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What do your written words say about your brand?

Anne Rose Marketing

Businesses frequently invest a lot of energy and many resources into ensuring that their brand identity accurately reflects what they’re about. Misspellings, bad grammar, invented words, misplaced apostrophes can all detract from that carefully crafted identity. I recently passed by a boutique chocolate shop that advertised custom, specialty chocolate desserts, handmade with attention to detail. But glaring at me from the store window was a big sign advertising that they sold chocolate carmels. You read that right: chocolate "carmels."

A stock market survival course: Part 4

Patrick Gleeson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

This is the fourth of a five-article survival course designed to give you essential information you need to succeed as an investor in the stock market. The first three articles established that individual investors underperform the market by over 60 percent, and market professionals generally underperform the market as well. A better approach is to give up the attempt to beat the market. This article discusses easy ways of diversifying your investments to lower risk and improve returns.

What you need to know about the changes to exempt salary thresholds in…

Melanie Pol Business Management, Services & Risk Management

In 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) scrapped U.S.-wide plans to increase the salary threshold for exempt employees following challenges from multiple states. The DOL has continued to postpone these plans. However, the states of California and New York have elected to raise their own exempt salary thresholds for 2019. The changes are effective from Dec. 31, 2018, and Jan. 1, 2019, in New York and California, respectively. This could mean that some of your workers may be eligible to overtime pay due to the increased salary-exempt threshold.

Report: Managers overestimate their coaching, mentoring abilities

Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Most people agree that the manager-direct report relationship is vitally important to an organization’s success. And managers who can effectively coach and mentor their employees can increase performance and engagement levels. However, a new survey reveals that managers may be overestimating their coaching and mentoring abilities. According to a report by Betterworks, a continuous performance management platform, HR professionals and managers don’t agree on the coaching abilities of the latter.

The evolving design of coworking spaces

Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

One of the fastest-growing areas of commercial real estate is coworking spaces. They have become increasingly popular with freelancers, entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals and paraprofessionals, whose numbers have expanded considerably post-recession, as well as with business travelers, who use them as hoteling spaces. As the number of users has grown, so has their diversity and their diverse business needs. Today’s coworking space providers are having to respond to the same types of demands for better working environments as are companies everywhere.

Your mission statement is not a holiday turkey

Robert C. Harris Association Management

Boards sometimes create a mission statement similar to how we prepare a holiday turkey. They stuff as much as they can into the mission to satisfy everybody. Our family turkey used to have a bread stuffing. Then somebody suggested an oyster stuffing. My niece wanted a ground beef stuffing with onions, so we decided to go half and half inside the bird. Boards create mission statements like we cooked our family turkey, hoping to satisfy everybody’s tastes. Here’s what often gets stuffed into the mission.

Don’t be that guy

Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

One of my first bosses, Bill Forte, taught me a very valuable career lesson that is worth sharing. "Hank," he said, just as I was about to leave for a weeklong training meeting, "at this meeting you are going to see a room full of people from across the country who are just like you — working hard to get ahead. I guarantee there’ll be some doofus who shows up late for a session and has an excuse. Maybe he’ll say something stupid and anger someone. Or have too much to drink and behave badly. Or be disruptive. Sometime next week he’s gonna get fired because he just didn’t understand that everything he said or did was seen by someone whose opinion matters. Hank, don’t you be that guy!"

How to be strategic when everyone sees you as tactical

Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

One of the biggest struggles for HR professionals is getting that elusive seat at the table. In some cases, we are trapped as specialists: spend a few years doing benefits and that is all anyone will think you can do. In other cases, we are trapped as generalists: one-person HR departments must do everything and therefore are masters at nothing. It can be a frustrating cycle from which to break free. Instead of giving up, give these three steps a try.

Plan your route and you’ll reach your 2019 destination

Fred Berns Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

Many interior design professionals use the holiday season to reflect on the year that was. You’re wise to focus instead on the year that can be. Use this time to plot your course and make your 2019 sales and marketing plan. Why? Because a designer without a plan is like ship without a rudder. You may have a rough idea of where you want to go, but not a clue on how to get there. You can "get there" and achieve your goals for the year ahead by keeping these seven "p"rinciples in mind.

Study: Well-being and technology are driving workplace productivity

Scott E. Rupp Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Employee well-being is dependent on several factors, it seems, including workplace productivity, job satisfaction and employee retention. These factors are tied to employee physical health and financial well-being, according to a new survey, entitled "Working Well: A Global Survey of Workforce Wellbeing Strategies." According to the survey, 40 percent of the organizational leaders interviewed said they believe they have created a culture of well-being in 2018 compared to only 33 percent in 2016. Of those who have not achieved such a result, 81 percent said they "aspire to achieve a culture of wellbeing."

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