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December 5, 2007

Tax the Beautiful to Feed the Ugly?!

I read a BBC article yesterday on how 'Ugly people in Argentina are striking back.' A man named Gonzalo Otalora has been "ugly" all his life and he's taken it upon himself to bridge the gap between the beautiful and the ugly so to speak. He sees beauty as a "natural advantage," and is determined that beautiful people be taxed in order to offset the inherent advantages they have over ugly people such as himself.

My first thought upon reading this? Wow. That's some strong feeling. The guy candidly admits to the BBC that all his life he has been a victim of his looks. "I was a child with thick glasses, spots and braces," he said. "The kids made fun of me at school… Later the girls rejected me in the discos. And then when I was looking for work, I felt so ugly and insecure that I was rejected again and left without a job."

The article really got me thinking. Are these advantages that beautiful people have really so very advantageous? Are they particularly pronounced in the workplace or at least in the often tumultuous and competitive road to getting a job? Does a finely chiseled face command more authority than an awkward, saggy one? Does a strapping, barrel chested man come upon better business opportunities than his skinnier colleagues? And if so, are the decisions to bestow such advantages conscious?

In a paper entitled Beauty and the Labor Market, University of Texas Professor Daniel S. Hamermesh and Michigan State University Professor Jeff Biddle argue that:

"Holding constant demographic and labor-market characteristics, plain people earn less than people of average looks, who earn less than the good-looking. The penalty for plainness is 5 to 10 percent, slightly larger than the premium for beauty. The effects are slightly larger for men than women; but unattractive women are less likely than others to participate in the labor force and are more likely to be married to men with unexpectedly low human capital."

In another report entitled "Beauty, Productivity and Discrimination: Lawyers', Looks and Lucre," the two professors present evidence showing that how handsome a male attorney is has a directly bearing on how likely he is to attain early partnership directly correlates with how handsome he is. They could not clearly deduce whether the effect was because clients discriminate or because better-looking lawyers were able to obtain greater pecuniary gains for their clients.

In 2000, a London Guildhall University study revealed that men considered to be unattractive earn 15% less, equal to £3,000 on a salary of £20,000. It showed that "unattractive" secretaries earn some 15% less than prettier colleagues, and plain women on average, earn 11% less than men.

Continue reading "Tax the Beautiful to Feed the Ugly?!"

Posted by Saabira Chaudhuri at 2:11 PM | 9 Comments

October 5, 2007

Education: When Business and Education Collide -- The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

Recent grads entering the workforce have gotten accustomed to hearing bad news about their prospects with increasing frequency. The rising costs of higher education means graduates pay for college much longer than four years. Young adults are more dependent on their parents than ever before. Specific job skills being taught now might not be applicable for the next generation of workers. And the list goes on and on....

So what to do? Alma maters are increasingly lending a helping hand, with more and more colleges and universities hiring career advisers specifically for alumni. The most valuable services: reintroducing alumni to their school network and helping them build their contacts. Next in line to extend the generosity should be the institutions that partnered with private lenders to "help" students and wound up making them even more desperate for a well-paying job.

High schools in several states are also stepping up their career prep, this time by requiring students to "major" in a career field. On the plus side, it jump-starts students' consideration of their futures and motivates them overall in their schoolwork. But on the minus side, not many ninth-graders know what they want to do tomorrow, let alone in eight years. Of course, exploring legal studies in high school doesn't mean you're on a fast track to becoming the next Johnnie Cochran. It means nothing, actually, about your eventual career path -- which is why, from a career prep standpoint, the requirement isn't that beneficial. The annual career fair will do.

Then there's the ever-looming problem of being able to shell out the cash once you actually have figured out your career path. Loans once held the promise of lifting undue financial burden off the shoulders of people with ample determination but limited funds for college. But private lenders squandered that promise with abysmally high interest rates and got rich in the process. This prompted Congress to reduce subsidies to lenders in attempts to reform the educational loan process. Now the business of college finance looks a lot less enticing, as indicated by the failed Sallie Mae acquisition. Whether or not this upheaval will benefit students and graduates in debt is another story. There will probably always be a fresh supply of i-bankers and consultants who aren't interested in their chosen careers nearly as much as paying off those loans.

So, as education and business go increasingly hand in hand, I'm left with two questions. How much influence does your field of study have on your actual career? And will the increasing debt incurred from financing higher education cancel out college's benefits one day?

Posted by April Joyner at 2:38 PM | 3 Comments

September 19, 2007

Innovation Wednesday: Unique Social Networking Site helps Iraq War Veterans Find Work

Some returning Iraq war veterans are facing another battle at home: The fight to find a job. In fact, unemployment among young veterans is significantly higher than non-veterans in the same age group, mostly 22-24, and dramatically higher than the general population at large. This is frustrating from a moral standpoint, but also troubling from a practical one: Why aren't the skills taught in the military translating more easily into the private sector?

Continue reading "Innovation Wednesday: Unique Social Networking Site helps Iraq War Veterans Find Work"

Posted by Ellen McGirt at 2:10 PM

June 21, 2007

Al Gore's $100 Million Makeover

When you pick up the next issue of Fast Company magazine, Al Gore will be serenely looking back at you. We were fortunate to have Good Morning America do a quick mention of the story -- check it out here. (The video screen for the segment is to the right.) The story will be available in its entirety early next week on FastCompany.com.

As all the cash register sound-effects clearly indicate, Mr. Gore has generated a significant amount of personal wealth since he left office; this in itself is not entirely unusual for someone who enters the private sector after a lifetime of public service. Money has long been a tonic for former politicians who leave, or are invited to leave, their jobs -- think symbolic board posts, memoirs, corporate keynote speeches, a lifetime of hefty honoraria. And, after his dramatic 2000 nonelection, Gore might have limped along to just that sort of life. Significant wealth alone does not a Fast Company cover subject make, however.

In what may be one of the greatest brand makeovers in history, Gore has become an international darling, hailed as a visionary on everything from climate change to Iraq. He's an Academy Award winner, a best-selling author, a front-runner for the Nobel Prize, and a concert promoter who turned out to be a bigger rock star at this year's Grammys than the rock stars themselves.

But what no one is talking about is that Gore has also become a stunningly successful businessman and entrepreneur, using the Petri dish of business to explore his deeply felt ideas about how the world works, doesn't work, and could work better. (In addition to being associated with two of the most successful technology companies in history, Google and Apple, he has also co-founded a cable network and an asset management company, both boasting radically new, and profitable, business models. They are becoming quiet forces in their respective fields.) And this, in many ways, has fueled his extraordinary comeback.

If I believed in the concept of a “natural”, I'd say Al Gore is about the most natural entrepreneur I'd ever met. Instead, we make the case -- with his help -- that a lifetime in government actually prepared him to take full advantage of the possibilities that exist, at least in theory, in the private sector. But he brings a tremendous ability to the table -- some of the very same stuff that tripped him up as a candidate. (If you've seen An Inconvenient Truth, you know he can handle, and prefers, complex data. Tough to get a soundbite out of him. Especially if he doesn't want to give one.) He's also a person of immeasureable charm and persuasiveness; he can work a room and a Rolodex like few others. He's deeply introspective. He's got the guts to invest his own money; he's hands on, yet trusts his partners and team members. (He credits them with much of his success. In every meaningful way, this is their story, too.)

For nearly two months, I've watched crowds filled with people of every size, shape, color and perspective clamor to get a chance to greet the Veep. Just to touch him. He was the star attraction at the Tribeca Film Festival's opening gala; he conversed effortlessly with programmers at an Adobe conference -- he'd circled the globe presenting his slideshow and attending meetings at least twice in the time it took me to write the piece. The "robo-candidate" of Y2K is gone -- he appears relaxed, happy in his own skin, passionately engaged in issues he gets to choose, with an agenda he gets to set. As a result, he's reenergized both his fans and his detractors -- nobody is neutral on the subject of Gore -- to powerfully emotional debates on everything from the issues of the day to his weight. And, he is the subject of endless political speculation. Will he? Won't he? (We give our own best guess in the story.)

It comes a surprise to everyone except the people who know him and work with him, that Gore has turned out to be such an extraordinarily nimble entrepreneur. And yes, he's made a tremendous amount of money. But this profile -- a business tale hiding in plain sight -- is how he did it.

Stay tuned.

Posted by Ellen McGirt at 2:07 PM | 15 Comments

April 26, 2007

Take Our Kids To Work Day Guest Blogger

Today the children of Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, Inc.com and FastCompany.com have gathered at the offices shared by their parents for annual Take Our Kids to Work day. These kids who are of a variety of different ages have spent the morning seeing what it's like to work at a magazine or website. So far they've toured the office, made their own magazines (with pictures of themselves on the cover), had a pizza lunch, colored t-shirts and learned magic tricks from Dylan Fitch (Executive Producer). We even got to interview the staff on video camera. They plan to spend the rest of the day here with their parents at Mansueto Digital.

Posted by Mia Feldman at 3:02 PM

April 6, 2007

Agents to the All-Stars

It's not uncommon to draw parallels between the worlds of professional sports and business. Business leaders, like athletes, work with coaches. Statistics can make or break an organization.

And now... athletes are making their way into the world of entertainment. It's nothing new that athletes are endorsing products and services. (George Forman, anyone?) And it's no big deal that athletes work with agents.

But it's interesting to note that athletes are beginning to align themselves with the kinds of agents who work with Hollywood superstars and other celebrities. The Creative Artists Agency has built a once-boutique side business -- CAA Sports -- into an entertainment industry heavyweight.

What do you think that means for the world of sports? The world of entertainment? Soon, every athlete might be able to spend it like Beckham.

Posted by Heath Row at 2:42 PM | 2 Comments

March 20, 2007

Fast Food for Thought

Stefan Stern's Business Life piece in today's Financial Times makes me shake my head. An SVP at McDonald's in Europe is circulating a petition to nix the term "McJob" from the dictionary. That senior executive, and the writer, contend that fast food restaurants are quality employers, offer progressive training programs, and support diverse teams. Stern holds up customer service training as a prime example and suggests that it's behind McDonald's 44 consecutive months of sales growths.

That's all well and good. I can understand people coming to the defense of their industry. But looking at the promise and potential -- much less the practices -- of an industry solely by looking at the numbers on the books (gender equity, economic growth) doesn't always show you the full story. Stern would be well served to spend some time behind the counter. So it's to his credit that he title drops Jerry Newman's new book My Secret Life on the McJob.

I've yet to read the book, but I read a review on the way to work this morning that suggested the book is worth reading for two reasons. One, it highlights some of the challenges facing fast food restaurants: low pay, poor management practices, inadequate training, and racial tensions. And two, it doesn't just dwell on the plethora of front-line experiences on which the book is drawn -- Newman, a professor at SUNY-Buffalo, worked at a number of fast food joints for two years while researching the book -- it spins the stories to suss out some solid leadership lessons and ideas.

Posted by Heath Row at 10:19 AM | 3 Comments

February 27, 2007

C Is For Cookie

You said it, Cookie Monster. Cookies are a great way to teach kids about literacy. But did you know they are also a great way for the future businesswomen of America to learn about financial and economic literacy?

By buying more than 200 million boxes of Tagalongs, Thin Mints and Do-Si-Dos from enterprising Girl Scouts, Americans help girls build important leadership skills and support the "nation's premier business and economic literacy program," says Girl Scouts CEO Kathy Cloninger.

"Through cookie activities, girls learn how to plan, build teams, speak up, make decisions, solve problems and manage resources. These skills add up, so that ultimately, girls learn to be leaders--in their own lives--and in our communities," she says.

I'd be interested to know if there are any former Girl Scouts reading this blog who attribute their success in the business world to the skills they learned selling cookies.

Continue reading "C Is For Cookie"

Posted by Alex Pasquariello at 12:58 PM | 3 Comments

February 9, 2007

Park Life Balance

In the United States, we've got Take Our Daughters to Work Day. We've got Job Shadow Day. And there are various organizations and resources targeting young entrepreneurs.

But in Japan, Kidzania puts the "fun" back in "job function." (Subscription may be required.) The indoor theme park for children comprises 50 company-sponsored exhibits that enable young thrill seekers to role play various career choices -- from gas station attendant to surgeon.

First opened in Mexico, the park has been a tremendous success since it opened last fall. Entry fees can near $25, parents aren't allowed in the exhibits, and the park can accommodate about 3,000 children at a time. But the upshot is important to the Japanese economy as a whole, not just the company behind Kidzania.

With the rigorous attention -- and expectations -- paid to schoolwork and studying, students often graduate without knowing what they want to be "when they grow up." Kidzania gives children a chance to plan while playing.

Posted by Heath Row at 2:04 PM

January 31, 2007

"We Are Determined to Take Them Some Place They Don't Want to Go."

That's how Brad Seligman described his class-action gender discrimination suit against Wal-Mart to me a few years ago. It's the largest such suit in American history, representing 1.6 million current and former female employees. Now Seligman is taking on Costco, a retailer with a reputation for treating its employees well. Nonetheless, earlier this month, a federal judge in California granted the suit class-action status, the first major hurdle for a claim of systematic discrimination. "Plaintiffs have presented strong evidence of a common culture at Costco which disadvantages women," wrote Judge Marilyn Hall Patel.

Among other things, the suit charges that Costco doesn't post management openings or accept applications, an informal system that gives men the upper hand. Although women make up 45 percent of the company's work force, only 13 percent are store managers and 17 percent are assistant managers. Costco maintains that women opt out of management positions because they're burdened by other responsibilities (for more on the opt-out phenomenon, check out Linda Tischler's FC story Where Are the Women?).

Who is Seligman? He's the least assuming giant-slayer you'd ever meet. He doesn't fit the stereotype that critics of class-action litigation paint, that of a greedy, slick, spotlight grabbing, sleazy lawyer. He's a mild-mannered legal geek who believes the law is a much more effective tool for social change than the student protests he attended in Berkley in the 1970s. He's also an entrepreneur. Using his share of a $12 million settlement, Seligman started the Impact Fund in 1992. The non-profit doles out grants to support social injustice and environmental suits.

Where does he want to take Wal-Mart and Costco? Simple. In a new direction, where transparency is the norm. Where job openings are posted. Where everyone who's qualified gets a shot at management training and promotions. If it takes a law suit to get there, so be it.

Posted by Chuck Salter at 7:11 PM | 2 Comments

January 24, 2007

Middle Manager, RIP?

More than five years ago, Marcus Buckingham proclaimed that middle managers were the most important people in your company. Why? "The single most important determinant of individual performance is a person's relationship with his or her immediate manager." Not the CEO.

So I was intrigued to see a recent Human Resource Executive article about the impending death of the middle manager. Some research done by Accenture found that not only are middle managers growing increasingly dissatisfied with their organizations, more than 25% of them are looking for new jobs.

This got me thinking about turnover. As the piece states, turnover is inevitable. But while turnover at the top (CEO See-Ya!, anybody?) and at the bottom might actually be healthy for a company, disruption in the middle could be quite dangerous.

What do you think? Who's more expendable: People at the entry level? Senior management? Or team leaders and other middle managers?

Posted by Heath Row at 7:38 PM | 11 Comments

September 6, 2006

Where's my "get out of work free" card?

No matter how far up the corporate ladder you may climb, when you look behind you, you’ll probably see a stack of paperwork mounting steadily behind you.

Even the most seasoned of delegators find there is a certain amount of grunt work that simply can't "trickle down" to the next in command. Often, the grunt work just takes over: a well known study described in the Harvard Business Review in 2002, found that "fully 90 percent of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective activities."

Which is to say, work is . . . work. Inevitably, there are decisions to be made that don't take effect with a commanding sweep of the hand or stately nod as Hollywood sometimes leads us to believe. For every blindingly brilliant pronouncement, there’s a raft of unseen, but stultifying, e-mails, phone calls, and meetings.

Or is there? What's the reality of your workday? Can you have the glam without the grunt?

Posted by Kathryn Tuggle at 2:51 PM | 1 Comment

August 8, 2006

MySpace, MyResume?

With the increasing use of blogs and social network services such as MySpace, it's more true than ever that you are your references.

In the past, human resource professionals might Google potential employees as a spot check. Now, employers are using services like MySpace to find -- and hire -- new employees.

Do you have a MySpace profile? Do you use it for work -- or keep that in mind? Has your company turned to MySpace or anything similar in terms of tracking down and attracting talent?

Posted by Heath Row at 1:08 PM | 1 Comment

July 25, 2006

You're Retired!

Helmut Panke, CEO of BMW, is scheduled to retire Sept. 1. He doesn't want to, but at BMW, retirement at 60 is mandatory.

Marshall Goldsmith suggests that retirement is a bad idea. In fact, fewer and fewer seniors are retiring on schedule, resulting in an increasing job shortage.

What do you think about mandatory retirement? If it's not a good policy, how might an aging workforce and the need for more jobs be better balanced? Do you think a CEO's tenure should be limited like a president's?

Posted by Heath Row at 9:52 AM | 10 Comments

May 15, 2006

So... What Do You Do?

Friday's New York Times article about the coffee graders who work for the New York Board of Trade was interesting for a couple of reasons. One, commodity speculation raises some fascinating questions about how prices are determined. And two, it reminded me of how much business is fueled by caffeine.

That said, it also made me think about cool jobs in general. In the past Fast Company has showcased jobs we want to have -- as well as undersung workplace heroes. Here are some of the better "A Day in the Life of Work" pieces:

• Stick Figure
• Reaper Man
• Spice Girl
• Shear Heaven

What do you think are the most fascinating and interesting jobs?

Posted by Heath Row at 5:31 PM | 4 Comments

April 24, 2006

Practical Sabbaticals

Saturday's article in the New York Times about work-related sabbaticals made me think back on some previously published Fast Company articles:

• Sabbaticals Are Serious Business
• Radical Sabbaticals
• Rules for Radical Sabbaticals
• How to Move Forward When You're Between Jobs

When was the last time you took some self-development time off from your work? What was your experience like?

Posted by Heath Row at 8:49 PM

April 6, 2006

Beauty and the Repeat

It's deja vu all over again. Three years ago, the FC team blogged about a report by Hal Varian that indicates that good-looking people often have better-paying jobs.

According to this morning's New York Times -- and a new report by Varian -- it's... still... true.

While my first reaction was to perhaps accuse Varian of trotting out the trite and true, he does consider some new research done by economists at Harvard and Wesleyan. Why Beauty Matters was published in the March issue of American Economic Review.

The short form?

Continue reading "Beauty and the Repeat"

Posted by Heath Row at 4:21 PM | 5 Comments

March 9, 2006

Dealing with Regime Change at the Office

"I just got in, after a business trip to Texas, and five people were gone. Gone. The COO and four others. Just like that."

It's always a shock when colleagues are fired. But what makes this particular case so startling is that the person to be taken by surprise was the CEO. Even she didn't know her colleagues were being terminated.

How could that happen? She'd recently sold her technology business. Agreeing to stay on for a two-year earn out meant she was available to advise and she was still visible as a figure head. But she wasn't in charge any more. She knew that -- and now her employees knew it too.

Regime change is hard on everyone. Whether it's a new CEO or a new owner, changes of control almost always begin with platitudinous statements about how everything will stay the same. Don't believe it. There really is no such thing as a seamless transition. The CEO who stays on to try to effect that, with the best will in the world, often makes things worse: now there are two bosses. Where do your loyalties lie? Sooner or later, everyone has to look to the future. It can feel disloyal -- that's why it's so painful. But you have to think about your future too.

Continue reading "Dealing with Regime Change at the Office"

Posted by at 10:56 AM | 5 Comments

October 19, 2005

The Graphic Art of Goals

OK, one final tool along the lines of the project storyboards and to-do list and then I'll get off my planning and time management kick. (Interesting how certain things hit your radar more readily than they might otherwise when you're in a certain mindset!)

Lift International's goal map templates come across as somewhat new agey given their goal-setting speak, but the worksheet itself looks eminently productive. By dividing goals into subgoals and identifying what steps need to be taken, as well as what tools you need and who you need to work with, it'll be easier to map your path to a completed project. The worksheet could also aid the development of project proposals because it identifies all the moving pieces and necessary parts.

[via Occupational Adventure]

Posted by Heath Row at 12:40 PM

October 13, 2005

Storyboard Your Work Life

In the October issue, Paul Lukas considered the anti-PDA, the classic Moleskine notebook. I carry one with me all the time, and I recently became enamored with the maker's storyboard style, which is perfect for storyboarding TV commercials, PowerPoint presentations, and even Web sites.

So I was pleased to receive an email from Avi Solomon today, expanding on how he uses storyboarding as a goal-setting tool. He's used it to document his past -- to better understand where he is -- as well as to plan for his possible futures.

Solomon also refers to DIY Planner Storyboards, a downloadable PDF of 12 storyboard template pages you can use for any number of projects. A useful tool!

Posted by Heath Row at 6:42 PM | 6 Comments

September 27, 2005

Union Suits and Ties

Lest you think that doctors, engineers, and judges have it easier than their blue-collar brethren, the Wall Street Journal reports that such professionals are in fact a quickly growing class of unionized workers. (Subscription required.) For many, the move is defensive: Unstable job markets bring the need for collective action.

Organizing white-collar workers can be a challenge, but a shared voice can be stronger. Are unions the right model? Or should we, perhaps, look to the guild?

Posted by Heath Row at 3:31 PM | 4 Comments

Coaches, Coach Thyselves

Guess what? Not only do consultants need the occasional debunking, but corporate coaches do, too. (The Wall Street Journal requires an online subscription.)

True, coaching can be a valid practice, but it also has its soft spots. What do you think the best coaches bring that their more cartoony cousins do not?

Posted by Heath Row at 3:20 PM | 3 Comments

September 20, 2005

Silicon Valley Restaurateur

After six years as the chef at Google, Charlie Ayers -- or, Chef Charlie, as staff called him -- is now planning a project larger than the corporate cafeteria. Next summer, he plans to open his own cafe in Palo Alto.

Cooking at Google was no cushy assigment. The 56th employee, Ayers ran the caf for six years -- at the end managing a kitchen crew of 135 -- serving free breakfast, lunch, and dinner to as many as 4,000 employees a day. And he must be a good cook: "Outsiders angled their Google friends for invitations to eat at the company's campus," and he "expects to raise $4 million from some former Google employees and private equity investment groups."

Mmmm, mmmm, good work, Charlie!

Posted by Heath Row at 11:16 AM | 3 Comments

September 7, 2005

Bounty to Please

The current edition of the Springwise newsletter turned me on to YorZ, a bounty-driven, job referral service. It's like a job board, but it turns job seekers into bounty hunters.

While normal postings cost USD 10, the fee is waived if the employer chooses to pay a success-based bounty of USD 50 (EUR 39.90/GBP 27.10) or more. The bounty system encourages consumers to become headhunters, scouting their friends, colleagues and family for listed jobs.

Interesting. Most job seekers are solely looking out for themselves. When was the last time you started looking for a new job -- for someone else?

Posted by Heath Row at 1:16 PM | 2 Comments

August 23, 2005

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

If you have children, how did they spend their summer vacation? Did they go to summer camp? When I went to camp, I learned how to build towers out of logs -- and rope we made ourselves. Today, it seems like there are a lot more options.

Case in point: The Girls Inc. Corporate Camp. Last month, 15 young women -- ages 14-18 -- participated in a six-day program that took them inside the operations of important businesses, alongside the leaders who run them. Participants developed products, as well.

What other learning-oriented camp experiences do you know about?

Posted by Heath Row at 12:23 PM | 1 Comment

August 16, 2005

How Valuable Are Your "Graduates"?

Workforce Management recently published an article about how people who used to work at PeopleSoft are consistently sought after by companies today.

PeopleSoft was much more than just a technology firm with good marketing. It was a company built in large measure on customer service, hitting the market at the right time and utilizing the risk-taking entrepreneurial spirit of [Dave] Duffield and people he brought into the company.

Fast Company has published several articles that draw on lessons leaders can learn from PeopleSoft. But this piece raises an interesting question: Is your company the kind of company that others look to for new hires? "I want to hire someone who works... there." That's gotta be good to hear.

Posted by Heath Row at 1:25 PM

August 8, 2005

Get Smart about Managing Marketing Burnout

According to the UK Recruitment firm, the Hudson Group, 44% of all marketers are facing burnout. I haven't seen any US figures on this yet, but last week's article in Brand Republic reinforces one of my hypotheses that today's marketers are being stretched beyond their limits.

The UK is feeling the backlash in the form of increasing absenteeism, turnover, poor morale and declines in productivity and quality of output. Conduct an informal quick poll of the marketers around you. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this phenomenon is present in the US, as well.

Wanted: Marketer.

Continue reading "Get Smart about Managing Marketing Burnout"

Posted by Leigh from LivePath.net at 10:40 AM | 3 Comments

Women in Business

We've all read countless articles explaining reasons why women do not reach top jobs in companies -- one of them being that they take time off to rear children. The Economist just published a report (premium content, subscription required) that cites re-entry after a maternity leave as the true challenge for women to overcome -- ahead of the popular myth of them dropping out because the approach to higher rungs requires greater political skill and sharp elbows.

Continue reading "Women in Business"

Posted by Valeria Maltoni at 9:29 AM | 2 Comments

July 12, 2005

Throw the Book at Them

Steven Florio hit the news recently for waffling on whether he'd write a tell-all memoir about his days as CEO of Conde Nast. "That would be so beneath me," he said. "I have no desire to write a dishy book; I give you my word as a gentleman. I would never betray any of my colleagues." Of course, the book is slated to come out next year.

You don't have to manage the gods -- from the title of Florio's book -- to write a book revealing the inside dirt about your company. You can also be managed. And apparently, you can be managed right out of a job. Case in point: Jamie Reidy.

Continue reading "Throw the Book at Them"

Posted by Heath Row at 1:57 PM | 1 Comment

July 11, 2005

Lead Here

Hewitt, the global HR outsourcing and consulting company, has released its 2005 study of the top companies for leaders.

What are the top 20 companies for leaders?

Continue reading "Lead Here"

Posted by Heath Row at 5:03 PM | 1 Comment

June 27, 2005

Sticking it to the Boss

It's no fun being the boss when everyone is out to get you. Just ask Phillip Purcell, embattled CEO of Morgan Stanley.

A consortium of former executives announce to the world via an ad taken out in The Wall Street Journal and interviews on CNBC that you're not doing your job well. Passed over and disgruntled executives leave en masse, about 30 all told. That put Purcell on even shakier ground; several of the executives were top producers. A mass exodus is a great way of showing solidarity and airing displeasure with current management without violating those pesky confidentiality agreements.

But what if it doesn't end happily? As previously mentioned, the July issue of New York Magazine tells the story of the power struggle at ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, where 17 executives resigned and were all hired by a rival firm. A law suit is pending.

When is jumping ship not the wise thing to do? Would you organize mass resignation like this to stick it to management?

Posted by Kerry-Ann Austin at 5:28 PM | 1 Comment

June 26, 2005

If Your Job Ended Tomorrow...

For the past 33 days the entire Fast Company staff has been enduring what we call "purgatory." The space of utter limbo in which you don't know if every day at work will be your last. You know your company is up for sale, you know the chances of survival are slim, and yet you have to keep on working creatively to put out the best magazine you possibly can. Every minute is a personal battle of trying to focus on the micro when the macro is the subtext of your every move.

The thing is, at Fast Company, we all love our jobs. We have the unique 360 degrees of satisfaction: our work is meaningful, we deeply admire and respect our coworkers, we love the product we put out and all the people who are part of the process. So the thought of losing this amazing reality was heartbreaking for all of us. But, the interesting thing it did do was force each one of us to really think about, if our dream job came to an end, what would we do next? While none of us wanted to even contemplate that scenario it was a reality we had to consider.

Continue reading "If Your Job Ended Tomorrow..."

Posted by Danielle Sacks at 1:38 PM | 13 Comments

June 24, 2005

Cubicle Dweller Humor

An amusing little book just came across my desk: "Fire me, please! 101 Ways to Get Fired from Your Miserable Job." Written by David Cordell, whose daydreaming during business meetings produced these musings, the book's premise is a riot even if it reflects a bit of sick humor. As for Cordell, he has been fired once and in his "about the author" section it's noted that he loves crispy bacon.

His Top Ten ways to get fired?

Continue reading "Cubicle Dweller Humor"

Posted by Editor in Chief at 11:29 PM | 8 Comments

March 21, 2005

Up the Academy

In the current issue of CFO magazine, there's a mention of what Lisa Yoon terms "academy companies" -- organizations with a reputation for success. The upshot is that these firms are particularly good breeding ground for future leaders -- and that working for them early in your career can help pave the way for faster promotions and career development.

The primary examples given -- Dell, PepsiCo, and Motorola -- seem to be good places to end one's career, much less start out, but the concept of academy companies intrigues me.

Do you work for an academy company? Have you taken a job as a strategic stepping stone? What needs to happen where you work for the organization to become a fast track for talent?

Posted by Heath Row at 1:46 PM | 1 Comment

March 10, 2005

Take This Job and Love It

Perhaps presaging next year's list of the most promising jobs, the Guardian reports that biological engineering is a practice and profession increasingly worth preaching about.

Writer Alok Jha does a good job distinguishing between biological engineering and general biotechnology, as well as the practice's end results -- which won't be limited to the health- and medicine-related opportunities unveiled by the also-new genetic engineering.

Posted by Heath Row at 11:12 AM

February 2, 2005

Where the Girls Are

While the gender wage gap gets all the attention, the real news is in the number of fields in which women now earn more than men. Here's a list of 10 areas in which women earn at least 5% more, culled from a more extensive table in Warren Farrell�s new book, Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap and What Women Can Do about It.

(Source: an unpublished table compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The first number is for women, the second for men.

Continue reading "Where the Girls Are"

Posted by Linda Tischler at 4:21 PM | 5 Comments

January 7, 2005

New Advice from Jack

So the buzz is beginning to build for Jack Welch's new book, which makes its debut in early April. This time, Jack teamed up with his wife, Suzy, for a book called Winning. Amazon.com recently published a letter from Jack with some early tips from Winning, including these dos and don'ts on managing your career:

Jack Welch on Getting Ahead

Do:

• Over-deliver your results and expand the horizon of your responsibility.
• Manage your subordinates with the same carefulness that you manage your boss.
• Get on the radar screen by getting behind major initiatives early.
• Relish the input of lots of mentors, realizing that mentors don�t always look like mentors.
• Have a positive attitude and spread it around.

Don't:

• Make your boss use political capital to champion you.
• Let setbacks break your stride.

Posted by Editor in Chief at 6:03 PM | 6 Comments

December 8, 2004

The Inmate 55170-054 Show

It might be the fastest corporate comeback ever. Domestic diva turned Big House felon Martha Stewart is still serving a five-month sentence for obstructing justice, but she has already lined up her next job.

Earlier today, Susan Lyne, the newly crowned CEO of Stewart's empire, announced that the soon-to-be-ex-con will be hosting a syndicated daytime TV show on homemaking next fall. Survivor and The Apprentice producer Mark Burnett and NBC have signed Inmate 55170-054 to a deal worth an estimated $8 million, slightly more than her 11-cents-an-hour arrangement with Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia.

Continue reading "The Inmate 55170-054 Show"