out. The basic version of StartPad is free to download and use, but requires in-app purchases for additional features. Get StartPad from the Apple App Store.

Business Plan & Start Startup. Are you an Android user? Business Plan & Start Startup is the app for you. This app isn't just for creating a business plan, however. It also aims to do three things for entrepreneurs: help start a business the right way with a well-crafted business plan; keep them motivated and on track; and provide a community of fellow entrepreneurs, small business owners and experts to help guide users in creating their business plan and running their businesses. Business Plan & Start Startup can be downloaded from the Google Play marketplace

Business plan services

Don't want to use any of the above? Try an online business plan service, which guides you throughout the business plan writing process. The services offer similar tools as business plan software — such as document collections and chart generators — with the difference being that they typically offer business and legal specialists who can help you better understand complex aspects of your business and business plan. Two online business plan services to consider are LivePlan and the SBA Business Plan Tool.

Bizplan.com. Need funding? Check out startup.co's business plan service, bizplan.com. This web-based business plan comes with a step-by-step guide to help you build your business plan and optimize it for investors. Business plans can also be completely tailored to your business with logos, graphics, layouts and custom designs to fit your brand. After building your business plan, you can share and publish it on startup.co's crowdfunding site, fundable.com, where you can connect with investors and add elements like photos and videos to highlight your business.

LivePlan. LivePlan is a cloud-based business plan service that offers everything from document generation to planning tools, financial calculators, guidance resources and more. The service guides you through each component of the business plan and provides step-by-step instructions and advice based on the objective of your business plan (starting a business, business development, funding, etc.)

SBA Business Plan Tool. The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Business Plan Tool covers everything from executive summary and company description to market research, product line, marketing and sales, and financial projections in detail. You can also personalize your business plan with your company logo, as well as save, print and update your business plan as needed.

--Sara Angeles

Read more »

The 10 Worst Bad Boss Behaviors

Career

The 10 Worst Bad Boss Behaviors

06:31 Komentar

Few things play as important a role in your success at work than your boss.

While working for someone you like and respect can make you more committed to your employer, working for someone you dislike and don't respect can have you heading for the door. A new study from BambooHR revealed that 44 percent of professionals have quit their job primarily because of their boss.Few things play as important a role in your success at work than your boss.

Credit: Gonzalo Aragon/Shutterstock

"When you have a boss you respect and admire, you are more likely to produce great work and enjoy your job," the study's authors wrote. "But when you have a bad boss, you're much more likely to be upset, unengaged and ready to leave."

Nothing makes employees sour on their boss more than working for someone who steals credit for their work. The study found that 63 percent of the employees surveyed said working for someone who takes credit for their work is something they consider a deal breaker, or at the very least unacceptable.

Of those who have left a job because of their boss, nearly 20 percent said they quit because the person they worked for was taking credit for their work.

"No one wants a work environment in which employees are considering or compelled to leave because of a manager's poor leadership skills," the study's authors wrote. "Employees want to receive recognition for their hard work and want to feel empowered, inspired, and cared for."

The research found that the top 10 bad boss behaviors are:

1. Your boss takes credit for your work
2. Your boss doesn't appear to trust or empower you
3. Your boss doesn't seem to care if you're overworked
4. Your boss doesn't advocate for you when it comes to monetary compensation (wages/salary/ bonuses)
5. Your boss hires and/or promotes the wrong people
6. Your boss doesn't back you up when there's a dispute between you and one of your company's clients
7. Your boss doesn't provide proper direction on assignments/roles
8. Your boss micromanages you and doesn't allow you the "freedom to work"
9. Your boss focuses more on your weaknesses than your strengths
10. Your boss doesn't set clear expectations

"Above all, employees want a boss who trusts them, cares for them as people, respects their work/life balance, and appreciates and acknowledges their hard work and good ideas," the study's authors wrote.

The research revealed that besides their actions, certain traits also leave employees looking elsewhere for employment. Of those who have left a job because of their manager, the top five characteristics of their boss that made them leave were:

1. Management style
2. Condescending attitude
3. Mean or had a bad temper
4. Inappropriate behavior
5. Harassed employees

"These results highlight an opportunity for bosses and employers to hone in on the leadership aspects that irk employees the most and make the necessary steps to retain their best talent and foster a strong company culture," the study's authors wrote. "By developing a culture that promotes positive leadership behaviors at the top, organizations will reap the benefits of a healthier, happier workforce."

While they still consider them "bad," a few behaviors by bosses don't get under the skin of employees nearly as much. Specifically, the research shows that bosses who refuse to "friend" them on social media channels or who don't like to spend time with employees outside of work are the most acceptable bad behaviors.

The study was based on surveys of 1,029 U.S. employees.

--Chad Brooks

Read more »

Easy Way to Become a Better Leader

Leadership

Easy Way to Become a Better Leader

06:25 Komentar

There's more to leadership than having a high-ranking title and being in charge of a team. You might have the authority to tell people what to do, but if you're an ineffective leader, you won't be able to guide and motivate your staff to accomplish their goals.

Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

"I think a great leader is one who makes those around him/her better. There are many litmus tests for a great leader, but I really look to those around them," said Dana Brownlee, founder of Professionalism Matters. "Are they growing, becoming better leaders themselves, motivated, etc.?"

According to Brownlee, if you have engaged in the following behaviors, it's possible you're showing signs of being a weak leader:

• No one on your team has criticized one of your ideas in the past month.
• You spend more time planning your own career progression than planning that of your team members.
• You haven't had at least three completely non-work related conversations with a team member weekly.
• Different team members would provide different answers if asked your top three priorities for the year.
• Team members are afraid to fail.

Business News Daily asked CEOs, managers and leadership experts for their best advice on becoming a better leader. Here's what they had to say.

1. Connect and communicate

Leading a group of people requires a mutual sense of trust and understanding between the leader and the team members. As a first step toward that goal, leaders should learn to connect. Terry "Starbucker" St. Marie, a leadership writer and consultant, said that being what he calls a "more human" leader requires positivity, purpose, empathy, compassion, humility and love. These key traits will put you on the road to genuine connections with the members of your team.

"Building a real personal connection with your teammates is vital to developing the shared trust necessary to build a strong culture of accountability and exceptional performance," St. Marie said. "With that culture in place, the team can achieve a successful business, a happy team and a fulfilled leader." 

"I think the best leaders communicate often and are transparent (which is rare).  The best leaders also customize communications to best suit the situation and the recipient," Brownlee said. "This means they take the time to figure out which communication mode is preferred by each team member (e.g. are they a text person, email, phone, or face to face?)  They're also great listeners and are authentically interested in other people."

Ruslan Fazlyev, CEO and founder of e-commerce solutions provider Ecwid, said that in all your communications, it's important to be genuine above all else.

"There are many leadership styles; there's no right and wrong," Fazlyev said. "But there's genuine, and there's fake. There's no following to fake leadership." [What kind of leader are you? Take a look at these different  traits, skills and styles.]

2. Know your team

Once you've mastered the art of communicating and connecting with your team members, you can really get to know them — who they are, what they're interested in and what their talents are.

"You can know your mission and vision, but it is equally, if not more, important to know your people," said Joe Nolan, CEO of Motus Global, a company that provides biomechanical analysis for athletes. "If you care about and take care of your people, they will take care of your customers, and ultimately, you will accomplish your mission."

"A good leader knows his or her team better than anyone else — their strong skills and how they can be leveraged, as well as their weaknesses," added Alexander Negrash, director of marketing at cloud backup and storage solutions company CloudBerry Lab.

3. Encourage creativity

If you want your staff to do their best work, you need to give them the freedom to brainstorm and explore, Negrash said. Be open to your team's ideas and suggestions, and be ready to consider them and possibly develop them further.

"A good leader also gives the team new challenges, preventing them from becoming bored and complacent while showing confidence in their potential," Negrash added.

4. Focus on the positives

As much as leaders wish that their team's day-to-day operations could run smoothly all the time, they're bound to run into the occasional obstacle. Whether it's a minor miscommunication or a major error, the way a leader handles a negative situation says a lot about his or her leadership skills. Robert Mann, author of "The Measure of a Leader" (iUniverse, 2013), recommended focusing on the good in any set of circumstances. 

"Look at three positive things about a problem before you identify what makes it dissatisfying," Mann said. "The more you look at the positives in a problem, the more positively people react with one another." 

In his research, Mann has found that, after individuals point out things they're happy with in a problematic situation, they don't feel so strongly about the problem and are better able to think clearly and solve it. The same is true when a leader needs to improve his or her strategy. If you or a team member notices a particular course of action you've taken that just isn't working, figure out some things you've done in the past that have worked.

Similarly, Peter Fuda, author of "Leadership Transformed" (New Harvest, 2013), said that leaders can learn to focus on the positive by shifting from "critic" to "cheerleader" of their teams. 

"This strategy involves moving from a focus on what is going wrong to what is going right," Fuda said. "Shining a light on issues and problems is an important part of transformation, but it must not become a leader's default setting. An important mantra I have shared with almost every leader I have met is, 'Don't let perfect get in the way of better.'" 

5. Show, don't tell

An effective leader knows how to show others what is required, rather than simply telling them. Luke Iorio, president and CEO of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), said leaders should coach their team members toward a more collaborative, committed work environment — without coaxing them.

"[If you are] controlling people to do certain things in certain ways, you're not going to get the level of engagement that you're looking for," Iorio said. "Coaching is about helping the people you lead recognize the choices they have in front of them. People will [then] take a great deal of ownership over the direction of the project." 

6. Be direct

Taso Du Val, CEO and founder of Toptal freelance talent network, said direct, honest feedback — even if it's criticism — is the best way to guide your team in the right direction. You also need to know exactly where your business is headed, so you can give them the right advice.

"If you're not direct, people won't know what you truly think about them and their work, and they will never be able to improve," Du Val said. "If you don't know the precise direction your company is headed, no matter how much you've communicated to your employees and leadership team regarding their individual performance, they will flounder when it comes to making decisions and taking actions. Once those basic principles are in place, deadlines, regular product plans, performance reviews, structure and processes can easily be put into place."

"Always share constructive feedback about anything that the team or each team player does," Negrash added. "Positive feedback is as important as negative, and a good leader strives for balance."

7. Ask for feedback

Your team members aren't the only ones who can benefit from honest feedback. A true self-assessment of your own leadership can be difficult, so mentors, fellow professionals and even your own staff are invaluable in evaluating your effectiveness. According to St. Marie, talking to friends and peers often brings needed perspective on your leadership approach and style. Leadership coaching can also help you discover areas that need improvement. A professional who helps you develop a plan to achieve your leadership goals can be more motivational than books and seminars alone. 

"Coaching allows leaders to make the connection and apply [changes] in a real-life setting," Iorio said. "You need time to integrate, process and reflect, and unless you go through those steps, you won't have sustainable change." 

Fazlyev agreed, noting that your team can give you critical insight into what's working, what's not working and obstructions to success.

8. Understand your own motivation

If a person in a leadership position views his or her role as "just a job," it's going to show. To be an effective leader, you need to have the right motivation. Is it the money or the prestige you care about, or do you sincerely want to inspire people to do their best? St. Marie advised leaders to really ask themselves why they want to lead. 

"I look at leadership as an honor and a vocation," he told Business News Daily. "If, in your heart, you feel leadership is your destiny and how you'll make a difference in this world, then you are certainly starting from the right place."

Read more »

IT Industries Most In-Demand in Career Right Now

Career Leadership

IT Industries Most In-Demand in Career Right Now

23:54 Komentar

Technology workers will be the most sought after by employers over the the rest of the year, new research finds.

Credit: www.dtcompressors.com

The study from CareerBuilder revealed that the information technology industry will lead the way in hiring over the next six months. Specifically, 72 percent of IT employers will be making new hires before the end of the year, more than 12 percentage points higher than the national average.

Employers in the manufacturing, health care and financial services industries are also expected to make more new hires than the national average.

Regardless of industry, skilled trades jobs will be most in-demand. Specifically, 15 percent of employers will be recruiting employees for skilled trades positions. These are among the other most important in-demand roles for the second half of the year:

• Software as a service – 14 percent
• Cybersecurity – 13 percent
• Sales enablement – 13 percent
• Talent management – 13 percent
• Providing a good user experience – 12 percent
• Managing and interpreting big data – 11 percent
• Creating digital strategies – 11 percent
• Social marketing – 10 percent
• Ecommerce – 10 percent
• Developing apps – 10 percent
• Healthy living – 9 percent

Overall, there is projected to be a significant increase in the number of employers hiring new workers before the end of the year. The study found that 60 percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent workers over the next six months, up from 50 percent last year. In addition, 36 percent of employers plan to hire part-time, permanent employees, up from 29 percent in 2016. [Hiring remote workers? 4 ways to find the best]

The greatest increase is expected to come from organizations hiring freelance workers. The research shows that 46 percent of employers are projected to hire temporary or contract workers, up from 32 percent last year.

Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, said most employers are confident in their outlook for financial growth and plans for hiring.

"Job seekers stand to benefit not only from having more options, but also from the growing intensity in the competition for talent," Ferguson said in a statement.

Hiring is projected to increase across all company sizes. The study found that 37 percent of small businesses with fewer than 50 employees plan to make new hires in the second half of the year, up from 27 percent last year; 67 percent of businesses with 51 to 250 workers also expected to bring on new workers, up from 53 percent a year ago.

The research also showed that hiring among large businesses with more than 1,000 workers is projected to increase by 6 percentage points from a year ago.

With hiring on the rise, most organizations think they are going to have to entice employees with more money to win the recruiting battle. Nearly three-quarters of the hiring managers surveyed feel they have to start paying higher wages because the market has become increasingly competitive for talent.

"Employers are moving quickly to recruit candidates, and they are willing to pay more across job levels," Ferguson said. "The current climate puts job seekers in a more advantageous position."

The study was based on surveys of 2,369 hiring and human resource managers and 3,462 employees over the age of 18.

Read more »

How to Succesfully Rebrand Your Business

Business

How to Succesfully Rebrand Your Business

22:09 Komentar

All businesses eventually face the need to change directions – and sometimes that means a complete overhaul of their brand. Rebranding your business changes the conversations you have with your consumers by updating things like your name, logo, site design and voice.

Credit: igor.stevanovic/Shutterstock

To help you make sure you represent your company in the best way possible, Business News Daily reached out to branding experts for more information about rebranding. You can use these tips to make the transition between brands smooth for you and your customers.

Creating a New Brand

The best company names and logos have stories behind them. These stories help the branding you create more accurately reflect who you are. Robert Sprague, president and CEO of PCI Communications, recommends being more specific rather than focusing on the big picture. He says that many businesses make the mistake of not focusing on what makes them unique and special to the customer.

"They … wind up with a brand indistinguishable from other plays in their market," Sprague says. "A brand that means everything is a brand that means nothing."

Once you've figured out what you want your brand to say about your company, it's important to think about your audience. When you understand your audience, you'll know how to create a brand that appeals to them.

Jenna Zilincar, owner of M Studio, suggests asking yourself some questions about your audience prior to rebranding, such as whether you're looking for a new audience or trying to engage your current customers.

Finally, before you get too far into the process, you should verify that your new brand is legal. Sonia Lakhany, attorney and owner of Lakhany Law, suggests consulting with a trademark attorney to be sure that you're not breaking any copyright or other laws when you rebrand.

"So many business owners make the mistake of choosing a name and then charging forward with branding efforts … when they don't even know who else may be using the same or similar name," Lakhany said.

Launching Your New Brand

When you create your brand, you want to be sure you push it live with a solid strategy in place. Shannon Fitzgerald, the brand strategist and founder of Brazen Branding, noted that customers don't really care about logos or name changes; they care about whether or not the rebrand will change their experience with the company to be more positive.

"At the same time, most people fight change," Fitzgerald said. "You must articulate why this is better – explain they'll still get the parts they already love plus new, exciting benefits."

Rachel Ritlop, a career and business coach, warns against surprising customers. She encourages companies to let customers know that a change is on its way. She recommends announcing a rebrand two weeks prior to the launch, noting that this period is a good opportunity to get feedback from clients and build better relationships.

Your customers aren't the only people you should focus on when you're rebranding. It's also important to keep employees informed. Manika Bahuguna, former marketing manager at Wavespot, points out that it's important to communicate with employees during a rebrand, and educate them on why it's happening.

"[Get] every employee on board and [align] them towards the common goal and purpose," Bahuguna said.

Asking For Help 

If you're still not sure how to go about rebranding, or building your brand for the first time, it's all right to get help. In fact, some professionals, like Alex Kelsey, marketing manager at Greenvelope, say that it's an especially good idea for startups. You can hire a consultant for a few hours or a few months, Kelsey says, but an expert's opinion can go a long way to help you figure out the perfect brand for your business.

--Jill Bowers

 

 

Read more »

Development in the Role of Human Resources Leadership

Leadership

Development in the Role of Human Resources Leadership

03:38 Komentar

In order to be recognized as a successful HR leader, there are three roles you must manage. The first is the ability to implement organizational strategy. The second is controlling the strategic planning process by sorting through the positive and negative outcomes associated with making a decision. Lastly, one must manage the formulation of a strategy to protect against the negative effects caused by unexpected outcomes.

Working to obtain a human resources certificate, you will learn what it takes to become an efficient manager. You will be able to understand and explain the three major roles of HR. Additionally, you will learn how to control business strategy and make alterations to current strategy. This will lead to more successful business activity. As an HR leader, it is important to be able to be conversant about issues that may delay positive decision making and develop solutions “on the fly” to these problems. This agility is a common benchmark of successful human resources leadership.

Human resources leadership as a theory has been changing and reinventing itself over the past 30 years. HR started as a very conformed and structured area of business and has developed into a strategic and open-ended one. In circumstances of constant change, it is crucial to understand what HR leadership means right now, at this very minute, and what it means to be a successful HR leader today. Being a good strategist and leader are the first steps toward becoming a role model of human resources leadership.

These days we hear a lot about the concept of human resources leadership and many are unsure what it actually entails. In order to understand how HR has developed, we will take a look back through the history books. During the 1970s, the job of an HR leader was to act like a police officer and make sure the managers did not make illegal or discriminatory decisions. This was in response to the equal-employment opportunity legislation of the 1960s. It was during the 1970s that the Supreme Court was deciding what was legal within the employment context, especially with regard to employment discrimination.

Around 1980, the recession in the US forced many companies to cut back and lay off employees. Traditionally, HR had been one of the first groups to get downsized. HR leaders were forced to decide what role they should be playing and what changes had to be made in order to ensure that next time a downsizing came along that they would not be the first ones cut off. Their job role had to be viewed by others as important and necessary to the running of a business. Therefore, the idea of strategy in HR was developed and put into action. Originally, strategic HR was heavily based on functionality. Every role and job related to HR had to somehow work into the overall strategy of the business model.

Once 1990 came along, another recession occurred which led to yet another rethinking of the role of HR. Dave Aldrich wrote two books entitled Organizational Capability and Human Resource Champions. These books became models that would redirect HR thinking during the 1990s. Within these examples was the idea of a strategic partner; this meant that HR should partner with business leaders to help the company develop its strategy. Additionally, Aldrich recommended restructuring HR to make it more effective and efficient through the three-legged-stool concept. The first leg was the HR manager out working with the businesses in the field. The second leg was the corporate centers for excellence, which consisted of the training function, the staffing function etc., located largely in the corporate headquarters. The third leg was the transactional aspect of the employee relations, and the handling of day-to-day transactions that take place within HR.

Another global recession and rethinking of the role of HR occurred during the beginning of the 21st century. During this time, the three roles of HR leaders were determined: implementer, controller, and manager. From this point on, future HR leaders will learn what it takes to be an ultimate director in the field by completing a human resources certificate training.

Read more »

Life in the Fast Lane: Why Leadership Training Should Get Us to Slow Down

Leadership

Life in the Fast Lane: Why Leadership Training Should Get Us to Slow Down

03:37 Komentar

"There's never enough time. I'm behind at work, at home, everything seems to pile up. My team members seem to have an endless supply of complaints that need my attention. How can I find time to listen to all of that when I have so many other demands on my time?" Many leaders fall into this trap. It's like the old saying, "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!" It is a common lament in leadership training, "This all sounds nice but how in the world can I possibly find time to do this? I can't do everything that is expected of me as it is."

As a part of a major change effort, the leadership team of the small electronics factory had implemented a system in which the teams could identify obstacles to their objectives and present them to management. Sometimes these issues were presented with proposed solutions but sometimes the problems were outside of their scope of authority, abilities, or access to resources. Each week the leadership team reviewed the issues and made decisions about what to do. They had committed to respond to 100% of the issues with one of three responses:

1) Yes! We will take action right away.

2) No! We are not going to take action and here is the reason. The "no" responses were always delivered face-to-face. No e-mails or memos!

3) Maybe! If the response was a "maybe," it was assigned to a member of the leadership team with a date for resolution.

The team who identified the issue had the right to ask for the status of the issue and had the final word on whether the issue was closed or not. When the leadership team first agreed to this process, they believed that they would need to deal with a dozen or so issues each week, a manageable number. It was not long before we all realized that was a massive underestimate. Issues poured in by the hundreds. Soon, the leadership team began to complain that the process took all of their time. They were getting behind on their other tasks, working long hours, starting to feel out of control. So, we did some problem solving.

One question we asked was, "How many of those other tasks do you really need to be doing?" The leadership team then went through an analysis to see what tasks could be given up. Many of the things that they had been doing were simply done out of habit. Reports that nobody read. Unnecessary double-checking that added no real value. Meetings that no one wanted to go to. Etc. The result was a little like cleaning the clutter out of your office. By the time they were done, they found that they had plenty of time to deal with the issues coming from the teams. In fact, once they started making real progress on resolving the team issues, they had even more time than they did before. Wisely, they used that time to do a better job of thinking strategically about the future and to attending development activities for themselves. Their conclusion was that our real work is responding to these issues.

One of my largest clients has not yet learned this lesson. Their culture is a fast-paced, demanding one. It is not uncommon to hear hallway conversations like this. "Wow, I worked 50 hours last week." "Oh, that's nothing. I work 60 hours every week." "In my department if you don't work at least 70 hours, they think you are slacking." It is a contest. In fact, little more gets done in environments like that than in companies where employees work far fewer hours. It is easy to look busy. Putting in the hours is not the same as getting things done. Actually, it is often true that less gets done in organizations where people put in extremely long hours than in environments where people are highly engaged for shorter periods of time. The high-pressure environments are often plagued by:

• High turnover. Turnover is expensive. The average cost to replace a competent employee who quits is about 1 and ½ times that employee’s salary.

• High stress. Stress is expensive. It translates into more absenteeism, higher medical costs, increased errors, poor productivity.

• Poor morale. People complain, withhold information, slack off, subtly sabotage organizational goals, retaliate, point fingers, etc.

• Game playing. People channel their energy and creativity into finding new ways of making their supervisors and managers miserable. It is amazing how cunning an unhappy team member can be.

• Less creativity. People's ability to think clearly and in new ways is just not as effective when they are fearful and fatigued.

Some companies have programs to increase work/life balance. That is, employees are expected to work hard but not to extremes. They should take vacations, go see their child in the ballet performance, have a date night with their spouse and so on. In some companies, this is genuine. Their leaders recognize that a whole person with a real life outside work makes a better team member than one who lives only to work. In other companies, however, it is just so much lip service. The joke often goes like this, "We have a meeting every morning at 6:00 a.m. to discuss the new work/life balance program. It's the only time we could squeeze it into our schedule."

I often tell participants in my leadership training workshops that if their people are consistently working more than 40 hours per week, they have failed as leaders. Most jobs require the occasional week in which everyone has to roll up their sleeves and put in the extra hours. That is normal. But, if that is the norm, something is wrong. If people are always expected to work lots of extra hours, the team will lose sight of its real purpose. Good leaders want healthy, complete, whole human beings. It takes such people to make an effective team. Leadership training that encourages leaders to examine how they are scheduling work may be a step in the right direction.

Some leaders are overly demanding because they mistakenly believe it is a sign of loyalty or effectiveness. "Look how many hours my people put in." Others may do this because they are not good at saying "no" to the powers that be. Or they may be fearful that they will not look good when compared to their peers. This kind of behavior is exaggerated in companies where performance reviews include strong ranking systems. If their team members don't put in an excessive number of hours, their wages will suffer or they may even be in jeopardy of losing their job.

Whatever the reason, learning more effective communication skills will help. Listening, really listening, to your team members can go a long way toward helping them be better problem solvers, more independent, creative, productive, and more likely to pitch in when you really do need extra effort. Being able to confront respectfully when the behavior of a team member, peer, or manager is interfering with your ability to be productive can make a significant difference in your effectiveness.Leadership training that emphasizes learning these skills and how they can help make the team more productive will free you up to do the kinds of things that leaders need to be doing. You will have more latitude to schedule development activities, think clearly about strategies, and coach your team members when they really need it. It will also make an impact on your life at home. The old cliché is, how many people would have, "I wish I spent more time at the office," engraved on their tombstone?

Read more »

How to Build Effective Metaphors

Education

How to Build Effective Metaphors

08:47 Komentar

Metaphors are a double-edged sword. If it works, it can lend your piece an extra-special color; if it slips, it can destroy leave your meaning confusing and muddled.

You’ve probably experienced it yourself. Some of the world’s most memorable speeches, after all, use metaphors that conjure a very vivid image in the audience’s mind. In the same way, even a well-written piece, duly worked on by an advanced writing software, can leave you bewildered when an off-base metaphor suddenly finds itself thrust in the middle of your reading.

Metaphors are also important is creating quality contents. This can make your writing good while you stick to the rules on how to use them. Moreover, your content can basically express a lot of meaning as you use metaphors to discuss your topic further.

What’s good about it? Simple, it draws your readers closer to your writing while they actually have their own interpretations while understanding the concept of your topic.

Excess use of metaphors is not really good but knowing how to use them well can help you a lot. It is because it gives your content a colorful glow which makes it clearer and interesting in the eyes of your readers.

Besides, it also helps to maintain every emotion that is express in your writing. It allows your readers to think behind what their eyes can see, thus, it makes them think further and imagine the picture in your writing.

What makes you a good writer? It is by knowing how you will create your content and to use the right words to describe the topic well. If you don’t have any ideas how metaphors play an important role in your content, then don’t worry about that.

Every problem has its own solutions and if you having a hard time in writing metaphors, there are ways that will help you out.

Whatever is your purpose in writing and where you will publish you work, metaphors are always allowed to boost your skills and creativity as you face your writing tasks. Just avoid bad metaphors so that you won’t mess up with your content later.

Most often, bad metaphors are the result of one of two things:

• Poorly-chosen comparisons. Some metaphors just aren’t the eight choices. Either they don’t improve clarity, they don’t match the subject of comparison or they bring absolutely no color to the discussion. The latter is especially common with beginning writers who are prone to using obvious and common comparisons.

• Mixed metaphors. The “mixed” part refers to conflicting halves of the comparison – the first part just doesn’t match the second, leading to writing that sounds awkward and forced. As a result, any impact the metaphor is supposed to achieve just ends up falling short.

When building effective metaphors, look towards the following guidelines to help you avoid the previous problems:

• Ensure consistency, making sure the entire statement relays a unified message.
• Make it easy to visualize, using words that paint a clear picture.
• Make it accessible, using familiar images that people can identify.

Read more »

How to Write With a Basic Structure

Education

How to Write With a Basic Structure

08:46 Komentar

Structure holds a piece of writing together by giving it a framework, one that’s designed to satisfy your reader’s natural need for order. Whether you realize it or not, a genius idea is only as good as the manner in which it is presented, that’s why we’ve been harping over and over at the importance of using a robust writing software. Structure allows you to present your thoughts in a way that can help the reader take it all in, without requiring too much on their part.

It is very important that you know the basic structure for writing contents or even writing passages. A writer should know what to do before and during their writing task in order to avoid any bad writing later on.

Basically, most writers would always plan everything first before they will start writing the topic down. Planning includes what to discuss, what to consider, how to structure your contents and what are the necessary information that you will have to include in writing the subject. It’s like planning how your outline would work and your purpose in writing.

To create such good quality writing, make sure it’s content is structured effectively to avoid any weak points in writing. Normally, we should start from the basic.

The most common structure for writing is, knowing what’s the main idea of your topic and let it show from the beginning or introductory part of your content.

This always gives your readers a hint on what to expect later on while they continue to read your writing down to the last part.

Here are a few tips for you to apply:

1. Decide on a logical order right from the start.

Structure can change throughout the course of your writing. However, it’s always easier to revise a structured piece, compared to one whose ideas have been randomly patched. In order to truly master using structure, you must write with forethought and deliberate expressions. Organize your ideas (a mindmap is a good way to do this) before sitting down to write your first sentence.

2. Make your points quickly.
Present your evidence and write your arguments as quickly as possible. Don’t worry about word count or a lack of build-up – these are both things you can work on later during the editing phase. Instead, focus on writing each section of your piece in as brief and succinct a manner as possible.

3. Keep sections short.

How long should you keep up one argument? According to most experts, the magic number is 300 words. It’s short enough to read continuously, yet long enough to allow a full-bodied discussion. If you can relay the exact same ideas in even shorter paragraphs, however, go for it.

Coming Up With Your Structure

If you can’t decide how to structure your piece, try writing a one or two sentence summary of the thoughts you want to go into it. Most of the time, short summaries can organically reveal the correct framework that your subject requires.

Read more »