Daylight Robbery?

Here is a video by the Global Witness that run pioneering campaigns against natural resource-related conflict and corruption and associated environmental and human rights abuses. From Cambodia to Congo, Sierra Leone to Angola, we have exposed the brutality and injustice that results from the fight to access and control natural resource wealth, and have sought to bring the perpetrators of this corruption and conflict to book. Continue reading »

Rock Star Employees

Many companies and business are going thru massive changes and restructuring to ensure that they survive into the future. This will of course involve identifying and retaining the best talent that is available and moulding them to lead the respective parts of the business. This is no easy task as while there are real talents, there are also massive number of pretenders. Below is an interesting article on The 5 Traits of High-Potential Employees.

Who will be ready to run your company when you can’t be everywhere anymore? Here’s how to pick your next generation of leaders.

1. They know the business. Your high-potential employees are the ones who have true expertise and keep learning. Their knowledge may be technical or it may be institutional, but it’s invaluable for the organization. More important, they understand how their activities, their sector, and their realm of knowledge is related to the company’s goals.

2. Others respect them. Your staff members, not just you, also have to appreciate how much your high-potentials know. It’s not enough that your top people know their stuff. Everyone else has to know they know it.

3. They are ambitious. High-potential employees aren’t just career-minded; they’re ambitious in a focused way. The best way to get a sense of this is to evaluate their commitment to career progression. Look for signs that they long to accumulate new responsibilities, new successes, additional knowledge, and, for better or worse, additional recognition.

4. They work well with others. Though your leaders need to be driven, they also must be able to form partnerships with others besides you. This attitude goes beyond amiability; it’s a pragmatic, tactical skill that allows them to make better, more informed decisions. Lone rangers may be creative and ambitious, but they make lousy leaders.

5. They have guts. Your next generation of leaders must understand that no matter how much research they do, no matter how many cost-benefit analyses they conduct, no matter how many market surveys they complete, they will always be deciding under conditions of uncertainty. The information at hand will always be less than the information you wish you had. Leaders need to have the courage to take risks.

Though you don’t want your next generation of leaders to be clones of you, you do want them to have the traits that drove you to build a growing company. You want them to know their stuff. You want them to have a good reputation on your team. You want them to be driven but able to give and accept help. Finally, you want them to have the courage to make tough decisions, even if there’s a chance they’ll fail. Because that’s how entrepreneurship works.

Source : Inc

2012 Most Valuable Brands

The world’s biggest brands have continued to grow in value during the current economic uncertainty, according to WPP company Millward Brown’s annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study. The No. 1 brand for the second year, Apple, rose 19% in value and is now worth $182.9 billion.

IBM grew 15% in value to $115.9 billion and overtook Google, which dropped to third place in the ranking and is now worth $107.8 billion. In advance of its IPO, eight year old Facebook rose 74% in value, making it the fastest brand value riser in the ranking. Worth $33.2 billion the social network moved up to No.19 from No.35.

How To Find A Mentor

Have you ever thought of getting yourself a mentor?

It pays to have a helping hand to get ahead in the workplace whether you’re transitioning between roles or switching into a whole new field. Most of us can benefit from having a mentor or sponsor at our back to teach, promote and encourage us.

Think of it like real experience guiding you through rather than you figuring it out yourself. I personally know people who have the blessings of finding themselves quality mentor’s which has helped them a great deal. The job market and the whole corporate environment is way different today and some guidance will definitely go a long way. For all you know you might have something to offer to your mentor.

There are heaps of tips on how to find a mentor but i would say take your time and find one that you feel can help you progress both professionally and as a person. It will go a long way …..

But How do you Find a Mentor?

1. Ask yourself what you want in a mentor or sponsor.

Is it an expert who can help with a specific business challenge—asking for a raise, say, or ways to spiff up your image with the proper dress for success attire? Do you want someone inside your workplace who has the inside track to be an advocate for your project or promotion, or someone who can act as a more general sounding board and big-picture guide?

2. Check your employer’s human resources department to see if they have a mentoring program.

Many big corporations– General Mills, Intel, Ernst & Young, Proctor & Gamble, American Express, Cisco, Citi, Deloitte, Intel, Morgan Stanley and Time Warner offer sponsorship and mentoring programs. Entrepreneurs might tap into industry associations or SCORE.org, a nonprofit association and resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

3. Look outside the office. Mentoring doesn’t have to be a “business” relationship.

You can find mentors outside the workplace from associations you belong to, activities you’re involved in, neighbors, and relatives.

4. Do an Advanced People Search on LinkedIn.

You might search for someone from your alma mater. College ties do bind. You type in a title and your university, for example, current vice presidents of marketing and attended Duke University. You can focus the search on your zip code or town, so you can connect with someone nearby.

5. Consider a mentor younger than you.

50-plus workers might want to tap someone who may be junior in age, but can offer more experience and guidance when it comes to new fields and areas like technology where they might not be quite as fluent.

6. Practice your “Why Me” speech.

This is a sales job. Landing a sponsor calls for self-promotion. You must toot your own horn, aka, your accomplishments to get a higher-ups attention. They aren’t going to back someone who doesn’t have the potential to be a winner and make them look good. Skip the modest approach.