How to excel at the ultimate oxymoron: a recession-era corporate holiday party

How to Excel at the Ultimate Oxymoron: a Recession-era Corporate Holiday Party

Today I’d like to share with you my thoughts on the upcoming holiday season and that most complex event: the corporate holiday party that coincides with an economic meltdown.

Despite the weak economy, or perhaps because of it, most companies in the U.S. plan to carry on with their holiday parties. As a leader in attendance at this event, it’s important to strike a tone that is festive without appearing to lose sight of the larger context. Remember that all eyes are on you, even in non-office settings — perhaps even more so in non-office settings where your behavior will be seen as «the real you.»

Corporate holiday parties remain one of the weirdest hybrids of work and play that I have ever experienced. They’re a veritable minefield in which if you perform well, absolutely no one will remember you, and if you perform poorly, everyone will remember you for years to come — for all the wrong reasons. In the spirit of ensuring the former and not the later, I offer these tips.

How to Get in the Right State of Mind

As a leader, if you’re stressed and fearful, your feelings will leak out no matter how hard you try to appear confident. The more you feel freaked out, the more people around you will feel freaked out, no matter how hard you try to hide it, so you’ve got to go to the source.

Whenever you feel fearful, focus your attention on the vision for the company, on positive steps the leadership team is taking to lead the organization through the recession.

I sat in on a senior staff meeting held by one of my clients earlier this week and he was absolutely inspiring. He told his team, «We have to plan for the worst, but we also have to plan for the success that will follow this downturn — because when it comes back, we will see absolutely enormous demand.» While acknowledging a rough current situation, he was also reassuring his team that he saw a bright future for the company.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you discuss the prospect of lay-offs or plant closures at the holiday party! However, do keep your mindset positive in the coming weeks so that whenever you are surrounded by employees, that positive energy rubs off on them and your upbeat attitude is authentic.

How to Choose Your Attire: This Year, It’s Easy

This year, even if you are doing well, it’s a good idea to dial down the bling a notch or two.

— Leave the gold Rolex at home. You don’t have to wear a Swatch, but please be cautious about flashing a $30,000 timepiece to people who are worried about getting laid off, paying their bills, and other basic needs.

— For the female executives, this is an easier year for corporate party attire than last year, since a more classic, subdued look is appropriate to the economic climate, as well as to your role as an executive. Choose from the many options out there, or go full-on recession-chic by wearing something already in your closet.

— I always greatly admire a woman with the guts and style to wear an elegant tuxedo to a corporate event, but only try this if you have great style and the confidence to pull it off without showing off. Corporate parties are about reinforcing teamwork, not about individual stars outshining the rest of the pack.

— There’s no need to be downright drab. It’s a party after all. Wear a little bling if it’s your style. Just don’t take it as far as you might in boom times.

All bets are off if you work in the entertainment industry. If that’s the case, take everything I’ve written and ignore it.

And Now, for the Part You Really Don’t Want Me to Tell You…

If you’re as outgoing as I am when stone cold sober, just imagine how goofy you must look after a few drinks. A general guideline — you can probably handle about half as much as you think!

Particularly limit yourself to one or two drinks during cocktails, since there’s more to come with dinner.

This tip applies even if your superiors are stone-cold blottoed. That promotion or transfer you may want will in part be based on your good judgment in a variety of settings. No, it’s not fair, is it?

How to be a Great Conversationalist — a Pain-Free Approach

Nobody really cares what you do for a living or what projects you’re working on. Yet, in American culture, like work-a-holic lemmings we instinctively ask, «What do you do?» This is a particularly sensitive subject this year as many employees and spouses at the event may be recently laid off or anticipating the ax coming down soon. Don’t let party conversations turn glum by opening with shop talk. Make this party a chance for people to forget about their problems for an evening.

Become the greatest conversationalist they’ve ever met in their entire lives by not asking about work. Try, «What interests you outside of work?,» «What are you doing these days for fun?,» «What are your kids up to?,» or anything else that invites conversation on a subject of interest other than work.

Follow-up questions help, too. («You do scrapbooking with your friends. I didn’t realize that was a group hobby. How did you become interested in it?» «So your teenagers are budding Emo-Punk t-shirt designers. Wow. I’ve never heard of that. Tell me more.»)

Introduce yourself to every person at your table, and talk with each of them at some point during dinner, including the spouses, who will speak highly of you forever simply because you steered the conversation away from endless droning on about the office.

Bonus points if you remember names and introduce people to each other. Here’s a great trick for remembering names. My husband swears by it. As soon as you are introduced, say the individual’s name, as in, «Pleased to meet you, Kate.» Then use it two more times early in the conversation. The repetition makes it stick in your head.

And Now for my Favorite Tip for a Sit-Down Dinner

When you sit down next to the CEO, avoid eating his or her food by remembering that your bread plate is to the left and your drink is to the right. Cue yourself by forming an «o» with your index finger and thumb. On the left hand, this forms the letter «b» for bread, and on the right hand, the letter «d» for drink.

Try it now. See? Nifty, huh?

Don’t worry about getting caught doing this. It’s a great conversation starter. For example, the person next you just might say, «Ah, I see you read Traveling Light…»

Is it still a good time to buy a luxury watch

Is it still a good time to buy a luxury watch?

With 401(k) losing their value and stocks plummeting like a malfunctioning rollercoaster the last thing on most people’s minds is deciding whether or not to invest in a luxury timepiece. However, history of this unique collectible category has proven that fine watches are a resilient, timeless investment — even in difficult markets such as the one we are currently experiencing.

What it may be a GOOD time to buy a luxury watch

It should come as no surprise that the fine watch world is in the midst of one of the greatest buyer’s market in history. People who need cash are willing to part ways with their expensive watches at a fraction of their actual value. However, as we will see, one person’s loss can be another’s gain.

For the astute buyer (especially those who spend a good amount of time shopping online) there are tremendous bargains to be found in the luxury watch market. Consider that a recent survey by online discount watch websites found that many $10,000 timepieces are currently being sold for $5,000 — and that $5,000 classic Rolex and Piaget watches are regularly being offered for as little as $2,500. It is hard to argue with these kinds of figures, especially given that the quality of the watches coming out of the best companies has remained unchanged.

This is a good time to buy a luxury watch for two reasons. First, if you are a reseller or a collector, the current climate represents an opportunity to make a profit down the road once the economy begins to grow again and individuals have more cash at the disposal. Secondly, if you have ever wanted to possess a prestigious watch — and never had the resources to do so — this may be the best opportunity you ever had to own a magnificent timepiece.

An investment that never goes out of style

Unlike luxury carmakers, who dilute the prestige of the own brand by selling lower-end versions of their cars, every item that comes out of top watch companies represents the pinnacle of excellent performance and design. As a result, there are no «down years» to worry about in terms of makes and models of watches. Every watch released every year is considered a good personal investment — and a show of good taste.

Luxury watches mean investing in the «intangibles»

In addition, there are elements of purchasing a luxury watch that cannot be measured in dollars and cents. For example, wearing a fine Rolex or Tag Heuer watch has the ability to boost one’s confidence immensely. It can change the way people see us — as well as the way we present ourselves to others.

Finally, the watch-as-family heirloom tradition is something that is most certainly recession-proof. It does not matter what the current Dow Jones average is when a man hands his fine Rolex watch to his son. It is a rich, emotional transition that makes purchasing a top timepiece all the more attractive.

It was just a misunderstanding

It Was Just a Misunderstanding

It was just a misunderstanding… that’s not what I meant…. Have you heard those, or similar statements, recently? If you have, then you are in the midst of a breakdown in communication. The best leaders are excellent communicators, and they encourage a clear, effective exchange of information in their teams. Yet we often experience confusion and misinterpretation at work (and at home). What is going on? Quite simply, we don’t work at stating our ideas explicitly. We take communication for granted, we get lazy, we get careless—and then, bad things happen.

With all the communication tools at our disposal, we are more at risk than ever for miscommunication. Isn’t it great that email has that «receive receipt» function? I think there is a «read receipt» message also. In using these, we are notified that the receiver of the message did, in fact, get the message from us.

Of course, there is no «understand receipt» to insure that the receiver actually «got» what we were trying to say. When we are face-to-face, body language and changes in pace, tone and vocal inflection help us to determine if our message has been understood. In email, we lose these important visual and aural cues, making successful communication much more difficult. Misunderstandings become frequent, and additional emails meant to clarify can make the even situation worse.

At this point, it would be appropriate to visit the classic (and often misquoted) study on communication by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus at UCLA. Dr. Mehrabian examined the process by which people decide whether they like one another. The results of his research tell us that how we say something is critically important to others’ understanding of our message. And, as we noted above, this is precisely the factor that is lost in written communication. Therefore, the more we use such quick and easy means of communicating as email and text messaging, the more at risk we are of being misunderstood.

Don’t get me wrong; I love email. It is a very convenient, efficient, and effective method of sending and receiving information—but sometimes, it just isn’t good enough. I also love looking someone in the eye and seeing that they «get it.» Last week, I flew to San Francisco on short notice for this very reason—to make sure my meaning was received and understood clearly. I didn’t want to fly cross-country for a four-hour meeting, but I did anyway, because it was that important.

How often do you send an email or leave a voice mail when you would be better served by interacting face-to-face? It’s tempting to hide behind email. But vital nuances can easily fall through the cracks. What about your people? I spoke to a friend about this the other day and he said this about his managers, «I tell them to call someone and they send an instant message. They are missing my entire point.»

Misunderstandings cost money. For that reason alone, we must work to eliminate them. Always remember the «understand receipt» function when you are communicating with someone—no matter what method you are using.

How to choose cufflinks

How To Choose Cufflinks

Cufflinks were developed in the French court more than 300 years ago. Today they remain an elegant way to fasten your shirt sleeves, and are the best way to wear French cuffs. Choosing the right cufflinks for you can be an involved process. Following these tips, you will be able to choose cufflinks that suit your personality and your style.

1. Take a look in your closet. What color schemes predominate? If you have warmer, earthier colors, like browns or burgundy, 14k gold cufflinks are a sleek choice. On the other hand, if you have darker tones like greens and blues, a silver cufflink will better balance your suit. Black can be paired with either a silver cufflink or 14k gold cufflinks.

2. Cufflink design corresponds with the occasion. If you are wearing a French cuffed shirt to the office or to a business dinner, you can aspire towards a more contemporary design like the paua shell cufflink. A more classic design, with inscribed initials perhaps, would be suitable also, but it would not be vogue to wear a more contemporary design to a formal dinner or with a tuxedo. For formal occasions, a silver cufflink or 14k gold cufflinks are ideal, especially when paired with a semi-precious stone like hematite, which comes in non-overpowering colors like gray and brown.

3. Novelty cufflinks are fun and can often be centerpieces of conversation. Bone cufflinks or brightly colored cufflinks work well for parties and pastel colored shirts. In general, however, it’s better to be dressed up than dressed down.

4. Cufflinks come in different sizes and shapes. There are round, oval and square cufflinks, and each design projects a different image. Of course, for the sake of variety it is nice to have more than one style, especially since shape does not correspond to occasion.

5. Look around. Don’t settle on the first thing you see because you may be disappointed (and not have enough money) when you see something else. Also, make sure that the cufflinks are scratch free. Many cufflinks can have scratches even though they have not left the jewelry store.

6. Put on the cufflink by closing the swivel bar and inserting it through the hole of the front and the back of your cuff. Then open the swivel bar.

7. You can match your cufflinks with your tie, ring or even with your mens pocket watch. Cufflinks are a great way to add some flair and class to your suit. As with any other fashion item, it’s important to choose something that you like and that you feel comfortable wearing. Secondary are stylistic and matching factors. Don’t be afraid to spend a lot of money on cufflinks; you should have them forever if you take care of them, like with any luxury item. You can always build a collection, as you would with ties or shirts, in order to have a pair for every occasion, or just for the sake of variety. So now that you know what to look for, go on out there and start shopping.

How do skid steer loaders and backhoes work

How Do Skid Steer Loaders and Backhoes Work?

Skid steer loaders are machines used in different types of construction sites, and are applicable especially in tight spaces because they are small and easy maneuverable.

They are equipped with wheels and can turn in their own tracks, making them extremely valuable for applications that require a compact, agile loader. They have light weight and so, they can be towed behind a pickup truck.

The skid steel loader has four wheels and its characteristic is that the left-side drive wheels are independent of the right-side drive wheels. This way, wheel speed and direction of rotation of the wheels will determine the direction the machine will turn.

The skid steel loaders have a simple operating system. Inside the cabin there are two joysticks: a left hand joystick and a right hand joystick. The left hand one is made for controlling the direction. The right hand one is for controlling the loader arms and bucket. By pulling the joystick back, the arms of the machine will raise; by pushing the joystick forward, the arms will be lowered. In order to tilt the bucket up the joystick must be moved to the left. By moving it to the right the bucket will dump. All the system is powered by hydraulic pumps, meaning that there is no mechanical transmission.

The Skid steel loader is suitable for digging and moving landscaping and other building materials. Due to its numerous tools it can also grade, jackhammer cement and load trucks. Some of the special tools of the skid steer loaders are: a dirt bucket, utility grapple bucket, pallet forks, utility fork, angle blade, auger, broom, cold planer, hydraulic hammer, landscape rake and tillers, material handling arm, stump grinder trencher and a vibratory compactor. These tools make skid steel loaders quite useful because there will not be necessary 10 machines any more to complete all these functions.

Another useful machine in the construction field is the backhoes. They are generally used for many different jobs and can replace many other types of heavy equipment at the construction site.

They are designed in a unique way; they have tools sticking out from every way of the machine. The backhoes can be considered to have three pieces of construction equipment combined into one unit: a tractor, a loader and a classical backhoe. Because the backhoes can use all these three functions at a construction site they are considered to be quite valuable and replace other machines.

The backhoe’s core structure is the tractor. Its design allows the machine to move easily over different type of rough terrain. It is equipped with a turbocharged diesel engine, with tires and a cabin for the pilot.

The loader is another part of the backhoe. It is attached in the front, while the backhoe is situated in the back. The loader is used as a spoon that picks up and carries a lot of loose material. It can also be used for smoothing things over, or for pushing dirt.

The backhoe loader also has a backhoe in the back of the tractor. Its function is to dig earth, or to lift heavy loads and then drop them in a pile at the side of the hole. All kinds of holes can be digged with a backhoe but most of all is suitable for ditches. In order not to fall inside the hole, the backhoes are equipped with stabilizer legs.

The backhoes are used mostly for digging ditches with the backhoe, and then for carrying out the dirt with the loader. After the work is done in that are, the loader will fill back the ditch with the extracted dirt.

These machines, the skid steer loader and the backhoe are very useful nowadays because they are very efficient and they save a lot of time because the operator doesn’t have to switch between two different pieces of equipment any more.

For more resources about Skid steer loaders or even about back hoes please review this page http://www.tokasafety.com