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A quick and definitive guide for mixing business, food and drinks

Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

The holidays are upon us. Among so many other challenges and festivities at work, it also means increased opportunities for blurred lines between business, eating and drinking. Here are a few simple rules to remember in some common situations. For example, even when they can feel like mandatory fun, group meals may be the simplest social scenario to understand and follow the rules. And rule No. 1 is follow the lead.

Don’t toot your own horn? In corporate America, that’s bad…

Patrick Gleeson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Have you ever been up for a promotion you deserved but didn’t get? Maybe it’s because you mistakenly believed your corporation is a meritocracy where great work is always rewarded. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. Keeping in mind how it actually does work can lead to better future outcomes. A 2016 survey shows that 85 percent of all corporate workers got their job by networking. What’s true about how persons get hired is, if anything, even truer about how people are promoted. It’s not what you know, but who you know and, more importantly, who really knows you.

Stay away from ‘pocket’ associations

Robert C. Harris Association Management

I had not heard the phrase "pocket association" until I was outside the U.S. Nor was I familiar with the statement, "I have an association in my pocket." The saying might be used by a politician or businessman to increase their perceived power or influence. If it sounds like they are seeking to increase their clout — you are right. The associations with which I interact are legitimate. They advance a good cause or mission. They provide value. They rely on a dedicated board of directors. Pocket associations are not so legitimate.

Do your employees even know your name?

Simma Lieberman Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Do your employees even know your name? Do they even know why your organization exists? If the answer to one or both of these questions is "no," you cannot possibly have an inclusive culture in your organization. And if that's the case, you’re not leveraging the skills, talents and experience of everyone in your workforce. Three revealing interactions with employees in the last month caused me to ask these questions.

What encyclopedias, cellphones and the circus can teach us about business…

Steven L. Blue Business Management, Services & Risk Management

One of the important things I tell CEOs is to embrace, not deny, the impending change that is coming to their industry. Because if they don’t, their business is on a path to failure. When you think of important business lessons, I’m sure an encyclopedia, cellphone, and circus company wouldn’t be the first thing to come mind. But each of these examples showcase a company that has either succeeded or failed during a radical business transformation.

Strategies to help your team members become more proactive

Lisa Mulcahy Business Management, Services & Risk Management

It's a familiar scene: you explain the general outline of a project to your team — but no one takes the immediate initiative to contribute fresh ideas to the plan. If your employees routinely seem to hesitate when it comes to jumping into a new task, it's probably not a lack of motivation — it's most likely because they don't know how proactive you really want them to be. Yet you no doubt want your employees to bring you their A-game when it comes to giving each project their all from the start — so let them know it and help them do it!

Commonly confused words that can cost you credibility

Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

A homonym is a word that sounds roughly the same as another word but is very different in meaning. We’ve already covered the importance of using the spellcheck function when completing all job search documents, and the use of grammar, word choice, and slang applying to the written as well as the spoken word. Here are some commonly confused homonyms that sound the same but are often confused when writing.

Instill confidence in new board members

William D. Pawlucy and Robert C. Harris Association Management

"Welcome to the board, we’ll see you at the meeting next week!" These are scary words for a new director. Questions (or fears) quickly arise. "What is expected of me? Will I be prepared? Are there meeting protocols? Am I ready to vote on important issues?" It causes some directors to freeze. A common response of new directors is, "I won’t say anything during my first six months of meetings; I’ll just be an observer."

4 steps to make your business intelligence teams more relevant

Andrew Wells and Kathy Chiang Business Management, Services & Risk Management

The world of analytics is changing. Self-service analytical tools like Tableau, Qlik, and Power BI are enabling business users to perform reporting and analytics on their own with little to no support from the IT organization. This trend has evolved due to several factors. Organizations are flooded with data and IT organizations are not able to keep up; easier to use business intelligence tools make it more efficient for business users to directly create their reports rather than go through IT for a project; and IT organizations’ analytical projects can take several months when a business needs this information in weeks.

Take the lead to sidestep herd mentality

Bob Kowalski Business Management, Services & Risk Management

When Merriam-Webster added 300 words to its Scrabble dictionary recently, the company that made its name in language played directly to the fans of the popular board game. A couple of the additions also pointed out a trend of follow-the-leader. Among the new words usable in the game were "sheeple" and "hivemind." Outside of Scrabble, though, those words can lead to a herd mentality among both leaders and teams. You might have experienced those terms in the workplace, if not verbally then visually.

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