Earlier this week, J.C. Penney announced that it was going to undergo a major overhaul in the way it does business and communicates with its customers. As we watch this change unfold and wait for customer reactions, here are some of the more positive things business owners can pull from the strategy. Simplify, Simplify Simplify This is the best part of the strategy, even … [Read more...]
Women, Leadership, Self-Care, and BLUE MONDAY
You wake up Monday morning, pour yourself a glass of orange juice, and get breakfast ready for your clan. Off to the office, you battle the traffic, thinking about how to tell your rebel employee that there have been complaints about his behavior. You dread the meeting and yet know it can’t wait. Pulling into the parking lot you feel a wave of frustration, seeing that … [Read more...]
A Leadership Perspective
I had a new experience as a juror this week and as we were deliberating one of my fellow jurors made a poignant statement. He quoted the Blackstone ratio and said ‘it is better than 10 guilty persons escape, than one innocent suffer’. Bringing those experiences back to the office made me think about how we lead our staff; some use leadership as a punitive advantage and others … [Read more...]
When Being GUTSY Starts Young
I recently spoke at a women’s networking group and asked the bright and creative professionals to think about the earliest time they could remember when they spoke out for themselves. To jog their memories, I told a story about unfairness when a boy in my elementary school class was yelled at when I was the one “sneaking” in front of him in line. (You can read the whole … [Read more...]
Verizon Are You Listening?
As of January 15th Verizon will start charging its customers a $2.00 convenience fee for paying their bills on-line via a credit card. Now as a Verizon customer myself for my home and business, let me address all the ways that this situation was mishandled and hopefully give a summary of how customers don't want to be treated. Don’t spring change on your … [Read more...]
Women and Responsibility
Times, they are a changing, always. However, changing times seem to happen in the blink of an eye. I do believe we women leaders need to stop and take a deep look at what we are doing and the profound consequences of our actions. In days of yore, we were to be kept “barefoot and pregnant” and now we have “freedom of choice”. The big question is, what are we choosing and … [Read more...]
Managing Different Generations
Let’s face it; the look of our work force has changed. We are now more likely to have a 23 year old staffer working right next to a staffer with 20 years of experience. This kind of age spectrum creates a unique management situation. Our manager’s usually are thinking, ‘how do I manage this time bomb’? If you are dealing with a multi-generational workforce, here are some … [Read more...]
The Office Holiday Party? It’s Work!
Post by Jane K. Stimmler, contributing Women on Business writer. It's the time of holiday cheer - and you likely have a party (or two or three) on your calendar. Enjoy! That is, unless it's your office party or a client event. In that case, the smart move would be to consider it work. There's always a fine line between work and personal life, and no place is that more … [Read more...]
The Real Richness of the Holidays
The following TED talk on regret sparked some interesting emotions in me. I had a flash of remembering writing a freshman college paper on regret. My hypothesis was that if I paid attention to EVERYTHING I did and said I would live a life free of regret. Hummmm... I got an "A" for the quality of writing and research on that paper. I also had a comment by my professor that … [Read more...]
Should You Allow Your Employees to Follow you on Twitter and Facebook?
According to Janine Popick CEO and Founder of Vertical Response, she explains her reasons why she may or may not allow some employees to follow her on twitter or facebook. Here are some great tips to remember depending on your style and use of social media with your employees. You do not have to be “Big Brother”, but it is a good way to pay attention to what your … [Read more...]