Page Personnel

2011年8月14日星期日

Want Higher Profits? Smash the Glass Ceiling - Jobs

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According to a near two-decade research study of Fortune 500 companies (from 1980–1998) by Roy Adler, a Fulbright scholar and Professor of Marketing at Pepperdine University and one of a very select few awarded the distinction of Designated Fellow by the Academy of Marketing Science, there is a strong correlation between women in the executive suite and high profitability. In fact, within the 25 Fortune 500 companies with the best record of promoting women into high positions, profits were higher by an astounding 18-69% when compared to the median Fortune 500 firms within their same industry!

And to be sure, since different industries use different measures of profitability, the study included three measures of profitability to evaluate each of the firms – profits as a percent of:

RevenuesAssetsStockholders' equity.

Revenues

On the measure of profits as a percent of revenues, the 25 firms outperformed the corresponding industry medians by 34%. The women-friendly firms averaged 6.4% while the average of their industry medians was 4.8%.

When taken individually, almost two-thirds of the subject firms outperformed their median counterparts.

Assets

On the measure of profits as a percent of assets, the 25 firms outperformed the industry medians by 18%. The women-friendly firms averaged 6.5 percent while the average of their industry medians was 5.5%.

When taken individually, 62% of the firms outperformed their median counterparts.

Stockholders’ equity

On the measure of profits as a percent of stockholders' equity, the 25 firms outperformed the industry medians by 69%. The women-friendly firms averaged 26.5% while the average of their industry medians was 15.7%.

When taken individually, 68% of the firms outperformed their median counterparts.

Slicing the data

In fact, these results are even more interesting when the "slice of data" is modified from the top 25 firms as shown in the table below:

Percent by which companies exceed the industry median in terms of ...

Profit as a % of >>> Revenue Assets EquityTop 10 firms 46 41116Top 15 firms 35 2585Top 20 firms 34 19 78Top 25 firms 34 18 69

In other words, the results of the "top 25 firms" featured in this study are quite conservative. The results are even more dramatic when a smaller “slice” of only the most friendly firms for women are highlighted.

Of course, it should be pointed out that "correlation" does not indicate or prove "causality." There may be any number of reasons why the study results are as indicated.

However, despite the interpretation of the data, there is no denying that there is a positive correlation between the existence of larger numbers of women in the executive suite and higher than normal profitability within an industry.

Source: Women in the Executive Suite Correlate to High Profits by Roy D. Adler, Ph.D., Pepperdine University.

Nina nets it out: When you’re ready to earn higher profits and out-compete your industry colleagues, you know what to do!! For an interesting take on this from Inc. Magazine, click here. Nina Simosko's personal blog can be found at www.ninasimosko.com.

WALL E, Steve Jobs, Pixar and Optimism - Jobs

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WALL E. Have you seen it? What did you think? I loved it.

I want to discuss WALL E, the latest release from Pixar, not because of the quality of the movie, but because of the Pixar story, and what it has to say about self confidence. As I mention in “Straight Talk for Success,” Successful people are self confident. Self confident people have three things in common. If you want to build your self confidence, become optimistic. Face your fears and act. Surround yourself with positive people.

Steve Jobs, the man who brought you the Mac and iPod, was the optimist who realized the potential of Pixar early on. In his New York Times Book Review review of “The Pixar Touch” Michael Hirschorn says, “Without Jobs’ relentless drive, Pixar would have been an inferior and probably bankrupt competitor to Sun Microsystems, not the most important movie studio in our era.”

That’s what optimists do. As The Optimist Creed says, they “think only of the best, work only for the best and expect only the best.” Steve Jobs vision, belief and self confidence did a lot to make Pixar what it is today. In the process, he and the incredibly creative people at Pixar brought us not only WALL E, but Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Ratatouille.

If you’ve seen these movies, you know just how creative they are. If you haven’t, I suggest you go to see WALL E in the theater, and rent the others.

The common sense point here is simple. Self confidence is the platform on which all success is built. If you want to become self confident, you need to be optimistic. You need to clearly see where you want to go, and believe in your heart you can get there. WALL E was optimistic enough to hitch a ride on a spaceship in order to be with his one true love. In the end, he and she save the world – but that’s a story better told by the optimists at Pixar.

That’s my take on the importance of optimism to self confidence and success. What’s yours? As always, I’m interested in your perspective on these thoughts. I welcome and appreciate your comments. Thanks for reading.

Bud

Wall Street and the New Startup Economy - Jobs

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Why venture-backed tech hopefuls may be a haven amid the financial storm. Related Contentslideshow10 Web 2.0 Failuresrelated articleWhat the Wall Street Crisis Means for Big Techrelated articleHow Wall Street's Meltdown Will Affect Your Careerrelated articleFrom Wall Street to Dubai

The vocabulary of this month's financial news has been dismal, with words like slumping, collapsing, and failure dominating the media lexicon. While the tumult has prompted credit scarcity, layoffs, and write-downs for many companies, the market for tech startups has remained a small and viable haven.

It may seem sanguine to use the word "haven," since no corner of the economy is impervious to larger trends. But because venture capitalists work on long fundraising timetables and deal in liquid money, faltering banks and crises of credit don't effect VC funds as acutely as they do other institutions. That means startups can continue be free to innovate and grow, with money in the bank.

According to Eric Litman, a serial entrepreneur and former head of the incubator WashingtonVC, negative economic conditions trickle down to venture capitalists slowly, leaving them somewhat resistant to macroeconomic trends. "Much like entrepreneurs, VCs typically go on fundraising road shows lasting anywhere between four months and a year to acquire all of the capital they'll need for the five- to seven-year life of the fund," he says. Once that cash is collected, they usually spend it according to plan, regardless of what's happening in the markets.

That squirrel-like mentality continues to be evident among Silicon Valley startups, even as each week brings more woeful economic news. David Rusenko, co-founder of the website-creation tool Weebly.com, says that venture capitalists will definitely revise their methodology in light of the bear market, but that the flow of money isn't being affected. "We continue to get offers every week for more funding," he says, "but we're turning them down since we've become profitable."

Venture funds rely on liquid money to capitalize companies, not credit. Often, they round up cash from well-capitalized institutions like hedge funds or universities looking for risky investments. Market corrections may even help venture funds, as they did in 2006-7; when interest rates are kept high to curb inflation, heavyweight investors may look to venture funds as a place for their alternative assets, instead of engaging in buyouts or other private equity activities.

If they need even more money, venture partners usually take on a limited partner, or LP, who makes a legally-binding commitment to bring more capital to the table, regardless of whether their confidence in the fund -- or the economy -- wavers. The fund, in turn, gives a company of their choice a lump sum up front. And while they may choose not to invest in a company twice, one massive cash infusion is often enough to keep most tech startups sailing, no matter what havoc is being wreaked in the economy.

What makes tech startups so lucky? While it's true that bearish trends can make for great investment opportunities in many markets, small technology companies are particularly deft at taking advantage of a bad economy. As Litman explains, a bear market can cut the costs of starting and running a business, particularly the costs of real estate and salaries.

But he notes that tech startups have especially low startup and operating costs, perhaps because many of their products -- like web services or software -- are intangible. The Y-Combinator fund, for example, gives its seedlings a total of just $20,000 for a three-month incubation period, often for a company with two or three founders. Try starting almost any other business with that, and you'll see why tech startups remain such attractive investments in lean times.

Faced with a worsening market, venture capitalists will indeed be changing their strategies, however. Since they have to think long-term, they know that this market contraction will hurt their ability to raise funds later. Michael Siebel is a co-founder of Justin.tv, another Y-Combinator company which was later funded by New Enterprise Associates and Alsop Louie Partners. He has watched the current crop of Valley startups make the rounds looking for mid-stage funding.

"When the venture funds know money will be tight, they want either amazingly disruptive ideas, or ideas with sound business fundamentals," he says. "They're becoming more focused, and playing their cards closer to the chest."

Rusenko predicts that for some venture capitalists, the funding focus will shift to later-stage startups who have more proven popularity or more developed business plans. "The earlier ones will still get off the ground," he adds, "but they won't get, say, six million bucks up front. They'll have to slog through the beginning." On a small number of game-changing ideas will get plucked from the early-stage field.

Whether or not they can secure funding, the new crop of tech hopefuls will also have to deal with more reticent advertisers, and consumers less willing to spend money online. In short, the next round of startups won't be the "as much of a glitzy, rockstar process" as it was earlier this year, Rusenko predicts.

But that, he says, isn't necessarily a bad thing. "Companies started during a downturn are the ones that have proven themselves and developed great products," he says. "And ultimately, those are the businesses that sell."

WALL E, Courtney and Interpersonal Competence - Jobs

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A couple of weeks ago, I did a post on the Pixar movie WALL E. Have you seen it? What do you think? I loved it.

And so did Courtney, one of the readers of this blog. She left a comment on my post on WALL E. She included a link to a blog post she did on WALL E and the folks at Pixar. You can check it out here.

Not to steal her thunder, but when Courtney, saw the early trailer for WALL E, way back in October of 2007, she couldn’t help but cry when she heard EVA say “WALL E”. She was so moved by the voice, that she uploaded a video of herself watching the trailer to YouTube. You can check it out here.

Let me know what you think after you watch the video. Leave a comment for Courtney if you’re so moved.

Courtney’s YouTube video developed a cult following at Pixar. So much so, that she was invited to the Pixar wrap party for WALL E. Great story – and it makes a point about the importance of emotions and interpersonal competence.

Interpersonal competence is one of the five keys to career and life success that I discuss in my book “Straight Talk for Success.” Often I hear people say, “This is business, let’s keep emotions out of it.” Unfortunately, we are all human beings, and as such, emotions can’t be kept out of it, because they are always there.

Interpersonally competent people are willing to share their emotions with the people around them. When you do this, you become more human. And being human is the best way to build relationships and resolve conflict positively – two important aspects of interpersonal competence.

Courtney shared her emotions with the world on her WALL E YouTube video. And, she was rewarded for it. As it turns out, her YouTube post came at a crucial and difficult time in WALL E production, and helped give the crew a much needed lift.

I’m not suggesting that you should upload YouTube videos of yourself anytime you are happy, sad, angry or frustrated. However, telling the people around you how you are feeling at times when you experience strong emotions is a good way to build strong relationships and become interpersonally competent.

The common sense point here is simple. If you want to succeed in your life and career, you must become interpersonally competent. Interpersonally competent people understand themselves, build strong relationships with the important people in their lives and resolve conflict in a productive manner. When you share your emotions – how you are feeling – you are taking positive steps to build relationships and resolve conflict positively.

That’s my take on Courtney’s WALL E video, Pixar’s reaction, the importance of sharing your emotions and interpersonal competence. What’s yours? As I always, I thank you for reading and encourage you to share your ideas by commenting on this and other of my posts.

Bud

Voyage of Discovery - Jobs

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Discovery Communications (DCI) which airs Dirty Jobs has more than 100 TV networks reaching 1.5 billion subscribers. Here are four of DCI's key properties. The Dirtiest Mind in BusinessHow filth met opportunity and created a franchise.Seven Dirty Habits of Highly Effluent PeopleMike Rowe’s seven rules for job satisfaction.Video: Mike Rowe 'Bears' All for Fast Company Get an exclusive behind the scenes peek at Dirty Jobs star Mike Rowe, getting good and dirty for Fast Company while romping with a bear.

"We're about satisfying curiosity about the world," says David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications (DCI), which airs Dirty Jobs and has more than 100 TV networks reaching 1.5 billion subscribers. Zaslav, who arrived in early 2007, overhauled management, eliminated some 1,200 jobs, and ditched the 120 tanking retail stores to focus on e-commerce. "We're not just a cable company anymore," he says. But while cyber is cool--and DCI saw profits rise to $246 million in his first nine months, up nearly 50% from a year ago--cable is still king. Here are four of DCI's key properties:

Planet GreenStarting in 2008, Discovery Home will be recycled into Planet Green, a 24-hour channel dedicated to eco-everything. Expect blockbuster specials mixed with lifestyle series; Leonardo DiCaprio takes a turn as the producer of Eco-Town, a chronicle of the rebirth of a tornado-devastated Kansas town into a fully green community.Animal PlanetFrom meerkats to orangutans, the critters of Animal Planet have provided at least as much drama as human-based reality TV (the stars can actually die). Jeff Corwin, the Emmy-winning host of several Animal Planet series, recently collaborated with CNN on Planet in Peril, a four-hour miniseries, which aired on both networks.TLCMakeover-ista Stacy London's show What Not to Wear is a big part of TLC's solid showing. (She also hosts the channel's first talk show, which premiered last November.) TLC saw its 2007 prime-time audience rise to 933,000, up from 816,000 last year.Discovery ChannelPlanet Earth, Discovery's return to the blockbuster miniseries, won an Emmy in 2007, but grit is the channel's daily fare. Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch, and Man vs. Wild, among others, give regular viewers their he-man fix. The channel has 95 million subscribers; their average viewership is up 18% from this time last year.
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Vote for Fast Cities 2009 - Jobs

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Chicago and London topped our 2008 Cities of the Year list. This year we're asking for your help in choosing the most exuberant, diverse and growing city to top the list of Fast Cities for 2009. Click here to submit your nomination.

Viva la Freedom of Music - Jobs

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If the music industry can't figure out how to make a profit, they might as well just give their music away for free. The major labels have done little to innovate the industry. One innovation, however, that just might work (and one which I benefitted from) is free concerts. BIG free concerts.

Coldplay held three free concerts (London, Barcelona and New York City), and I was a lucky winner of two tickets to Madison Square Garden on June 23. Fans (and anyone else) could sign up on the band's official website earlier this spring, with hopes of winning a pair of tickets. The British band will commence their regular North American tour in Los Angeles on July 14. Sadly, you will have to pay for these.

Going to see Coldplay for free isn't like going to see some rising Indie band at a club. This is a band that came in at sold within the first week of its release. Going to see one of the biggest bands at one of the largest music venues in the U.S. is hardly a token event. It's a promotional extravaganza. The event was so huge that the 19,763 capacity arena was at least 75 percent filled, with a quarter blocked off by the stage.

The concert itself was close to spectacular. Not skimping on any stage production elements since it was a free show, but also not over-the-top, the English quartet performed their hearts out. While there were a few technical glitches here and there, the band members were never fazed, laughed it off and the audience laughed with them.

Now, who else in the music industry will be as kind (brave, foolish, insert adjective here) as Coldplay to hold giant free concerts for their fans? It could turn into a small trend, but I don't see free concerts at Madison Square Garden becoming a regular promotional technique. More than likely, smaller venues will play host to free concerts, like Wyclef Jean performing at the Apple Store in Manhattan's Soho district on June 9.

What also remains to be seen is what kind of benefits such a promotion can reap. After all, the album debuted at #1 in the United States before the free concert, so its hard to tell if the spectacle really helped Coldplay's album sales or not. Judging by the audience's enthusiasm, I'd guess that the majority of those in attendance would have thrown down big bucks to see them anyway. I know I was planning to buy tickets until I found out the concert was a free lottery.

However, there is something to be said for anything free: it is still advertising, whether you realize it or not. Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, wrote a piece, "The Long Tail" about the future of entertainment markets and the premium of free. Essentially, "free has a cost: the psychological value of convenience."For those in the audience who weren't big fans before and happened to win tickets or were brought along by a friend, a huge entertaining performance can influence album sales.

So I ask you, can the industry save itself this way and boost album sales, or is it just throwing away money on big-budget productions?

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