The attitude

Caliper, a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting company, studied 60 women leaders from some of the top companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and compared the results with findings about men. Caliper found at least one common thread: "Every one of these leaders love what they are doing. They wouldn't retire because they have the attitude - what could they do that would be more fun?"
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Time Off For Good Behavior

Women executives don't blame men for lives that are too full with duties at home and at work, says Mary Lou Quinlan, founder of Just Ask A Women and author of Time Off For Good Behavior (Broadway Books): "Women wish companies, as opposed to men, were better at recognizing their needs for creating a life that is rich in both family and professional satisfaction."

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Life really is all about love and work

One element about performance is clear, according to Caliper a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting firm: "Nobody can be at the top of their game unless they love what their doing. Freud put it simply. Life really is all about love and work.
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Women then have far more motivation to achieve

Caliper, a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting company with a worldwide roster of corporate clients, interviewed 60 women leaders from top companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and compared the results with findings about men. Caliper found womenl respond to setbacks by shaking it off. What's more? Women then have far more motivation to achieve.

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the others willing to let them. American poet Robert Frost
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People hate hypocrites

Before the American Revolution, the great propagandist Samuel Adams took aim at England's reputation for being fair-minded and civilized, says Robert Greene in The 33 Strategies of War (Viking): “Adams had to resort to exaggeration, emphasizing cases in which the English were heavy-handed. Revealing your opponent's hypocrisies is perhaps the most lethal offensive weapon in the moral arsenal. People hate hypocrites."
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Women are their own toughest critics

Women are their own toughest critics, says Mary Lou Quinlan, founder of Just Ask A Women and author of Time Off For Good Behavior (Broadway Books): "We never let ourselves off the hook. That internal pressure is the greatest one of all."
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Q-12 Advantage

The Gallup Organization's Q-12 Advantage suggests that workers must be given an opportunity every day to excel: to do what they do best, whatever that role may be.

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Maturing and wealthier consumers will fuel robust growth for the food-service industry, with revenues projected to surpass those of food retail revenues in 2010 for the first time. Food service encompasses all providers of prepared meals, while retail includes supermarket and other retail outlets, according to Foodservice 2010: America's Appetite Matures by McKinsey & Co., New York City.

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Women vs. Men

Women leaders have an edge over male leaders who have similar jobs and stature, according to Caliper a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting firm. On attributes like mental strength, assertiveness, persuasiveness, empathy and risk? Women came away stronger than men in the Caliper study.
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Weirdos in the Workplace

Talented individuals not only march to a different drummer, they have a percussion section tagging along, insists John Putzier, author of Weirdos in the Workplace (Financial Times-Prentice Hall): “They do not look in the mirror and ask themselves, ‘How do others see me?’ They don’t care! It rarely enters their mind. They succeed both in spite of and because of their low self-monitoring behavior.”
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Public speaking

Public speaking is terrifying but that fear can be overcome, according to Jessica Selasky and her mother Dorothy Lynn in the book Your Public Speaking Workout: "Visualize yourself enjoying the moment. We don't want to teach people how to speak in public. We want to teach people how to speak in public and how to enjoy it and be present in the moment. That's our goal."

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Your Public Speaking Workout

Note cards for speech? Yes, say Jessica Selasky and her mother Dorothy Lynn in the book Your Public Speaking Workout: "You know what you're going to say so we suggest picking out key ideas that you want to get across. Write words on note cards, say, for instance, the word planning. Well, you know what you're going to say about planning so you don't have to write down everything you're going to say."


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Your Public Speaking Workout

Even difficult audiences want speakers to succeed, say Jessica Selasky and her mother Dorothy Lynn in Your Public Speaking Workout: "Audiences will give you a certain amount of time at the beginning of the speech to let you succeed." But if you're still acting nervous after, say, two minutes? "That's when they'll turn on you."

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Let me tell you a story

If you are giving a presentation and you see that the audience's attention is flagging, try this trick. Pause and say "Let me tell you a story," suggests Jessica Selasky and her mother, Dorothy Lynn in their book Your Public Speaking Workout. "You'll get the audience's complete attention because everybody likes a story."

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

A top priority for the Gallup Organization's Q-12 Advantage is at least once a week, given recognition and praise for doing good work.


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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Companies that let their buildings get dowdy with litter, weeds in curbs, smudged windows and crummy paint are taking a big risk, said Brad Saltz, former CFO for Houston's restaurants: "Image is one of the most important things you have - maybe the most important thing. What you are communicating is that you are not going to make the small but important kinds of improvements to enhance customers' experience.''

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Execution and details

"Contrary to popular opinion, I think success is not based on concept,'' says Brad Saltz, former chief financial officer for Houston's, a chain of 45 restaurants once based in Phoenix that posted $200 million in annual revenues. "It's based on execution - on carrying through with the highest standards and paying attention to details.''

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Succession

Succession is always fraught with emotion and should never be a hasty process. "The son or daughter needs to realize that by digging in their heels and prematurely trying to exclude a founder, the chance of keeping a profitable company goes down the drain," says Kelin Gersick, senior partner of Lansberg, Gersick & Associates, a New Haven, Conn., consulting and research firm.


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Then they lose

Kelin Gersick, senior partner of Lansberg, Gersick & Associates, a New Haven, Conn., consulting and research firm, finds a common reason why many companies fail: “they do not transfer to the future. The seniors don't make strategic or financial investments to remain competitive. They lose the edge. They lose market share. They lose profits. Then they lose - period.''

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Leadership for the Ages

One curse of large organizations is that everyone tends to feel like a subordinate, David P. Hanna says in Leadership for the Ages (Executive Excellence): "As soon as we begin to think I'm not in charge, we tend to act out of compliance rather than using our best judgment and doing our best in all situations," he says. "We stop thinking about the purpose of our work, being content to merely do our job."
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Nonprofits

What can private companies learn from nonprofits? Plenty, says Frances Hesselbein, former chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts. Have an effective board of directors, create a mission to mobilize employees and remember that workers want success and crave significance.
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Dr. Seuss

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
Dr. Seuss
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People

People join companies - but they leave managers and supervisors.
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Building a Business the Buddhist Way

Building a Business the Buddhist Way by Geri Larkin (Celestial Arts; $12.95): "Ask your existing or potential customers who your competitors are and what they like and don't like about them. If your competitors are other companies, go to trade shows to scope them out. Get industry newsletters. Order something from them."
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Q-12 Advantage

According to Gallup Organization's Q-12 Advantage, employees respond when they believe that a supervisor (or someone at work) cares about them as a person, when someone at work encourages their development and when their opinions seem to count.

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Your Public Speaking Workout

Jessica Selasky and her mother, Dorothy Lynn, have given hundreds of seminars on public speaking and wrote the book Your Public Speaking Workout: Exercise Your Body Parts. Top concern for public speaking? Be natural: "And be prepared. Be enthusiastic."
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Workers love a leader who can laugh

A survey from Robert Half International, the world’s largest staffing service, found that workers love a leader who can laugh - 97 percent of people polled felt it was critical for managers to have a sense of humor and 87 percent said their manager does.


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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

For family-owned companies in turmoil, advisor Kelin Gersick suggests a long walk: "(Principals) need to look at what the fight is doing to the children and the grandchildren and what it is doing to their financial security. Generations don't have to put aside their disagreement. But they do need to keep it from becoming destructive to their common interests."
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12-step plan

It's easy, really, to create a robust workplace, a dedicated work force and a rewarding climate in the office or factory. The Gallup Organization offers a 12-step plan that is not much different from the nurturing nature of a good day-care center. Based on polling of one million people, the top concern should be no surprise: I know what is expected of me. Clear expectations are a road map to success, Gallup found.

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Communication between two or more people is always a flow of energy and the best way to keep it flowing is face-to-face, says Darrin Zeer in Office Feng Shui (Chronicle Books): “Stir the chi in the office by going for a walk and delivering messages to your colleagues in person,” Zeer says. “It’s a nice break and gives you a chance to get away from your desk. Miscommunications are less likely to happen.”
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Women vs. Men

Caliper, a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting company with a worldwide roster of corporate clients interviewed 60 women leaders from some of the top companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and compared the results with findings about men. Caliper determined women are more likely to take risks and learn from mistakes.
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Dr. Seuss

Will you succeed? Yes you will indeed! (98 and 34 percent guaranteed.) - Dr. Seuss in Oh, the Places You'll Go
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Faithful Finances 101

If you’re thinking about heading back to school or know someone who is, consider this Biblical passage from Proverbs, says Gary Moore in Faithful Finances 101: From the Poverty of Fear and Greed to the Riches of Spiritual Investing (Templeton Foundation Press): “It does a fool no good to spend money on an education, because he has no common sense.” Strive for wisdom not education.
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Caliper, a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting company with a worldwide roster of corporate clients interviewed 60 women leaders from some of the top companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and compared the results with findings about men. Caliper determined women may feel the sting of a setback - may even dwell upon it and become more self-critical - they are also more likely to shake it off.
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Ovid

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.
Ovid
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The Bully at Work

Can work make you sick? If you have a bully for a boss, there is no doubt, according to The Bully at Work by Gary Namie and Ruth Namie (Sourcebooks):"The American Psychiatric Association recognizes a condition called acute stress disorder with symptoms that include disorientation, confusion, intense agitation and dazed detachment, sometimes followed by amnesia . . . this is what bullying does."
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Russell Rules

Delegating authority to make decisions implies absolute confidence in those who get the power, says NBA great Bill Russell and co-author David Falkner in Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership (Penguin): “The process is always about teamwork. Make delegating a process of communication. You must do everything possible to remain in active touch with those to whom power has been given.”
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How the Wise Decide

Fill a room with barbarians, say Bryn Zeckhauser and Aaron Sandoski in How the Wise Decide (Crown Business), a culture of candor: "Participants accept and embrace the highly charged atmosphere of the room. Everyone is expected to come prepared and to have an opinion." Bosses, too, must be prepared for a critique: "Truth is the goal, and when the decision finally emerges, everyone is expected to sign on to support it."
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Women

Caliper, a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting company with a worldwide roster of corporate clients interviewed 60 women leaders from some of the top companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and compared the results with findings about men. Caliper determined women have stronger powers of persuasion, and when it comes to achievement, women are more driven to meet goals.
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Work as a Spiritual Practice

Entrepreneurs have a huge tolerance for failure because they see it as a process and not an event. Work as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond (Broadway) talks about Thomas Edison: "Edison tried thousands of combinations of materials before he was successful in inventing the light bulb. He didn't experience these disappointments as failures but as clues on the road to success."
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50 Steps to Business Success

All company leaders should embrace customer satisfaction assessments, Peter M. Cleveland says in 50 Steps to Business Success (ECW Press). To do otherwise is foolhardy. "Leaders who don't employ objective customer needs analyses are gambling by using complacency as a strategy," the author insists. "At best, they'll maintain existing sales volumes. At worst, aggressive competitors will gain ground."
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Dr. Seuss

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So. . . get on your way.
Dr. Seuss
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Winning Through Innovation

Managers should know that the spotlight is never off, says Michael L. Tushman and Charles A. O’Reilly in Winning Through Innovation: A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal (Harvard Business School Publishing): “Their behaviors are always being observed and define for others what is valued and important. Managers must be unrelentingly consistent in words and actions.”
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Hope

My hopes are not always realized, but I always hope.
Ovid

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Active listening

If you want to know what skill will serve you best in your career, consider active listening, says Glen Ellis and Jeff Jernigan in The Six-Figure Job-Hunting Handbook (Crown). “Many people are more intent on what they are going to say next than what is being said to them,” the authors contend. “If this description fits you, then you will need to practice listening.”
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Make Every Second Count

Avoid the horizontal-pile system of filing at all cost. In 101 Ways to Make Every Second Count: Time Management Tips and Techniques for More Success with Less Stress (Career Press), author Robert W. Bly points out a better way: “The average four-drawer file cabinet contains 10,000 pieces of paper,” Bly says. “Your average four-drawer file cabinet can hold almost seven times more than the top of a table or desk.”

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Women vs. Men

Caliper, a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting company with a worldwide roster of corporate clients, interviewed 60 women leaders from top companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and compared the results with findings about men. Caliper found women have a stronger need to excel.
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The Ruthless Leader

If the screw-ups keep coming fast and furious from above, think about finding a new desk at a new company, suggests Alistair McAlpine in The Ruthless Leader: Three Classics of Strategy and Power (Wiley): "If the Prince is continually making mistakes, this is not the Prince to serve for it seems that he was never truly a Prince," McAlpine says.
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What Went Wrong

CEOs typically do not just quit, say Peter C. Fusaro and Ross M. Miller, co-authors of What Went Wrong at Enron (John Wiley & Sons). “A quitter can not endure the years of struggle required to reach the top...It is virtually unheard of for a CEO to quit for undisclosed personal reasons after only six months on the job.” When Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling resigned August 2001, that was a sign. Something was amiss.
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Why Teams Don’t Work

All too often teams run not like groups of people but like a machine and people make very poor machine parts, says Michael Finley, author of The book Why Teams Don’t Work (Berrett-Koehler): "It’s not that teams can’t work. We don’t let them work."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

It's great to be great but it's greater to be human.
-Will Rogers
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Secrets of Question Based Selling

One of the best ways to establish credibility in a sale is to leverage existing relationships, advises Thomas A. Freese in Secrets of Question Based Selling (Sourcebook). Would a friend within a targeted prospect account give you a personal endorsement for a relationship in some other part of the company? "A credible reference is worth its weight in commission checks."
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Fly the friendly skies

There used to be a slogan that United Airlines embraced: "Fly the friendly skies of United," points out Michael S. Levine in Broken Windows - Broken Business (Warner Business Books). "This was, one assumes, in response to customer research that indicated frequent customers felt the service they received on the planes flown by United wasn't accommodating. It's not enough to tell people you're friendly. You have to be friendly, too."
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Negotiation Genius

It’s human nature to tend to stereotype people from groups other than our own but it can have dangerous consequences for negotiators, according to authors Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman in Negotiation Genius (Bantam): “Dolly Church of the Stern School of Business at NYU refers to this as the ‘stereotype tax,’ the price we pay for not overcoming our stereotypes of others.”
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Living Your Best Life

When it comes to making promises, nobody is more important than you are, says Linda Berman Fortgang, author of Living Your Best Life: Discover Your Life's Blueprint for Success (Penguin-Putnam). “It is to ourselves that we must first begin to give our word and keep it. Breaking your own promises to yourself erodes your self-esteem. It deafens you to wisdom.”
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Two-Minute Drill

In Two-Minute Drill (Josey-Bass), authors Clinton O. Longenecker, Greg R. Papp and Timothy Stansfield explore lessons for rapid organizational improvement by studying how football teams score when the game is winding down. It's not an easy thing to do, the authors say: "Elevating personal and group efforts to a level beyond normal represents a challenge and, quite frankly, is not sustainable over long periods. It exacts a toll."

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Those who hope to sell to high-net-worth consumers need to start with a dynamic sales staff that will change a sales pitch in mid-stream, according to The Sky's the Limit (CFPN) by Russ Alan Prince, Hannah ShawGrover, Douglas D. Gollan and Carl Ruderman: "Start with a set-up such as 'Let me make sure I got this right' and deliver the trial-balloon question with a hint of hesitation."
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Email Rules

Never use email to deliver bad news, say Nancy Flynn and Randolph Kahn in Email Rules (AMACOM). “Lacking the benefit of body language, facial expression and intonation, email is the worst way to deliver bad news to employees,” the authors contend. “Should a wrongful termination lawsuit follow, personal notification may cast management in a better light.”
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Misinformation

Of all resumes with misinformation, the worse offense was the number of years execs held a job, according to Christian & Timbers. Seven of 10 misrepresented the length of time that they performed a specific duty. More than six of 10 resumes with misinformation had an exaggerated description of accomplishments and the size of the organization that was managed.
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The Seven Habits

Successful managers must find ways to empower people, which in turn leads to self-realization for workers and a better top line for the company, said Stephen R. Covey during a 2005 interview. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon & Schuster) contends that people have four essential needs: "To live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy."

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Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual

Al Gini, a Loyola professor, suggests in his book My Job, My Self: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual (Routledge), that people may whine about work but they need it: "Adults need work in the same way children need play."
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Marketing to Today's Tweens

The best marketing has always been word-of-mouth, contend Dave L. Siegel, Tim Coffey and Greg Livingston in The Great Tween Buying Machine: Marketing to Today's Tweens (Paramount Market Publishing). It is particularly effective among teenagers. Find the network hubs: "Individuals who are likely to be popular, self-confident leaders who enjoy the fact the others will follow their actions."
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The Seven Habits

If Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon & Schuster) ever feels high and mighty, he only needs to look to his living room for a dose of reality. “My wife has a little pillow in one of the rooms and on it is a saying," he said in a 2005 interview. "My goal is to be the kind of person that my dog thinks I am.”
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Your resume

Think of your job hunt this way. The executive reading your resume probably has an attention
span that doesn't match up with a 5-year-old engrossed in a cartoon show. The 5-year-old will stare, mesmerized, at the TV screen for hours. The executive with the resume will take, maybe, five minutes… and that's if he likes what he sees.

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Dr. Seuss

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Dr. Seuss
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The Seven Habits

The best managers realize that empowered workers will eventually realize that abundance has no limit, suggested Stephen R. Covey in a 2005 interview. The author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon & Schuster) said first people need to see from a new perspective: "When you see things differently, then new behavior naturally follows.”
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Anonymous

Find the hardest job, give it to your laziest worker and watch him figure out the easiest way to get it done. Anonymous
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Resumes

Accountemps, the world's largest temporary staffing service for accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals, surveyed executives at the nation's 1,000 largest companies about how long they look at resumes. Consider this: in 1-of-4 cases, executives spent less than two minutes looking at a resume for an advertised position.

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Direct sales executives

Because eight of 10 direct sales executives are women, the approach offers households another income and lucrative home-office income tax write-offs, which in turn lowers tax bills and offsets income from other sources.
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Price

Richard Nonelle, president of Window Genie, figured he should call around to make sure retailers had the right price for his window cleaner Window Genie. He thought $3.95 was about right and was shocked to find some stores had mismarked cans to $9.95 and feared they sold none. In fact, the opposite occurred: sold out! Price has to hurt a little - or a lot - and buyers will believe they are getting value.
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Successories

When Mac Anderson founded the inspirational product line at Successories, Inc., he kept this target market in mind: "There are 9 million businesses in America. That's 9 million presidents of companies, and half have fewer than 10 employees." Their offices had walls - four of them - and those walls always could use fresh art.
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Sales success

Sales success means understanding a customer’s needs, say Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan in Confronting Reality (Crown). Create a customer chain, a detailed assessment at multiple levels. “(Many) industrial companies selling through distributors now conduct their own consumer research so they are not just refilling shelves but analyzing selling patterns. Information can help retailers understand what will sell best.”
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Formal authority

Formal authority at work is a high-wire act without a net. Employees tend to resist that approach, said Stephen R. Covey in a 2005 interview: “Gradually you see this dispirited employee with his fire gone out of him,” Covey said. “Gallup shows that only about one in five people know what the important goals are and only about one in four people care.”

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

According to results from a survey by the global recruitment firm Christian & Timbers, any executive resume probably carries exaggeration at best and untruths at worse. The survey of 7,000 resumes – based on 500 random executive searches conducted by C&T within the past year - reveals that one in four executives fibbed about accomplishments.
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The Energy of Money

In The Energy of Money: A Spiritual Guide to Financial and Personal Fulfillment (Wellspring/Ballantine) by Maria Nemeth, Ph.D., readers are cautioned about a preoccupation with failure. It will age you and make you bitter. “Failure-phobia can gobble up all the breathing room for creativity, spontaneity and learning in your life. The energy cost is tremendous.”
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200 contacts

Everybody has 200 contacts - friends, neighbors and associates. And since those contacts also have 200 contacts, it's not too hard to see how personal reach can grow. It's all only about three phone calls away, says networking specialist Karen Salmon. But before you pick up the phone or dash off the email, remember one of her rules: Contacts exchange handshakes. Connections exchange commitment.
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Homer

If something is too hard to do, then it's not worth doing.

Homer Simpson

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Bank fees

It’s not uncommon for banks to realize at least half of their income from fees. In the mid-1990s, most banks and financial institutions realized about 1/3 of their income from fees.
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Avoid ATMs

One strategy to save cash is to avoid automated teller machines. Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, a personal finance Web site based in North Palm Beach, Fla., estimates that in 2005 American consumers paid $4 billion in automated teller machine fees. That is up $1.5 billion from the $2.5 billion paid in 1998.
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Fast Food

Gen Y already spends 50 percent to 55 percent of its total food dollars on meals away from home, and that is expected to increase in the years to come, according to Foodservice 2010: America's Appetite Matures by McKinsey & Co., New York City

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Direct sales careers

A direct sales career offers flexibility as more than eight of 10 people spend less than 30 hours a week on their company, according to the Direct Selling Association, a trade group of direct sales specialists.
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Management Stripped Bare

In Management Stripped Bare: Understanding Business As it Really Is (AMACOM Books) by Jo Owen, an antidote for giving a boring presentation is offered. Remember the three E’s, the author says: “Energy, excitement and enthusiasm. If you display these, you are probably enjoying the presentation, and you have a chance of getting the audience to enjoy it.”
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Family-friendly benefits

Companies that offer vital family-friendly benefits such as flex-time, telecommuting and job sharing are on the decline, according to a 2006 study from the Society for Human Resource Management.
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Fortune favors the bold.
Ovid
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Premium price-premium product

Wild Berry Incense Inc. grew from one fistful of incense sticks dunked into a Mason jar one day in Oxford, Ohio, in 1971. Within two decades the incense company founded by Marc Biales would produce 3 million sticks monthly and employ 18. Biales’s mantra: customers generally will pay a premium price, as long as they think they are buying a premium product.
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59 million American women

Of the 59 million American women currently earning a salary, only 47% have a pension plan, reports the American Association of Retired People.
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Direct sales

Do you have a consumer product to sell? Consider direct sales. The Direct Sales Association estimates that revenue from direct sales parties have topped $29 billion. In the decade between 1993 and 2003, the number of people involved grew from 6.3 million sales people to 13.3 million.
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Part-time work

Sixty percent of today's working moms say part-time work would be ideal; however, only 24% hold part-time jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
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Make the Right Career Move

From Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job" (Wiley) by Rachelle J. Canter, Ph.D.: "Ask bold questions during job interviews like 'Do you have any reservations about my candidacy?' That gives you the advantage of the startle effect. It takes a lot of confidence to ask a bold question, a good quality to convey to a prospective employer."
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More Things You Need to be Told

Sometimes you will forget the names of people you meet, say Honore McDonough Ervin and Lesley Carlin in their book The Etiquette Girls: More Things You Need to be Told (Berkley). When you draw a blank, do not hesitate to say the three most important words in human relations: I am sorry: “Then memorize the person’s name so you never make the same mistake again.”
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Get to interviews on time or before

Get to interviews on time or before, but never too early, says Roger Effron in Insider's Guide to Finding a Job in Education: "You do not want to be sitting in the waiting area more than 15 minutes. Waiting can increase your anxiety level. Consider congested traffic, parking options and road construction. Factor in anything that could possibly make you late. Don't be late!"
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Wages for women

Wage growth for female workers stalled in the last decade. Adjusted for inflation, wages have grown 0.7% during the 2000s as opposed to 1.2% during the 1990s, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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It’s Okay to be the Boss

As you monitor and measure performance, stay focused on outcomes, says Bruce Tulgan in It’s Okay to be the Boss (Collins). Look at the work product and keep asking questions: "Did you do what you said you were going to do? Why or why not? How did you do it? How long did each step take? Why? Press for details and ask for explanations. And don't forget to ask around. Ask customers, clients, vendors, co-workers and other managers."
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Discrimination lawsuits

William T. Dickens, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., said companies that expand rapidly are sometimes vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits linked to promotions. "And the more discretion that is given to supervisors, the more likely that things those supervisors do will be perceived as discriminatory even if the actions are not."
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The C Student’s Guide to Success

After you gain a certain amount of experience, volunteer for more challenging jobs, says Ron Bliwas in The C Student’s Guide to Success: “Even if you fail you will have demonstrated your willingness to take responsibility for a tough job, and if you succeed, you're a hero. Keep tackling tough assignments and don't be discouraged by failure. People will recognize your courage, a key trait of anyone who takes responsibility seriously."
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Be like Warren

If you want to be like Warren — billionaire Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — then scrutinize motivations of would-be employees, says Robert Miles, author of Warren Buffett CEO (Wiley): “He has to quickly figure out if a person is more interested in the money or the business. If they love the money, Buffett isn't interested,"
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People Decisions

Most managers and executives believe that they are very good at sizing up and choosing people, says Claudio Fernandez Araoz in Great People Decisions (Wiley), despite their lack of preparation, experience and a track record replete with mistakes: "In other words, our snap judgments tend to be long on snap and short on judgment."
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Great works

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance - Samuel Johnson
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Surprise questions

Surprise questions carry clout, says Rachelle J. Canter Ph.D. in her book Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job" (Wiley): "Interviewers are generally so surprised by an unexpected question that they are apt to answer candidly. This provides you with useful information about unexpressed concerns."

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Turf Wars

Little betrayals happen to every team, says Harvey Robbins, a business psychologist and author of Turf Wars: Moving from Competition to Collaboration (NW Publishing): "Police against little betrayals. Continually check in with goals and expectations."

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The spirited horse

The spirited horse, which will try to win the race of its own accord, will run even faster if encouraged.
Ovid

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Winning the Toughest Customer

What motivates a woman to buy? asks Winning the Toughest Customer (Kaplan; 2007) by Delia Passi with A. B. Aronson Top of the list is relationship with the salesperson. "It is the point of connection that will drive the sale. Are you a good listener? Can she trust you? That is what matters to women in the sales relationship. Men are transaction-focused as customers, but for women, it's all about connection and trust."
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Homer

I'm a white male, age 18 to 49. Everyone listens to me, no matter how dumb my suggestions are.

Homer Simpson

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Take rest

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.
Ovid

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Why Teams Don’t Work

Human nature goes against teamwork in many, many ways, says Michael Finley, author of Why Teams Don’t Work (Berrett-Koehler): "Smart team leaders must understand that people have private agendas and to some degree, allow those agendas to happen."
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Buddha: 9 to 5

In Buddha: 9 to 5 (Adams Media; 2007) author Nancy Spears suggests that developing virtues you want to maintain at work - such as patience, generosity and compassion - strengthens your overall performance. Avoid or overcome negative thoughts: "You now have plenty of room for thoughts that offer brighter results - an effort that may be as subtle as pausing to make kind eye contact with an employee."
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Women or their families

The new millennium has not been easy on women or their families. Between 2000 and 2006 the median income of female-headed families fell by 3 percent, a loss of $836 in 2007 dollars, to $24,394, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Family succession

Family business adviser Kevin Gersick thinks most family business challenges have to do with succession. Many companies fail because executives age and lose interest; others because the next generation has other life purposes; and still others -maybe 10 percent - implode from anger. "The real bitter cases are outnumbered by five or six times by situations where the junior generation pursues other opportunities.'
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Email

The biggest time sponge at work these days is sending and answering e-mail. Most people devote one 40-hour work week each year to creating and answering messages, according to GartnerGroup, of Stamford, Conn. One of four workers really can't tear themselves away from the PC, either. They spend more than an hour a day managing e-mail.

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Memo from Dr. Seuss

Memo to all memo writers from Dr. Seuss: So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
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Supreme confidence

Decisions made with supreme confidence can lead to serious mistakes. A decision based on 90 percent certainty ends up being far less astute by the time the decision is made and consequences are assessed, according to research from professors at the universities of Pennsylvania and Florida. Very confident had a 30 percent chance of being wrong: "People have little yes men in their heads.''



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Customer service

Brad Saltz, former CFO at a national restaurant chain, says firms that do not teach staff etiquette are losing customers daily: "It's amazing to me how many restaurants and retailers have workers who cut you off - walk right in front of you and don't exercise customer-right-of-way. That says oodles to customers about their importance. The key to customer service is in the little tiny things that employees and service folks do.''

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Don't clobber somebody who makes a mistake

Herb Greenberg, founder and chief executive of Caliper, a human resources consulting firm, offers one suggestion to most clients: "I can't tell you how many times I've said to people I coach to make 10 more mistakes this year than last year. A good leader should never be guilty of paralysis through analysis. They should tell their people to do it and if it's wrong, well, it's wrong. Don't clobber somebody who makes a mistake.”

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Understanding others

Caliper, a human resources consulting firm with headquarters in Princeton, N.J., found most careers stall because managers do not understand people well enough: what moves them, angers them, motivates them and comforts them. Six of 10 executives cited understanding others ahead of swift problem-solving as top traits of a leader. The third most important quality among managers? Willingness to take a risk.
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

While dogs at work may boost morale, not so with cats. An Eastern Kentucky University study offered three pictures to students for insight into animals on-the-job: an office, an office with a cat and an office with a dog. "The person who owned the office with the cat was perceived as less friendly and comfortable, even more so than the office with no animal," said researcher Meredith Wells. Leave the cat at home.

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Working like a dog

A study from Eastern Kentucky University brings new luster to that phrase: working like a dog. Their survey found that a pet in the office reduced stress, made jobs more satisfying and helped reduce turnover. "It totally surprised us how positive everybody was,'' said researcher Meredith Wells. "On a scale of one to six, where six was most favorable, the median score was a six. It made the workplace more like home.''



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Dive Right In 101

Value your own work and don’t scrimp, says Barry J. Farber in Dive Right In 101 Powerful Action Steps for Personal Achievement: “I've heard many people stand up proudly after a job well done and say, I worked hard to get this done. I've never heard anyone stand up proudly and say, I cut corners to get here.
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The Dysfunctional Workplace

Peter Morris, author of The Dysfunctional Workplace (Adams) suggests that criticism may be cathartic but there is a price: “Few things spoil a work environment more than belittling or minimizing other people’s contributions.”
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Lord help me, I'm just not that bright.

Homer Simpson

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Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office

In Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office by Russ C. Edelman, Timothy R. Hiltabiddle and Charles C. Manz (Portfolio): "Allow critical comments to bounce off you by wearing 'armor' that protects you and your self-esteem from your work that is being evaluated and criticized. Take emotions out of the equation... make sure your brain is in gear before engaging your mouth."
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Ways to Work Less, Play More, and Earn More

Matt Weinstein and Luke Barber in Work Like Your Dog Fifty Ways to Work Less, Play More, and Earn More (Villard; $22.95) detail a similar trait of successful companies. They “hire, reward and promote individuals who bring a sense of play to their work. At McGuffey's Restaurants, employees evaluate how much fun a manager is to work with, which can affect 20 percent of the manager's raise."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Women sometimes need to let go and admit an abiding reality, says Mary Lou Quinlan, founder of Just Ask A Women and author of Time Off For Good Behavior (Broadway Books): "Executive type women say, hey, we can do it all. They don’t say we can’t because it diminishes us in front of our bosses, in front of men."


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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

A man grows most tired when standing still.
Chinese proverb
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Executive Warfare

David F. D’Alessandro, author of Executive Warfare McGraw Hill; 2008), advises executives to hire people who have traits that are different from their own: “If you insist on building an army of clones – and reject any candidate who doesn’t fit the type – just understand that you are broadcasting your weaknesses.”
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Promises

Everyone's a millionaire where promises are concerned. Ovid....Oh, and happy birthday to Pot of Gold creator John Eckberg.


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Turf Wars

Teams are important but nearly as important as the culture of teamwork, says Harvey Robbins, a business psychologist and author of Turf Wars: Moving from Competition to Collaboration (NW Publishing): "A big problem for teams is people don’t believe what they are being told. Goals are undermined by a culture that exists and by company behavior."
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Better compensation and benefits

The obvious solution to productivity may be simplest: Companies that need more and better qualified workers … employees who will hang around for 10 years … have figured out that the best way to an employee's heart is through his wallet. One major accounting firm's annual survey found that six of 10 small businesses agreed: better compensation and benefits was the best way to motivate workers.

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Let your hook be always cast. In the pool where you least expect it, will be fish.
Ovid

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Business atire

About one of three executives yearn for the good old days of more formal business dress, according to Management Recruiters International Inc. Those executives think workplace clothing, particularly on business casual day, has gotten too sloppy. The most conservative industries? Real estate and financial services.

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Executive Warfare

David F. D’Alessandro, author of Executive Warfare (McGraw Hill; 2008) suggests a smart way to find smart applicants: “Humor is a sign of intelligence…I never, ever hired someone who was mirthless. I may have hired a few who were worthless, but never mirthless.”
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Homer Simpson

Mr. Scorpio says productivity is up 2%, and it's all because of my motivational techniques, like donuts and the possibility of more donuts to come.
Homer Simpson
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The Lorax

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
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Great organizations need only focus inward

A poll from Gallup found at least one constant worldwide for companies. Only 20% of employees at big firms think their strengths are in play every day. The higher up the career ladder, the less likely the worker agrees his strengths are being used. "Great organizations need only focus inward to find the wealth of unrealized capacity that resides in every single employee,'' Gallup determined.


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Make It Glow

While the standard for quality is not always a conscious choice on the part of a company's leadership team, it should be, writes Tom DeCotiis in Make It Glow (Greenleaf Book Group Press): "A leadership team that has made a conscious effort to arrive at what quality means within the company's customer experience is far less likely to compromise it when challenged by business circumstances."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Forever is composed of nows.
Emily Dickinson, American poet
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The Dysfunctional Workplace

The office mantra “Don’t give me praises; give me raises,” resonates with Peter Morris, author of The Dysfunctional Workplace (Adams; 2008): “It’s only half true,” writes Morris. “People need praise, too. Don’t you feel like a million dollars when someone sincerely compliments your work? Wouldn’t you like to give that feeling to others?”
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Salaries and raises

Blond workers receive the smallest raises and pay checks, according to the Reykjavik Commercial Workers Union, which based its findings on it 3,400-person survey in February 2001. The study also found salaries are not influenced by whether people smiled on the job. So forget about being cheerful at work because bosses don't care, and any overt sign of happiness, particularly if you are blond, could work against you.

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Get that Raise

Jason R. Rich suggests in Get that Raise (Entrepreneur Press) that if your employer asks about your desired salary, that means there's room to negotiate: “Sometimes employers have predefined compensation packages that go with job titles. Look for clues from your employers that indicate they're open to negotiate. But know when it's time to stop - an extra $50 a week, for example, isn't worth jeopardizing the entire negotiation."
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Dogbert

Give verbal instructions, not written, whenever you think you might want to deny that you were involved in a decision.
Dogbert from cartoonist Scott Adams
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How to Succeed in the High-Risk Restaurant Business

Stay with new employees until they get it, says Bill Wentz in How to Succeed in the High-Risk Restaurant Business by Someone Who Did (Atlantic Publishing; 2008): "Trying to correct performance errors later on is time consuming and expensive, and the worse scenario is losing a potentially super employee because of management neglect. Spend time where it counts"
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Caddyshack

So we finish the 18th and he's going to stiff me. So I say, Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort? And he says, Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.
Carl Spackler from Caddyshack
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Company missions

Want employees to feel that their jobs are important? The Gallup Organization surveyed 1 million people and found that when companies have missions, workers respond and believe that their jobs are vital.


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Guerrilla P.R.

In the re-release of Guerrilla P.R. (Collins), the bible of public relations, author Michael Levine offers a strategy for publicity that starts with three words: "Uniqueness. Singularity. Distinction. These words must form your Guerrilla P.R. mantra. What's different about your nightclub act? Why should I buy your doughnuts? What are you offering that people want? This is not meant to antagonize. Self-examination should invigorate."
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Bertrand Russell

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important. - Bertrand Russell, philosopher

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How the Wise Decide

Fill a room with barbarians, say Bryn Zeckhauser and Aaron Sandoski in How the Wise Decide (Crown Business), a culture of candor: "Participants accept and embrace the highly charged atmosphere of the room. Everyone is expected to come prepared and to have an opinion." Bosses, too, must be prepared for a critique: "Truth is the goal, and when the decision finally emerges, everyone is expected to sign on to support it."
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The One Who Is Not Busy

Are you hurrying through too many days, asks Darlene Cohen, author of The One Who Is Not Busy (Gibbs-Smith). Focus on your breathing at least three times while listening to another speak or while you are talking. Try it on the telephone, too: “Just notice that you are breathing while giving attention to what another person is saying. Your breath gives you the distance you need to participate from interest rather than conditioning.”
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John Wooden

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.
UCLA basketball coaching great John Wooden
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Wear Clean Underwear

Look for employees who are not like you, says Rhonda Abrams in Wear Clean Underwear Business Wisdom from Mom (Villard): "We naturally choose to be around people with whom we are comfortable, and that usually translates into people just like us. Boy, is that a trap. We can easily miss opportunities and deny opportunities to people who don't fit our expectations."
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The Success Effect

Former IBM Chairman Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. talks in The Success Effect (S&R) by John Eckberg about the potential of global commerce: "In all my 40 years, I’ve never seen a more positive opportunity for business. I think we have one of the most extraordinary periods of economic growth that we’ll ever see: China, India, Russia, Central Europe, the sub-continent beyond India."
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Commuting

Commuting is an incredible time-waster, says Lewis Richmond in Work as a Spiritual Practice (Broadway Books): "If you are the average American, your commute is 40 minutes each way. Nearly an hour and a half of your life, five days a week, 49 weeks a year. Add up all that time in the course of 45-year work life it comes to 16,538 hours. That's nearly two full years of our life, to and from work."
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The Success Effect

From The Success Effect: Uncommon Conversations with America's Business Trailblazers (Sterling & Ross): "A strong value proposition at a low price will bring customers back to your door – again and again and again. Leaders always cast a leadership shadow and in that shadow will be committed followers. Get and give feedback each and every day."
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Staying Afloat

Avoid perfectionism, says David B. Posen in Staying Afloat When the Water Gets Rough (Key Porter Books) "Common sense tells us that nothing is perfect, but our less logical selves keep striving for this unattainable standard. If you're someone who has extremely high expectations, here's a quick tip: Give it up. It's a huge waste of time and energy -- and most things don't have to be done to such a high standard anyway."
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Caliper

Caliper, a Princeton, N.J.-based management-consulting company with a worldwide roster of corporate clients interviewed 60 women leaders from some of the top companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and compared the results with findings about men. Caliper determined women are more likely to be assertive.
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The Overspent American

Efforts to become upscale can slam family finances, according to The Overspent American by Julliet B. Schor (Harper Perennial) "Through the 1990s, households have been taking debt at record levels. Debt service as a percentage of disposable income now stands at 18 percent. Work time has risen about 10 percent in the last 25 years. It is not surprising that personal bankruptcies are at historic levels."
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Executive departures

A Catalyst survey of 800 executives found that most who left a previous job - 51 percent - cited lack of flexibility for their departure. Others - 29 percent - resented the "glass ceiling" nature of their company's corporate culture. About 1 in 4 were just unhappy with the work environment and believed they were not being challenged.
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The Art of Building Relationships Through Golf

Nothing is free and that includes golf. At a minimum, expect accountability. From Business Golf: The Art of Building Relationships Through Golf by Pat Summerall with Will D. Rhame and James A. McNulty (Birch Lane Press):"Golf costs need to be justified, especially if the company is picking up the tab. Companies that use golf as a relationship tool and who are willing to pay the price should expect accountability.”

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White-knuckle decade of competition

Former IBM Chairman Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. talks about the future in The Success Effect (S&R) by John Eckberg: "The next decade will be the most difficult competitively of any we have ever seen - a white-knuckle decade of competition, and we will see a huge fall-out of winners and losers. Even the smallest company can exploit new technologies and seek global markets. We are going to see a real premium on leadership."
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Building a Business the Buddhist Way

Know your competition says Geri Larkin in Building a Business the Buddhist Way (Celestial Arts) "Ask your existing or potential customers who your competitors are and what they like and don't like about them. If your competitors are other companies, go to trade shows to scope them out. Get industry newsletters. Order something from them."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

There is no worth in that which is not a difficult achievement.
Ovid

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Bullyproof Yourself at Work

Bullying has significant downside for companies, according to Bullyproof Yourself at Work by Gary Namie and Ruth Namie (DoubleDoc): "The American Psychiatric Association recognizes a condition called acute stress disorder with symptoms that include disorientation, confusion, intense agitation and dazed detachment, sometimes followed by amnesia . . . this is what bullying does."

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Performance reviews

A recent survey of 1,190 workers by global human resources company Watson Wyatt supports skeptics' perspective on performance reviews. Only three in 10 workers think annual reviews improve their performance and bring enhanced value to companies. Twice as many people see the reviews as a disingenuous ploy to rein in the payroll.
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The Experience Economy

Economies change, say B. Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore in The Experience Economy (HBS Books): "Imagine the reaction if decades ago, when the American economy was booming flush with returning GIs buying houses in the suburbs, you had told people the typical family would pay someone else to change the oil in their car, make birthday cakes, clean shirts, mow lawns."
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The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Generation X

When members of Generation X see leaders undervalue individuals and treat young workers like exchangeable cogs, they look for the door, says Bruce Tulgan in The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Generation X (W.W. Norton & Co.). “They reject the company and management by compartmentalizing the job and diminishing its overall significance in their lives: sinking morale, lower productivity and higher turnover.”
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Homer Simpson

No, no, no, Lisa. If adults don't like their jobs, they don't go on strike. They just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American Way.
Homer Simpson
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Catalyst

Catalyst surveyed executives at 800 companies (200 were headed by men) and found that 4 of 10 women and 3 of 10 men started their own business because they had a "winning idea." Two out of 10 women said they wanted to be their own boss and set their own hours.
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101 Powerful Action Steps for Personal Achievement

Who knows who is watching? Nobody knows, says Barry J. Farber in Dive Right In 101 Powerful Action Steps for Personal Achievement (Berkley Motivation) "Don't say, No one will notice; this doesn't have to be so great. First of all, you never know who just might notice. Wouldn't you rather someone noticed the excellent job you did, instead of commenting on your sloppiness?”
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

A prince should be slow to punish, and quick to reward.
Ovid
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Wake Me When It's Time to Work

From Wake Me When It's Time to Work Surviving Meetings, Office Games, and the People Who Love Them by T.R. Edel (Cashman Dudley; $16.95) "Periodically, employees must endure evaluations by their managers, even though some managers haven't the faintest idea. How can a manager inject some relevance into his review of an employee? Ask others what they think.”
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Executive’s Guide to Personal Security

With more and more over-seas assignments, companies should stress personal safety, says David S. Katz and Ilan Casp in Executive’s Guide to Personal Security (Wiley): “Respect the little warning bell you have in your head. You are most vulnerable when you become comfortable and lulled by the false security of familiar surroundings. Look up and down the street every morning before you leave the house.”
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The Best Guide to Success

Be careful with praise and doubly careful with criticism. From The Best Guide to Success (Renaissance Books; $16.95) by Barbara Somervill: "Become a cheerleader. Offer public (group) praise for a task well done, regardless of who did it. Offer criticism or negative comments behind closed doors. It's been said before, but this is a must! Never berate members of the group in front of each other."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Chicago Samuel Zell talks in The Success Effect (S&R) by John Eckberg about attracting achievers: "We have always been focused on a meritocracy. People who join our organization are measured by what they contribute, not necessarily how old they are or where they are in the pecking order."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Change can help executives manage challenges. From Quotable Business by Louis E. Boone (Random House; $17.95) "The ability to adapt and adjust tactics while sticking to principles is extremely important. One of the biggest problems with CEOs is that they are flexible on principle and inflexible on plans." -- Eugene E. Jennings, American educator and business writer.
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Quality costs less

Quality costs less – Entrepreneur Jack Maas, founder of the JTM Food Group - $120 million in annual revenues. Square hamburgers have been good to JTM Food Group.
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The Success Effect

In The Success Effect (S&R) by John Eckberg, Nucor Steel CEO Daniel R. DiMicco talks about job loss: "We’ve seen what happens when thousands of manufacturing jobs are lost: the increase in crime, the empty homes, the pain. What we really need is to hold onto jobs that are disappearing because of unfair and illegal trading practices. To say re-training is the solution? It makes me sick to my stomach.
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The Brand You 50

Don’t forget about your leisure needs, says The Brand You 50 by Tom Peters (Knopf; $15.95): "Staying professionally fresh demands a refreshment-investment plan as much as financial security demands a formal investment plan."
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America's Appetite Matures

By 2010, the proportion of working women - women are primary food preparers - will rise to 61 percent, far more than the 52 percent in the early 1980s, according to Foodservice 2010: America's Appetite Matures by McKinsey & Co., New York: “Because working women are pressed for time, they tend to rely on food prepared away from home.''
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Business Dad

From Business Dad: How Good Businessmen Can Make Great Fathers (and Vice Versa) by Tom Hirschfeld (Little, Brown; $23) "All across the country, business dads are shouldering more and more of the household burdens. In 1998, the Families and Work Institute released a survey of 2,877 workers showing that fathers in 1997 were spending half an hour more each weekday, and a full hour more each day off, with their children than in 1977."
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Crossing the Unknown Sea

In Crossing the Unknown Sea (Riverhead/Berkley), author David Whyte considers how fortunate we are to live and work in the 21st Century: “We are immensely privileged even to inquire about the meaning of work. Our ancestors pined for good work as they would for a lover, and remained unrequited. Whatever our inheritance of work in this life, we are only the apex of innumerable lives of endeavor and sacrifice.”
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Conquering Chaos at Work

Be crafty when dealing with deadline deadbeats. From Conquering Chaos at Work by Harriet Schechter (Fireside; $12) "Your best bet is to give them a false deadline with plenty of hidden padding -- and never, ever let them know the real deadline. Practice your acting skills so that when the time comes to act surprised, disappointed and upset, you'll be able to put on a convincing performance."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are.
Ovid

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Keep a perspective on the reality of your performance. From What Smart People Do When Dumb Things Happen At Work by Charles E. Watson (Career Press; $15.99): "The next time you contemplate an important action, don't ask yourself "Will it be praised?' Instead, ask "Should it be praised?' No amount of favorable responses to the former can justify a negative answer to the latter."
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Dr. Seuss

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.
Dr. Seuss
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Work is not what it used to be. Neither is play. From The Working Life by Joanne B. Ciulla (Times Business; $25): "Economist Juliet Schor shows how work has increased over the past 20 years as vacation time shrinks. The average employed person in America worked 163 hours more in 1987 than in 1969. Women average 305 more hours of work than in 1969. Free time fell 40% since 1973 from 26 hours a week to under 17 hours."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

From the movie Blade Runner by Ridley Scott as Batty is dying, he talks about the nature of experience: "I've seen things...seen things you little people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion bright as magnesium...I rode on the back decks of a blinker and watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. All those moments...they'll be gone...like tears in rain."

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Call Waiting

Careful with the hold button. From Bringing Home the Business by Kim T. Gordon (Perigee; $13.95): "Never use Call Waiting on a business line -- it flies in the face of your efforts to put your customers first."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Don’t write a speech, memorize it and tell jokes. Do not be a joke teller, says Jessica Selasky, speech instructor and sales force advisor: “What you should do is be natural, be prepared and be enthusiastic. If you say big, your hands go to big.”
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

How do you define tasks at your company? The Working Life by Joanne B. Ciulla (Times; $25) "While labor implies exertion, toil denotes continuous and exhausting labor and drudgery refers to work that we dislike. Compared to words like labor and toil, the word job sounds almost cheerful."
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Public speaking

You must give a speech. You could not avoid it. But what to do about the clanging of plates and food being served? Ignore it, says public speaking specialist Jessica Selasky: “You have to let people eat. But make your presentation a little more light-hearted. Use a little more humor - more stories. Acknowledge that people are eating but do not be afraid
of it.”

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

From Coaching Illustrated by Mark David (the Mark David Corp.): "Create a culture of No Fear. . . . No Fear means having the freedom to bring forth ideas and honesty in a world of structure and discipline. This will open the door to creativity and innovation."
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Harley-Davidson

Go after a target market of potential employees like Harley-Davidson, which has a university for its franchisees. Know what you want, where to look and go get them, is the motto. Trade schools are sources for Harley-Davidson because people with highly developed interpersonal skills do not need to have a rote learning background.
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The Diamond Cutter

To learn about character, ask would-be employees about their leisure time. From The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Strategies for Managing Your Business and Your Life by Geshe Michael Roach (Doubleday;$21.95): "The most important question you can ask a person was what they did with their free time. The people who devote any serious time to serving others in their free time are the most stable and creative employees of all."
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The Success Effect

In The Success Effect (S&R) by John Eckberg, NBA rebounding great Tyrone Hill talks about wins and losses in business and the court: "Rebounding is about desire. It's having a passion. Every good shooter, every shot, he thinks he's going to make it. But every great rebounder sees it another way. Every shot is a missed shot. Rebounding has to be something that comes from within. You have to have heart

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Employer of Choice

Teamwork needs space. From How to Become an Employer of Choice by Roger E. Herman and Joyce L. Gioia (Oakhill Press; $30): "Provide informal meeting places where collaborators can sit and talk a traditional meeting room with a table and chairs or a grouping of stuffed chairs, sofas and throw pillows."
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Excess inventory

Joey Kushman, 10, learned about business by selling golf balls from a bucket at a golf course: Don’t wait for customers because they don't materialize when you do that. Don't put out a lot of golf balls - excess inventory. It tempts customers to adjust price: “Teenagers don't pay when you put out too many.” Limited supply - limited temptation. His sweet niche? Customer and supplier are one and the same.
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Choose wisely the person to respond to reporters, advises Hirschfeld Carlson in Total Exposure (AMACOM), particularly when your company is facing a crisis. Never simply respond to questions. Instead, shape the dialogue: “If your company is under fire, it is important to have someone state your case." Don’t delegate, either: “When an influential publication calls, it's the chief executive who should answer."
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In From Here to There

In From Here to There: a Self-Paced Program for Transition in Employment author Lawrence A. Stuenkel suggests men usually make a mistake when shaking hands with women - too firm or too weak. Stuenkel applies thumb pressure. “The handshake is the only physical act that is accepted and expected in business. That physical impression goes with a mental impression. A handshake is always linked to first impression.''

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Trying is the first step towards failure.
Homer Simpson
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Golf

Most executives strive to create one-on-one relationships and do it quickly, contends Pat Summerall, James A. McNulty, John Creighton and Will D. Rhame in Business Golf (Career Press). Few activities compare to golf: "What makes golf such a good tool? Name any other sport where you spend hours with your playing partner in a non-threatening manner - the atmosphere is fun, calming and beautiful. Golf has no peer."
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Appealing to women

When retiree Arthur Neuman could not find anybody to make routine condo repairs, Neuman knew it was time to start another business. He found, screened and hired independent craftsmen and then kicked his approach into franchise mode: eventually 92 across the nation and $30 million in annual revenues with in a decade. Key to growth? Appealing to women: “Close to 95 percent of our jobs were initiated by women.”
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Never Wrestle with a Pig

Inject info about your character into your resume, says Mark H. McCormack, author of Never Wrestle with a Pig (Penguin): “If I wanted an employer to know I saved my best friend from drowning, I’d list that friend as a reference. If I wanted an employer to know of my voluntarism at the soup kitchen, I’d list the kitchen’s director. There’s nothing sly about this, not if it helps worthy people shine a light on their true achievements.”

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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Mark Balasa, the director of sales and marketing for Glier's Meats, Covington, Ky., has a mantra: “Different is always better than same-old-same-old.” But in a world of promotional sameness, how can a company differentiate itself? "Reconnect to your community,'' Balasa says. Goetta, an oat/pork breakfast dish, became the Glier ticket when it launched an annual Goettafest more than a decade ago. Goetta ice cream anyone?
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The Inner Game of Work

In most companies, performance, learning and enjoyment are “three sides of the work triangle,” suggests W. Timothy Gallwey in The Inner Game of Work (Random House): "When any are ignored, performance will suffer. When it does, management feels threatened and pushes harder for performance. Learning and enjoyment diminish further. A cycle ensues that prevents performance from reaching its potential."
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

Kenneth W. Lowe wanted to create his 24-hour network on the home for the E.W. Scripps Co. and wanted to do it while Scripps’s bosses were losing nearly $1 million a month in a brutal newspaper war in Denver. A reluctant board agreed. Payback for this network gamble? Within a decade of the launch of HGTV and Scripps Networks: $2 billion in revenues, $700 million in profit
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Why Men Earn More

Stress is not necessarily a bad thing, says Warren Farrell in Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap – And What Women Can Do About It (AMACOM) as long as it is eustress - not distress. When stress is self-affirming, health benefits result: “If your career makes you proud of yourself and excites you after hours, chances are it is creating eustress – and eustress strengthens the immune system.”
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

JTM Food Group grew from a family-owned meat market to a food company with $120 million in revenues within a generation. Roots? Founder Jack Maas had seven kids to feed. He had to buy out his brother. He mortgaged his house three times and with nothing to hang his hat on, really, but will and desire - the hope that everybody could pull it off. Every spare dime went back into a new machine, freezer or production line
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Pot of Gold Daily Quote

A good listener is a good networker. And in Networking Magic (Adams Media) authors Rick Frishman and Jill Lublin point out a side benefit that accrues to good listeners: “Ironically, when you listen, people will think that you are interesting. They will be flattered because you gave them your attention and showed interest in them. They will consider you a wonderful conversationalist simply for listening to them.”
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How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

Author Michael J. Gelb offers a mantra for success in his classic book of lifestyle and business management advice, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (Dell). Copy and tape this one to your morning mirror: "I am comfortable with ambiguity. I am attuned to the rhythms of my intuition. I thrive with change. I see the humor in life every day. I have a tendency to jump to conclusions. I trust my gut."
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