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• Half of U.S. Businesses Are Home-Based, Majority of Firms Self-Financed
  From the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost half (49 percent) of the nation’s businesses are operated from home, and more than 6-in-10 owners used their own money to start the business. Business owners are highly educated, 3-in-10 are over 55 and 14 percent are veterans, Owners’ income, role and hours vary,

• Employee Satisfaction at Risk
  by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia
  Employee attitudes and behaviors show surprising similarities from one country to another. Trends observed in one country are also seen in other countries around the world....work-life balance and organizational culture are primary issues for employees surveyed. These issues go deeper than just flexibility in the workplace. Employees want more control over their schedules and more involvement in the company decisions that affect them.

• Choosing the Right Compass
  by Steve Goodier
  "We pass this way but once," we have heard it said. But my wife has learned that, unless I've studied a map, that isn't necessarily true.

• Is This You - an Overworked and Disillusioned Worker?
  From the Introduction to Workplace Spirituality: A Complete Guide for Business Leaders by Nancy Smith . . . . Are you an overworked and disillusioned worker? Or are you an employer who must deal with dissatisfied and demanding workers like these?  

• Enjoying What You Do
  By Steve Goodier
  No matter where you work, you work for yourself! With a little creativity and imagination, your work can seem less like drudgery and more like play.

• Dilemma of the NEETs
  Herman Trend Alert
  The current shift in the employment market is exciting and invigorating for some. Others are experiencing frustration, disillusionment, and irritation at the situation. The people caught in the middle, feeling disconnected, are being described as the NEETs---Not in Education, Employment, or Training.

• Meaning and Values Slipping into First Seat
  -from the Herman Trend Alert, January 26, 2006
  The movement is now not toward higher monetary compensation, fringe benefits, or negotiated cost-sharing. Employees are seeking what we might call compensation of a different nature. They want something more for themselves; they want control of their time. They want balance. Not work-life balance, but life-work balance. Life comes first today for more and more people.

• Focus on the Individual
  -from the Herman Trend Alert, February 8, 2006
  Job descriptions will disappear. Replacing them will be role descriptions and individualized "Expectations Statements". No longer will we attempt to force square pegs to fit into round holes. People will be hired for attitudes and competencies, then trained to build their skills even further. Their training will match their jobs, giving them confidence and satisfaction. Additional training will support job expansion.

• Quality and Quantity of Work
  from the Herman Trend Alert,
  December 27, 2005
  Researchers [in the U.K.] surveyed 203,000 workers, a relatively large population group. The poll found that the most satisfied, perhaps unsurprisingly, said they had just the right amount of work. The least satisfied were those with too little, followed by those with too much work . . . .What came out from this study is a movement away from mediocrity.

• Business in the Days of Awe, Step 3: Agreement: Why 'Making' a Sale Is Disastrous for Your Business By Mark Silver When you are talking to a prospect who might be interested in buying from you, there always comes that moment in the conversation. You know the moment: when your palms start sweating, and you realize you are going to have to ask 'the question' -- "So, do you wanna buy?"

• Business in the Days of Awe, Step 2: Questions: How to Never Have Anyone Object Ever Again
  By Mark Silver Customer objections can be painful and intimidating to deal with. And it doesn't have to be about price. It could be about anything: "Do you really know what you are doing?" "Does this thing really work?" "How do I know you'll follow through?" Wish you never had to hear them again? You don't.

• Business in the Days of Awe, Step 1: How Nothing Connects You To Your Prospect By Mark Silver The reason sales conversations are so awkward, is because there is an inherent inequality....If you choose to be superior, they will choose to be superior, too.

• Most Americans Liken Job Satisfaction to a Mediocre Date... or a Root Canal Business Wire, August 31, 2005 According to a just-released national poll, 6 in 10 Americans say their jobs are no better than a "so-so" date (no love connection, but the restaurant was great and the meal was free). And some of them might actually prefer a trip to the dentist than to work!

• The Myth of Self-Improvement
  By Ray Dodd   Sometimes the quest for self-improvement, rather than making us feel better, leaves us feeling worse. At first exhilarating, as we continue to search for self-improvement, it can increase our stress and feeds the belief we’ve been trying so desperately to get rid of. That awful belief - I Can’t

• Finding an Ethical Employer: Five Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

  by Rushworth M. Kidder
  Some of the students I talked to last week at the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University wonder how they can distinguish ethical companies from unethical ones.... In a job interview, what questions can they ask that will reveal the inner workings of a company's ethics. Here are five, in rising order of complexity (let's assume you're interviewing with a firm that has a code of ethics, an ethics office, and a significant international presence).

• Labor Day 2005: Taking Labor Day Seriously
  By Nancy R. Smith Reasons to reflect on the significance of Labor Day and suggestions for reflecting.

• 21 Days to a Positive-Attitude Habit By Patricia WagnerEdison tried 10,000 times to get his light bulb invention to work, but failed each time. However, he had this to say about his lack of success. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

• Ten Steps To Getting Unstuck by March Sichel Are you angry at the world, others or yourself because you're not getting things done - or even started - because you're circling around and around, covering the same ground and never moving forward? Well, it's time to stop spinning your wheels and cursing the mud!

• Dare To Believe by Steve Goodier.It occurs to me that some people will swallow anything! Maybe not literally, but it seems that some people are ready to believe in any new "get-rich" scheme; to follow any new fad; to swallow any fantastic story!

• Don't Strive For Efficiency At The Expense Of Effectiveness By Wendy Hearn. Being effective means producing powerful effects. Being efficient means producing results with little wasted effort. It's the ability to carry out actions quickly. However, by so doing, you may not  necessarily be achieving effectiveness.

• Secret of Effective Leadership in 21^st Century By Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia. Subject matter experts who learned management in the latter half of the last century will find themselves competing with a new kind of worker, a new kind of leader. People with a liberal arts education are now in demand because of the breadth and multidisciplinary nature of their post-secondary education.

• The Most Visible Issue: Corporate Games for a Rainy Day By Edward B. Toupin It sometimes seems that management will try to take the easiest road out of certain situations when it comes to employee conflict. Instead of completely resolving all of the problems, they will try to resolve the most obvious issue as quickly and simply as possible. This approach to internal conflict resolution is The Most Visible Issue game.

• Are You Stressed Out? by Dale Collie. Good managers recognize that negative stress affects productivity and take action to prevent situations that affect the bottom line. Good managers (at all levels) can control stress to make a better workplace and boost the bottom line.

• THE RIGHT DECISION By Steve Goodier It's been provocatively said, "Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." The problem is...they know they would like to accomplish something important with their lives or they would like to make a certain income or they would like to be happy. But when it comes to making the journey toward those destinations, they feel stuck. In short, they are lost....Answer these four questions and you will be clear on the direction you want to take your life. Commit to these answers and you'll make great time.

• Our Misperceptions About Ourselves By Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, "The EQ Coach" We see ourselves a certain way, and we also think a certain way. When we're working with others, managing, parenting or coaching others, it's important to understand how the other person sees himself of herself....We need a little of the Super Hero in ourselves to get by. It feeds our dreams, gives us courage and energy, helps us achieve and reach our potential. What we need to do is be mindful about this, and also mindful about this in others, and how it may or may not be distorting the picture.

• A corporate trainer doesn't let unemployment get her down By By Beth Carey, as seen on www.spirituality.comWhen Dara lost her job with the large corporation where she’d earned the best salary in her career, the family income was suddenly cut in half. She’s been doing a lot of soul-searching in the many months since her layoff. Now the question friends constantly ask her is, “How do you keep such an upbeat attitude in the face of such loss?”

• Sorting Out What's Next Takes Patience and a Career Plan by: Bradford Agry, CareerTeam Partners For many, a career interruption may be the first time they can stop the career “train” long enough to know if it is still on the right “track”. For many the challenge has the important spiritual dimension of “waiting and listening for God”.

• Training vs. Off-Shoring The Herman Trend AlertEmployers are evaluating where jobs should be performed most efficiently and cost- effectively. As this evaluation proceeds, we will see even more transnational job movement. Not just a matter of economics, the new location must have a trained workforce, or the capacity to cost-effectively train enough people.

• Recovering from the Loss of a Business: Recovery, Reversal, and Coping Strategies
  by Vishal P. Rao  Since losing a business is considered a "major life stressor", along with divorce and the death of a loved one, a business owner that loses a business can be just as emotionally devastated. With this in mind, it is appropriate for the business owner to take into account the five stages of grief that do occur in a major life event or "stressor".

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• Avoidance of Confrontation
  The Herman Trend Alert. People who see things that are wrong are hesitant to point them out. They fear the repercussions of whistle-blowing, so they simply say -- and do ---nothing. When they become too uncomfortable with ethics violations, quality deficiencies, or sick cultures, they leave their organizations rather than raise issues or take corrective action....The danger of this avoidance trend is the power gained by people and organizations that engage in harmful practices. 

• How To Be a Strong and Powerful Leader
  by Susan Dunn. The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, way of being, and understanding and use of emotion.  We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day; or we can engage them at the emotional level, so they become invested in the project and provide some of their own motivation.  Today's work place is all about relationships.

• The Great Mismatch Society is pushing many students into higher education programs that are not appropriate for them. Often students can not handle the academic workload or they become disenchanted with career opportunities that will be available once the desired degree is earned.

• Success on Your Own Terms We keep hearing that time is money. Time is far more than money. "It's more valuable than platinum and more perishable than a sunset," is the flowery way a former professor of mine used to put it. But the money we spend is—in a very real sense—time. And that money, as Emerson noted, is often far too expensive.

• Being one's own best friend is being God's best friend Are you better and kinder and more loving and forgiving to your friends than you are to yourself?

• The Language of Intuition Ordinary, everyday intuition usually doesn't set off fireworks or make the 6 o'clock news. Everyday intuition often takes the form of a seemingly fleeting inner comment.... We often dismiss these comments for two reasons: Intuition doesn't necessarily inform us in advance why it's important to do or say something, and soon after we hear an intuitive comment, our inner critic jumps in to say, "Now there's a stupid idea."

• Domestic Job Growth With the political campaigns heating up, expect to hear more noise about jobs going to other countries. Even with all the movement, only a small percentage of jobs have gone overseas. Here are some occupations that will remain at home.

• Understanding the Language of Personality Learn how personality filters shape our views and responses to situations. The Enneagram (“any-a-gram”) describes, with astonishing accuracy, nine such filters.

• Any Job Is An Honorable Job Seeing your job as an honorable job, adds more meaning and peace to your life. Also, seeing the honor in what you do now, creates an ideal foundation upon which a career change can be built.

• Career Search – Quest or Curse If you’re in the midst of a career search, undecided about the next direction for your work life, you may be struggling to keep your self-esteem strong at the same time that you’re trying to answer the all-important question about what you want to do.

• Ending Up Where You Ought To Be It is common not to know if, or to what, we are called.... Your life can be rich and satisfying when you follow your calling. Are you listening?

• Employers Will Be Nice A recent survey by monster.com revealed that 73 percent of applicants never heard back from employers after submitting their resumes. Anger, irritation, and resentment grew as these wonderful workers were snubbed and insulted.

• "Divine Hospitality":  Acting From a Higher Perspective “What does it mean to be an agent of divine hospitality at work?”

• Who Do You Think You Are? A humorist said, "I go to this doctor and pay him 75 dollars an hour, and all he does is ask me the same question my father used to ask me all the time: 'Who do you think you are, anyway?'" Not a bad question, actually.

• You're Gifted for Something Some of our skills are apparent. Some are hidden. Some can be improved with work. Some have yet to be developed. But all of us can contribute, and usually in more ways than we realize....

• Divine Employment When world events or economics threaten your job, the prospect that the deck is stacked against you looms large. But what if there's a larger law in action? 

• Job Hunting? First, Hang Some Pictures! I was unemployed and not getting anywhere with my job search. So I did what any person would do under the circumstances—I decided to hang pictures!

• Roadblocks, Barricades and Detours When I want to accomplish something in my life, waiting (for one reason or another) can be a roadblock. There are many times when I hold back, often because I am afraid, somehow. It usually does come down to fear in some way, because love would not let me hold me back. 

• The Introspective Job Hunter Introspection is a good thing, if not overdone.... Like a lot of people, you may have years of experience and look great on paper, but when it comes down to breaking out your skills and knowledge into tiny little categories, well, there just isn't much there. Couple that with a few months of little to no return on your resume distribution efforts and even the most confident of senior managers will start doubting his/her worth.

• A Spiritual Portfolio Net worth is "not just an item at the bottom of your personal balance sheet. It's what you are as an individual, and what you are reflecting of the kingdom of God."

• 9 Ways To Develop Confidence In New Situations Very few people are at ease striking up a conversation in a room full of strangers. Here are some simple ways to make network meetings more productive and more fun.

• No More Retirement Retirement, as we know it today, is disappearing.... Instead, people will continue to work, at least part-time, for many more years. Relatively few people will enjoy full retirement, but many will find new ways to enjoy partial retirement---a different kind of slowing down.

• Into the Wilderness By Steve Goodier. Whatever huge decision looms before you, your best solution will likely be made from the side of courage, rather than fear; for in the end, a fearful decision is a dangerous decision.

• Soul-search My journey to find my soul began when I stepped out of my office for the last time and said goodbye to corporate life. After years of ruthless ambition and neglect of my mental and physical health, I was now a professional burnout. When I began my new life as a college professor, a whole series of new and confusing problems appeared. I soon came face-to-face with my past and made some shocking discoveries.

• In a Row or Becoming a Wall? There is a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze me. I have observed it many times with countless individuals, businesses, teachers, churches, non profits and may occur in any setting where individuals or groups have a vision.

• When Hard Work Looks Like Good Luck People keep telling me I'm lucky. Yes, I know the feeling. When I took a year off, when I moved to New Mexico, when I took a special trip, people said, "You're so lucky." And I answered, with a happy smile, "Yes, I am."

• Values Based Career Decisions The Herman Group From "Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia. March 13, 2002 -- We're picking up the beginnings of an interesting trend. People are carefully analyzing how they feel about their work and sometimes making dramatic career decisions.

• Down a Notch or Two By Nancy R. Smith. This is a series of five articles relating to job loss. Told from a Christian perspective, they nevertheless contain help for those of any or no faith or spirituality. Article topics are Loss of Income and Status, A Bible Story, A Fable, Finding More Pots, and Bringing All to God.

• Misemployment By Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia. Most unemployed are out of work for reasons beyond their control, though some do choose to refrain from working for certain periods of time.... Another word is creeping into our vocabulary. Misemployment....wrong or mistaken employment.

• Why You Should NOT Make "Looking for a Job" a Full-Time Job By Nancy R. Smith. The The best traditional wisdom of those who advise you when you lose a job is "Looking for a job is a full-time job." That advice is well-meaning because it attempts to counter laziness and depression and keep you on your toes. No one should plop down on the couch with a drink or a box of chocolates and watch sports or the soaps! But that advice is misguided!

• Unsatisfying Work By Nancy R. Smith. Work is unsatisfying when we fail to listen to the divine voice within.

• Four Reasons Why Your Heart Isn't in Your Work By Nancy R. Smith. You spent years training for what you thought would be your life’s work. You were excited, inspired – but now you feel disillusioned – and guilty for feeling disillusioned!

• Security, Abundance and Justice -- Keeping the Channels Open By Nancy R. Smith. Security, abundance, and economic justice flow from your spirituality. Justice depends on your conviction that you belong in the universe. But you've been taught that you must take care of yourself first!