Blog

Employers Added 157,000 jobs in January

American employers added 157,000 jobs in January compared with a revised 196,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department reported on Friday. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent.

The industries adding jobs were the retail, construction, health care and the wholesale trade sector. Decreases in government spending, including that for defense, resulted in more loss of jobs in the government sector.

Economists are forecasting job growth of around 170,000 a month for the remainder 2013, comparable to what ...

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1
FEB

Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln

The recent movie “Lincoln” reminds us of his legacy and remarkable accomplishments. He saved the Union and abolished slavery. He kept to his vision despite innumerable setbacks, and much death and destruction. Lincoln has been the subject of much admiration and study in leadership circles, and is discussed in a recent article in the NY Times by Nancy Koehn.

1. Lincoln always looked forward and inspired Americans to a higher course and a purpose that is larger than themselves. He listened to a variety of ...

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31
JAN

“Women on the Move” Interview Airing this week

I was recently interviewed by Jennifer Matilsky for her series on “Women on the Move.” The show will air on Saturday from 4:00-4:30 on Newstalk Radio 1160 in Atlanta. For those of you outside of Atlanta, you can watch on-line NewsTalk 1160 The Talk of the Town or by downloading the Newstalk 1160 app on your phone.

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9
JAN

Employers Continue to Add Jobs

The Labor Department reported on Friday that American employers added 155,000 jobs in December, continuing the slow pace of growth over the past year.

The biggest gains were in health care, food services, construction and manufacturing, with the latter two probably helped by the rebuilding in the Northeast after Hurricane Sandy. Government payrolls fell modestly once again.

The unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, the same as the revised rate for November.

Over the course of 2012, the country added 1.8 million jobs, despite ...

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6
JAN

Reach Your Goals in 2013!

When it comes to career success, direction and focus are crucial. But beyond direction, how effective is it to have goals?

Requirements for Effective Goal-Setting

Much has been researched and written about the effectiveness of goal setting.

The findings say:

Difficult goals lead to higher performance than easy goals.

Difficult goals lead to higher performance than “do your best” goals.
Setting specific goals results in more precise performance than setting “do your best” goals.

Just having the goal is not enough. You must develop a strategy ...

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31
DEC

Finding Joy in Your Work – Your Bucket List

In the movie, The Bucket List, two men (Jack Nicholson as Edward and Morgan Freeman as Carter) with quite contrasting and differing lives find themselves sharing a hospital room. Both men have a terminal illness and only a short while to live. This unlikely pair develops a friendship and in the process creates a list of things they want to do before they die. As they proceed on this journey, they each experience life changing revelations.

One of the things on their list was to see the ...

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21
DEC

Employers Maintain Upward Trend in Hiring Confidence for Q1 2013

According to a survey by the Manpower Group, U.S. hiring decision makers predict a slightly increased hiring pace is expected for Quarter 1 2013. After seasonal variations, the Net Employment Outlook for Quarter 1 2013 is +12%, a 1 percentage point increase from Quarter 4 2012 and slightly elevated from +9% during the same period last year.
This quarter’s research concludes:

Strongest First Quarter Outlook in Five Years: The Quarter 1 2013 Net Employment Outlook is the strongest first quarter data ...

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17
DEC

For Life Balance

Take time to think – It is the source of power.

Take time to play – It is the secret of perpetual youth.

Take time to read – It is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to pray – It is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to be friendly – It is the road to happiness.

Take time to laugh – It is the music of the soul.

Take time to give – It is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to work ...

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11
DEC

The Slow Hand of Progress

Whether it is being frustrated with organizational issues or beauocracy, not getting that promotion you hoped for, being unsure of what direction you want to take with your career, or starting a new business, may of us are unsatisfied with the slow hand of progress. ”For everything there is a season and a time for everything purpose under heaven,” scripture tells us. But believing and living this is something else indeed.

The important things to remember are to make sure that every day you ...

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11
DEC

Gain Focus & Improve Productivity by Reducing Multi-Tasking

More companies today are focusing on mindfulness training to help improve productivity. According to an article in Workforce.com, research shows that 49% of the time our mind is not focused on the task at hand. Especially with the bombardment of constant technology, we are driven to distraction by email, phone(s), iPads and other technology.

According to Basex, a research firm, the estimated cost to companies from lost productivity is $997 billion and 28 billion hours.

Mindfulness is the opposite of multitasking. It is most ...

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11
DEC