Articles and Blogs

Hiring the Right Skill Set And Motivating the Millennials

11/17/2008 12:01:37

In an economic downturn, employers need to be even more careful with their hiring decisions.

Obama Tech Policy Plans Eyed By Computer Industry

11/17/2008 10:58:18

written by K.C. Jones, courtesy of InformationWeek

Sun Layoffs Late But Needed, VARs Say

11/17/2008 10:56:48

written by Joseph F. Kovar, courtesy of ChannelWeb

IBM's Chip Unit Cuts Temp Workers

11/17/2008 10:53:12

written by Mark LaPedus, courtesy of EE Times

Camtek, Semitool Cut Workers

11/17/2008 10:51:36

written by Mark LaPedus, courtesy of EE Times

New-Age Recruiting: Using Online Social Networks to Secure Employment

11/13/2008 15:14:50

While it's a good idea to take advantage of the online social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, etc it's a good idea to make sure that you keep your profiles as professional as possible. Don't post pictures that could be considered inappropriate, etc.

Freescale dragged to loss; will lay off 10%

11/10/2008 12:32:31

written by Dylan McGrath, courtesy of EE Times

How to Ensure IT Job Security Despite an Economic Meltdown

11/10/2008 12:29:57

The same question is looming on the minds of many Americans across the country, "Am I going to lose my job as a result of the economy?"

U.S. Hedge Funds To Cut IT Spending 40%, To $882 Million

11/10/2008 12:20:39

written by Penny Crosman, courtesy of Wall Street and Technology

Start Saving Now -- But Not in Dollars

11/10/2008 09:35:24

In the past few years, the United States has crossed over from a positive to a negative savings rate. That is, U.S. residents on average have begun spending more money than they earn, eating away the savings they once had or, worse, building up more and more debt, rather than setting money aside for the future. The last time this happened was during the Great Depression, when people had to tap into their savings or go into debt merely to survive.

Job Hunting: 3 Tips for Successful Interviewing

11/06/2008 12:17:29

Anyone that has been on a job interview before knows how nerve-wrecking it can be. It doesn't have to be that way. Here are three tips to help you prepare for a job interview so that you aren't so nervous.

Tech needs R&D Funds, Not Government Handouts

11/06/2008 11:17:59

written by Bolaji Ojo, courtesy of EE Times

Report: Motorola To Hang Up On Thousands Of Workers, Focus on Android Software

11/06/2008 11:13:57

written by Michele Masterson, courtesy of ChannelWeb

TechInsights Unveils CleanTerra Ecosystem

11/06/2008 11:09:10

written by Nicolas Mokhoff, courtesy of EE Times

Authenticity -- A Fast Way to Connect

11/05/2008 16:43:47

"I heard you did a great job connecting with the audience and got all choked up with your acceptance speech for the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame," said my friend Victoria. "Yep, when I DO authentic, it works every time," I said with a chuckle. I was kidding about 'doing' authentic, of course. What immediately connected with the audience was 'being' authentic. The fact was my introducer, Warren Evans, brought me to the stage with "Welcome home Vince." I was emotional about coming home to Canada with this kind of honor. I blubbered for a bit, gained composure and then gave an acceptance speech. The single comment I received after was, "I loved your speech. It was you. It was real." The speech wasn't scripted. I had three general ideas I wanted to get across and I made it up from there. If you are going to give a speech, pitch a product, ask for a date or convince a teenager of something then the authentic approach is the fast way to connect. Authenticity is truly one of the most endearing qualities in people. And whom do you buy from? Someone thinking of what they should say or someone tells their truth. Think about it. When you meet someone real. Someone who is being truly authentic; How attractive is this quality? That's the wacky thing about sales actually. And before you say you're not in sales, remember the quote. "If your lips are moving, chances are you're selling something. So make it good." Making it "good" is simple and tricky all at once. Think about it. If you're selling something really important you probably want to put your best foot forward. You will likely be on your best behavior and be extremely conscious of saying the right things in the right way. In other words, you don't want to show any vulnerability. You assume that if you show any signs of weakness or chinks in your armor you will loose the sale. But as Shakespeare once said, "Therein lies the rub." Think of people you feel most connected to. Have they shown you their vulnerability and authentic selves? YES! Now, in a sale, whom do you buy from? Someone you feel connected to or someone where there is no connection? You buy from people you connect with. So, here you are spending all this time hiding parts of your personality that has the net effect of disconnection. By trying to speed up a sale by doing everything right, we are slowing it down by being less vulnerable or authentic. The flip side is if you are vulnerable and authentic you speed up the sale. You have everything to gain and little to lose by being authentic. Vulnerability is not that old Budweiser commercial where you break down crying while saying, "I love you man!" Vulnerability is a state of mind. It is a clear signal to your prospect or person you are talking to with, "This is who I am. This is real. I'm not hiding anything." If you're new to a situation, then be honest. If you're unsure of an answer, admit it. If you disagree, beg to disagree. If you messed up, say sorry, skip the excuses and move on. If you think you have spinach in your teeth, come out and say it, "Do I have spinach in my teeth?" You get the picture. If it is authentic and honest you are vulnerable in a very good way. This will take you further and faster. People appreciate that in the Age of Speed. Recently I spoke to a large franchise and the message the organizers kept hitting home was how "important the client experience is." The new approach they would take is to listen to the client and give a specialized experience. Not a "by the book" agenda. They wanted the client to feel that it was a real, authentic encounter. What struck me funny was how scripted the entire event was. They had every single executive speech on a teleprompter. The underlying message I felt while listening was incongruent. The leaders offered advice they weren't truly demonstrating. How much different would the audience's experience be if the VP's were trusted to deliver a few key points from an extemporaneous approach? How difficult would it be for the executive s to give up control of the exact outcome? When it's your turn to speak to one person or a room full of people stand back from trying to be perfect and decide to be you. Knock your script down to key touch points and trust that you authentic self is more than enough. Be authentic. It's the fastest way to connect and it works every time. ©2008 Vince Poscente Author Bio Vince Poscente is best known for his ability to provide an invigorating message to organizations across the corporate landscape. Company leaders call on him to inspire employees to embrace speed when they feel compelled to resist it and to produce faster results in ways they find rewarding. When companies come face-to-face with speed, Poscente helps them understand the challenge and turn speed to their advantage. To learn more about harnessing the power of speed, join the ever-increasing community of people who subscribe to Full Speed Ahead, a weekly eBrief that will help you discover how the force of speed can be put to use in your life and business. www.vinceposcente.com

The Fastest Way to a 100% Closing Ratio

11/05/2008 16:40:13

100% of the prospects she asked said yes. Even the people that started by saying no, said yes. She's my nine-year-old daughter. Her name is Alex and the most amazing sales person I have ever seen. We were at her brother's soccer practice with 75 minutes to meet her $200 goal for the American Heart Association. We walked to the nearest home. On the way I said to Alex, "Let me teach you the alternative close. Say . . . Would you donate $10 or $20 dollars? It works every time." Here's what she said at each home. "Hi my name's Alex. I'm going door to door, raising money to help people with heart disease. Would you donate 10 or 20 dollars?" Everyone had questions. "Do you live in the neighborhood? Do you know someone with heart disease? Can I write a check?" In every case she had an answer and then stared right back with a big, toothy smile. At one place, the nice lady described her roll as a caregiver for her ailing mother. She talked about how her mom had heart disease, dementia, a mild stroke, walking problems and needing constant care. Then she said to Alex, "Do you know what that means?" Alex came right back with, "That means that I should pray for you." The woman laughed and gave Alex $20. A number of prospects started by saying no but Alex immediately engaged them in conversation. "How long have you lived here? What's your dog’s name?" Before you knew it, Alex was holding another check. Between houses I reflected on how amazing her close ratio was. Here's what I learned to accelerate a sale for you. 1. Go in knowing the value of a sale. Alex knew she was helping people. She was up to speed on where the money would go. She knew people whom had heart disease and felt a connection to the value of her offering. Take a moment and itemize all the benefits that your product or service would provide people. Do not confuse features with benefits. It is critical to constantly have front of mind the value your product or service has for your prospect. It's almost like thinking the prospect would be crazy to say "no" if they knew how much value they could receive. A sale happens quicker with this mind set. 2. Add a personal touch. Leaving a message would not accomplish the same thing. Some people produce brochures or websites thinking it will close a sale. Making an extra effort (like a nine year old willing to go door to door) works wonders. Look around your prospect’s world and see what kind of connection you can make that strikes a personal chord. In your industry, if prospects are getting more and more emails seeking a sale, telephone or visit their office with something specific to offer. If your prospect has a gatekeeper, leverage the knowledge of that gatekeeper to learn what exactly your prospect needs. If you write a personal note, add a personal touch showing that you did your homework. Go the extra mile in the area of 'a personal touch' and you will make an immediate connection. 3. Use humor. Use your sense of humor to add a positive experience to the sales call. People love to laugh and feel good. If you don't have a sense of humor, your prospect is not someone to practice on. Sarcasm, joke telling and self-deprecating humor leaves you on thin ice. I've seen sales people crash and burn with an underdeveloped sense of humor. If you use clever humor you could get your prospect's attention. Years ago I sent a bunch of prospects a brochure. A couple of weeks later I sent a hand written note with the same brochure all crumpled up. The note said, "I found this in your garbage and I really thought you should read it." This was followed up with a call. Almost everyone took the call. 4. Smile and keep them talking. Alex inevitably got a no. She intuitively smiled and kept them engaged. Everyone wants to make a decision on his or her own terms. You may have another appointment to get to or your patience is wearing thin. Smiling and continuing to connect may be exactly what speeds you directly to a sale. 5. Keep moving you've got a goal to catch. We chose a time of day that most people were home. When there was no answer we briskly moved on to the next house. Alex had a goal to attain and she was determined to reach it in the time we set. Simple physics is your friend. Things in motion tend to stay in motion. When you attach urgency to your sales goals you can get further, faster. Set a timeline, deadline or target date. The brain is wired to manifest outcomes when it has parameters to work within. At 7:15 pm Alex knocked on her last door. She raised $235. With a big smile on her face she said, "Daddy, I did it. Now, would you like to go for ice cream or frozen yogurt?" Let's just say she continued to have a 100% closing ratio that night. ©2008 Vince Poscente Author Bio Vince Poscente is best known for his ability to provide an invigorating message to organizations across the corporate landscape. Company leaders call on him to inspire employees to embrace speed when they feel compelled to resist it and to produce faster results in ways they find rewarding. When companies come face-to-face with speed, Poscente helps them understand the challenge and turn speed to their advantage. To learn more about harnessing the power of speed, join the ever-increasing community of people who subscribe to Full Speed Ahead, a weekly eBrief that will help you discover how the force of speed can be put to use in your life and business. www.vinceposcente.com

Flinchlessness

11/05/2008 16:35:51

In a sale, negotiation or even a debate, flinch and you lose ground. In a world of incredible speed the lost ground might be too much to recover from.

Green IT Beyond Virtualization: The Case For Consolidation

11/03/2008 11:20:04

written by Behzad Behtash, courtesy of InformationWeek

Yahoo To Open Two New Offices In Nebraska After Earnings Tank

11/03/2008 11:16:27

written by Michele Masterson, courtesy of Channel

The Diversity Leadership Imperative: The Need to Progress from Diversity Management to Diversity Leadership Competency

11/03/2008 09:41:58

I will start with two basic points that everyone can logically agree with: 1.) Every organization needs quality leadership to be successful in a highly competitive world, and 2.) Diversity is a reality that is here to stay, and its impact is increasing exponentially as our demographics continue to change. Further diversity's impact will broaden via globalization as the world continues to shrink and flatten. As a result, there is an automatic interconnectedness between leadership and diversity, yet this relation between the two has not been adequately and accurately explored. This leads me to my third point, which some may debate. 3.) In order to truly maximize the effectiveness and potential of ourselves and our organizations we must develop some solid diversity leadership competencies. This is true for all of us, regardless of our cultural background; because you cannot maximize your effectiveness as a leader in an extremely diverse society without understanding diversity. In short, you cannot lead what you do not understand. Some may debate this by saying " . . . America has always had diversity within its ranks and we've consistently been the leaders of the free world." That is true, however what's different now is that global competition is far fiercer; and our society is far more diverse than ever before. Additionally, the teachings and philosophies of every great leadership expert from Sun Tzu to Stephen Covey will confirm that the lion's share of leadership is motivation; and every major study on culture has proven that different cultural groups are motivated by different things. Management -v- Leadership If you were to compile a list of the traits and skills that you most admire about great leaders like -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Tony Blair, Mary McCloud-Bethune, Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Margret Thatcher, and others; odds are you would list things like moral courage, their ability to inspire; their mastery of language; how they helped ordinary people tap into their greatness, etc . . . Your list would not include the statement, "They were great managers". Chances are they all are/were great managers; but in the end nobody cares. We don't follow other people because of their management skills. We follow them because of how they make us feel. The masses remember great people not because of their ability to manage; but because of their ability to LEAD! The reality is that people don't want to be managed; they want to be led. They want to be inspired. They want to follow people that they connect with. The 21st century leader MUST have the adequate competencies to connect and build trust in an authentic way with people across a huge myriad of cultures and ideologies. Diversity Management -v- Diversity Leadership Management by nature deals with rules and policies. And let's face it, that's the easy part. Anyone can create a rule or write a policy statement. Leadership, on the other hand, deals with changing hearts and minds, and holding people accountable. This is a far more daunting and challenging task. The unfortunate and regrettable truth is that we as a society have treated diversity like it is an inanimate "thing"; an object to be managed. But it's not. It is a collection of people; living, breathing folks with minds and emotions. For the past 20 years or so, organizations have focused a lot of energy on diversity management, and understandably so. To their credit, these efforts have helped many organizations move past just counting heads, dealing only with representation. Some of these organizations are now re-directing a portion of their energy towards creating an inclusive environment that supports diversity. The point that I am attempting to make is that the diversity management approach is not incorrect; but it is incomplete. Managers tend to look toward the most expedient (and often temporary) fix; while leaders are more apt to look down the horizon for the actual long range resolution to the problem. This type of leadership is woefully missing as it relates to building fully inclusive environments that not only allow all types of people to flourish and maximize their abilities; but encourages, grooms and develops them to do so. Many feel that leaders have failed to aggressively take the lead on diversity out of a lack of desire. However, I, on the contrary think this failure to lead on diversity has less to do with deficient desire, and more to do with fear. Fear of making a mistake and being "labeled". The good news is that this fear can be eroded when leaders are equipped with some diversity leadership competencies that will build both their knowledge and confidence. Trends That Make Diversity Leadership Competencies an Imperative Developing these competencies is no longer a forward thinking innovation. We are actually running out of time. There are a large number of demographic and economic trends making the need to act an imperative. Among them: * Labor Shortage -- As Baby-Boomers retire, America faces decades of talent shortages. A report by Development Dimensions International, as reported in a recent article, The New War for Talent by Michael Gregoire, "one-fifth of this country's large, established companies will be losing 40 percent or more of their top talent in the next five years." Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics further predicts a 10 million personnel shortfall starting around 2008-2010. * Global Migration Patterns -- As a result of the aforementioned talent shortage, the U.S. will need to increase its immigration numbers which will further increase our diversity, in the areas of race, culture and religion. * Generational Issues -- We will continue to have four distinctly different generations working side by side in our workforce. The tensions that exist may intensify. Due to our increasingly challenged economy, some older workers who had intended to retire will be forced to stay in the workplace for financial reasons. Simultaneously, many talented, impatient, "up and coming" Generation X'ers may start to feel some resentment toward these more matured workers who are now impeding their progress be refusing to leave these jobs that the Generation X'ers want; thus creating what is known as "generational conflict". A Few Required Competencies In her book, Managing Diversity: Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace, Michalle E. Mor Barak talks about how ancient Chinese tradition divides people into categories based on four qualities: Shi (scholars), Nong (farmers), Gong (artisans) and Shang (merchants). The belief is that to be a fully effective leader, one must acquire the " . . . vision and ethics of the scholar, the appreciation and respect for basic human needs of the farmer, the creativity and drive for excellence of the artisan, and the ambition of the merchant (in order) to make a profit." The concept to grasp here is that cultural competency is not about learning every little nuance about every cultural group. It's more about learning the perspectives and big picture concepts that relate to various cultures. In short, diversity leadership competency is not focused on learning a long list of cultural "do's and don'ts". It is about establishing common ground with people from cultures other than your own by developing some simple tools. Some examples of these competencies are: * Being aware of your own biases * Developing cultural dexterity * Challenging false assumptions * Exercising moral courage * Embodying trust and fairness * Being consistent Most of these competencies are not complicated or difficult to learn; and they tend to line up with our already accepted moral codes, and organizational values. All we have to do is put forth an effort until they become second nature. In the words of leadership guru Warren Bennis, "Managers are people who do things right. Leaders are people who do the right thing." Take the lead, step up and do the right thing. Everyone will benefit; yourself included. ©2008 Al Vivian Author Bio Al Vivian is the President and CEO of Basic Diversity, Inc. (BASIC). BASIC is a full service cultural diversity training and consulting firm that has been operating nationally for 34 years. Al has provided diversity counsel to civic and religious leaders, political officials, and television news personnel. He has provided diversity commentary to CNN, FOX, NBC, PBS, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Chicago Sun Times, and WSB News Radio. Linkage’s 10th Annual Summit on Leading Diversity in Atlanta, GA, March 16-18, 2009, is the nation's premier event on best practices in diversity and inclusion. At The Summit on Leading Diversity you will gain the practical solutions you need to build inclusive work environments and move your organization's diversity initiatives forward to achieve bottom-line results. Learn best practices while networking with 1,000 diversity practitioners and line leaders. This year's Summit will feature life-changing keynote speakers including Ruby Dee, Phoebe Eng, Juan Williams, and more. For more information or to register call 781.402.5555 or visit www.linkageinc.com/div.