Europe - good news and bad news

I don't know about you guys but I needed some good news today so I was happy to see this article in the new york times that says that "the european economy grew slightly in the third quarter" driven by France and Germany mostly.

Unfortunately I read this special report from the economist after, which was much less positive, though very interesting. In this article it says that the euro crisis might wake Europe up but what is more likely according to Edward Carr is compromise and the decline of the euro. However dark this article seemed to be, it was also a very interesting vision of the current situtation of the euro and I suggest that you read it.

Sources:
http://www.economist.com/node/21536872
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/business/global/european-economy-grew-0-2-percent-in-3rd-quarter-helped-by-france-and-germany.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Technology Dependency

After reading his article saying that young people think the internet is as important as breathing, I cannot help but fear for our future. Sure, the internet is amazing, can help us learn so much, but the fact is if we can't survive without Internet, humanity has a BIG problem!

We need to start putting things in perspective: millions of people live without Internet in the world today and we are so arrogant as to say that it is a necessary part of life? I'm not saying to stop Internet all together, just that we should put a bit of perspective in our lives! Don't stop Internet all together but maybe from time to time turn off your Internet connection, see how that feels like! =)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/internet-cisco-poll-2011-11?utm_campaign=Feed:+typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider+(Silicon+Alley+Insider)

Corruption and India

The middle class in India tended to be quite detached from the system, apathy regned as people had lost hope in all political parties and personalities. This segment, the fastest growing one in the economy whose buying power is expected to triple in the next 15 years, making India one of the most important consumer markets in the world, is starting to demand CHANGE.

Strikes agaisnt the all pervasive corruption have started attracting the support of the middle class.

To learn about the details of this very interesting phenomen check out this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/world/asia/indias-middle-class-appears-to-shed-political-apathy.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

How succesful leaders improve their team's performance

Here are a few strategies that can make a big difference:

• Affirm their worth. Telling an employee who has been performing well that he did a good job and is important to the company will encourage him or her to continue being productive and make the work environment more attractive. Think about it, when you have worked hard for a project for example and nobody appreciates your efforts, you may not be as willing to reproduce the same work for the next project whereas if you were praised the probability you continue working that hard will increase.

• Challenge them. Give people the opportunity to excel. Give them what they need to do the job and then give it to them. By that I don't mean the resources that might not be there because of scarcity but rather of support that is unlimited and should always be there for the employees even when they may fail. 

• Inspire them. How to do that? Start by setting high standards of excellence, that push you to do better. Then hold yourself accountable for delivering on these standards. And of course take pride not for your own achievements but rather for you and your team's productivity and performance.

• Know when to claim center stage. There are some directions that set the pace for the company and these are the ones where the leader should take charge, this is where he or she earns his or her paygrade. But do not forget to delegate too or else your subordinates will start to get frustrated by your "I'll do everything" attitude.

Source: http://www.bnet.com/blog/leadership/how-successful-leaders-improve-their-teams-performance/644

European Crisis

Here is a great visual aid for understanding the European Crisis, what is most critical right now, the possible outcome it could have and its impact on other countries.

Check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/23/sunday-review/an-overview-of-the-euro-crisis.html

Generation Y and Entrepreneurship: a disaster?

Just found this article that explains a new point of view about the generation Y that says its entrepreneurship will lead to disaster for multiple reasons.

This is a new opinion when most people talk about generation Y and entrepreneurship they associate it with companies such as Facebook and Goggle but there is more to it then that as you shall see in this article.

http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/why-gen-y-entrepreneurship-will-be-a-disaster/8762

Four Ways Women Stunt their Careers Unintentionally

A very informative article about how women can limit their opportunities.

Here are the four main ways that they do so:

- Being overly modest
- Not asking
- Blending in
- Remaining silent

Avoid these and you just might be able to advance faster than you thought.


http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/10/four_ways_women_stunt_their_careers.html

Management in Emerging Markets

Are you interested in working in emerging markets such as China or India?


Well here is a great website to get information on being a manager in those countries!


You can find lots of slides on management and marketing right here:


http://smathur.com/emerging_markets.php?PHPSESSID=96b6dc9108f31d090564842229e77dd1

Check it out ;)

Unique Brainstorming Techniques

Load up the company van => get out of the office to increase the team's creativity

Put the Decision Makers in the Room => they know what they're doing and are not afraid to express themselves

Take a break from Ideas => wash away your day and the grime of trying to get new ideas, who knows you just might get them while doing that by escaping from your surroundings

Keep Writing Materials on Hand => use them to record your thoughts, that way you'll never face the problem of trying to remember your great idea, you just have to read it!

Act Like your Customers => become your target, think like your prey

Bring your People Together => put together a group of 10 to 12 people with different backgrounds and different measures of business success and get them to share the problem or issue they are having, and the rest of the group brainstorms ideas and suggestions

Keep your People Apart  => avoid groupthink, and stimulate creativity by asking each individual their ideas before putting together the group

Source:http://www.inc.com/ss/7-unique-brainstorming-techniques#6

Women and Business

TRUTH: Women-Led Startups Have Fewer Failures
Here is an interesting article about research on startups showing that women have few failures.


Here are a few extracts, if you're interested check out the article ;)

"To address her hypothesis, Padnos, along with two MBA researchers from Carnegie Mellon, released one of the most comprehensive research reports to date on the state of women in venture-backed start-ups, titled High Performance Entrepreneurs: Women in High-Tech.

Among its many findings, the report, released in February 2010, concluded, "Women-led high-tech start-ups generate higher revenues per dollar of invested capital and have lower failure rates than those led by men. Data clearly shows that high-tech venture-backed companies founded by women do as well as those led by men despite often being capital-constrained. Portfolios that lack this diversity are likely to suffer over time." "

Read more: http://www.inc.com/articles/201109/how-to-combat-the-all-male-startup.html#ixzz1ZUUryIOi

Job Creation in India

Here is a great short video about job creation in India =)
Job Creation In India

US's stagnant job market bodes ill for world economy?

Analysis behind Post

US's job market is stagnant for multiple reasons: the impact of a shortfall in demand but the effect of this insufficient demand is only increased by factors like the aging population, the mismatch of skills (employers are looking for different skills then the ones offered by the employees) and the inadequate efforts to get people back to work.

The fact that this is happening in the US, a labor market known for its dynamism and its entrepreneurs is what makes it such a bad sign. Especially since businesses throughout the world are hoping for a revival of the US economy would through its size compensate for the euro zone debt crisis' negative impact.

Worst Month for Asian currencies since '97

Asia currencies set for worst month since '97


"Asian currencies were set for their biggest monthly loss in more than a decade as concern some European nations will struggle to pay their debts and a global slowdown bolstered demand for the relative safety of the dollar.


“The odds are rising for a recession in Europe and we are seeing adjustments to market positioning on risk aversion,” said Roy Teo, a currency strategist at ABN Amro Private Bank in Singapore. “Asian economies and currencies will not be spared as global growth is revised down.” "

Women and Travel

Travelling as a woman

Here is this great website for women who travel! 

It's a Small World =)

http://goo.gl/aG7gZ

The business world is a smaller place than you think ;)

Outsourcing concerns all of us ;)

http://goo.gl/paeRQ

Wall Street occupied in Protests against Greed

Here are some great photos showing how greed represented by Wall Street is starting to become unacceptable for the Average Joe and Jane and how they are showing it through protests!

Discover the World

This might seem like an obvious or an overly optimistic observation but I believe that this globalized world we live in is an amazing opportunity. We now live in a world where we can travel from one side of the world to the other with almost no difficulty.

I mean imagine, we can now discover the world, even without leaving your seat through internet, that is an amazing concept!!

So even though you've surely heard this before I'm going to repeat it

GO FOR IT!

Yeah it can be scary and ridiculous but at least when you're old and you're remembering your youth you can be like "I lived an AWESOME life! ;)"

Travelling and sleeping well: an impossible combination?

Does this look like a comfy seat to sleep in to you?


Have you ever had trouble sleeping on the plane while travelling? Especially when you are in coach? This happens to me all the time, and it is a huge problem, especially when one has a meeting right after the trip, as I arrive tired, frustrated and basically hating the world and everybody in it.


In the following article I heard the story of someone who had the same problems as me and researched it.


This is a sum up of what the article says and what the journalist found out:


"Eating habits, the right clothing and well-chosen seats may help someone like me in the short term, but my problems – sleep habits in general and travel-related stress – are longer-term issues with no easy solutions. And even if I do resolve them and eventually start sleeping on planes, the quality of that sleep won’t be so great"


I know this is a really depressing answer but and this is a big BUT there is something that you can do to make the situation a bit better: plan your flight knowing you will land tired, which means you can take a day flight and sleep on arrival or just plan a day to breath before getting into business.


All in all, hopefully this post will help you enjoy travelling a bit more!

Source:
http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/cramped-in-coach-or-the-science-of-sleep/?smid=tw-frugaltraveler&seid=auto

Business in a Global Environement

Here is a free ebook with a very interesting chapter on business in a global environment! I strongly encourage you to take a look =)


http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/node/28021#web-28021

Peace talks with Palestine and Israel

Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21530179

Global Unemployment : Topic number 1

Unemployment is becoming a more and more prominent subject, one talked about by every country but also by the International Monetary Fun and the World Bank. Why? Because the unemployment rate is the ultimate measure of economic success. Especially since a big share of the world's political and economic turmoil is fueled in one way or another by unemployment causing events such as the London riots or the Arab Spring.

Chief economist of the European Bank, Erik Berglof says that "The No. 1 focus is going to be on small and medium-size enterprises and employment, creating new jobs and meaningful jobs".

Unemployment is extremely important as it can have a corrosif impact on societies: increase of crime, depression, divorce, etc.

It also reduces tax revenue and therefore does not help reduce government's debt.

These are the main reasons why the lacking job creation is one of the dominant topics today in economics.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/business/global/to-limit-turmoil-focus-turns-to-fighting-joblessness.html

Global Economy pushed to the brink

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9bedaa82-e603-11e0-960c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1YwLBLEip

Here is an interesting article that sums up pretty well the current global economic state.

A few main points:

- Greater sense of urgency in discussions on the eurozone as fear of another global crisis.
- Eurozone governments have pledged to pass legislation by mid-October to "maximise its impact in order to address contagion"