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Productivity is essential for achieving personal and professional goals effectively. Discover tips and strategies to enhance your productivity now.

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In this GIF the rapper is saying he just wants the best, the best quality. know companies and employers can relate to that. They have different processes of controlling performance and they expect their employees to reach the standard if not exceeded.

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Top Notch A List GIF by VH1 - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Discover & share this VH1 GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

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I found a really great article that differentiates the three things that separate leaders

1. Recognize their purpose is to serve and they focus on their purpose.

2. Value others as human beings and respect them generally genuinely

3. Ultimately lead through love positive leaders care for the wellbeing of others.

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What separates the most positive leaders from those stuck in negativity? In a few words: a growth mindset.

Stanford professor Carol Dweck's famous research found that people with a growth mindset believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Brains and talent are just the starting point. "This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment," states Dweck.

This is what describes great leaders. They understand that leadership is a self-evolved journey toward becoming better every day. On the flip side, a "fixed mindset" (according to Dweck) is the belief that one's traits are fixed and therefore cannot change. This short-sighted thinking can prevent important skill development and growth, which could sabotage your effectiveness as a leader.

Separating the positive from the negative

A fixed mindset does something else that can be potentially damaging. It opens itself up to negativity and self-sabotage instead of assuming the immense opportunity for change and transformation.

I've worked with and for plenty of high-level managers who operated from this perspective. Negativity manifested in counterproductive behaviors like dishonesty, slander, selfishness, manipulation, and impulsivity. And the consequences led to distrust within their teams, a decrease in employee engagement, and even liability issues.

Negativity sucks energy from people and hampers productivity and performance. When persistent, a negative attitude in the workplace stifles creativity and innovation. Because of this, leaders at every level must be proactive and committed to operating from positivity.

What does that look like in practice?

1. They know their purpose is to serve others.

Positive leaders focus on how many people they serve versus how many people serve them. They feel called to help their valued workers become better people, inspiring excellence in them personally and professionally. This means that the needs of others come first and that the team's success is a leader's claim to success. Positive leaders aspire to the demands of a higher purpose: serving their team.

2. They value others as human beings.

Leadership is a matter of the head and the heart -- it's about results and relationships. So, if you're in a leadership role now or aspiring to one, the journey toward positive leadership must be founded on valuing the people entrusted under your care by believing and trusting in them. Begin by showing respect and dignity and maintain a high view of each employee.

3. They ultimately lead through love and care.

In a world of empty promises, manipulation, and deception, positive leaders care for the well-being of others. They show commitment to advancing the best interests of those around them. The word "love" here should not be mistaken for a feeling. In a business sense, it's a verb that is packed with action. It shows up in meeting the needs of others to get results, clearing obstacles from people's paths, and empowering others to succeed. It has intrinsic value for both leader and employee. Ultimately, it's this kind of practical love and care that defines the best servant leaders.

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3 Things That Separate Positive Leaders From Negative Bosses

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What separates the most positive leaders from those stuck in negativity? In a few words: a growth mindset. Stanford professor Carol Dweck's famous research found that people with a growth mindset believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Brains and talent are just the starting point.

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This video highlights serving traits of a leader. It uses great examples to explain how leadership can be found in everyday life with everyday jobs. You can be a leader regardless of your title. It also highlights being positive as a leader and contributing to the outcome of every situation that you put in.

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How To Be A Leader - The 7 Great Leadership Traits

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The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

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A Look at Contingent Workers : Spotlight on Statistics: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Contingent workers are people who do not expect their jobs to last or who report that their jobs are temporary. They do not have an implicit or explicit contract for continuing employment. People who do not expect their jobs to continue for personal reasons, such as retirement or returning to school, are not considered contingent workers.

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This article from managementsquare.com talks about organizational structures. Organizational structures represent authority, communication, rights, and duties of an organization. And it also determines how the roles power and responsibilities are delegated. Organizational structures can go from big future projected plans all the way down to everyday goals and it is so vital and keeping an organization going.

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Go Team Dogs GIF by chuber channel - Find & Share on GIPHY

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This article talks about decision making. Decision making is such a vital process within an organization. The artifact that I found was a news article from Forbes entitled “it's never just a business decision”. This article goes into detail on how with every decision that is made, companies that care consider their values and the effect of the brand. It highlights putting value first and everything else will fall into place.

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Human beings are very good at two things-- rationalizing and compartmentalizing. When it comes to the decisions we make in an effort to meet the needs and growth goals of our businesses, these tendencies are especially prevalent. This often plays out to the detriment of the values we say we hold.

How many times, in the midst of making a big decision related to your company, have you ever first weighed how your options measured up to your personal values and the values that you've said your business stands for before considering the financial implications of those options? If the answer is you've never (or rarely) framed your decision-making that way, you're in good company. The fact is that most of us were never trained to approach decision-making from this perspective and we likely haven't seen others do it this way either.

The formal and informal business training most entrepreneurs received taught us to focus on how the strategic options we are considering help or hinder us in our efforts to grow our companies. We were taught to focus on "relevant" factors such as the extent to which an option could increase market share or enable us to tap into the resources we need to grow. The ethicality, morality or the extent to which any option could be in conflict with what we believe isn't usually seen as one of those "relevant" deciding factors.

Without an intentional focus on our values, it isn't as easy as one might think to recognize when we may be about to step onto a decision-making pathway that's going to cause us to diverge from our values. The recent tragic Boeing plane crashes are illustrative of this point.

In the span of five months, two of the same new model Boeing airplanes crashed under what appeared to be similar circumstances. Immediately after the second crash, governments around the world began grounding Boeing's Max 8 Airliners. Boeing objected to this and issued statements that insisted that this model was safe and that they stood behind the safety of their aircraft. Their CEO went on news programs and talked about the importance of data-driven decision-making and how the data didn't support grounding their planes.

Data-driven decision-making is indeed one of the hallmarks of a successful, well-run company. Basing important decisions on what the data says is a sound business strategy. A good entrepreneur knows this. However, Boeing compartmentalized the decision as to whether to ground their planes and focused narrowly on only one principle-data-driven decision-making-to the detriment of their stated values.

Among the corporate values stated on Boeing's website is this one:

Safety--We value human life and well-being above all else and take action accordingly. We believe all incidents, injuries and workplace illnesses are preventable. We are personally accountable for our own safety and collectively responsible for each other's safety. By committing to safety first, we advance our goals for quality, cost, and schedule.

Resisting calls to ground the Max 8 while the cause of the second crash was being investigated is not reflective of valuing human life and well-being above all else and taking action accordingly. It's reflective of valuing what the data says above all else, even when you don't yet have all of the data.

We now know that the same system that caused the first crash was responsible for the second crash. And while that was being sorted out, Boeing continued to insist that its Max 8s should be in the air, placing the safety of both passengers and crews at risk. It remains to be seen how Boeing will now recover from the tremendous breach of trust this situation has caused.

In your business, you probably won't deal with life and death decisions in the way that a company like Boeing does, but you will deal with decisions that can result in you taking action that is in direct conflict with your values.
Putting Values First
Building a business that kept her values front and center was important to Savannah Britt, founder of BrittPrint, a communications agency that specializes in PR, marketing and content creation across the fashion, entertainment and lifestyle spaces.

"A lot of people could get lost in this-especially with the way social media is changing," she says of her work which includes handling digital marketing for the launch of musical artists' albums, curating intimate fan experiences and connecting musical talent to the fashion world. "A lot of people want to seek this instantaneous fame or gain."

As she has worked to grow her business and her influence in the industry, Savannah says she has had to make tough calls about whom to work with in order to stay aligned with her values.

"Last year, I was asked to host an album release party in LA for a rapper, and that particular rapper had a domestic violence incident that was all over the media and all over social media.He was a big artist so I really did consider the opportunity. But, at the end of the day, I decided I couldn't do it because it just doesn't represent who I am. Even if it was going to garner me new followers or if it was good to have my name attached to him, it just wasn't for me."

Savannah keeps it simple when it comes to the way in which she keeps her values front-and-center. "Often times, with my decision-making, it's as simple as, 'what would my parents think?'.

"My parents are so proud of what I do. They both work in education and they both instilled positive values into me."

"It's all about thinking in the long term rather than the short term. Often times when we think about the short-term perks, those are just immediate highs. I'm in it for the long run. I'm in it for the long haul. The business brand that I am building is going to be long-lasting. I would never want to make a decision where I look back ten years from now and I see that I made a decision in the short term that wasn't reflective of who I really want to be and where I see myself in the long run."
Developing Your Approach
Putting your values first in your decision-making process doesn't require a big production. In fact, it works best if you keep it simple by developing a heuristic or mental shortcut like Savannah's question 'what would my parents think?'.

The key is that you are consistent in the application of your heuristic, honest with yourself as you weigh your options and committed to choosing the option that best aligns with your values.

... Read More

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Your values should never be separate from or secondary to the process by which you make business decisions. The failed manner in which Boeing handled its recent crises is illustrative of what happens when we compartmentalize business strategy and our values. Entrepreneurs need to find a better way.

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In this GIF Sylvester is pictured writing down his plans, which is an important aspect of the business world. In module 4 we discussed why planning was so important. Planning provides a clear path for organizations to reach their goals. We also did the first assignment for Sun City boards regarding planning and how they create a plan to boost their business.

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Cat Working GIF by Looney Tunes - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Discover & share this Looney Tunes GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

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This article explains why China is the best fit for Apples’ production. China is very flexible and has a fast turnaround time to Apple's schedule. China also has an abundant supply of Labor force which allows them even greater workload. The people in China are willing to accept demanding jobs like working overnight in a factory and the workers have great technical skills.

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If you take a look at the back of your iPhone, iPad, or any Apple product you have, you'll see 'Assembled in China '. Many people wonder why Apple has chosen to outsource all of its production overseas, specifically to China. Many believe Apple are just out to make tons of money and that's the sole reason for the relocation...but it's not the truth.

Why? Why can't Apple's gadgets be assembled in the United States? Or in general terms, why can't international consumer electronics and computer businesses do their manufacturing work internally, helping create local jobs and boost its existing economy?

China can support Apple's high demands

After tons of research, The New York Times published a very informative report which covered interviews with both former and current executives at Apple. The reason behind the relocation itself is quite simple - iPhones aren't manufactured in America because they simply can't be. Put simply there's not enough manpower to support the manufacturing of Apple's products.

The factory in China where Apple products, specifically iPhones, undergo final assembly has approximately 230,000 workers. In the US, there are only 83 cities that have the same population as this factory's number of employees. Meaning the number of possible workers in the US is not enough to cover Apple's needs.

In China, an estimated quarter of their workforce lives in company-owned dormitories. These barracks are located on factory property. Many people are living and working at the factory. Such jobs are in high demand in China, and they can hire many people overnight. These examples prove that the measure, speed, and efficiency of Chinese manufacturing surpass anything the US is presently capable of.

Assembling locally would affect consumers most

In addition to the manpower China offers, most of the raw materials used to make Apple products are also manufactured overseas. A lot of them are within a short distance of the final assembly plant. Shipping those components to any US-based factories would mean higher costs and potentially even experience manufacturing delays.

In terms of traditional outsourcing and manufacturing, it also costs more money to manufacture in America. This is because workers need to be paid more. There are also expenses on worker benefits, insurance and higher taxes. Since companies want to generate revenue, added costs are inevitably transferred on to the consumer in increased prices for goods. In simpler terms, this would mean that American-manufactured Apple products would cost more.

China is the best fit for Apple

Apple's decision to outsource its manufacturing to China is really about who can build the most number of Apple products within the shortest amount of time. This also meant that China is able to remain flexible and immediately adaptable to the needs of Apple. In a report, an Apple executive also stated that the US no longer has the people with the skills that they need.

One particular example would be the release of the iPhone. There is a huge demand for it, and Apple knew it needed to be finished as fast as possible. Apple was aware that it wasn't attainable in US manufacturing, and that it would result in delays. With this, they sought out the service of Chinese factories, and they were able to quickly finish the tasks.

This is because in China, manufacturers can ask a large number of engineers to work on the required manufacturing overnight. As they have an abundant supply of labor force, this allows them to finish a large capacity of workload quickly. The US simply cannot employ 250,000 workers overnight. This makes China a flexible and capable supplier.

Yes, Apple is reaping the financial rewards. But this is because China has an abundance of hard-working people with the right skills. They are willing to accept demanding jobs, such jobs are standard to millions of Chinese, including workers who have technical skills.

PS: If you're interested in learning more about what China is doing to improve it's manufacturing industry, check out my recent post ' Why We No Longer Fear 'Made in China" here.

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Why Does Apple Manufacture in China? | Sourci

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If you take a look at the back of your iPhone, iPad, or any Apple product you have, you'll see 'Assembled in China '. Many people wonder why Apple has chosen to outsource all of its production overseas, specifically to China.

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In this video a man is describing how the company changes to the environment that it is in. KFC is an American fast food restaurant, but in the Caribbean, they season the chicken differently. I have personally tasted KFC in Trinidad, and America could never. I also the man staring in the back ground, love the authenticity.

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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: KFC -  promoting the best KFC I'm the world

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This article discuss is the importance of social responsibility and how it can be achieved whether it's through a business or an individual person. In module 2 we talked about how corporate social responsibility affects a business is reputation and brand. Brand value has arguably moved on from something tangible to more of an emotion.

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I really love this GIF, it says that diversity is our power. Pictures different people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders working together trying to accomplish a goal. An I think that's awesome! In module two we discussed the importance of diversity and how it's an issue that should be addressed in business.

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I find it very comforting to know I have a lot of resources to be successful in this class. I am fully indulged in school and work at the moment. I have high ambitions that might make me rich one day. I have a dense sense of where I what to go in life. My personality is swirled with positivity, optimism, and realism. I am a very Sweet person.  I possess great time management skills. My experience growing up as a child was powdered with love and laughter. My parents are from the airy island of Trinidad and Tobago.  With that being said my skin is chocolatey brown and its something that I love about myself. Another random fact about my skin is that it is velvety and soft, it almost feels like it been glazed over with oil. Unlike most people I don’t mind Florida’s weather. I actually like the moist heat, its good for my hair.

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Management in Organizations: Top, Middle & Low Level Managers

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Chilling Out Token Black GIF by South Park - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Discover & share this South Park GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.