Very recently we’ve been hearing a great deal about the ubiquitous “pink slip.” It seems it has become a bone of contention in the Republican Presidential primary particularly in the state of New Hampshire, as a result of a recent mis-statement by one of the candidates. If you think my purpose here is to advise if I will ultimately vote for him or any of the candidates in that party or another, that is … Continue reading
(Reuters) – On a quiet stretch of the waterfront here, about a mile from Boston’s main tourist sites, a Gillette factory hums along 24 hours a day making an unlikely commodity: top-of-the-line razors. The factory, which employs about 700 people in manufacturing as well as another 800 in design, engineering and management, is an anomaly in modern America – a manufacturing site in one of most expensive cities in the … Continue reading
I just read an interesting piece in the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald by James Adonis, entitled “Worked Up About Work.” The actual article can be found at the following link: http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/blogs/work-in-progress/worked-up-about-work/20110318-1bz8x.html Adonis cites a Gallup poll of 47,000 people from more than 100 countries, 2,000 of whom were from Australia. “They discovered that 31% of Costa Ricans, 30% of Guatemalans, and more than 29% of Brazilians are in the highest … Continue reading
I remember many years ago when I was doing a project for an advertising agency in New York City and we were told not to have any dealings with “those creative types.” This agency was then known as the world’s largest and the most successful. The client was referring to the people who created the adverts that we see on TV, in print ads, and so forth. These people, at that … Continue reading
We have all seen what is happening with the various uprisings going on in Egypt, Yemen, Iran, Bahrain, and other countries in the Middle East. None of this should surprise any of us, if we truly understand the power of the Internet and the power of Social Media. Now you ask what does this have to do with productivity. Great question. Imagine if you will, if this kind of power … Continue reading
THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson The First Million Until I was thirty years old, I wasn’t much of a fisherman. I’d take a rod and reel along on a camping trip, but I never expected to catch much of anything. In my mind, fishing was a relaxing past time you enjoyed with friends and beer. Then my buddy Brian asked me to go fishing. I took him to a … Continue reading
THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson With the morning mist still on the Hudson River, and the sun just kissing the cliff tops of the New Jersey Palisade, Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States shot and killed former Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Political opponents for years, the duelists faced each other after Burr sent these words to Hamilton: “Political opposition can never absolve gentlemen from the … Continue reading
Via BusinessWeek By Shobhana Chandra May 6 (Bloomberg) — The productivity of U.S. workers probably rose in the first quarter at the slowest pace in a year as employers took on staff to meet growing demand, economists said before a report today. Employment may keep growing as companies such as Timken Co., which slashed payrolls and relied on becoming more efficient to lower expenses and protect profits during the recession, … Continue reading
Via CNNMoney.com By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The manufacturing sector grew for the ninth consecutive month in April, and at its fastest rate since June 2004, according to a report released Monday. The Tempe, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index rose to 60.4 in April, from a March reading of 59.6. Any score above 50 indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. April’s number is … Continue reading
via The New York Times By JACK EWING FRANKFURT — The past weekend was definitely not a good time to be a Kenyan flower grower, an Israeli avocado farmer, a package tour operator or anyone else trying to run a business that depends on air transport to or from Europe. Consider TUI, the largest travel operator in Germany. With all the country’s airports closed because of the danger posed by … Continue reading