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"I need this taken care of"

"Sharp"

"Instantly"

"Invigorated"

"Relevant"

To increase total power, managers should use these power words when obtaining the personal power they hold over other workers. These words make the manager sound authoritative and confident with a high level of expertise.

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At my office, the marketing department is the newest (which I am part of). We have a marketing monthly budget of approximately $8,000. During the last 3 months that I have been part of this organization, the budget as well exceeded $8,000 each month. I keep track of all the money spent and as the month goes along I make sure to continuously mention the rising number. Each month I am told that "this month is one of the more costly months.. its fine.. don't worry about it.. No, we don't need to count that.." and etc. Yikes huh?! I feel like there's some 'wasted' money, however, I'm not to the point in my position to try to correct it just yet! In due time, I will though!

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Ha ha ha!

Doesn't it always seem to work like this?! This may be a situation in which you could say, "No" (as stated in my how to handle stress post) and you and the company may benefit?! The person who controls the budget definitely needs to be a trustworthy, goal oriented individual!

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As a former restaurant worker I can testify that keeping food cost down can be tricky! I remember when where I worked, chicken wings went from $8.95 to roughly $11.95 during a menu change. The regulars were furious but never took into consideration the fact that chicken wing prices had jumped tremendously for us and the reality was that we were nearly breaking even with our menu price.

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Foodservice managers need a firm understanding and mastery of the principles of cost control in order to run a successful operation. With Food and Beverage Cost Control, Fifth Edition, Dopson and Hayes have created a comprehensive resource for both students and managers. Written in a user-friendly style, this text provides the necessary foundation in accounting, marketing, and legal issues, as well as foodservice, production, and sanitation. It also offers practical pedagogical tools, including chapter overviews, outlines, highlights, feature boxes, problems, Web links, technology tools, and key terms and concepts.

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Foodservice managers need a firm understanding and mastery of the principles of cost control in order to run a successful operation. With Food and Beverage Cost Control, Fifth Edition, Dopson and Hayes have created a comprehensive resource for both students and managers.

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I pulled this quote directly from my Pinterest page! Motivation quotes are something that I thoroughly enjoy! This one in particular reminds me that even though getting up early in the morning to go to the gym is not fun, and doing 400 squats will hurt, the end result will be a healthy, active, fit me!

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My Daily Mantra | Fitness inspiration quotes, Fitness quotes, Motivation

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May 1, 2012 - After a fun weekend, itz Monday once again.  Shocker, right?  Not so much. 🙂  I am thrilled that this week marks the second-to-last week of the LiveFit training program I have been following!  I am in Phase 3 and it’s … Continue reading →

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Each and every one of us have triggers that motivate us to achieve more. For some its money and for others its career advancement. According to this article, happiness is the best motivation. I personally like a simple acknowledgement of a job well done (although monetary or other gifts are always nice too!).

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The Top 9 Things That Ultimately Motivate Employees to Achieve

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When you wake up in the morning, what is the passion that fuels you to start your day? Are you living this in your work? If others asked you what drives you to achieve, would the answer be obvious? The triggers that motivate people to achieve are unique for everyone. Many would say its money; more people are starting to claim that they are driven to make a difference. Regardless of what motivates you and drives you to reach peak performance - it must be managed and balanced. Too much motivation in one area will weaken other parts of your game. Here are the nine (9) things that ultimately motivate employees to achieve and for leaders to be more effective.

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5 Leadership Lessons From Football Coaches

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5 Leadership Lessons From Football Coaches

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1) Don't be afraid of change

2) Teach

3) Prepare

4) Team Culture

5) Patience

I'm back on football because I really love the sport a lot - especially college football! Football has leaders all over the field. Starting with the head coach, dwindling down to the assistant coaches to the offense and defense.. By finding those quality leaders, the team will work well together and ultimately have great performances (W's!).

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If you're one of the millions of football fans in America, then this time of year is like Christmas.

It's football season! Whether you're into college football, the NFL or both, does it get any better than the fall?

But what if football just isn't your thing. How can you appreciate this time of year?

We're here to help. To start, some of the greatest leaders you'll ever meet are football coaches. They know how to motivate and inspire a large group of people to work together toward the same goal.

You might love football, or you might hate football. But either way, you can learn a lot of leadership lessons from these coaches.

Some examples:

1. Don't be afraid of change.

In the early 1970s, after a few mediocre years coaching Alabama, some people wondered if Bear Bryant was finished as a coach. But in 1971, Bryant put in the "wishbone" offense and led the Crimson Tide to eight SEC Championships and three national titles in a decade. Would most of us even know Bear Bryant's name if he didn't have the guts to make that change?

Get the Free Guide

2. Teach. Don't shout.

One of the greatest winners and leaders in NFL history is Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. Lombardi once said, "They call it coaching, but it is teaching. You do not just tell them [. . .] you show them the reasons." Compare that approach with the stereotypical loud-mouthed leader who treats his team members like 4-year-olds in a daycare.

3. Prepare.

Tom Landry made the Dallas Cowboys into "America's Team" during the 1970s. Landry was one of the first NFL coaches to hire a strength and conditioning coach. He was also the first to hire a quality control coach to study game film and look for tendencies in opponents. Now all NFL teams have specialty coaches. Landry famously said, " The will to prepare is more important than the will to succeed. "

4. Put a culture in place.

Whether you're leading a team or an entire organization, it's important to emphasize the importance of team culture. When Bill Walsh took over the San Francisco 49ers in 1979, the team was 2-14 during the previous season. Walsh then led the team to three Super Bowl titles during the 1980s. In his book, The Score Takes Care of Itself, he partially credits those victories to the cultural changes he made: "It was a way of doing things, a leadership philosophy, that has as much to do with core values, principles, and ideals as with blocking, tackling, and passing; more to do with the mental than with the physical."

5. Stay patient.

Bobby Bowden didn't win a college football national championship until his twenty-eighth season of coaching in 1993. Between 1987 and 2000, his Florida State teams never lost more than two games in a season. They were dominant. But what would've happened if Bowden had let a five-win season (1976) or a six-win season (1981) get him down? He would've never influenced thousands of young men and become the most successful college football coach of all time.

These football coaches were the best of the best.

They coached amateur players in college and professional players in the NFL, but they always got the best out of their team.

An essential characteristic of any great leader is a willingness to learn. And one of the easiest ways to gain knowledge is with our EntreLeadership Podcast. Each week, we share tools, tips and great conversation with some of the top business and leadership experts in the country, as well as interviews with fellow EntreLeaders. Listen now.

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5 Leadership Lessons From Football Coaches

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Some of the greatest leaders you'll ever meet are football coaches. Here's a list of our top five.

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Learning how to combine the two is what creates success. Making sure that the job gets done, while caring for the people who get the job done is the perfect combination. My husband is the 'Office Manager' of the Orlando branch, however, he's never felt the need to have that sense of Manager entitlement. Compared to the other titled "Managers' at his company, my husband is the most respected from all of the employees. He is a great example of a leader!

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Virtual jobs are on the rise. Being able to work from home keeps workers happier and more loyal to their company. It allows for a much needed, flexible schedule for people with children and saves money in fuel and career attire. I personally have a job that is very flexible. I could do about 50-60% of my job from home and plan on making those arrangements within the next few months! :)

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Katy HallManaging Features Editor, Huffington Post

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Stress can destroy an individual - whether it is work related or not. While some intermittent stress has actually been proven healthy, being stressed can lead to diabetes, obesity and depression. Some of the best advice to avoid stress is saying no, appreciating what you currently have, disconnecting from work, limiting caffeine, getting enough sleep, exercising and letting go of grudges. This is excellent advice for everyone.

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Amended in 1972, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created to prohibit discrimination during recruiting, hiring, firing, race, gender, religion, pregnancy, hair color (haha!), and more. My current office consists of several different cultures but all are under the age of 40. At a recent hiring event we chose a candidate whom is over 40 (the first over 40 year old in company history). Just a few weeks in and we can already tell she isn't meshing with the rest of the group well, and probably won't make it. Our office has proven positive outcome with 'younger' candidates so during the next hiring event the younger will probably be more considerable candidates. Is that violating EEOC? I don't think so - we definitely don't discriminate!

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As a HUGE UGA fan, I found this article very interesting - and appropriate!

Nick Saban is correct in saying that choosing a school is a business decision. Ledbetter is a top recruit and ultimately has to choose the school with the best future possibilities (good choice Ledbetter!). Football recruiting is probably way more fun than executive and CEO recruiting! :)

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Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC

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Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech

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A job description is used to explain in detail the duties required for the position. This particular job listing requires sales tours, scheduling, answering of telephones, walk for extended time, speak using a clear voice and much more. The more detailed the employee can get with their descriptions, the better chance of getting a qualified candidate.

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This quote reminds me of the hierarchy culture; they focus on building external relationships while adhering to management control. I've always held positions in which the 'customer is always right' so I know all too well how to portray that and what goes on behind the scenes!

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Learning how to communicate verbally and non-verbally can influence your work life and home life relationships. By learning skills such as listening, managing stress, emotional awareness and non-verbal communication you can better connect with everyone around you. Being able to read peoples body language and make smart choices based on age, culture and gender can prove to be extremely effective - even when a word is not spoken.

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Effective Communication: Improving Your Interpersonal Skills

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Want to communicate better? These skills will help you get your message across, avoid misunderstandings, and improve your relationships.

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1) They set the tone

2) Identify topics of Discussion

3) Keep Everyone Focused

4) Eliminates Excuses
Having an agenda is a great idea and shows a sense of professionalism and group effort. Everyone participating knows exactly what will be mentioned during the meeting and should be prepared to speak about the topics pertaining to them. At the end of the meeting, everyone should feel accomplished and goal driven for the next agenda.

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Aligning Your Budget with your Business Strategy

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Aligning Your Budget with your Business Strategy

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To make a business run smoothly and within reasonable finances, a business strategy must be obtained. According to this article there are 5 main essentials; 1) Get as many perspectives as possible 2) Have a long term vision 3) Measure your performance 4) Set realistic goals and 5) Tweak your plans as required. By using these simple suggestions, a small business can be created on a tight budget and return profit at the end.

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In order to enable your business to function smoothly and do better, it is not only important that your budget mirrors its strategic goals, but you also need to have specific guidelines with regard to the steps to achieving those goals.

In today's dog-eat-dog world, businesses need to be capable of managing their financial resources to be able to deal with unforeseen challenges.

A disconnect between the budget and business strategy can result in lackluster budgeting and poor strategy implementation, which could spell doom for a business.

It is only when the budget is brought in line with the business strategy that you know their impact on each other, and where to most effectively allocate spending and investments.

Here's how you can align the two properly.

1. Get as many insights as you can.

For an infallible company strategy, ensure that all your executives bring diverse insights to the table. They should be well aware of how strategy and financial forecasting are related to business policies and how their role in the company affects its success.

Many a time, the teams formulating the vision and the company strategies, and the ones creating the budget are separate. However, when it comes to achieving company's goals, both need to understand that working in tandem is crucial to the successful implementation of the strategy.

Budgeting should be treated as a mechanism to earmark resources that help achieve strategic results. Gone are the days when budgeting was regarded as just another mandatory activity of strategy-creation. Today, it is more of a tool that drives business success.
Related: Stuck at the Idea Phase? These 6 Collaboration Avenues Can Help.
2. Have a long-term vision.

Annual budgets are meant for a period of 12 months. However, several business initiatives take more time to break-even and start performing. In such cases, the annual plan could essentially prove to be ineffective.

In such a scenario, you would probably regret not having thought long-term, which would have prepared you for such a challenge.

Working out a place for the budget in the long-term plan, rather than just the annual plan, ensures that the budgetary aspects align with the organizational goals. It also gives the annual budget the much-needed impetus to be a significant part of the overall growth strategy.

3. Measure your performance indicators.

It makes sense to keep tabs on the financial health of your organization. There is a plethora of Web-based accounting software available that helps you do that. It not only helps you monitor your monies but also manage it, track transactions, send/receive invoices, thereby preventing accounting gaffes.

Aside from that, measuring the success or failure of the budget is important as it lets you know how effective/ineffective it has been. Identifying the key performance indicators (KPI) is essential to measure it.

What makes KPIs so great is that they include both, financial and non-financial parameters as sometimes, the latter provide early indications. In order to be credible, these parameters need to be well-defined, clearly measurable and frequently circulated to key stakeholders.

Communicating the metrics that define success to teams enables them to determine whether they are on track and empowers them to modify to their plans accordingly.
Related: What You Aren't Measuring Could be Killing Your Company
4. Set realistic goals.

One of the most important business decisions pertains to goal-setting. When doing so, make sure your goals are attainable. Make projections by taking into consideration the economic and competitive environment.

For a foolproof budget, factor in the positioning of your organization compared to your competitors in the market. Be specific as to how you plan to use company assets and allocate them in a way that ensures success.

One may argue that positioning the organization in a certain way falls under the purview of the marketing department. Through the organizational budget and strategy, however, you can get information related to competitive assessment trickled down to every level of the organization so that your employees are able to take informed decisions.

5. Tweak your strategy as, and when, required.

While we all understand the importance of setting realistic performance expectations, several companies still tend to get carried away and set targets and expectations without thinking about the volatile market conditions.

To deal with such situations, make it a point to review your plans every quarter and modify them as necessary. By doing so, you will be able to detect your mistakes and know where you're faltering before a small problem snowballs into a huge crisis.

Financial empowerment is the key to aligning the budget with the company strategy. The robust financial health of your organization can go a long way in contributing to the development of the company strategy and can become a major force in its implementation. The above pointers are fundamental to creating commercial value within the finance function.
Related: Start a Business on a Bare-Bones Budget With These 3 Lean Tips

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The 5 Essentials for Aligning Your Budget With Your Business Strategy | Entrepreneur

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Setting goals without the means to achieve them puts your company on a path to fail.

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If you have a best decision section, you can't help but show the worst! :)

Starting with Hewlett Packards denial of Steve Jobs, moving on to Deccas signing of the Tremeloes over the Beatles, to Japans failed pick between VHS and Betamax to Gwenyth Paltrow's choice of lead role in the movie Hush over the movie Titanic. Decisions aren't always easy to pick - clearly!

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Large companies such as Ford, Apple and Boeing make decisions daily, but the big ones make the difference! When Ford decided to double his workers wages, the turnover rate decreased drastically and productivity increased. Apple brought back the famous, Steve Jobs and Boeing launches the 707.

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The greatest business decisions of all time

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How Apple, Ford, Boeing, and others made radical decisions that changed the course of business.

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Forecasting is the predicting of environmental happenings which will influence the organizations operations. It is a great tool to use when planning ahead. This article was beyond interesting to me! Its unbelievable to think that Summer 2015 fashion may be influenced by bees!

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In an airy studio on a high floor of the London College of Fashion, featuring a long conference table, white walls, and a view to an adjoining patio-where, a sign warns, bees are being kept-the hues you will see in two years are being divined by a pan-European group of colorists.

"What do we say about blue?" asks David Shah, a British-born, Amsterdam-based designer who heads the meeting on behalf of Pantone, the quietly ubiquitous American company that maintains color standards for publishers, designers, and the fashion world. "Blue took so long to come back. It came back last year in a watery story, it's here this summer in an indigo story-what are we doing about blue?"

"A good navy," says a French woman with short blonde hair, "is going to fulfill the role that black used to fill, because black is now launching into another dimension."

"How do we see black now?" Shah interjects. "As a dynamic color?" There is excited chatter. Black has shed its cultural baggage as a negative color. The Italians "did a big statement" about black. The big Yohji Yamamoto retrospective down the road at the V&A. The noncolor that is all colors. Exciting new materials that help black transcend its blackness.

So the new black is ... black? Leatrice Eiseman, a color consultant and the sole American at the meeting, (the sole "pragmatic American," as she describes herself), speaks for the first time. "What I fear about making a general sweeping statement about black is that we know we've been there-who doesn't know about black? What's new about it?" Animated conversation ensues.

Twice a year, in some European capital, in a room purposely chosen to be drab and sparse-so as not to influence the color mood-Shah gathers a stable of colorists, each of whom works with his or her own country's national color groups (who traditionally have worked with textile companies and others to set color standards), as well as consulting with companies ranging from Airbus to Zara to Union Carbide. Where the rest of us see black, these are people who talk about the "family of black." Over two days, they will each pitch a palette concept, organized roughly around a theme that has been chosen in advance (this time, it's "unity"), that they believe will be dominant in Spring/Summer 2013. The results are published in Pantone View, a $750 publication that is purchased by companies across a broad consumer landscape, from fashion designers to supermarket chains to the floral industry. ("Everybody's into white flowers at the moment," Shah tells me, "there are definitely movements, even in flowers.")

While the Pantone meetings are traditionally secret, I was invited to the Summer 2013 meeting on the condition that I not reveal the colorists' identities. (Shah and Eiseman's names are real; I'll refer to everyone else present at the meeting by their nationality.) And so as to avoid influencing the discussion, I have been asked not to reveal my own identity as a journalist. Instead, I am vaguely portrayed as a functionary of X-Rite, the corporate parent of Pantone.

The meeting is a high-concept show-and-tell fused with a cultural anthropology seminar, with Shah alternately playing the role of interlocutor and air traffic controller. Like novelist William Gibson's trend-hunter Cayce Pollard, Shah can unleash a torrent of cultural memes on command. Expounding in one instance on the "unity" theme, he riffs: "We're talking a lot about community, neighborliness, moving from macro to micro economy. The whole 'rurban' thing-local food, local chocolate. At the same time, the simplification of things, reducing complications. Don't make any instruction manuals-things should be intuitive. Computers that will think for you, read your gestures, actually tell you when to go shopping. You go into Gap, it starts suggesting products for you, connecting your friend's taste to your taste. It's all about choosing together." He pauses, a quick intake of breath, before firing: "How many people use Twitter here?" "Oh, God," retorts the Frenchwoman.

Armed with props that range from eggs to paper dolls to the latest images from the anonymous street "photograffeur" JR, participants pitch color concepts interwoven with theoretical narratives. The talk ranges from the specific ("people are always looking for replacement blue") to the occasionally vaporous. "Not just a safety in numbers protection tactic," says a British colorist, a textile specialist, from a prepared text, "it's more about the buzz created from the joy of a shared activity." The chromatic range accompanying this thought stream sounds similarly seductive: "Quiet tints of opalescent violet, aqua, and honey are jostled with shrill lemony chartreuse, cerise, and vibrant hot orange." The Italian colorist, clad in light blue ("we Italians love blue"), with a professorial sweep of white hair, opens his presentation with a preamble on the difficulties of "unity" in the context of Italian politics. "Darling, if we wanted an Italian history lesson," Shah says tartly, "we'd go to night classes."

There's also a dash of cross-national fractiousness-imagine the European Union meeting to decide on a single color for the continent-with each "country" playing more or less to type. "You get 30 French women together and they'll kill each other over blue-my blue is better-and the consumer won't see the difference at all," Shah tells me. There are subtle national distinctions. "We'll come back to the Catholics in a moment," Shah jokes after the Spanish representative, with large glasses and an Almodovarian verve, wraps up her presentation. "We need a bit of a Protestant breather." At times, seemingly contradictory color messages fly about. "I think in respect to the past we are more about color," says the Italian. "But you were just talking about black and Mother Earth?" Shah asks, exasperated. But gradually, like wind stirring on a snowy meadow, drifts in color become apparent. Neutrals will be more like colors. Brown, which has been approached for several seasons, will come into its own. There may be a hint of yellow, but a clearer, fresher yellow. Blues will be more material, less floaty. Summer 2013 begins to shimmer hazily into view.

Color forecasting is almost as old as the fashion industry itself. In the late 19 th century, color cards issued by French textile mills were snapped up by their American counterparts, eager for ideas and direction. As Regina Lee Blaszczyk, a historian and author of the forthcoming book The Color Revolution, notes, Margaret Hayden Rorke, an American actress, suffragist, and the country's first color forecaster (heading the Textile Color Card Association for four decades), traveled to the Paris shows each summer to soak up the latest tints, like the brownish-green Vert Amande - ven employing an American foreign correspondent, Bettina Bedwell, to act as a "spy." (Intel from Bedwell, in 1936: "Many Frenchwomen are getting away from black.")

This idea-that color trends begin on Paris runways, still holds a certain sway, at least in the popular imagination; witness the "cerulean blue" monologue in The Devil Wears Prada, in which Meryl Streep as an imperious fashion editor describes how a color that begins life in gowns by Oscar de la Renta in 2002 is then copied by other designers and is ultimately "filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner." But Paris may not be the ultimate source; as Blascyzk points out, cerulean blue was tapped by Pantone in 1999 as the "Color of the Millennium." Coincidence?

Some dedicated Pantone View clients think not. "I'm looking at the colors now that were put out [by Pantone] two years ago for summer 2011," says Mikel Cirkus, who heads the Conceptual Design Group at Firmenich, the flavor and fragrance company. "And you can look at what's out in the marketplace-for instance, this red-orange, or flame orange, is everywhere now. It's not a coincidence. It's not even forecasting in my mind, it's a dictating thing." Orange's ascent is undeniable-as the Wall Street Journal noted, orange was "out in full force" on the faces on models in the Spring 2011 shows, "mirroring the fashion color trend of the season." Indeed, it was worn by two colorists at the Pantone meeting itself. It's not just clothes, says Cirkus; there's the Sony Vaio, the new Camaro, the Hugo Boss "Orange" line. "You're connecting dots here that are traceable."

Was it Pantone? There's no doubt that in terms of sales of its color swatches-one of the rare quantifiable ways to track color trends-orange has been climbing. And not just the familiar oranges like Pantone 18-1354 Burnt Ochre. More vivid tones like Pantone 16-1459 Mandarin Orange, Pantone 16-1359 Orange Peel and Pantone 15-1157 Flame Orange, are now, as the company told me, "positioning far higher than ever before." Which leads one to wonder: Is Pantone trying to anticipate-or drive-color trends? Its position as a vendor of color swatches and standards makes its entrée into forecasting entirely natural, yet not without questions of motive. "We are in the business of actually forecasting color," says Leslie Harrington, director of the Color Association, a nearly century-old organization based in New York (early American colorist Rorke worked at its predecessor). "Pantone is in the business of selling fabric and paper samples-all their reports are done in order to sell more paper and color samples." Who's more accurate? It's hard to say. There are no analytics measuring success of color forecasting-how would one even accurately measure such a thing? To play it safe most companies rely on a range of color forecasts. Eiseman says Pantone's effort, and perhaps color forecasting in general, suffers from two misconceptions. The first is that there is some kind of "evil cabal" that "schemes to get the colors out there." The second is "let's just throw a dart and wherever it lands is what's going to be the hot color for next year."

Cabal or dartboard aside, the ascent of orange is probably too complex to attribute to any one actor. Tom Mirabile, senior vice president at Lifetime Brands (who handles licenses for Cuisinart and KitchenAid, among other increasingly colorful brands), notes that "at the high end, people have been trying to make orange happen for 20 years. Every time it comes in, it goes right back out. It doesn't look good against most people's skin." So why orange now? Some of it may be for sheer effort. As Eiseman describes it, a color begins to appear in the consumer's "peripheral vision." "Oh, there's yellow-green there and yellow-green there, hmmm, it's not such a bad color. It doesn't look bad in a shirt." Or, as Mirabile puts it, "you see it enough and you start thinking it something you want to see."

There are any number of stories, virtually mythical at this point, about how color migrates. All that can be safely said is this: The more disposable the item, the more experimentation there will generally be with color. "If you get tired of a red jacket," says Harrington, "you can throw it in a closet. If you a buy a red sofa, it's a 365, 24/7 commitment to red."

But another common refrain in the color community is that colors, in part because of the economy, are sticking around longer. "We've learned to kind of ebb and flow with colors," says Eiseman, "to punch them up a little bit when people get a little more accustomed to them, bring them down a little bit, soften them, make them a little more sophisticated so that the color evolves." As Mirabile says, "it's a lot easier to be right about green when there's no perfectly right green." At the meeting, one of the British colorists argued things were returning to an older rhythm, in which "colors used to hang around seven to 10 years." Sounding almost wistful, he pronounced "we always give up on things too soon. How many times did we say it's the end of brown. It hasn't ended yet!"

Shah allows that every so often, when his group bets on black, the wheel will stop on red. "I think we are 80 percent correct in terms of mood, not in actual verifiable color," he says. "I think the way we saw greens, for example," a few years back, "we saw it in a much more organic herbal way-it ended up being much more military. We got the wrong handle on the message."

Complicating things are the sweeping structural changes that have rippled through the world of fashion and media. Where color used to begin with the fiber producers and the color spinners, and trickled through a whole chain of trade shows and production processes, this arrangement was first upset by the rising power of retailers-who, as Shah describes it, "went right to the beginning of the chain"-and then by fast-fashion chains like Zara, who shrank the lead times that had long made forecasters useful. Not to mention the Internet, with its bevy of style sites and trend bloggers. "Colors and trends on the runway are now seen simultaneously by consumers and the trade," says Kevin Carrigan, global creative director at Calvin Klein. "As a result, they are adopted much faster on all levels." Companies across the board have gotten more color-savvy. "Take J.C. Penney shirts," says Mirabile-a category that once upon a time might have been manufactured in unsophisticated, outmoded colors. "They look beautiful. They're doing what Izod's doing. They're not lagging behind anymore."

But Harrington of the Color Association also notes that "as the consumer becomes more aware of color, they need more guidance." And so might designers. "If you take the Pantone flip guide," the company's full catalog of colors, rather than its whittled-down forecast, "there's 2,000 colors in there," says Cirkus. "Your head will explode. There's no direction. As a designer, the sky's the limit."

And this is what was happening in London: A search for meaning, a drive for a narrative, a glimpse into the maelstrom of the global mood. When I asked Shah about the colorists' prepared statements, with their seductive sweep and cool urgency-why didn't they just show colors, I wanted to know-he answered: "When people present color cards they're often so wrapped up in the colors, they forget how to tell the message of colors." And having sat through the meeting, I see what he means. In the forecasters' pairing of tints and stories there was an assurance of something real, and not merely apophenia-finding connections and "patternicity" in unrelated things-the affliction that haunted fictional trend-hunter Cayce Pollard. The forecasters have an intense ceaselessly twitching antenna for color, but like meteorologists, they can't make the weather, all they can do is try to read the signs in the air-a whisper of street fashion in Shibuya, the tides of unsold jumpers coming back at Uniqlo, the onset of a consumer mood darkening like clouds-to see which way the wind will blow. And the collective effort to look ahead is a burden forecasters take seriously. At one point, as he presented his collection of whites, the Italian colorist spoke of the book The Black Swan-which he had mistaken for the inspiration for the film of the same name. "It's a nightmare, it's all about the unpredictability of events. We can't do any prevision with intelligence. That was my anguish, my anxiety."

But such doubts do not last. "Color has been more important than silhouettes-will it still have that power in 2013?" Shah asks. "Yes, but adding a layer of complexity, and shapes that are astonishing," answered a British colorist without pause. The others nod.

"We put seasons and dates on things," Shah told me the day after the meeting. "This color is for Summer 2013," he says, accenting each word with a beat. "People still need a direction. People may want to do things closer to season, but you still need to start someplace. People always need confirmation. Even if you're as strong as Zara, they need a start."

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How I Snuck Into a Pantone Color Forecasting Meeting-and What I Learned

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In an airy studio on a high floor of the London College of Fashion, featuring a long conference table, white walls, and a view to an adjoining...

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Russia

Salary - $11,235,210

Capello is the highest paid International coach making 763 times more than the average person in Russia!

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Working Internationally poses problems other than just a possible language barrier. This book includes information regarding greetings, business attire, gift giving, tips, and more. A must have book in my eyes!

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This e-book is a practical guide offering International Business Etiquette tips that executives should be aware of when they negotiate on international markets. The book opens with a brief analysis of who has to adapt to the customs of the other party. It then addresses the most important aspects of etiquette , following the sequence of a negotiation between companies from different countries: greetings and introductions, use of names and titles, organizing meetings, communication guidelines, business meals, gift-giving, etc.

The book includes guidelines for adapting to business etiquette in sixty countries all over the world. The final section is an international business etiquette quiz, which readers can use to reinforce and apply the knowledge they have learned from the book as a whole..

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Etiquette and business culture

Who has to adapt?
Greetings and introductions
Names and titles
Organizing meetings
Punctuality and time
Business cards
Preliminary conversations
Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication
Business meals
Gift giving
Tipping tips
Business attire

Business etiquette in 60 countries

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela y Vietnam.

International etiquette quiz

OLEGARIO LLAMAZARES is an economist , international trade adviser and managing director of Global Marketing Strategies . He has nearly thirty years experience in the fields of foreign trade, marketing and international negotiations . He is the author, among other publications, of How to Negotiate Successfully in 50 Countries. He is also a professor at IE Business School and has been a featured speaker in numerous seminars and events for international managers.

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Business Etiquette in 60 Countries: The Essential Guide for International Managers

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Business Etiquette in 60 Countries: The Essential Guide for International Managers - Kindle edition by Llamazares, Olegario. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Business Etiquette in 60 Countries: The Essential Guide for International Managers.

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top paid international managers - Google Shopping

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A day in the life of an International Content Manager

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A day in the life of an International Content Manager

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According to the article, communication is KEY (which seems tricky to me being that everyone may not speak the same language, but also makes so much sense for the same reason?!) to success. Taking different time zones and personalities into account helps keep projects on track and communication (via phone or video conference) helps everyone worldwide feel connected.

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International Business is tremendous, and having employees that are skilled in all things in it is a huge asset!

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A major is a specific subject area that students specialize in. Typically, between one-third and one-half of the courses you'll take in college will be in your major or related to it.

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The acceptance of women, and individuals of different cultures is the American dream! Having this diversity can greatly impact a business and help it grow. I personally work at an office full of diversity. Not only do I enjoy learning about the different cultures, but I also enjoy the different suggestions. Having diversity is such a great thing!

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Posted At: November 30, 2012 3:10 P.M.
by Leighton Brown

What was once only imaginable - a truly diverse United States population with equal employment opportunity - is now a reality. An ever-increasing number of people come to our nation from different countries, cultures and backgrounds, and we are all essentially competing for the same thing: the American dream.

Because of our nation's current economic standing, more women (along with many other underrepresented groups) have felt inclined to enter the workforce. A recent blog post, written by Sophia Kerby and Crosby Burns for the Center for American Progress, outlines the Top 10 Economic Facts of Diversity in the Workplace. This article highlights the benefits of accepting diversity and how it can help your business grow and make it more competitive in the market today.

Accepting diversity in the workplace is extremely important and can help generate new ideas, grow your external client base and ultimately give you a new perspective on the world.

"Diversity can be beneficial in the workplace for several reasons," said Nicolas A. Brown, C.M., senior consultant at Landrum & Brown. "Most important, diversity brings people of different backgrounds together to approach the same problems or questions from their differing world-views and experiences. Through this [interaction], new and innovative processes and techniques can be derived for the same old problems or questions putting one's organization at the leading edge of their field."

It is important to recognize diversity internally in order to be ultimately successful. Recently, I was at aPRSSA seminar in Scotsdale, Ariz., listening to Brandi Boatner, digital experience manager IBM Global Technology Services. Boatner explained, "Diverse companies will make more money because they represent a wider range of publics." Minorities are quickly becoming the majorities in our society, and it's important for companies to recognize this change and use it to their advantage.

Growing up in Florida, I sometimes felt like I was born in a different country. In certain parts of Florida, Spanish seems to be the primary language. I have thus grown up learning to accept diversity. Whether it was in school or on my athletic teams, I had to learn how to creatively generate new ideas and solutions with people who were different from me.

My experiences with welcoming diversity was taken to new heights when I decided to study abroad. Upon my decision to move to Florence, Italy, I attended a small private school in the heart of the city. While this was perhaps one of the most amazing experiences in my life, it was also the most challenging. The local Florentines tend to be much more aggressive in expressing their thoughts and opinions. You are not going to leave a meeting without knowing exactly what they want you to know. They bring a whole new creative element to the business world compared to the Southern people whom I've spent my college life around. Needless to say, I had to adapt if I was going to survive the next six months of my international academic life.

Amazingly, I came to realize that interacting with my Italian classmates and professors was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me. Yes, we were literally from two different worlds, but I was able to learn how they think, and they were able to learn the same from me. I learned to be more aggressive with my thinking and to be bold. They showed me an entirely new way of creative and strategic thinking. Now, I feel like I'm a more confident person because of my Florentine friends.

Brown confirmed my personal experiences by explaining that "parts of someone else's approach to a problem combined together with parts of your approach has the potential to innovate or improve the way things are done! In addition, diversity always has the potential to spur competition and innovation."

There is a huge world out there, and we'd be foolish to not take advantage of it. Every culture and every background brings new elements to the table. As students and professionals, we should explore the advantages of the diversity around us. By doing so, we will become more well-rounded, and our companies will, in turn, be more well-rounded, relatable and successful.

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The Importance of Accepting Diversity Within the Workplace - Platform Magazine

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Posted At: November 30, 2012 3:10 P.M. by Leighton Brown Because of our nation's current economic standing, more women (along with many other underrepresented groups) have felt inclined to enter the workforce. Accepting diversity in the workplace is extremely important and can help generate new ideas, grow your external client base and ultimately give you [...]

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There's an app for that and its FREE! :)

This app is for employees having difficulties communicating with a supervisor or co-worker. In a mini diversity training session it covers cultural differences, communication styles and more. This may be a good starting point for someone struggling with a co-worker.

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I have watched this movie a million times with my daughter - and of course, never saw it this way! Monsters INC has very poor ethical standards! Mike and Sully are highly trained, dedicated employees who work very hard. Their boss, Mr Waternoose, says that he will do anything to power the company (even though that means harming children/Boo). Ultimately, his poor skills lead to his firing and a better plan is formulated to generate the Monster power.

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Business Ethics Through Film:  Monsters Inc.

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Planning is a management function which focuses on reaching goals. Barbara Findlay Schneck is an author and spokesperson for small business planning. She covers finance, marketing, staff and the devoted time needed to have a successful business in a two day seminar. For a new business, attending her seminar (or a similar course) could be very beneficial for the growth and success of the company.

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In 2014 there were more than 144 companies labeled as the "Worlds Most Ethical Companies." Included in this list were large companies such as Ford Motors, Google and Kellogg. Obtaining this title is not easy and proves that these companies have created a very successful ethical workplace. I love TOMS and their "one for one" motto and bet that next year they will make the official list!

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The Ethisphere Institute, a nine-year-old management consulting firm based in Scottsdale, AZ, is a player in the crowded field of corporate ethics rating. For the last eight years it has put out a list it labels the "World's Most Ethical Companies." We've covered it on Forbes.com since 2011 and we're doing it again this year. You'll see the 144 winners below and on Ethisphere's site. The list is unranked and includes such disparate companies as , , and in the U.S., a Saudi hospital construction company called IHCC, , a Polish oil refiner and All Good Organics, a food company in New Zealand.

Ethisphere is announcing the winners today at its two-day Global Ethics Summit, where it's bringing together some 300 lawyers, corporate managers and executives concerned with ethics compliance. The list gives the winners an opportunity to boast that they've been independently certified as ethical.

To earn a spot on the list, explains Ethisphere's general counsel Michael Byrne, companies must have robust corporate compliance programs, strong corporate social responsibility policies, they need to comply with federal sentencing guidelines, they should be abiding by international labor, anti-trust and trade laws and they should be monitoring their supply chain to make sure that companies they contract with are also sticking to international law and labor standards. Ethisphere nixes companies that have legal charges pending and it won't consider firms that deal in alcohol, tobacco or firearms.

Those all sound like tough standards but an article in Slate back in 2010 took Ethisphere to task for conflicts of interest and mushy standards in the crowded field of certifying companies' good works. Forbes.com covers several of the best-known lists, including the World's Most Trustworthy Companies, put together by risk management consultants GMI Ratings, the World's Most Reputable Companies, put out by another consulting firm, The Reputation Institute, and the world's most sustainable companies, a ranked list of 100 companies released by Canadian media company Corporate Knights. In fact the questionnaire Ethisphere uses to evaluate its entrants asks whether they have earned one or more of 26 different corporate recognitions or awards.

How does Ethisphere distinguish itself from those 26 other lists and is there a conflict between its bread and butter consulting business and the awards? Also how rigorous is its selection process?

After long interviews with Ethisphere CEO Tim Erblich and General Counsel Byrne, I'd say the conflicts are minimal, in part because Ethisphere broke away from its sister corporate consulting business, Corpedia, in 2011. Ethisphere's remaining consulting is limited and its revenues, less than $10 million, suggest that it's not raking in profits from companies paying for spots on the list. (There is no application or processing fee for companies that nominate themselves.) Ethisphere makes money from the $2,500 ads it sells in a magazine on ethics compliance it publishes quarterly. It also charges for webcasts and conferences like today's ethics summit. But Erblich says the most money comes from companies who pay up to $25,000 to be conference sponsors. Ethisphere also offers a "benchmarking" service, helping companies assess whether they're doing a good job at ethical compliance, but Erblich says only three of the 143 companies on the Most Ethical list availed themselves of that service.

What drives companies' interest in Ethisphere's magazine, webcasts and conferences are cases like the SEC's investigation into accounting fraud in Citigroup's Mexican Banamex unit and the 2012 bribery scandal in Wal-Mart's Mexican subsidiary. The data breach at Target last year is another example of a company failing, in Ethisphere's view, to stick to the highest standards of corporate practice. Ethisphere booted Target from the Most Ethical list as a result of the data debacle. But if a company can show that it has a robust corporate compliance policy, a CEO who preaches about the importance of clean practices in places like Mexico, and a board of directors that, ideally, travels to hot spots to check on compliance efforts, explains Byrne, it's less likely that employees and managers will commit fraud or get involved in a bribery scheme. If a company makes security a top priority, then at least in theory, it will catch hackers before they do irreparable damage.

Some 600 companies nominated themselves and filled out a questionnaire with more than 100 items. A couple of sample questions: "Has your organization assigned responsibility for the primary oversight of risk management within the organization to a specific member of the Board, a Committee or other governing authority?" and "How often does the person responsible for risk management in your organization formally communicate with the Board of Directors or other governing authority?" Companies get a raw score based on their answers to the survey questions. Then members of Ethisphere's 16-person staff do what Byrne calls "due diligence," scrutinizing documents the companies supply and putting each company through a Thomson Reuters database that tracks lawsuits and other corporate activity. For U.S. companies, Ethisphere looks at SEC filings and at company reviews on sites like Glassdoor, says Byrne.

How does Ethisphere evaluate a food producer in New Zealand, a construction firm in Saudi Arabia and an oil company in Poland? Byrne says his staff does its best to critically read the questionnaires, scrutinize documents the companies provide, and run queries through the global Thomson Reuters database. But he admits, "there's no question that there is more information about a US company that is publicly traded and has SEC filings." Ethisphere also takes much of the self-reported information on face value. "There is an element of trust if someone is submitting to an ethics survey, that they're not completely fabricating something," Byrne concedes.

The list is also missing out on dozens if not hundreds of highly ethical companies. Many firms with serious social missions, like environmentally-friendly cleaning products company Seventh Generation; and shoe company Toms Shoes and eyeglass maker Warby Parker, which give away, respectively, a pair of shoes and a pair of eyeglasses to people in need for every product they sell, are not on the list. "As we go forward we have to think of a way to engage more companies," says Erblich. Consider Ethisphere's list a selection of ethical companies, but not the definitive list.

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The Ethisphere Institute, a nine-year-old management consulting firm based in Scottsdale, AZ, is a player in the crowded field of corporate ethics rating. For the last eight years it has put out a list it labels the "World's Most Ethical Companies." We've covered it on Forbes.com since 2011 and we're [...]

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"To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, co-ordinate and to control."

Fayol's general principles of management are a great list of tools to use in the management field. If you take his ideas and mix its classical approach with the people focused, behavioral approach, you would have the perfect combination!

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I learned so much about Apple as a company and the management styles of Steve Jobs. He was seen as an 'egomaniac' and an extremely difficult boss! His ways were perceived as harsh, however, he was brilliant and it shows in the products he was part of!

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In the past, women were expected to stay home and take care of all the household duties. Today, it is common for women to not only be in the work field, but to also be part of Management. Women are still overcoming lots of challenges, such as; juggling work and family life, the pressures of a career and according to Kerry Hannon, financial saving. Hannon found that 75% of women polled could not maintain their current lifestyle through retirement. The reasons women don't seek advice include the lack of financial advisor knowledge, fees associated with obtaining an advisor and the failure to use online tools. I learned through this that the best advice is to seek out a financial advisor and take ownership of your future!

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Drumroll, please. Prudential's eighth biennial study on the Financial Experience & Behaviors Among Women was unveiled yesterday and the news is this: Women feel no more prepared to make wise financial decisions today than they did two years ago - or even a decade ago.

Nor has their understanding of financial and insurance products improved. Not surprisingly, the "Confidence Gap" (the measure of women's confidence in their ability to attain their financial goals) has not improved over that 10-year span either, according to the disheartening findings.

While 75% of the 1,407 American women (age 25 to 68) polled said having enough money to maintain their lifestyle throughout retirement was very important, only 14% were very confident they will meet that goal. And just 20% said they felt prepared to make smart money moves.
Very Discouraging News
My head hit the desk.

What is it with women and financial literacy?

Wives are increasingly the breadwinners in their households (nearly half of the women surveyed) and the women surveyed said they adroitly direct their day-to-day money transactions. About a third gave themselves an "A" for their knowledge of managing money (33%) and debt (29%). Most gave themselves a nothing-to-sneeze-at B or B-.

( MORE: Hopeful Money News About Boomer Couples)

Although I was pleased that Prudential found boomer women were twice as likely to feel on track or ahead of schedule for financial and retirement planning as Gen X women and Millennials (46% vs. 26 and 27% respectively), their showing was still pretty pathetic.
Women Throw Up Their Hands
The basic takeaway, though, is that women, on the whole, still throw their hands up when it comes to making long-term financial decisions about saving and investing. For example, only 41% of women said they understand stocks and bonds well compared to 56% of men.

( MORE: Shrewd Money Advice for Women Over 50)

"Women don't feel prepared to make wise decisions and are not sure what to consider when evaluating their options. They don't seem to be taking action either," said Lori Dickerson Fouché, chief executive officer of Prudential Group Insurance, at a media briefing about the study.

That inertia will have serious implications for them.

Prudential's findings aren't groundbreaking, but they're one more slap in the face that women are just not getting it.

In her recent New York Times article, Women to Wall Street: Are You Listening?, M.P. Dunleavey wrote that "many women are struggling to feel in control of their finances, given certain hurdles of their own. (Knowledge gaps + anxiety = shame.) Seventy-seven percent of women want to be involved in day-to-day investment decisions, a Merrill Lynch study found last fall, yet 72% say they 'know less than the average investor' about investing in general."

Here are four of the Prudential survey's findings that caught my eye, along with my advice for women concerning them:

1. Women said they have a lack of funds to invest. They felt one of their biggest barriers to reaching their long-term financial goals was not having enough disposable income to put toward them; 31% called this their top financial planning hurdle.

My advice: It doesn't take much dough to get started. You can set up an automatic investment program between your checking account and an index fund (of the broad stock market) with as little as $50 a month. Many no-load funds will waive or lower their minimum initial investment if you sign up for this kind of ongoing plan.

Once you take this action, your investing confidence will begin to grow. Try it.

2. Women are failing to use online money-management tools and calculators. Only 18% of boomer women surveyed said they take advantage of these on a regular basis.

My advice: You can do better. Dive into the electronic arena to bone up on investing. Online tools are a great way to learn and to save time dealing with your financial life.

There's lots of help available on the Internet, such as The National Endowment for Financial Education's site, Smartaboutmoney.org, which has free guides that explain stocks, bonds and mutual funds. ( Next Avenue has helpful articles from this group, too.)

Other general money sites I suggest you visit are Daily Worth and LearnVest. Another site I recommend for women is WISER, operated by the nonprofit Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement. Check out its Investment 101 tutorial.

3. Women have a lack of familiarity with financial products and industry jargon. This isn't rocket science. And the truth is there are so many resources out there to help you get educated.

My advice: Your employer's resources are a good place to start. Many companies and nonprofits offer workplace education and planning tools; some even underwrite lunch-and-learn sessions or bring in outside financial advisers to give talks.

Tap into your social media accounts, too, for money-management articles and insights. I was pleased to see in the Prudential study that women are beginning to see social media as a financial research tool; 12% said they use the sites for that purpose.

When asked which social media sites they'd trust most to learn about financial issues or products or to evaluate financial companies, Facebook won the most votes from boomer women (31%), followed by LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter.

4. Women feel financial advisers don't "get" them. Only one in five women surveyed believed the financial services industry truly understands their needs (the same percentage as men, interestingly).

Little wonder, then, that just 31% of women surveyed use a financial professional, down markedly from 48% in 2008. "It's shocking, surprising and admittedly disappointing," said Dickerson Fouché.

The numbers, I'm glad to say, were better for boomer women: 45% of them said they use a financial professional.

Some women surveyed don't work with money pros, however, because they feel they don't have sufficient assets or the advisers' fees are too high.

"There's a big misconception that you have to have certain amount of assets or income, or 'I'll have to pay a huge price to hire a financial adviser,' said Lynnette Khalfani-Cox ("The Money Coach") at Prudential's panel discussion. "I tell people you can't afford not to have a financial adviser."

My advice: Stop making excuses for not working with a financial adviser. Some do take middle-income clients and have reasonable fees.

Interview a few (there are searchable databases at sites of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, the Financial Planning Association and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards), find one you like and then don't be shy about asking the questions you need to make sense of it all.

You're accountable for your own financial future. Take ownership.
Kerry Hannon has spent more than 25 years covering personal finance for Forbes, Money, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today. Her website is kerryhannon.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerryhannon.

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A Prudential survey made this money writer want to bang her head.