INK: Business Advice Blog for the Everyday Employee: 2012

Is the world really coming to an end? There seems to be many arguments with the US fiscal cliff, the Mayan 13th bak'tun year, and assorted other horrors in the news this past year. But every end is also a new beginning, right? So I think we should take this...

Laugh about the Holidays - 3 Ways to Relax during December

The holidays aren't too stressful for me and my house this year since there will only be four of us, but some how I'm still not ready for the festivities. Still on the "to do" list? Menu planning, light hanging, present wrapping, and constantly chasing the cat out of the...

3 Reasons Why My Dog is a Better Teammate Than You

I don't have any kids (yet) but I do have my hands full enough with two crazy pets: Rubix, a 3-year old Aussie mix, and Jones, the fluffiest orange cat you've ever seen. While on vacation, the pets were left with the best sitters, my parents, and even after two...

Why You Should Do Something Dangerous

Inspirationx3, time, travel, vacation

I just returned from a fantastic Caribbean cruise where we visited Key West, Belize, Guatemala, and Cozumel, Mexico. The most important thing that you have to be sure to do when you are visiting all of these places is: make it back to the boat. Well, I'm happy to say we did!...

More thankful than usual

Thanksgiving is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. It is all about food and family; what could be better? And Thanksgiving allows you to try something new or stick to tradition through a recipe. When thinking about what I'm thankful for this year, I found myself coming up with...

My 3 Top Tips for How to Get a Job By Winning at Networking, the Career Fair, and Interview

advancement, career fair, Inspirationx3, interview, job search

I had the pleasure of attending the University of Northern Colorado career fair yesterday and spending time with some choice students at our Brocade info session. I am not a recruiter, actually I find myself quite awkward with one-on-one ice-breaker conversations, but I love volunteering to find talent for Brocade to...

Women's Vision Foundation 2012 Women's Success Forum Review

conference

What a fantastic event last Friday at the Women’s Vision Foundation 2012 Women’s Success Forum! This year, we had 14 Brocadians attend this annual event and it was fun to share the rewarding experience with these other attendees. The theme this year of “Waves of Change” definitely felt appropriate. Since...

How to be Patient When You Don't Want to Be

Inspirationx3, quote

At a mentorship session today, I found myself passing on the same advice that was given to me (repeatedly) when I was a new hire. "Just be patient." It reminds me of a more popular quote: "If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a...

A Book Review of Half the Sky

#IDG2012, book review

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by: Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn What is the greatest untapped resource? Women. Did you know that the US is 68th in the world for the number of women that hold political seats? Want to know which country is...

3 Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem Today

Dove, emotional intelligence, Project Eve, sponsored

Not everyone is a bubbling crock-pot of optimism and positive energy. And even so there will be times when the going gets tough enough that looking on the bright side is really hard to do. Here are few tricks that I use to stay positive, feel pretty, and wake up the next...

3 Things to Worry About because it is Fall

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This week in Colorado, it is fall. Yes, that's what I said, this week. Meaning next week it won't be. Colorado leaves are changing and the brilliant yellows of the aspens are beautiful - but make sure you don't miss it! I always say that "Colorado has all four seasons,...

How long should you search?

advancement, job search

With the internet these days, there is so much information available that it is hard to argue what is right vs. wrong and that more or less is better. The point is though, that as long as there is more information to find, people will continue searching and find it....

How being cough sick is like having a bad boss

Unfortunately, last week I caught the sick bug. I tried to recover over the weekend with my never-fail mom-taught remedies: orange juice, chicken noodle soup, and lots of sleep. No such luck. No one likes being sick. Even more so, no one likes having a bad boss. So as I...

In my MBA class last week, we talked about researching consumer behaviors. What motivates someone to buy or to act a certain way? Take the following scenarios and consider how innovation is all about perspective.

A woman walks into a home improvement store. She is standing looking at the assortment of cordless drills, fittings, drill bits, and is overwhelmed with the 4+ brands to choose from. A salesman comes up and asks if he can help her, "What are you working on?" She explains she is hanging a new light fixture. Which type of drill is she shopping for? None actually. She is shopping for a hole and the security that her chandelier won't fall.

Look for the real buying reason.

There is a new employee on your team at a Fortune 500 company. She is fresh out of college with little to no prior corporate experience and she is tasked with documenting the existing process. She schedules a meeting with you and asks, "What do you do?". Is she trying to steal your job, make the boss happy, or learn about the company? Actually, the boss thinks your process is the best and wants everyone (including the new hire) to start using it.

Look for the real assignment reason.

A marketer is sifting through a pile of customer complaints and determines that their toy product is not targeting mothers very well. The ads are changed to better attract parents who will then purchase the product for their teenage kids. In fact, the new ads do poorly as now the toys appear as "uncool" since the rebellious teen does not want something their parents picked out. It was not about the product, but about the statement the product made.

Look for the real user reason.

Have you experienced a similar scenario in your work life? Have you made assumptions because you stopped asking questions too soon? Or are you simply not asking the right questions?

What defines a successful completion?
Why am I (or they) doing it this way?
What problem am I trying to solve?
Is this the right solution? For now or for later?

Creating boundaries for Work-Life Balance

I had the pleasure of being part of a Linkedin discussion last week surrounding the Work-Obsessed World. How can we get away from all work and no play and separate our work lives and home lives better? In the linked video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0PLhdCPjxA&feature=youtu.be, I agreed strongly with the recommendation of setting...

Scoring like Manning and the Broncos in Business