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I am really interested in the financial aspect of business and would like to develop that further. The process of using ratio analysis to see where a business stands based on more than just gross cash earner is fascinating. I enjoyed how this video showed a brief synopsis but also made it really easy to follow. My favorite part of this class was chapter 18 and learning about these and other calculations like the different types break-even analysis.

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🔴  3 Minutes! Financial Ratios & Financial Ratio Analysis Explained & Financial Statement Analysis

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This article is a really good look at what happens when you implement the wrong business strategies. From Blockbuster to Holland Sweetner, all of these business made key errors in strategy which cost the greatly. In my life, I worked at a popular bar that had to change locations suddenly so the owner purchased a building on a busy road, but when the business opened, the city just started a 2 year road widening project. This left the parking lot almost unable to be found and in turn destroyed the business and we had to close within a year. If the owner had a better strategy, the business might still be open today.

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Sun Tzu reminded us of the importance of analyzing your enemy, understanding your competitor. This is crucial in business strategy, as well as in the military. Strong businesses put themselves in the shoes of their rivals, and they try to anticipate how those competitors will react. And they use that information to help them plot a more effective strategy.

Failed Business Strategy - Netflix vs. Blockbuster

Let's think about this in the context of Netflix and Blockbuster. Netflix entered the market 1999, confronting the incumbent, Blockbuster. Now, Blockbuster had a choice. How hard do we fight this new player, or do we accommodate? How did that play out in the movie-rental business? Well one important factor, one important decision, that the incumbent, Blockbuster, confronted early on was, do we cut our late fees?

Recall that Netflix came in the market with a different pricing model. They weren't charging per movie; they were charging a monthly subscription. You paid a certain fixed amount per month and rented as many movies as you wanted. Within that, you didn't have to return each movie in a prescribed period of time. You could keep the movie for more days than Blockbuster typically allowed their customer to keep the movie. But of course, you couldn't rent new movies unless you eventually returned the movies you had. So there's some limit there, that Netflix imposed. But there were not traditional late fees.

Now, Blockbuster had to decide. Do we cut late fees, which we know some customers really dislike, to compete with this upstart Netflix. And Netflix is thinking, what do we anticipate about what Blockbuster will do? Will they come after us hard?

It's interesting to look at the economic motives of Blockbuster, and I'm sure Netflix did, based on my conversations with people in the industry. Blockbuster was generating at least $300 million per year in late fees in the early 2000s. In some years, that was more than the total operating profit of the entire company. They were dependent on late-fee revenue for their profitability.

What about Netflix? Who were they in the beginning? Well, in those first few years, they only had a few hundred thousand subscribers. Blockbuster had millions of customers. So do the math. If you're Blockbuster, and you cut late fees, you destroy the entire profitability of the firm. But what do you gain? You save a tiny slice of market share. So what do you do? Blockbuster chose to accommodate. They said, we'll keep late fees in place. We'll cede a few 100,000 customers to Netflix. But in our interest, we're looking and saying, preserve our profitability today, rather than try to save a bit of market share and sacrifice so much of our profitability.

Of course, you might say that was very shortsighted. What about the long run? What, if Netflix starts to grow and grow rapidly? Blockbuster's estimation, their projection, was that Netflix would not grow that rapidly, that it was a niche player, catering to a certain subset of customers, but it would never go mainstream. So with that expectation, they weren't willing to eliminate late fees to save this tiny slice of the market.

They were wrong, of course. Eventually, they had to cut late fees, but it took them years to come to that decision. And they only did it when the financials began to turn, when the number of customers that Netflix had built up and accumulated became so large that now, the accommodation strategy was costing Blockbuster a great deal of money as well. And now, they finally cut late fees.

Avoid a Failing Strategy with Competition - Clorox vs. Procter & Gamble

But there's a few other principles here that we can learn about competitors and how they respond to one another. For the incumbent, one key is, what signal am I sending to other potential entrants by my behavior today? So, not, what is the short-term impact on my profit, but what is the long-term impact on the competitive dynamic? If I play nice, or if I fight? Perhaps if I fight aggressively, I will deter other entrepreneurs from coming into my segment.

If you think about what you're trying to do as an incumbent player in these markets, what you'd love to do is be able to take action up front to deter entry before the player even comes in. Could you fight a little preemptively, and therefore, avoid the situation of having to take a huge hit to profits later on to fight them in reality? Could you engage in preemptive action?

Several years ago, Clorox and Procter & Gamble were in an interesting competitive situation. Procter & Gamble, maker of laundry detergents, like Tide, was thinking about entering the bleach category. This was one area in the laundry detergent aisle that they did not compete in. Clorox was the dominant player. Most Americans use the word Clorox and bleach interchangeably; the brand was the product.

Now, Procter & Gamble was planning on test marketing this product in Portland, Maine, their new bleach. Why Portland Maine? It was far from Clorox's headquarters in California. It was a small market, and they were all set with a couponing and sampling strategy for introducing their product and testing it out.

Clorox caught wind of this, and they said to themselves, how might we deter entry by P&G? They launched a preemptive attack. They delivered a gallon of bleach to every household in Portland, Maine.

What did Procter & Gamble do? They said to themselves, well, our whole sampling and couponing strategy won't do much good now that everyone has an extra bottle of bleach already on hand. Moreover, we just learned that Clorox is going to fight to the death in this market. This won't be an easy battle. They never entered the market; they decided to forsake the bleach category. A preemptive strike that deterred entry, a very effective business strategy.

Assessing the competitors' response, as a potential entrant, you're thinking about a range of factors that might suggest aggressive moves coming from the incumbent that could be harmful to you as an entrepreneur. Is this a slow-growth market? Is this a situation where the incumbent is starving for new customers, where there is no growth, and therefore, they might fight to preserve the customers they already have.

Economy of Scale and Failing Business Strategy

In the 1980s, NutraSweet was the dominant player in the aspartame, or artificial sweetener, market. And their biggest customers were Coke and Pepsi. In fact, Coke and Pepsi accounted for almost half of their sales worldwide. Their patents were about to expire, and new businesses were looking at entering the market. Holland Sweetener was one of those firms thinking about coming in to compete with NutraSweet.

Would NutraSweet retaliate aggressively? How might they respond? Well, Holland Sweetener made a single, big mistake in their efforts to enter this market, and that was, they didn't fully understand how powerful the cost advantage that the incumbent player had on them.

It turns out, in the aspartame market, there were huge economies of scale and a substantial learning curve. NutraSweet had a huge cost advantage over this new player, Holland Sweetener. The learning curve was so powerful that the cost of producing aspartame had been falling significantly for years, as NutraSweet gained more and more experience producing this good.

And as for huge economies of scale - you only needed a few factories to produce enough aspartame to serve the entire worldwide market. What dis this mean for Holland Sweetener? It meant the incumbent could fight, and fight aggressively, because they could bring price way down and still make money due to their cost advantage. Plus, Holland Sweetener had no other way of differentiating their product. It was the same, basic product. With no cost advantage and no differentiation, they were toast.

Moreover, they made one other mistake. They didn't apply a little game theory to understand NutraSweet's behavior with respect to Coke and Pepsi. Holland Sweetener was counting on Coke and Pepsi to shift some of their volume over. They figured Coke and Pepsi don't want to be so dependent on NutraSweet. They'll want to shift some of their volume, especially if we offer them an attractive price.

But Coke and Pepsi were caught in a prisoner's dilemma, explained by NYU Professor Adam Brandenburger. He said Coke and Pepsi were caught in a situation, where, it would have been in their interest to switch some volume and get a better price from Holland Sweetener, but neither wanted to move first. Each looked and said, if we move, will our opponent attack us? Will Pepsi say to Coke, you're changing an ingredient, and it's changing the taste of your soda. Maybe that's not true, but would they try to argue that to the customer. And so, NutraSweet was able to retain those customers. Neither wanted to switch, and Holland Sweetener never made money in the artificial sweetener market.

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Failed Business Strategy - 3 Examples of Business Strategies That Didn't Work

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Let's think about this in the context of Netflix and Blockbuster. Netflix entered the market 1999, confronting the incumbent, Blockbuster. Now, Blockbuster had a choice. How hard do we fight this new player, or do we accommodate? How did that play out in the movie-rental business?

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Improving productivity will always be an ongoing process. My job is a completely production based job so being at the optimum level of productivity is key. This video showed a lot of good ideas on how to be productive like setting to do lists and learning on your own but there were a few things I didn't completely agree with. Our job is based around multitasking so we are required to do that to perform at the highest capacity and this video stated to stop doing that. I couldn't imagine being able to do my job without the use of multitasking.

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This article shows how important transforming data into information is. All jobs are surround by loads of data in which you don't always know what to do with it. A lot of my job is looking at data from processes and procedures and using it to come up with better ways to do everyday tasks. This article shows to only collect useful data and then use analytical tools, like excel, to convert that data into information which you can use to make decisions.

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The report, list, or printout usually doesn't do it. And dashboards such as the typical stoplight with red, orange, and green indicators for the speed dial will only give you a point in time. The real value of data is comparisons and trends. Compare the results from one call center agent to the average or to another call center agent. Look at the trends in sales or expenses over time, or some other factor. Assess your response or delivery times against geography, product, personnel, seasons, or other factors. And certainly compare both within your organization and outside using benchmarking approaches.
5. Make Decisions with the Information
Once you have collected and analyzed your data and turned it into information, you should assess what matters to your decision. If there is any question about the accuracy or completeness of your data, or you are using historical information to do projections, do a variance analysis - if it was 25 percent higher, would you make the same decision? What is the likelihood the result would be in that range? How big a risk will it be?

What parts of the information are important to the decisions you want to make? How will they impact the success or failure of your initiative? How much weight do they have compared to other factors?

For instance, when looking at costs and how you may implement processes, approvals, or other methods to reduce them, will you be causing costs to increase elsewhere? What is the real likelihood that you will be able to make the reductions you project?
6. Solidify Your Business Case
If you are developing a business case using information, you stand a much better chance of getting it approved with solid information that tells the story and supports your argument.

When putting this information into your business case, include some methodology and provide a level of confidence about the information you've collected. Consider questions that may be raised about your information, particularly if it points to changes others may not like, and answer them up front. This may include the reliability of the information, whether it is a trend or an anomaly, and what impact an increase or decrease might have on the decision.

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6 Ways to Transform Data into Information That Drives Decision Making | Page 2 of 2 | AllBusiness.com

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The report, list, or printout usually doesn't do it. And dashboards such as the typical stoplight with red, orange, and green indicators for the speed dial will only give you a point in time. The real value of data is comparisons and trends.

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I liked this article because it builds upon the tips in chapter 17 and gives a few other ways to increase your power as a leader. It adds a more personal touch of what a singular person can do to increase their power like requiring more of yourself and harnessing your influence over others positively.

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All power has a source. If you are a person of faith like I am, you believe a power exists that is greater than you and me. Since there are various forms of power, in the context of leadership in business, I define power simply as the ability to make things happen. Each of us has been given a measure of that power, but most may not realize that this measure can be intentionally increased. Power is not finite -- it can grow, but that growth is not automatic. If you want to learn some practical actions you can take to increase your power, keep reading.

This measure of power that you have in its raw form is called potential, also known as capacity. Potential is what houses your power. Allow me to put on an English teacher's hat for a moment. The etymology of the word "potential" reveals to us that the word comes from the Latin word "potentia," which means "power." As such, power increases as your ability increases. Here are some ways that you can increase your power as a leader:
1. Become an expert by increasing your knowledge.
Knowledge, accompanied by skill, is what helps you solve problems for others, which puts you in an influential position. Knowledge is an investment in yourself that causes you to increase your capacity to make things happen. It is also what allows you to become an expert and an authority in your industry. Experts have authority. Authority gives you influence. Influence gives you power.
2. Maximize your current level of power.
Have you achieved all that you can achieve at your current level? If not, keep being faithful by practicing excellence in your work or your business until you have achieved mastery before moving on to the next challenge. You'll know when your capacity to handle more power has maxed out when you reach a plateau or what you do no longer challenges you. A potted plant needs a bigger pot when it has outgrown its current one. Similarly, your capacity for power will be pushed to its limit at a certain level when you begin to feel stifled in your growth. You don't need an increase of something that you are not currently fully utilizing.
3. Require more of yourself.
Stagnancy sets in when you don't demand more of yourself. You can only increase your power by making room for it. Requiring more of yourself ensures that you'll expand your capacity to receive the power you need for your next level. Consistently pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone also stretches your capacity to do more. What you once were unable to do, an increase of power enables you to do it.
4. Harness your influence over others positively.
Powerful leaders have the influence to impact, guide, encourage and sway others. How effective you are in doing these things will affect your measure of power. Misusing your power is a great indicator that you are not ready for more of it.
5. Exercise your power.
Remember earlier, when I said that power is the ability to make things happen? Well, you must be intentional in order to make things happen. Powerless people sit around and wait for things to happen; powerful people make things happen. Power only shows up when you make a demand on it. Whatever measure of power you currently have, use it. When that measure is exhausted, more will become available.

Power is necessary -- without it, no one would ever get anything done in this world. The more you have, the more you can accomplish for the greater good of those you lead. With power comes responsibility, so as it increases, your character should also. What would you do with more power if you had it? Power for self-fulfillment is great, but power for the betterment of those you lead is even greater.

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Five Ways To Increase Your Power As A Leader

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All power has a source. If you are a person of faith like I am, you believe a power exists that is greater than you and me. Since there are various forms of power, in the context of leadership in business, I define power simply as the ability to make things happen.

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The job I have now is my first leadership position so it is a whole new world for me. I have to change my entire mindset as I am no longer just an employee, I am a leader. Modifying my learned behavior to grow as a leader has been really difficult. This video took a really good approach to behavior modification by just basically taking it one step at a time. Behavior change doesn't happen at once, but after concentrating on small things, it will happen.

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The Battle of Changing Your Behavior | Eric Zimmer | TEDxColumbus

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I really enjoy the psychological side of business management and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is one that I feel will always hold true. Human's change but human nature does not. This theory states that there are basic needs that every human possesses. This article dove a little deeper than the book and gave additional examples for the modern era. I strive to provide these basic's to my employees and try to teach others these methods as well.

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As a partner in two businesses, I am forever examining what creates contentment for our team, especially since media is ceaselessly demanding, given the dynamism of the marketplace. One way I endeavor to foster employee satisfaction is to consider individual growth within the context of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

The pyramid, based upon a paper written in 1943, lays out humankind's most fundamental needs. It begins with our most basic necessities and then suggests additional tiers of needs that act as a kind of stairway that leads to self-actualization, whereby one achieves their highest purpose. By considering employee happiness within the context of this model, managers can help foster meaningful employee growth. Here is a suggested approach.
1. Physiological: Food, Water, Warmth, Rest
Maslow's Hierarchy's lowest rung involves those things necessary for basic survival. But what are those mandates in the context of a workplace? Beyond an offer of employment, they include an organizational chart, job description, rules of engagement and expectations.

That may sound basic to the point of being silly, but I've observed many entrepreneurs who avoid these fundamentals because they fear structure will squelch innovation. They create loose organizational charts based upon the strengths and weaknesses of the cast of characters they happen to have assembled, as opposed to what will help the business flourish. This can work -- there are many bootstrapped organizations that achieve growth without guard rails -- but eventually, they peak or collapse altogether. Why? Because rather than identifying a goal line, it is management akin to a rugby scrum, where staff chases after objectives that bounce around the field of play willy-nilly. The result: confused and exhausted employees who ultimately burn out.
2. Safety Needs: Security, Safety
Nobody in the workplace has to worry about being eaten by a lion. Or do they? If you've ever had a screamer boss who used public humiliation to motivate desired behavior -- then you might think twice about being someone's lunch. While command-and-control management has largely given way to a participative style where employees enjoy a share of voice, successful businesses are not run democratically.

How does a manager balance the need for accountability but still allow employees to operate within a safe haven? I once had a perpetually grouchy boss. One day I asked him when should I come to you with a problem. He explained that I shouldn't come to him with a problem without having at least two solutions. What I realize now, as a manager, is this simple guideline decentralizes making decisions and creates a more efficient organization. When an employee makes a mistake, it should be used as an opportunity for company-wide learning, not abject scolding. By allowing successes and failures to be vetted with equal transparency, the organization is bound together by deeper trust and mutual respect.
3. Loving/Belonging: Intimate Relationships, Friends
There is a distinction between a job and a career. A job is somewhere you go to punch a clock -- a career forms part of your identity and you become a part of a tribe. Unlike many industries, the media industry in which my business operates in blurs the line between work and play; the professional and personal. That can be a byproduct of day-to-day trench warfare planning and buying media, or due to the fact that many in our shop are at similar stages of life.

Taking the time to enjoy off-site activities together and to celebrate who we are outside the workplace helps us appreciate how multifaceted we are beyond the day-to-day grind. The path to feeling that you are a part of something greater than yourself lies in individual connections with peers. You become part of a team where there is more at stake than your own self-interest. Sensations of pride and loyalty naturally follow.
4. Esteem Needs: Prestige And Feelings Of Accomplishment
Annual reviews are great because they allow managers to benchmark and reward achievement. Nonetheless, once a year is not enough. Take the financial performance of an organization. Many C-suite executives think this information should be shared on a need-to-know basis. But if employees are involved in profit sharing or 401(k)-matching that is based upon organizational performance, wouldn't it be smarter to review those numbers monthly or quarterly?

This kind of transparency allows everyone to know where things stand and to feel a sense of ownership when goals are surpassed. Similarly, catching someone doing something right and recognizing them publicly -- whether that be in a company-wide newsletter or a team meeting, is akin to making a deposit in their emotional bank account. And guess what? It costs management nothing.
5. Self-actualization: Achieving One's Potential, Including Creative Activities
Have you ever been overwhelmed by the feeling of knowing what you were put on earth to do? I'm not an adherent of new ageism, but I can say unequivocally that there is no better feeling than to have that sense of purpose, knowing you are where you should be, doing what you should be doing. People talk about the "creative class" and most often think that means filmmakers or painters, writers or dancers. But I would submit there is creativity in everything, including number crunching, airtime buying and, yes, day-to-day management. Our job as supervisors is to identify what it is our individual team members do best and what gives them the greatest sense of satisfaction and then, if that corresponds with the needs of the organization, empower them to do that very thing in the most brilliant way possible given their talents.

What motivates people may depend upon what wrung of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs an employee is occupying at any given point. Each of us is on our own individual journey. By viewing the task of management through the lens of this paradigm is to recognize that we, as managers, have a chance to help foster fulfillment in others and accelerate their path to happiness. The result: a new definition of what it means to lead a profitable enterprise.

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Considering Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs To Create An Empowered Workplace

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As a partner in two businesses, I am forever examining what creates contentment for our team, especially since media is ceaselessly demanding, given the dynamism of the marketplace. One way I endeavor to foster employee satisfaction is to consider individual growth within the context of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

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This is one of my favorite motivational theories. It is basic, but it is true in so many situations. Most people work to get something out of it and we work harder because we think it will benefit us more. A good example used in the video was school, we are not going to study harder if we don't think it will change the outcome of our grade. So in it's most basic principle, we can apply this to many situations in life and in the work place.

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Expectancy Theory of Motivation | Episode 28

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Developed by Yale business professor Victor Vroom in 1964, Expectancy Theory attempts to explain why we decide to engage in certain behaviors when presented with limitless alternatives. In this video I'll explain the three variables to make-up Expectancy Theory and provide examples to reinforce the theory.

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The Path-Goal Theory of leadership is the closest to what we have at my company. Our job is completely goal based as we have to complete as many orders as our clients place. It is a monotonous job at times and our employees get stressed out when we are busy. As a team lead, my responsibility is to directly coach and support our processors to help them obtain their goals. We must exhibit all of these types of behavior to properly motivate and help our team succeed.

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The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership in Companies

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In the field of organizational studies, the path-goal theory considers the impact of a leader's behavior on workers' job satisfaction, motivation and effectiveness. Also referred to as the path-goal theory of leader effectiveness, in the 1990s, the theory underwent subsequent revision from its original 1971 ...

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This video truly demonstrates the difference between a leader and a manager. He states at the end 'you manage things, you lead people' and that is really going to stick with me. He went through the history of managers and why we are growing from that to strictly leaders. The speaker noted that we as people don't like to be managed and I think everyone can agree that's true. This video took an in depth look at why leaders are so important.

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Stop Managing, Start Leading | Hamza Khan | TEDxRyersonU

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Not only is this one of my favorite movies, but seeing it broken down in this way just makes it that much better. I have always considered this a great leadership movie, but I never thought of it in the 5 stages of team development. This is a really great motivational movie and now I know how to incorporate this into the business world!

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Remember The Titans - Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning

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Grapevines in a company are unavoidable, but steering them away from the negative side can greatly benefit the business. As a leader, I send memos and emails all day but we still also have an informal meeting with all our employees every Monday to go over any important business in person. It helps to ensure the information is being passed from direct supervisor to employee so that they can ask any questions directly or air any grievances in an open forum kind of grapevine.

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How word of mouth communication works in a company.

jokes with a colleague image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com

You can send a memo to employees via email, remind them to read it in a note posted on the lunchroom bulletin board and send a friendly end-of-the-day text message. But if you really want to ensure that your employees "get the memo," tap into the company grapevine. It's an inevitable part of business life, with the American Management Association estimating that fully 70 percent of all organizational communication emanates through the grapevine. Most employees deem it trustworthy too. Even if you wanted to, this is one vine you cannot shear, so do what other savvy small-business owners have done: Learn how to cultivate a climate in which it grows in a healthy manner - and reap the benefits.

Define the Grapevine in Business Communication

The emails, posted messages and other methods you employ to communicate with your employees represent your formal communication network. The informal communication network, on the other hand, doesn't rely on such formalities: "Grapevine communication is informal workplace dialogue in its purest form: It is characterized by conversations between employees and superiors that do not follow any prescribed structure or rule-based system," says Status.net.

The grapevine depends mostly on the spoken word - the "water cooler talk" that is most likely to take place near the coffee maker, in cubicles and in those not-so-secret corridors that invite small clusters of employees to meet largely undetected. But the grapevine can also be activated by gestures and body language, as anybody who has mastered the art of the dramatic eye-roll knows.

Appreciate the Importance of Grapevine Communication

You may have been part of, and even enjoyed, the grapevine in a previous business role. So it should be easy to understand that human beings share an innate desire to talk to one another and, when they're working with others, to fit in.

Even with the best of intentions, though, the grapevine can become a negative influence on a small business. Employees may share confidential or hurtful information. They may pass on unconfirmed or misleading tidbits. And they can spread rumors that can lead to perilous misunderstandings.

The climate for such disruptions might be intensified by any number of developments, including the hiring of new employees, a change in a policy or procedure, or a new product or service offering. People's desire to be "in the know" may supersede their better judgment and sense of discretion.

Against this backdrop, the sweetness of the "the grapevine" can sour and become known as the "rumor mill" or the "gossip train" - both negative terms that infer negative influences. So what is a small business owner to do? Recognize that the grapevine is here to stay and that: "Employees have a desire to know about happenings that could impact their workday in a way that is not filtered through the messaging of senior management," Status 5.net says.

This is not to say that employees, in general, do not trust their boss. The AMA uncovered some conflicting findings in its research on the role of grapevine communication in an organization. For example, when asked if employees would place "more credence in a speech from a company leader or in a message heard over the grapevine," 47 percent of respondents chose the grapevine. Yet, when asked if they would believe "a message delivered over the grapevine or what you hear directly from a direct supervisor," 74 percent of respondents chose their supervisor.

Consider the Benefits of Grapevine Communication

If these findings point to any reasonable conclusion, it's that a small-business owner should make every effort to create an open and trusting relationship with employees. In part, this means establishing an open-door policy in which the door opens both ways, meaning you should feel comfortable walking into your employee's offices unannounced too. It also means identifying "the influentials," or the people who feed the grapevine and keep it alive.

In an open and friendly environment, the grapevine can be an effective method of communication, especially when you want to:

Reinforce messages of encouragement. Fan the flames of team spirit. Prepare employees for a major announcement by sending a gentle but purposeful heads-up. Quash a rumor. Communicate a message to an employee who is resisting your efforts to communicate via your formal communication methods, such as a performance review. A message through the grapevine won't come in the form of a paper memo, but the grapevine should help ensure that he "gets the memo" from you.

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The Importance of the Grapevine in Internal Business Communications

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You can send a memo to employees via email, remind them to read it in a note posted on the lunchroom bulletin board and send a friendly end-of-the-day text message. But if you really want to ensure that your employees "get the memo," tap into the company grapevine.

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This is a short but informative video describing how important interpersonal skills are. It details the short tenure of an employee named Fred who is unable to demonstrate any of the interpersonal skills necessary to be a good employee. It was a great look at examples of why all of these skills are invaluable to businesses.

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I have always enjoyed taking personality tests, but it wasn't until recently that I was really able to appreciate them. In our management team, we take them every few months and analyze the answers to help promote self and professional growth. It is always interesting to see how a personality test can change how you view yourself and enact change. I am a very logic based personality and I have trouble with my emotional IQ. Learning these things in a personality test has shown me which areas I can focus on for improvement.

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There are two kinds of people in the world: people who think there are two kinds of people in the world and people who don't. Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers were the first kind, and the test they invented based on that belief, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, is the most popular personality test in the world. More than two million people take it every year. It is used in twenty-six countries to assess employees, students, soldiers, and potential marriage partners. It is used by Fortune 500 companies and universities, in self-improvement seminars and wellness retreats. There are more than two thousand personality tests on the market, many of them blatant knockoffs of the MBTI, but Myers-Briggs is No. 1. Merve Emre's " The Personality Brokers " (Doubleday) is the story of how the MBTI fell to earth.

It was a long descent. Briggs and Myers were a mother-and-daughter team. To call them "mildly eccentric" would be indulging in a gender stereotype, but it seems fair to say that they were a little O.C.D. They devoted their lives to their system, and they kept the faith for a very long time. If they had not, there would be no MBTI today.

The mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, was born in 1875. When she died, in 1968, the test she inspired was all but forgotten. The daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, was born in 1897. She codified her mother's method of categorizing personalities, copyrighted it (in 1943), and spent the rest of her life trying to find a permanent home for the product. She died in 1980, just as the test's popularity was taking off.

Since Katharine began studying personality differences when Isabel was four, this means that the two women persisted for almost eighty years before the MBTI became the commercial bonanza it is today. According to Emre, personality testing has become a two-billion-dollar industry. But Briggs and Myers were not in the personality game for the money. They truly believed that they had discovered a way to make work more efficient and human beings less unhappy.

Emre's book follows closely the account of the development of the MBTI given in Annie Murphy Paul's " The Cult of Personality Testing," published in 2004 (a work that Emre surprisingly does not acknowledge). Both books describe Briggs and Myers as intellectually driven women in an era when career opportunities for intellectually driven women were slim. Neither one had any training in psychology or in psychiatry-or, for that matter, in testing-and neither ever worked in a laboratory or an academic institution. A third woman, Mary McCaulley, who came upon the test in 1968, the year Katharine died, was a professor of psychology at the University of Florida. She teamed up with Isabel, and was indispensable in turning the MBTI into a professional operation. But, essentially, the MBTI was home-cooked.

It arose out of one of the most mundane domestic circumstances-the fact that the members of a family often differ in tiny but stubbornly irreducible ways. One spouse is a planner and the other is spur of the moment. One child has a million friends and another child is a loner. In the home, differences like these are magnified, because people are less self-conscious and because enforced intimacy generates friction. But at work, too, people have noticeably divergent ways of operating.

Sibling and spousal differences are the kind of thing that might attract the interest of a housewife deprived of other ways to exercise her brain, and that's what happened with Katharine Briggs. The key to the MBTI's success is her insight that you can waste a lot of energy and bring on a lot of psychic pain if you think of these differences as incompatibilities that have to be ironed out. The differences are innate, and each type of personality is as "normal" as the others. There is no better way to be-logical or emotional, spontaneous or organized, party bro or brooder. These are not imperfections to be corrected. They are hardwired dispositions to be recognized and accommodated.

In the workplace, this means assigning tasks to people based on their personality types, which is one of the things that the MBTI is supposed to help companies do. (Emre says that the office-furniture designer Herman Miller uses a modified version of the MBTI to create chairs and desks for different personalities.) In life, it means recognizing that we are naturally more likely to get along with some people than with others, and that when people aren't communicating it can simply be because they are broadcasting on different frequencies. We need to get used to it.

The MBTI folks therefore do not refer to their device-a ninety-three-item, a-or-b format questionnaire that subjects are not supposed to take a lot of time filling out-as a "test." The MBTI is not something you can pass or fail. The MBTI is an "indicator," and what it is meant to indicate is the type of personality you have been born with.

The theory behind the MBTI, actually, is not that there are two kinds of people in the world. It's that there are sixteen kinds of people in the world, but that each personality type reduces to a set of elements taken from four either/or binaries. Everyone is either extroverted or introverted, sensing (meaning relying on sense data) or intuitive, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving.

Your "score" on the test is the combination of the four characteristics indicated by your answers to the ninety-three questions, which ask such things as "In reading for pleasure, do you (a) Enjoy odd or original ways of saying things; or (b) Like writers to say exactly what they mean?" (It's unclear why these are mutually exclusive alternatives.) Using an initial for each characteristic, with N standing for intuition, you can be scored an ESTJ, an INFP, or one of the remaining fourteen four-letter combinations. Emre says that using this initial shorthand is called "speaking type."

The MBTI is different from other tests with high name recognition, like the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-first published in 1943, the year Myers copyrighted the MBTI-because the MMPI is used in the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, and the Myers-Briggs test is a human-resources technology, a nonjudgmental way of people-sorting. It is not designed to pick out the neurotics.

But the MBTI is also promoted as a means of self-discovery, and that is undoubtedly why it is so widely used today. The company that took ownership of the test in 1975 and now administers it, CPP, Inc., advertises learning your personality type as a potentially life-changing experience. Emre reports people telling her that they felt liberated after finding out their type, that it helped them cope with their work or with their marriage, that it empowered them to be themselves. (Emre participated in a training program for MBTI certification and does not report feeling liberated after taking the test, although that may be because she tried to sabotage her session by parodying back at her trainers the kind of language they were using. She was denied access to the Myers Briggs archives-not an ideal outcome for someone writing a book on the subject.)

Emre is an English professor at Oxford, and she began her research with an English professor's skepticism about quantitative social science and "technologies of the self." She brings in Bentham and Foucault to suggest the MBTI's connection to regimes of surveillance and control. She refers to Stanley Milgram (of the "obedience to authority" experiment) and Philip Zimbardo (of the Stanford prison experiment), to remind us that scientistic nomenclature can shape behavior in troubling ways. She refers to William Whyte's " The Organization Man," published in 1956, as a way of associating the MBTI with a postwar culture of conformity. (Like a lot of people, she mistakenly calls Whyte a sociologist. Whyte was a magazine writer; he worked at Fortune. He was no more a social scientist than Briggs and Myers were.)

She also associates the MBTI with mid-century schemes to organize and manipulate people by reducing them to numbers. The Scholastic Aptitude Test, first widely administered by the Educational Testing Service, is a classic example. The SAT-1 is essentially an I.Q. test: it translates individual mental ability into a pair of numbers that can have life-defining consequences. In fact, in the late nineteen-fifties and early nineteen-sixties, Myers worked closely with the E.T.S., whose director, Henry Chauncey, a people-sorting fanatic, wanted to get the company into what he called "non-cognitive" areas of assessment.

All this is the wrong context for the MBTI, though. The idea that human beings can be sorted into psychological types is ancient, of course. In the Hippocratic tradition, people could be categorized as innately sanguine, choleric, melancholic, or phlegmatic. (For melancholics, white wine was prescribed, to counteract the black bile.) In nineteenth-century Europe and America, phrenology was used to interpret character.

Systematic personality testing, though, is a twentieth-century thing. Annie Murphy Paul considers the Rorschach test, which was created in 1921, the first such device. In the case of the MBTI, three of the four binaries that the test uses were derived from Carl Jung's book " Psychological Types," also published in 1921. (Briggs had developed her own categories, but after reading Jung's book she swapped out her terms for his. She also seems to have developed a long-distance crush and become a kind of Jung groupie.) The E.T.S. opened in 1947. By then, there were hundreds of personality tests on the market and hundreds of psychology consulting firms in business to administer them. According to Whyte, by 1952 a third of American companies were using personality tests.

But most of them were not using the MBTI. And that is because-as the E.T.S. finally concluded after pouring a lot of money into it-the MBTI is not a scientific instrument. Paul lists some of the criticisms of it made by the testing experts. More than half the people who take it a second time get a different score. Even the test-makers thought that it didn't work for everyone. (As Myers put it: "The type differences show principally in the more intelligent and highly developed half of the population.") And, in the aggregate, the results are insufficiently bimodal-that is, most test-takers fall between the binaries, neither extroverted nor introverted (as, after all, one would expect).

Most significant, the test is entirely self-reported. If you say you are extroverted, that is what the indicator believes. The system leaves no room for one of the most basic human capacities, the capacity for self-deception. Even the parlor game in which people characterize their friends as horses, birds, or muffins allows for false consciousness-for birds who think they are horses, or muffins who think they are birds (as most muffins do).

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There are two kinds of people in the world: people who think there are two kinds of people in the world and people who don't. Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers were the first kind, and the test they invented based on that belief, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, is the most popular personality test in the world.

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In chapter 10, there was a section regarding management inventory cards and position replacement forms. This is an example of a hybrid one I actually started using at my current job and we now use for all current and new employees. It has helped us become organized and facilitate cross training. This tool is instrumental in my every day life now.

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There were a few myths on here that I thought were true before this class. I thought if culture was bad, it would take years to fix or to pin point the one thing that could change it all. This class has shown me that it's more than one thing and it can be changed quickly if the right people are motivated to make it happen. HR is not the only department that can fix these things either, everyone needs to do their part to create the ultimate culture in the workplace.

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The rising awareness of the importance of organizational culture has given way to a host of new pundits and opinions on the topic.

Many thought leaders today are talking about company culture as if it's akin to capturing a unicorn. It carries a romantic and mythological appeal that makes it an irresistible topic of conversation, but they still haven't fully figured out how to effectively shape it to drive the right behaviors in their organizations.

Unfortunately, a lack of rigor in process as well as a lack of real-world experience makes it challenging at best for them to really help businesses understand and harness the power of their cultures. And as a result, when it comes to measuring bottom-line performance metrics like profitability, sales growth and market share as they relate to culture, they have yet to connect the dots between fact and fiction.

With that in mind, here are 5 common myths about organizational culture, debunked:

Myth #1: "We can't manage what we can't measure."

The term "culture" is in and of itself pretty tough for people to wrap their heads around in a consistent and meaningful way. Culture can cover any number of aspects of organizational functioning. It evolves constantly based on what seems to be working in the current business context and it subconsciously influences people to behave in certain ways. Often, employees are not even aware of how it's affecting their everyday work.

How can we hope to manage something we find difficult to even define?

There are a lot of aspects of culture that are all playing a role in shaping employees thoughts and behaviors in the day-to-day, but only some of those have been studied rigorously and have been found to be directly linked to performance.

If you're working to understand your current culture and how it may be impacting the performance of your business, start with the aspects of culture that are linked to empirical research; not just someone else's opinion.
Myth #2: "Culture takes years to change."
This is not wholly untrue. It does take a long time for collective norms and ways of working to develop and, through success, become more entrenched in the collective mindset as the right way to do things. The longer that "way of doing things" reigns supreme (and the longer that way meets with successful results) the harder it is to change it.

That said, culture can change quickly. It usually takes a "gut punch" to the organization that clearly shows everyone that the old ways of doing things that had yielded success for many years are no longer going to cut it in today's business environment.
Myth #3: "Culture is a silver bullet that will take away all of our problems."
Business today is extremely dynamic, involving more and more stakeholders who demand greater amounts of input and control than ever before. Trying to find a silver bullet solution to these kinds of complex issues is akin to spotting a unicorn ordering a double macchiato at your local .

Culture is inherently a multi-faceted concept and, thus, there is no single solution that's going to align everyone in your organization to reach your goals. Typically, true culture transformation requires a multi-pronged approach to achieve the results you require. For example, clarifying and aligning stakeholders about the strategy, providing tools and skills so people can do what you are asking of them and adapting systems and processes to improve work flow might all be potential intervention efforts to get things moving in the right direction.
Myth #4: "It's HR's job to worry about stuff like this."
While HR can, and often does, play a critical role in the culture assessment and evolution process in many organizations, one fatal pitfall is when executives extend that role to include ownership of the entire process.

Culture is a collective concept and, as such, should be owned by the collective. Everyone in your organization needs to be involved in both understanding what aspects of the culture will help drive success and which may need to change in order to keep the organization relevant in changing business environments. This is everyone's job. Leaders cannot simply delegate responsibility for leading these types of changes.
Myth #5: "We can do this internally."
In other words, you and your team were involved in creating the culture, so it's up to you to fix it. Yes and no.

In many instances, organizations find it difficult to assess and evolve their own culture because so much of it resides in the collective subconscious and is taken for granted in the day-to-day. Because of this, it is often much more beneficial to engage with a team of external experts who can examine your organization with fresh and unbiased eyes.

This gives you the ability to dig much deeper into the beliefs and assumptions that are driving behavior than you could ever hope to get to on your own. External experts also bring proven methodologies and structure to the process that helps to expedite your efforts.

Additionally, in many organizations people don't always feel comfortable opening up to internal colleagues in the same way they might with an external person. An objective third party can help facilitate a more honest assessment of current assumptions and behaviors.

So, while culture may not be the silver bullet you may have thought it was, or the unicorn that will magically solve your organization's performance problems, it is still too important for your organization to ignore.

And now that you know the truth, it's up to you, as a leader, to help your organization succeed. How will you take the first step to create a high performance culture in your organization?

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5 Myths About Organizational Culture Every CEO Should Know

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The rising awareness of the importance of organizational culture has given way to a host of new pundits and opinions on the topic. Many thought leaders today are talking about company culture as if it's akin to capturing a unicorn.

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This video was all about how important company culture is to a business. It highlighted speeches from top leaders from companies like Zappos, Southwest and WD-40. A really interesting part was the CEO of Zappos told his story about how he had a company prior that they sold to Microsoft because the company culture was so off. They had to start over and create a new company with the right culture to succeed. It shows how important the right organizational culture is to the success of a business.

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Key insights from great Corporate Culture leaders and thinkers.

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Authority is such a misused thing in almost any job. I found this article really helpful to understand the difference. It was also helpful to learn that the type of tasks that are delegated could also create the misuse of authority in the first place.

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One of the objectives of the management is to establish a sound organisational structure and to do this, effective authority and responsibility relationship should be created, i.e. Who is accountable to whom? Who are superior and subordinate? Who can give orders? Whenever authority is used, responsibility ensues. Authority is the legal right to give the command, order or instruction and compel the subordinates to do a certain act.

On the other hand, Responsibility is the outcome of authority. It entails the obligation of the subordinate, who has been assigned the duty by his superior.

Thus, these two are coextensive and commonly misconstrued by the people, however, they are different. This article attempts to describe the difference between authority and responsibility, take a read.

Content: Authority Vs Responsibility

Comparison Chart

Definition of Authority

We define 'authority' as the legal and formal right of the manager or supervisor or any of the top level executives, of the organisation to command subordinates, give them orders, instructions and directions, and access obedience. The manager is entitled to make decisions, concerning performance or non-performance of a task in a particular manner, so as to accomplish organisational objectives. It comprises of some permissions and the right to act for the organisation in a particular area.

Authority is derived by virtue of the position of an individual in the organisation, and the degree of authority is maximum at the top level and decreases consequently as we go down the corporate hierarchy. Therefore, it flows from top to bottom, giving authority to superior over the subordinate.

One cannot occupy a superior position in an organisation if he does not have any authority. It is the authority; that distinguishes one position from that of another and vests the power to the concerned individual, to order his subordinates and obtain necessary compliance.
Types of Authority

Official Authority: The authority which gives the manager, power to command his subordinates, by virtue of his designation in the organisation.

Personal Authority: It indicates the ability by which a person influences the behaviour of other persons in an organisation.

Definition of Responsibility

Responsibility is the obligation of an individual, whether a manager or any other employee of the organisation to carry out the task or duty assigned to him by the senior. The one who accepts the task are held responsible for their performance, i.e. when an employee takes the responsibility of an action, at the same time, he becomes responsible for its consequences too.

The obligation is the kernel of responsibility. It is originated from the superior-subordinate relationship, formed in an organisation. Hence, the manager can get the tasks done from his subordinates, by virtue of their relationship, as the subordinate is bound to perform the tasks assigned.

Key Differences Between Authority and Responsibility

The following points are noteworthy so far as the difference between authority and responsibility is concerned:

1. The power or right, inherent to a particular job or position, to give orders, enforce rules, make decisions and obtain conformity, is called authority. Duty or obligation to undertake and complete a task satisfactorily, assigned by the senior or established by one's own commitment or circumstances is called responsibility.

2. Authority refers to the legal right of the manager to give orders and expect obedience from subordinates. On the other hand, responsibility is the corollary, i.e. result of the authority.

3. The position of an individual in an organisation determines his/her authority, i.e. the higher the position of a person in the corporate ladder, the more is the authority and vice versa. As against this, the superior-subordinate relationship forms the basis for responsibility.

4. While authority is delegated, by the superior to subordinates, responsibility is assumed, i.e. it is inherent in the task assigned.

5. Authority needs the ability to give orders and instructions, whereas responsibility demands the ability of compliance or obedience, to follow orders.

6. Authority flows downward, i.e. the extent of authority is greatest at the top level and lowest at the low level. On the contrary, the responsibility exacts upward, i.e. from bottom to top, the subordinate will be responsible to superior.

7. The purpose of the authority is to take decisions and execute them. Conversely, responsibility aims at executing duties assigned by the superior.

8. Authority is inherent with the position, and so it continues for a long period. Unlike responsibility, which is attached to the task assigned and hence it is short-lived, it ends as soon as the task accomplishes successfully.

Conclusion

A point to remember in connection with authority and responsibility is that while assigning certain responsibility to an employee, the required amount of authority should also be conferred on him so that he/she can be able to perform it.

Hence, the delegation of authority can only be effective when it matches with the assigned responsibility, i.e. if the authority assigned to a person is greater than the responsibility, it ultimately results in the misuse of authority. Likewise, if the responsibility assigned is greater than the authority, then also the tasks will not be carried out properly due to the lack of necessary authority, thus making it ineffective. So, a balance should be maintained between the authority and responsibility.

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Difference Between Authority and Responsibility (with Comparison Chart) - Key Differences

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One of the objectives of the management is to establish a sound organisational structure and to do this, effective authority and responsibility relationship should be created, i.e. Who is accountable to whom? Who are superior and subordinate? Who can give orders? Whenever authority is used, responsibility ensues.

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I really enjoy the message this video portrays. I don't know anyone that can't relate exactly to this video, myself included. Delegating is one of the hardest parts of being a leader. I have a habit of being just like John and I try to do everything myself. This course has helped to teach me how to delegate and the benefits of it. I hope to never be in this situation ever again.

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I added this because it is just such a simple yet powerful message. It truly shows the difference when the authority of a leader is displayed appropriately. I believe that any good leader shouldn't ask anyone to do anything they aren't willing to do themselves. This is how I try to lead my team every day.

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This article shows 4 organizational strategies to implement in 2018. Employee growth I feel is the most important because those are the people who come in every day and do the work. A main part of business is growing within a company and it is difficult to do that without the proper training. We have a full 2 week training, along with monthly training's and weekly meetings to go over new policies. We didn't use to utilize this and we have a lot of turnover.

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We're well into 2018, but that doesn't mean that now isn't a good time to review your organizational strategies. If you haven't been reviewing your everyday operations for efficiency on a regular business, you could be leaving major money on the table. One market research firm found that companies lose 20-30% of their revenue every year simply due to inefficient business operations. That's a tragic waste that could be reduced by reviewing and revising your organizational strategies on a regular basis.
Also read: Leading Employees During Organizational Change
You should always be trying to improve and streamline your processes. Not only will it help encourage business growth, but it will also help your employees feel happy and secure at the office. Companies become more successful and efficient by simplifying their procedures and making positive changes in the workplace.

Wondering how you can improve the workplace? Here are four new organizational strategies that are gaining popularity in 2018. Read on to find out how these initiatives could help your company create more success.

Create Better Management

We all know that management has an impact on everything within a company, from productivity to turnover to strategy execution. Unfortunately, many companies need a management overhaul. That doesn't mean replacing the leadership team, but it does mean examining and improving areas that need work.

Some managers might need to be let go, especially if they subscribe to an authoritarian model of leadership and are unwilling to change, but others just need to develop their skills and gain more self-awareness. Negotiation is an important skill for any manager, but many people are uncomfortable negotiating and don't know how to discuss terms in a positive way. Managers who know how to look for win-win situations and view negotiation as a discussion rather than a battle will help improve morale and create more efficiency in the workplace.

Get Your Data Down

There's no getting around it: good data management practices are essential for running a successful and efficient business in 2018. Take the time to establish a simple and effective reporting process that lets you get a record your data and results. Simplify your steps, and tighten up your reporting process to ensure there are no mistakes.
Also read: HR's Future is Big Data
Making your numbers and reporting foolproof will help everyone work more confidently and prevent misunderstandings, both internally and when communicating with outside parties like investors.

Consider Cross-Functional Integration

What is cross-functional integration? It's a process that allows information to flow freely between departments of an organization, improving collaboration and transparency. Essentially, it's a modern hierarchy structure that discourages "silos" of information within a company. Cross-functional teams are agile and work toward a common goal using their individual skill sets to work on various projects as needed. This can help keep everyone informed and help every team member to use their skills where they're most needed.

Companies need to create a plan for implementing this type of structure properly. Cross-functional integration can be very effective for improving efficiency and transparency, but only if it's done well. Dysfunctional teams are common-in fact, one researcher found that almost 75% of cross-functional teams were not functioning properly. That's something every company needs to be aware of when implementing cross-functional integration so they can avoid the most common pitfalls.

Encourage Employee Growth

People are happiest and most productive when they're given opportunities to grow and engaging challenges to overcome. Employees who are not given these opportunities will become bored, their work may stagnate, and eventually, they may leave. When looking at the 100 best companies to work for, they offered almost double the amount of on-the-job training as companies that did not make the list.
Also read: In the World of Career Development, One-Size-Fits-All Is Dead
If you want to keep growing and maintain high levels of productivity, you need to keep people around. Offering benefits like tuition assistance, in-office trainings, lateral movement, and opportunities for growth are great ways to keep employees happy and reduce turnover.

Maintaining a Happy and Productive Workplace Takes...Work

These four organizational strategies can be very effective, but implementing them properly takes a lot of thought and work. Before you jump in and make changes, think about where your organization needs the most work and start there. It's better to make changes gradually and fully, rather than trying to do everything at once. Maintaining a happy and productive workplace by optimizing organizational strategy takes work, but it's all worth it in the end.

Image licensed from Depositphotos.com

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We're well into 2018, but that doesn't mean that now isn't a good time to review your organizational strategies. If you haven't been reviewing your everyday operations for efficiency on a regular business, you could be leaving major money on the table.

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I added this video because I was not very confident in my understanding of this model from the example in the book. The company I work for has 7 or 8 different companies under our parent company so this model would be very useful to us and I wanted to have a better understanding of it. This is a very instructive video that really breaks it down in a visual way.

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I really enjoy the idea of the Delphi technique for group decisions. It takes the standard survey one step further to ensure optimal success. Going over the anonymous answers with the group to develop additional questions seems really beneficial. We have many meetings in management that never come to a sturdy conclusion and I feel testing this method with definitely help.

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This was a really informative video about decision making. The part I resonated the most was the speakers 'monster choice dilemma'. Basically, he stated if we are faced with too many options, we become paralyzed and are unable to make a decision. He compares this to buying too many things at the store or deciding what to do with your life. I really relate to this as I am 30 going back to school because I honestly had to idea what I wanted to do for a living. The speaker said the way to combat this is to simplify. He said the magic number is seven and if you can narrow down the stimulus to seven, making a decision is possible.

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THE POWER OF DECISION-MAKING | BENEDIKT AHLFELD | TEDxGraz

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I am a team lead in charge of a production based team. We have many projects and deadlines going at once. A Gantt chart would be very helpful for me to delegate and work through these. I chose this video to get a better understand so that I can use one in my every day life.

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Project Management Software - Easy Projects

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What is a Gantt Chart in Project Management? — Episode 5

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This picture goes a little deeper than the section in the book titled 'Maintaining Ethics in International Management'. It shows 8 key factors in how to maintain an ethical business both domestically and overseas.

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This video very clearly details the steps to overcoming cultural differences to work together in any environment in any country. It goes through the steps recognition, respect and then reconciliation. He also shows great examples of how these can be implemented in real life. It ends with an inspirational quote 'success comes not from suppressing differences but from using those differences to gain new insights to solves problems'.

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In turn, this article describes how to run a successful transnational company. It describes the most basic observation, be willing to adapt and change depending on the needs of the consumers. It describes the success of the company Unilever and how when the market changed, so did they.

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Transnational companies have worked hard to achieve their global reach, and there are many lessons to be learned from their achievements. The most important lessons aren't magic formulas to follow, but are insights into how they grew.

No matter what business you're in, here are 2 important lessons from some of the world's top transnational companies that you can apply in your own business:
1. Continually respond to the market's demands
Responding to the market's demands seems like basic advice. However, it's advice often ignored when a company becomes attached to their product or service. Sometimes responding to the market's demands requires entering an entirely new sector, or modifying your existing approach.
How Unilever became a top transnational company
Founded in 1930 as a Dutch-British company, Unilever got its start by selling soap, processed foods, and other consumer goods throughout several countries. Today, the company is known for making popular products like Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove Soap.

Grossing $8 billion in 2016, Unilever remains one of the most successful producers of goods nationwide.

How did they do it? They didn't start out with a vision to become a transnational company; rather, they evolved into one by 'retaining what was useful and rejecting what no longer worked.'

In other words, they didn't just open up headquarters all over the world and expand. Their products, which came first, required proximity to local markets. They had no choice but to expand as their market required. They also weren't afraid to change gears when they saw the market moving in a new direction.

For example, during World War II, the entire food industry was driven by raw materials. Unilever's most important raw materials were tea and edible oils like the kind used in margarine. However, when the demand for raw materials dropped, they shifted their focus to preservation technology and distribution systems. This was a smart move.

Through this new focus, they figured out an efficient way to handle frozen products and became the world's largest ice cream company. Their technology also earned them strong market positions in other frozen foods.

There's nothing more effective than continually evolving to meet market demands. If Unilever had continued to position itself as a supplier of raw materials, they'd have missed the window of opportunity that brought them major success.
Changing to meet technological demands
Another great example of an international industry leader that expanded to meet market demand is Ria. Based out of New York City, Ria is the third largest money transfer service in the world. With over 100 companies in the sector, this company has been emulated by many other money transfer services.

The company was originally established in 1987 as a brick-and-mortar business to help migrants send money back home. Today, they've satisfied the market's demand for sending money online.

According to a case study published in the May 2016 Transnational Marketing Journal, 'As of December 31, 2015 Ria's global network spanned over 147 countries with services in more than 292,000 locations with growth that shows no signs of slowing.' Ria has even surpassed Western Union to become the market leader in the US-Mexico corridor.
2. Transnational leaders have power
The average person may not be able to influence the policies of advertising platforms like Facebook and Google, but transnational companies do.

Facebook and YouTube have been facing severe scrutiny for promoting fake news and offensive content. The content is user-generated, but advertisers are holding the social media companies accountable for allowing what they call a 'swamp' of fabricated news, racist, and sexist content.

Advertisers have a problem with the content because their ads are being displayed next to the offensive content. When consumers see ads alongside questionable content, they associate it with the advertiser. This happens despite the fact that companies don't have complete control over where their ads are displayed.

Unilever is just one of several corporations that threatened to pull their digital ads if the companies didn't do anything.

In the article linked above, Google said they support Unilever's position, "There is nothing we take more seriously than the trust and safety of our users, customers and partners, and we will continue to work to earn that trust every day."

While Google may value the trust and safety of users, what drives their operation is advertiser dollars. Unilever - one of the world's largest transnational companies - pulls a lot of weight in that department.
It's all about value
While there is no magic formula for achieving transnational success, one thing is clear: success occurs in direct proportion to the value of goods and services provided to consumers. With this comes the power (and responsibility) to impact social change.

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Two Important Lessons From Successful Transnational Companies | Articles | Chief Strategy Officer

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Transnational companies have worked hard to achieve their global reach, and there are many lessons to be learned from their achievements. The most important lessons aren't magic formulas to follow, but are insights into how they grew.

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While many large companies thrive overseas, some most certainly do not. It is not as easy as taking a popular American name and moving it to a different location in the world. The company will have to adapt to the culture and ways of their host country. A giant company here, like Best Buy, did not take the needs and wants of the foreign company and we unable to succeed in other locations like in America.

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It's a big world out there and many of America's biggest brands are eager to get their hands on a piece - or many pieces - of it. But what works on the average American consumer doesn't always translate well in other countries, and a combination of naïveté, arrogance, and lack of understanding the market have often led to some rather disappointing ventures in the far reaches of the world. Some have suffered defeats in a number of countries, while others couldn't make it work in very specific markets. Interestingly, many American behemoths struggled especially in China and other Asian markets, largely due to a lack of understanding of local demands and buying habits.

In most cases, an adherence to their Americanized approach to marketing and selling became their undoing. People in different countries were turned off by foods, products and strategies that simply didn't suit their cultural tastes. Who would have guessed not everyone wants to live American style?

Below are 10 American brands that struggled to make it abroad.

Best Buy

This big box store chain may appeal to Americans, but the electronics and entertainment retailer has struggled to make headway in foreign markets. Business Insider reported in 2011 that Best Buy bungled its European efforts through poor marketing strategy and for failing to notice that Europeans prefer smaller shops to large box stores, among other factors. Best Buy also closed its branches in China and Turkey. CNBC contributor and China Market Research Group founder Shaun Rein attributed Best Buy's lackluster performance in China to "failing to differentiate its product lines" from local retailers and for not adapting to local consumers' shopping preferences, such as preferring smaller, more conveniently located retailers.

eBay

The popular ecommerce site eBay was no match for TaoBao, China's heavyweight company, in this industry. In an article for the Association of Computing Machinery, two Hong Kong-based professors cited TaoBao's built-in instant messaging system as a reason for its edge over eBay China. Customers wanted to be able to see a seller's online status and communicate with them easily - a function not seamlessly incorporated into eBay's China system. Despite eBay's seller rating system based on feedback from past buyers, the ACM article noted that Chinese customers prefer to develop trust through their own interactions with sellers rather than acting on other users' ratings.

eBay also struggled in Japan, where it launched in 2000. Both Forbes India and Finance Elements noted that the company did not adjust its strategies and purchasing methods according to local preferences. For example, buyers had to input their credit card information in order to make a purchase, a practice that was not popular in Japan at the time. The company did not offer a cash-on-delivery service, which Finance Elements asserts would have made a significant difference in how it was received. Forbes noted that eBay learned from these early mistakes and made more successful returns to both countries several years after its initial failed attempts.

Google

This most massive of Internet companies faced notorious issues with the Chinese government over censorship, but its struggles in China go well beyond that. The New York Times reported in 2010 that Google could never catch up to Chinese competitor Baidu, which initially catered to consumers by offering easy access to pirated media, rapidly growing their user base.

However, the Times also noted that in all cases with American Internet companies that fail in China, it's difficult to compete with Chinese entrepreneurs who are better equipped to cater to the local market. Lee Kai-fu, a former Google exec in China, echoed that sentiment in an interview with Abu Dhabi's The National. He blamed corporate bureaucracy in part for U.S. companies being unable to compete with Chinese ones, and said being attuned to the local market, having a strong local team and long-term strategy, and the ability to respond quickly to customer demands were essential for success.

Groupon

Tech in Asia wrote a fairly scathing piece on the ways in which group-buying deals site Groupon made missteps in the Chinese market. Among its criticisms were the fact that the company staffed largely foreign managers who didn't have a strong understanding of the Chinese purchasing landscape, and using marketing tactics that were counter to what Chinese consumers typically respond positively to. Competitors echoed some of these criticisms, and according to TechCrunch, Groupon "didn't have a chance from the beginning" because of their lack of understanding of the Chinese market.

Groupon now holds a minority share in Gaopeng, the local daily deals site it launched in partnership with Chinese company Tencent. Gaopeng reportedly received $30 million in funding from Groupon and Tencent in July 2013, but had only about three percent of China's daily deals site market share as of the first quarter of 2013, according to Tech in Asia.

Mattel

The free-standing Barbie store Mattel built in Shanghai turned out to be less of a dream house and more of a disappointment in a market it seemed to have approached too aggressively.

Businessweek described the store, which was meant to appeal to both young girls and adult women, as having 900 display cases, a spa and a cocktail bar, and other various attractions. That's quite a commitment in a market where Barbie is relatively unfamiliar and doesn't have the audience base to guarantee a return on the investment. The 36,000-square-foot, six-story Barbie store was open only two years before Mattel decided to close up shop.

McDonald's

The Golden Arches are a staple fast food establishment around the globe, but Ronald and Co. haven't quite caught on in the Caribbean. The company made a good effort during its 10-year run in Jamaica, initially opening 11 stores on the island. A writer for Moneymax101 noted a number of other issues, including high barriers to running a McDonald's franchise and a slow economy. In Barbados, the company was there less than a year before closing due to lack of sales.

McDonald's also saw less-than-stellar performance in Trinidad and Tobago, pulling out of the country in 2003 due to low sales. But Mickey D's is nothing if not determined, and Arcos Dorados, a major McDonald's franchiser in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced in 2011 that the chain would reopen there.

Starbucks

Given its prolific status in the United States, it seems almost inconceivable that Starbucks would not be a crowd-pleaser wherever it opened its doors. But that was just the case in Australia, where the BBC said the "coffee juggernaut" could not compete with "local stores' homespun hospitality and boutique qualities." Though Starbucks is a wildly successful international chain, some coffee drinkers shunned it for not being original enough, with no compelling reason to choose it over more interesting and diverse roasts from other shops.

The chain also faced issues when it expanded into the Israeli market, and closed its six stores there in 2003, citing "operational challenges." Some commentators criticized the chain for not appreciating coffee culture in Israel, and misinterpreting the local consumer base's tastes.

Taco Bell

This gastronomically dubious fast food chain has seen mixed reactions in Asia. Despite the success of parent company Yum Foods' other brands, such as KFC, in China, Taco Bell never garnered rave reviews in the Middle Kingdom, according to Agenda Beijing. The magazine noted that Mexican food is "notoriously hard to market in China," and the Taco Bell shops in Shanghai and Shenzhen were shut down in 2008.

Taco Bell made a valiant return to South Korea in 2010, after a poor performance there in the 1980s. The fast food chain was opened in Itaewon and Hongdae - a strategic move, as these are two popular nightlife areas frequented by foreigners who are likely familiar with the brand.

WalMart

This famous shopping center is as American as apple pie - and that just may be its biggest problem abroad. WalMart has made forays into a number of foreign markets but been unable to replicate its original success in some, a problem that can be attributed to the corporation not fine-tuning the shopping experience to the local culture.
For example, in South Korea, the company did not heed local preferences for buying small packages at a variety of local stores, the presence of native discount chains, and aesthetic preferences among shoppers, according to The New York Times. Similar problems contributed to its closures in Germany, where customers could find groceries for lower prices at local stores.

In Japan, WalMart bought a share in the Seiyu company, and attempted to implement its successful strategies in Seiyu stores, such as the "Every Day Low Prices" campaign. However, Businessweek pointed out that this doesn't have the same draw in Japan as it does in the United States because customers associate low prices with cheap quality, making them wary about shopping there.

Wendy's

Yet another American fast food chain that struggled to make foreign consumers fall in love with their greasy goodness, Wendy's left Japan in 2009, shutting the doors at its 71 locations in the country. At the time, a Wendy's spokesman said the company hoped to return to Japan to explore new opportunities in a timely manner, according to the Associated Press. But in a country that already has McDonald's and Burger King, not to mention its own burger chains that focus on the Japanese palate, it's small wonder that Wendy's was ultimately edged out.

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10 Successful American Businesses That Have Failed Overseas

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It's a big world out there and many of America's biggest brands are eager to get their hands on a piece - or many pieces - of it. But what works on the average American consumer doesn't always translate well in other countries, and a combination of naïveté, arrogance, and lack of understanding the market [...]

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One of the biggest examples of what not having a diversely trained staff can do to your business is Starbucks. In 2018, one of their stores treated two minorities abhorrently for having a work meeting, even having them arrested. Because of this, Starbucks immediately acted upon and closed all stores to conduct a diversity training to ensure this situation would not happen again. This shows the affect a situation like this can have on even the biggest of corporations. Diversity training is a very important tool.

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Starbucks is set to close thousands of its shops for the day to conduct diversity training following the controversial arrest of two black men at one the chain's stores.

The coffee giant will shut more than 8,000 of its locations across the US on Tuesday to run courses as it attempts to restore its image as a café welcoming of all customers.

Activists and experts have drawn up a "bias training" programme for the firm's 175,000 workers, designed to encourage them to examine implicit biases they may hold when dealing with people of different ethnicities, genders or backgrounds.

The Perception Institute, a group consulting with Starbucks, defines implicit bias as a set of positive or negative stereotypes someone may hold towards a person or group without being conscious of it.

A common example highlighted by some studies, the institute says, is a tendency for white people to unknowingly associate black people with criminal behaviour.

Alexis McGill Johnson, Perception's co-founder and executive director, said anti-bias training is about awareness.

"The work that we want to do is not say you're a bad person because you have a stereotype about a group, but say this is why your brain may have these stereotypes," she said.

Starbucks moved to offer training to its staff following an incident in April, in which two African American men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, were arrested at one of its Philadelphia stores.

The chain was forced to apologise over the incident, in which an employee called the police after the men asked to use the bathroom as they waited for a business meeting.

Officers later detained them for trespassing after they sat at a table without purchasing anything from the store.

Mr Nelson and Mr Robinson have since reached a settlement with Starbucks for an undisclosed sum and a promise from the company to set up a $200,000 (£150,000) programme for young entrepreneurs.

The firm has since said anyone can use their restrooms whether or not they have purchased anything.

According to a video previewing the Starbucks training, the programme will include recorded remarks from Starbucks executives, as well as rapper and activist Common.

From there, employees will "move into a real and honest exploration of bias " where, in small groups, they can share how the issue comes up in their daily work life.

Starbucks has described it as a "collaborative and engaging experience for store partners to learn together".

However, not everyone is convinced the measures will prevent staff acting on any subliminal biases they may hold.

Calvin Lai, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, said the training may even have an adverse effect.

"We find that oftentimes diversity training has mixed effects," he said: "In some cases it can even backfire and lead people who are kind of already reactive to these issues to become even more polarised."

One afternoon wouldn't really be "moving the needle on the biases," he added, especially at a company the size of Starbucks.

"A lot of those employees won't be here next year or two years or three years down the line," he said.
Additional reporting by AP

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Starbucks closes 8,000 stores for staff training amid race storm

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Starbucks is set to close thousands of its shops for the day to conduct diversity training following the controversial arrest of two black men at one the chain's stores. The coffee giant will shut more than 8,000 of its locations across the US on Tuesday to run courses as it attempts to restore its image as a café welcoming of all customers.

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This video takes an inspiring look at how to bridge the gap of the multi generational workplace. She simply states that to bridge the gap, we need to find commonalities between the generations and not see one another as different generations, but as people. She states that we all have to learn and also mentor to help.

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Navigating the Multigenerational Workplace | Leah Georges | TEDxCreightonU

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Cultural diversity in the workplace is so important as there are many benefits. This article highlights some of the key ones like how it can increase profits and it can also decrease turnover. Having a diverse workplace with people from all different backgrounds can help solve problems in different ways, it can introduce wider range of skills and it can, eventually help reduce racism.

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In this era of technology and globalisation, many companies are making an effort to succeed in cultural diversity in the workplace.

There are some very positive benefits that can be hard from having a more diverse workforce. Let's discuss eight amazing benefits to individuals and employing companies;

Increased productivity

Improved creativity

Increased profits

Improved employee engagement

Reduced employee turnover

Improved company reputation

Wider range of skills

Improves cultural insights

Before we dive in to the main benefits though, what exactly do we mean when we say diversity?

What is cultural diversity in the workplace?

Cultural diversity in the workplace is when companies are open to hiring employees from all sorts of different backgrounds; regardless of race, religion and culture. When companies recruit and retain a diverse pool of people, it brings about different benefits to the company as well as its employees.

Think of the human race as a whole; we are a very diverse species across the globe, with many different cultures, languages and beliefs. Why then, in this age of globalisation, should we not focus on ensuring our workforces are just as diverse?

"When employees respect each other and get along in the workplace, it's amazing how productivity increases, morale increases and employees are more courteous to customers."

- Maureen Wild

Cultural diversity can improve productivity levels

Do you know that a diverse company can lead to greater productivity? Diversity brings in different talents together, all of them working towards a common goal using different sets of skills.

In their research, The economic value of cultural diversity: evidence from US cities, the Authors conclude that "these findings are consistent with a dominant positive effect of diversity on productivity: a more multicultural urban environment makes US-born citizens more productive."

Companies will also gain from each employee by learning from each other's experiences and applying this new-found knowledge to their work. Employees from all sorts of different backgrounds get to learn from their colleagues' experiences from a different perspective. Thus, they are able to bring fresh ideas to the project by thinking out of their comfort zone.

Remember that a diverse workplace combines employees from different backgrounds, ethnicity and experiences, and together breed a more productive environment.

Cultural diversity can increase creativity

Another benefit of cultural diversity in the workplace is the increase in creativity among teams, and the ability to have a more diverse set of solutions to specific problems.

In this Forbes article, the writers points out "Research on creativity and innovation has been consistent in showing the value of exposing individuals to experiences with multiple perspectives and world views. It is the combination of these various perspectives in novel ways that result in new ideas "popping up."

With so many different and diverse minds coming and working together, many more solutions will arise as every individual brings in their personal way of thinking, operating and solving problems and making decisions. Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability.

Cultural diversity can increase profits

Many recent studies have shown that increased cultural diversity in the workplace can lead to greater profits for the organisation.

A 2013 survey undertaken by think tank, Center for Talent Innovation, found that 48 per cent of companies in the US with more diversity at senior management level improved their market share the previous year, while only 33 per cent companies with less diverse management reported similar growth.

48 per cent of companies in the US with more diversity at senior management level improved their market share

This may be in part to global business trends, and the benefits of language diversity.

For example; with the rise of companies dealing their businesses in China, a company that hires employees fluent in Mandarin to increase the company's reputation in Chinese communities. This could result in an increase in sales, and resulting in improved profits.

Cultural diversity can improve employee engagement

What better way to learn about other culture and ethnicity than from colleagues that come from a different background than your own? Forget about researching them online.

Ask and learn them from employees during lunch break or after work drinks. What is the point of having a pool of diverse employees when they do not learn more about each other's lifestyle and culture.

When your employees are sharing their personal experiences when they were in high school or what each or every festive season meant to them, they have built a trusting relationship among their colleagues.

This is great because it increases employee engagement and at times increase employee motivation as well, which is great for the company.

Cultural diversity can reduce employee turnover

A company that embraces cultural diversity in the workplace would immediately entices a wider pool of candidates for its job vacancies. Higher-educated candidates who experienced diversity while at university may feel that a diverse company is more progressive and therefore will want to work there.

The more candidates that applied for a job with a company, the company would generally enjoy a larger pool of candidates; the company is than spoilt for choice.
See also How We Encourage Diversity and Equality in Our Content Marketing
Companies who are recruiting from a diverse pool of candidates only mean a more qualified workplace. When companies recruit from a diverse set of potential employees, they are more likely to hire the best of the best for the industry.

In a constantly increasingly competitive economy where skills and talents are crucial to improving the company, put together the most diverse set of candidates is increasingly necessary to succeed in the market.

Studies also show that job seekers are often drawn to companies with diverse workforces because it is publicly obvious that these companies do not practice employment discrimination.

Cultural diversity reflects positively on reputation

Another benefit of cultural diversity in the workplace is the positive reputation that the company would receive. Companies who recruit and encourage individuals from a wide range of backgrounds generally gain a reputation for being a good employer.

Potential clients often feel more valued and thus give more business to these organisations.

A diverse collection of skills and experiences allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis because the company is able to relate and understand their clients better, and some even on a personal level.

Cultural diversity encourages wider range of skills

When companies hire a more diverse workforce from all backgrounds, these employees inevitably bring their own specific skills, that can be often just as diverse.

Having a wider range of skills and knowledge available to them, these companies often enjoy a more diverse and adaptable range of products and services that they can offer to their respective markets.

Diversity in cultures means diversity in skills and therefore products and service offerings.

Cultural diversity improves insights and reduces racism

By enjoying a more culturally diverse workforce, it is often found that employees then spend more time in their daily lives with people from cultural backgrounds that they are often never exposed to.

The end result of this is that employees learn new cultural insights and this in turn, reduces negative emotions such as racism, homophobia, sexism and the like.

In Summary

When next planning to hire new employees, consider making an effort to hire a diverse range of people, across gender, age and cultural backgrounds. Your organisation could soon enjoy a wide range of benefits, such as the ones we have mentioned in this article;

Increased productivity

Improved creativity

Increased profits

Improved employee engagement

Reduced employee turnover

Improved company reputation

Wider range of skills

Improves cultural insights

I wish you all the best in increasing the cultural diversity in your team and workforce!

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8 Amazing Benefits of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

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There are some very positive benefits that can be hard from having a more diverse workforce. Let's discuss eight amazing benefits to individuals and employing companies; Increased productivity Improved creativity Increased profits Improved employee engagement Reduced employee turnover Improved company reputation Wider range of skills Improves cultural insights Before we dive in to the main benefits though, what exactly do we mean when we say diversity?

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In the efforts to achieve sustainability and help preserve our planet, the U.S. Green Building Business Council came up with a program called LEED that will help new buildings and remodels to be done in a way that least harm our environment.

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This article shows many reasons why corporate social responsibility is important. It showcases how it helps corporations, non profits and employees alike.

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Nonprofits cannot solely rely on individual donations for support.
Granted, individuals make up roughly three-fourths of an organization's total monetary contributions, but this doesn't mean that nonprofits should discount corporations and businesses as viable sources of revenue.
In fact, companies with strong corporate social responsibility programs are looking for nonprofits to be the recipient of grants, matching gift programs, and volunteer grant programs.
CSR initiatives can help nonprofits make up that left over 25% after they've looked to individual donors.

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Corporate Social Responsibility: 12 Undeniable Benefits

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Nonprofits cannot solely rely on individual donations for support. Granted, individuals make up roughly three-fourths of an organization's total monetary contributions, but this doesn't mean that nonprofits should discount corporations and businesses as viable sources of revenue.

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Building from the video about Frederick Taylor, I found this video about the Hawthorne Studies, which added the human satisfaction element to the methods of Frederick Taylor. The studies showed that keeping the employees happy was an integral part of running a business.

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I found this video about Frederick Taylor and his development of scientific management. His method called "Taylorism" revolutionized the workforce and was adapted almost everywhere. There were many advantages, like higher production and better quality parts, but aldisadvantages like expendable employees that would become burnt out from repetitive work.

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This was one of my favorite articles to read. It shows why companies who have female CEO's make more money.  It addresses how different traits in the female brain help. For example, men can be wired to take action, while women will sit back and analyze a situation.

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Among the world's largest 500 companies, only 10.9 percent of senior executives are women, according to Weber Schandwick's Gender Forward Pioneer Index. A significant share of the companies, 37 percent, have all-male leadership teams, while an additional 21 percent have only one woman.

That's their loss, because there's substantial evidence that gender diversity at the management level enhances a company's performance.

While researchers are still trying to figure out exactly why companies with more women at the top make more money, here's what they know so far.

Diversity helps make companies profitable, innovative and respected

The Peterson Institute for International Economics completed a survey of 21,980 firms from 91 countries and found that having women at the C-Suite level significantly increases net margins.

"A profitable firm at which 30 percent of leaders are women could expect to add more than 1 percentage point to its net margin compared with an otherwise similar firm with no female leaders," the report notes. "By way of comparison, the typical profitable firm in our sample had a net profit margin of 6.4 percent, so a 1 percentage point increase represents a 15 percent boost to profitability."

Joe Carella, the assistant dean at the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management, has found that diverse companies become more creative. "We did our own analysis of Fortune 500 companies," he tells CNBC Make It, "and we found that companies that have women in top management roles experience what we call 'innovation intensity' and produce more patents - by an average of 20 percent more than teams with male leaders."

A large female presence is also associated with higher status. According to the GFP Index, Fortune's " most admired" companies have twice as many women at the senior management level than less reputable companies.

However, twice as many still isn't a lot. The average among the admired companies is only 17 percent, versus just 8 percent at the others.

Apple, No. 1 on Fortune's list, falls in line with the trend. Of their 107 top executives, 19 are women. Across the board, the company reports that 29 percent of its leadership roles are filled by women.

It's not necessarily proven that women are better at running a business, but the evidence shows that a wide-ranging set of influences at the decision-making level helps. Diversity not just across gender but across cultures similarly improves a company's performance.

"Innovation is fundamentally the result of trial and error. And if you're able to bring different skills to the process ... you do a better job," says Carella.

Some differences seem to begin in the brain

Carella believes some of the gender-based effect can be explained by neurological differences between men and women. He is hosting a leadership conference in May on the topic along with how unconscious bias can affect the workplace.

Studies have found some differences in the structure of and activity in the brain, a concept known as sexual dimorphism. A few years ago, Ragini Verma, an associate professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and her colleagues identified differences in brain maps, or how regions connect. They suggest that this might help explain differences in behavior.

"These maps show us a stark difference - and complementarity - in the architecture of the human brain that helps provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks, and women at others," said Verma.

She "found greater neural connectivity from front to back and within one hemisphere in males, suggesting their brains are structured to facilitate connectivity between perception and coordinated action. In contrast, in females, the wiring goes between the left and right hemispheres, suggesting that they facilitate communication between the analytical and intuition," reports Penn Medicine.

The implication, in other words, is that men could be wired to take action, generally, while women may tend to be better suited to carefully analyze a problem.

Carella has witnessed this contrast in his own research on the workplace. "Men tend to be more driven to action while women tend to be a lot more conservative in the action that they take," he says.

"When organizations make decisions, you want to be able to have both" of those influences, he adds.

That is, of course, a generalization. In some studies, women have out-scored men in their ability to take initiative and drive for results. The research into sexual dimorphism is by no means definitive yet and, overall, in terms of their brains, men and women are far more similar than different.

Nonetheless, the benefits of diversity are evident.

The impact of putting women in charge

Having female senior leaders creates less gender discrimination in recruitment, promotion and retention, according to the Peterson Institute. That gives a company a better chance of hiring and keeping the most qualified people.

A strong female presence also benefits the workplace environment. For example, a large U.S. tech company brought in Carella to help lower its high turnover rate of both male and female employees. His solution was to promote two senior female execs to positions where they could influence what had formerly been a boardroom run exclusively by men.

The move ended up making the whole company more transparent and employees stopped leaving at such a high rate.

Without diversity, problems arise beyond a poor retention rate, and some of those can be dire. After the financial crisis, Sallie Krawcheck, co-founder and CEO of Ellevest and former executive at Morgan Stanley and Citibank, asserted that Wall Street's issue with "groupthink" was partly to blame.

There was a "false of comfort of agreement" among the homogeneous male leaders, she told CBS. "There was no doubt that had we had more diversity of thought, perspective, education, gender, color, the crisis would have been less severe."
Don't miss: Oxford neuroscientist: These futuristic brain enhancements will be available sooner than you think

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Companies with more female executives make more money-here's why

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Among the world's largest 500 companies, only 10.9 percent of senior executives are women, according to Weber Schandwick's Gender Forward Pioneer Index. A significant share of the companies, 37 percent, have all-male leadership teams, while an additional 21 percent have only one woman.

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I really enjoyed this article as it showed a little different view of the career stages of our book. It showed how to spot a great employee at different stages of their career from a management standpoint.

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"I think I need a new job," a close friend who leads a regional office for a large global organization told us. "I used to love working for my company, but either I've changed or the company has changed. I just don't feel appreciated like I used to."

As leaders, we know change is unavoidable. Not all of us will love our jobs, our work or our companies throughout an entire career. Your path to leadership hasn't always been easy. You took your bumps and bruises on your way up the ladder. And, throughout your career you've changed as well. You've grown. You've evolved. And, even though you might not sit and think about your evolution, as a leader you should-because the people you lead today are experiencing those very same changes.

"But, I'm a great boss," you might think. "My team doesn't know what I suffered through." Sure, you probably remember your horrible bosses-the bosses who made you feel anxious, small, or insignificant. Those bosses taught you exactly who you didn't want to become. And, you also might reflect fondly on your best bosses-the one's who inspired you to become who you are today.

However, there's more to anyone's leadership story than just good bosses and bad bosses. What about all the managers who weren't all that good but weren't all that bad either? These are the bosses people stick around for as long as the work is interesting, the pay is decent, and there's some sort of opportunity to grow. But, these are also the types of leaders that can easily transform an employee's mindset from "Meh, they're an alright boss," to "Wow, I'll follow this boss any day." Why? Because we can all become great leaders by making an effort to understand what an employee is thinking and feeling at different stages of their career, and then use that knowledge to transform any employee's day-to-day work experience by showing our appreciation for their work and the career stage they're in.

But, what are those stages? And, what do they mean?

Curious to understand how we can all be better leaders, the O.C. Tanner Institute conducted a global study of people who had been at their jobs from one to thirty years. The study focused on finding out exactly how time has changed them. The data from the study shows:
Year 1: This Is The Learning Phase
In the first year employees are soaking up knowledge, details about various personalities, and insights into their likes and dislikes about the company, their manager, and their team. Yet, they are still unsure of what the future holds.
Year 3: Feels Like I'm Fitting In
Employees are beginning to feel like part of the team. They understand the dynamics of the people they work with. They have seen how their contributions impact others. And, they start to get curious about their future opportunities if they decide to stay.
Year 5: I Have Achieved Expertise
Confidence is high. Research shows the five-year mark is a vulnerable time as people start wondering, "What's next?" They might also be looking for some excitement-the learning has slowed, and a fresh challenge seems appealing.
Year 10: I Belong Here
Employees see their company differently-a psychological shift has changed their perspective. Coworkers are almost like family. Employees feel committed to the cause and treat the company's goals as their own.
Year 15: I'm Invested
Employees are psychologically invested in building a history with the company. The company has become part of their identity. They treat the company with a personal sense of ownership. Employees feel grateful now and want to give back.
Year 20: I Lead Like A Veteran
Employees realize they have witnessed a ton of change-both in their personal life and within the company. They've bonded with other employees and their families. They want to show younger workers what great work looks like, and why the organization is a great place to work.
Year 25: The Triumph Phase
According to the research, this is an employee's most significant milestone. It is a time when employees celebrate past and present victories. They are determined to pass along what they know to the next generation.
Year 30+: I Am A Mentor
Employees report an extreme sense of gratitude and indebtedness. They recall mentors and moments where their work was recognized. Moreover, they have a sincere desire to become the mentor, and leave a legacy before they retire.

Understanding how each of these career stages was critical to your success as you became a leader gives you a deep insight into what your team members might be thinking and feeling at different points in their careers. But, beyond just understanding people and what they might be thinking, these markers give you, as a leader, a killer opportunity to recognize their contributions and properly celebrate employees in accordance to their career stage. For example, you wouldn't give an employee who's celebrating Year 1 with your company the same amount of celebration as a Year 25 employee-because these two employees view the company differently. And, the same is true with all stages because, like we mentioned at the beginning of this article, we all change throughout our careers, and so do the nuances that make us all feel appreciated.

We're all in this game of life together. We all face constant change. And, when clear markers reveal the changes we all experience in our careers, as leaders, we need to take every opportunity to appreciate the people around us.

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8 Critical Career Stages Great Leaders Understand About Employees

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As leaders, we know change is unavoidable. However, great leaders by make an effort to understand change and what employees might be thinking and feeling at different stages of their career. What can you do as a leader to transform any employee's day-to-day working experience?

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