Category Archives: General

10 Etiquette Tips Men Should Know

August 26, 2013   General

What ever happened to good old-fashioned manners? Not many men follow the simplest rules these days and consequently, it shows in how they behave.

Aside from the momentary fashionable trends that seem to grip society every half generation, good etiquette never goes out of style. Whether it is tipping appropriately, or knowing where to place the forks, here are 10 most important tips men can use:

1. Restaurants – Whenever dining out (especially in a formal setting), be sure to allow your female partner to be seated first. You can control this situation by pulling out a chair for her and seating yourself afterwards. For those of you who dare to be chivalrous — it is common practice to stand when a woman gets up to leave the table.

2. Table Manners – When sitting at a table (either in a restaurant or at home), your elbows should never rest on the eating surface. Elbows on the table are acceptable only between meal courses, or in extremely informal settings like bars or pubs.

3. Addressing Women – Did you know that there is a correct and incorrect way to address a woman, both verbally and in writing? It all depends on her age and marital status.

You should speak and write “Mrs.” when addressing married woman. For any woman who is unmarried, or if you are not sure about her marital status – use the term “Ms.” For girls and teens under the age of 17 years, you should use “Miss”.

4. Hats and Caps – Never enter a building with your hat or cap on. The only exceptions are public places of interests such as train, bus, and subway stations; indoor and outdoor pavilions; or places near public street entrances like lobbies or hallways. You should always remove your hat for photographs, when entering a home, during the national anthem, and when in the presence of a woman.

5. Flowers – Unless you mean to say – “I love you my dear friend”, something other than red or pink roses should be given to female acquaintances. Roses are a symbol of love, romantic interest, or “respectful love” — as in situations when giving roses to a mother on Mother’s Day.

For occasions when a female is not a love interest (i.e. birthdays, graduations, promotions, or new friendships) — choose from a variety of “friendly flowers” like Lilies, Sunflowers, Daisies, Chrysanthemums, Bamboo, or Irises.

6. Personal Property – If Possible, men should refrain from touching, moving, or interfering with one’s personal property. For example, you should never touch and move an unknown woman’s purse — even if it is in your way. You should also avoid touching clothes, vehicles, equipment, or any personal items belonging to another.

The only exceptions are returning lost or misplaced items to their rightful owners, or if an emergency calls for your intervention. More strict rules apply to home properties such as mailboxes. Not only is opening someone’s mailbox bad etiquette — it is also illegal.

7. Shaving – Men do not like to shave, but it is a necessity in certain situations. When attending such events as weddings, formal gatherings, reunions, business meetings, job interviews, etc. – your face should be stubble free. If you are venturing into an unfamiliar territory, it is best to leave that shadowy look at home. The only exceptions here are well-trimmed beards, moustaches, or goatees.

8. Coughing and Sneezing – You were probably told as a child: “Cover your mouth when you cough!” This is still good practice, but you should go one step further.

If you have a handkerchief or some tissue nearby, try sneezing or coughing directly into it and when finished — throw it away. Serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, whooping cough, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are spread through airborne germs, and germs on your hands.

If no tissue is available, sneeze or cough into your sleeve. This helps keep germs out of the air and off your hands.

9. Invitations – Believe it or not, there are a few occasions when you should never turn down an invite or request for attendance. Two such events are requests for funeral assistance and honoree events. If you are asked to act as a pallbearer at a funeral or if a banquet or dinner is being held in your honor — you should make every attempt to attend.

10. What to Wear – Knowing what to wear and when to wear it is important if you want to save your reputation. There is a difference in casual, business casual, and professional dress. In reality, it all depends on the event.

If attending a day wedding, school play, or luncheon – a button-down with slacks is the way to go. A formal wedding, class reunion, job interview, or business meeting all require a button-down, tie, and slacks. Jackets and/or blazers are necessary when presenting, facilitating formal meetings, or when in a place of recognition.

Shorts of any length and t-shirts should not be worn — even if an event is labeled as “casual”. The only obvious exceptions are outdoor events such as barbecues, pool parties, and family reunions.

There you go. Those are 10 great etiquette tips that should keep you from making a total fool out of yourself. Use at least five of them, and it is likely that someone will label you as a “true gentleman”.

Source: Fashionbeans via Myjoyonline.com

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Innovation Leadership Management

August 26, 2013   General

By Daniel Adjei
Management Consultant
dadjei@spintconsult.org

Innovation leadership involves synthesizing different leadership styles in organizations to influence employees to produce creative ideas, products, services and solutions. The key role in the practice of innovation leadership is the innovation leader. Dr. David Gliddon developed the competency model of innovation leaders and established the concept of innovation leadership at Penn State University. As an approach to organization development, innovation leadership can be used to support the achievement of the mission or vision of an organization or group. In a world that is ever changing with new technologies and processes, it is becoming necessary for organizations think innovatively in order to ensure their continued success and stay competitive. In order to adapt to new changes, the need for innovation in organizations has resulted in a new focus on the role of leaders in shaping the nature and success of creative efforts. Without innovation leadership, organizations are likely to struggle. This new call for innovation represents the shift from the 20th century, traditional view of organizational practices, which discouraged employee innovative behaviors, to the 21st century view of valuing innovative thinking as a potentially powerful influence on organizational performance. Continue reading Innovation Leadership Management  (pdf format)

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So What are the Differences between CV and Résumé?

August 26, 2013   General

Curriculum Vitae (CV) Explained

The main distinguishing features of the CV are outlined in brief below:

The Curriculum Vitae is a list of all your achievements until the date you are submitting it, presented in reverse chronological order (i.e. the latest achievements first) The Curriculum Vitae is ideally two pages in length, though it can sometimes go up to three to five pages The Curriculum Vitae would include everything that you have done and can be classified as work outside the home – whether paid or unpaid; hence, it is okay if the Curriculum Vitae contains voluntary and honorary positions and work done in such positions The Curriculum Vitae structure is very systematic and is generally drawn in a specific order The Curriculum Vitae is normally accompanied by a cover letter, which summarizes what it contains and points out the match of the applicant with the job A Curriculum Vitae can be written in the following three styles: functional CV, targeted CV and performance CV.

 Résumé Explained

The main distinguishing features of the Résumé are as below:

A resume is a precise and very brief document representing at-a-glance your key skills and main achievements A resume should not be longer than one page, unless in rare exceptions A resume would contain of only what is strictly relevant to the job applied and nothing else – it is more important here to have all the information contained within one page (or two pages very rare cases), than representing the information in totality The resume would highlight your skills and achievements above all other things The resume is usually presented without a cover letter because the main reason you are submitting the resume, is fast processing; a cover letter would defeat the purpose A resume usually can be written in three very different styles – (i) Chronological resume – whereby your skills and main achievements are listed by date starting with the most recent ones first, (ii) Functional resume – whereby your skills and experience are more highlighted than anything else and (iii) a combination of both – whereby both skill and achievements are presented hand-in-hand.

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6 Tips for Creating Amazing Content

August 6, 2013   General
By Kevin Daum

Content marketing can be extremely effective, but only if you know how to create compelling content. Here are six tips. The great thing about marketers is that they love to write about themselves. So you can just imagine how happy they are now that content marketing is the hot trend for success. For those who still don’t understand what it’s all about, here is a simple explanation. Instead of advertising, you become your own publisher of powerful writing, pictures and video, all with the purpose of attracting and maintaining a loyal following who will hopefully buy your products or services someday. It sounds easy, but there is a lot of competition for people’s attention, so unless you are creating truly interesting and engaging content for people who actually want or need you’re offering, you’re simply wasting time and effort. Here are six suggestions on how to create content that will engage loyal fans who will buy.

  1. Identify Patterns People find value in reading content that helps explain what they already see but can’t necessarily articulate. They will see you as a sage if you can take seemingly random events and make sense of them. The familiarity of what they see coupled with a new perspective and understanding gives them an AHA! moment that excites them. If you can tie it directly to your product or service, you can move them closer to the sale.
  2. Address Their Pain Empathy is a great way to take first time readers and covert them to loyal followers. In fact it’s the first step in any sales process. If you identify the pain people have in your industry, you appear as a knowledgeable expert who can help resolve the situation. If your tone is academic, people will respond as if you are teaching rather than selling. And if you can provide solutions that are not specifically your product or service, you will gain credibility as an information source that is willing to help first and sell later.
  3. Entertain Companies should be concerned about their image, and should take care not to present one that is dull and boring. People have lots of choice when it comes to reading content and they will subscribe to content that makes them laugh, cry and feel engaged. They love stories that take them away. I’m not suggesting you have to sing and dance (although it’s been known to help in some cases). But find ways to add charm and let the information unfold with copious amounts of storytelling and humor, even when the subject is serious.
  4. Include the Obscure If your content has the same information as everyone else in your space then why would anyone make the effort to follow you? Find interesting and unusual angles and facts to put in your blogs and white papers so that people get excited while reading your material. You need to give your readers the awesome experience, which meets their need, isentertaining and has the unexpected. Anything less is pure mediocrity and is a waste of time.
  5. Leave ‘em Wanting More Don’t try and do everything in a single piece of content. Regardless if it’s a blog, video or white paper, go for a single message. Pick a single aspect of information you want to communicate and build the content around that one idea. The more information you crowd into the piece, the less your reader or viewer will remember. The idea is to give them one or two really valuable nuggets so that they will come back for more later.
  6. Give People Something to Do The surest way to give someone value is to provide them with an actionable takeaway. It’s even better when people can take action on your suggestion immediately and see results in short order. If you get people in the habit of taking your advice on a regular basis to improve their process, whatever it is, then they will be much more receptive to following your instructions when you ask them to check out your offering. Remember that Content Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. But with consideration, planning and a little creativity, you can gain a following that will grow your business with loyal and avid supporters.

Source: http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/6-tips-for-creating-amazing-content.html

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