News You Can Use: 12/4/2019


Photo by Chris Ainsworth on Unsplash

  • People hate open offices so much that they create ‘fourth walls’ for privacy

    Remember that time companies spent hundreds of millions of dollars on open-office layouts, only to discover that face-to-face interactions decrease by 70% in open-office plans? More fallout today: Ethan Bernstein, the Harvard researcher behind that finding, has taken to the Harvard Business Review to analyze why.

    He says that workers in open spaces quickly develop psychological fourth walls, the conceptual boundaries that protect their public solitude. For example, coworkers quickly learn that wearing headphones or appearing to work intently will stop interruptions. “Especially in open spaces, fourth-wall norms spread quickly,” writes Bernstein.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90430512/people-hate-open-offices-so-much-that-they-create-fourth-walls-for-privacy

  • How To Make 64 Pieces Of Content In A Day

    https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/how-to-create-64-pieces-of-content-in-a-day/

  • We Can Finally End The Myth Of The Lazy Millennial

    Hidden in this census data, BuzzFeed News found that 1.4 million American millennials (born 1981–1996) supported their parents in 2016, the most recent year for which data was available. That number was statistically indistinguishable from the number of boomers (born 1946–1964) supporting their adult children in the same year.

    “OK boomer” is not just a pithy retort; it’s totally valid. I’m giddy; maybe you are too. The same number of millennials financially support their parents as the number of boomers who support their grown children.

    All the headlines, and the jokes, all the (mis)representations about America’s deliciously hateable young adults, they’re f*****g fake, folks! A tale spread by a group of grumpy (and probably well-off) boomers that took on a life of its own, sapping a generation — their own children’s generation — of its dignity.

    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/millennials-parents-stereotypes-boomers-data

  • The worst thing you can do for your college-bound teen is saddle them with student debt

    Don’t make a decision based on emotions. Parents are often so panicked about their children succeeding that it drives them to do whatever it takes to get them into their desired college, even if it means taking on gargantuan loans. But good decision-making involves a plan, not panic.

    Drop the dream. So many loans are the result of parents giving in to children who just have to go to their dream school.“The only dream school out there is the one that you can graduate from debt-free,” ONeal says.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/personal-finance/the-worst-thing-you-can-do-for-your-college-bound-teen-is-saddle-them-with-student-debt/2019/11/14/d0ef5e7a-06fb-11ea-b17d-8b867891d39d_story.html

News You Can Use: 10/28/2015

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  • Millennials: Entitled or Just Ambitious?
    As they come into their own professionally, millennials are shifting corporate culture and the way companies are organized. In this video, Jamie Notter, co-author of “When Millennials Take Over” digs deeply into common millennial values and how they’re changing the ways top companies compete for premium talent. Unlike previous generations, millennials aren’t satisfied with years of “paying their dues” in positions of low responsibility. They want autonomy, transparency, and a sense of mission. Expect to see the tides continue to shift in this direction as the emerging generation takes the reins in the coming decade.
  • Your Best Ally For A Big Data Budget

    Under pressure to provide better information on their businesses, CFOs are beginning to latch onto the possibilities that big data and analytics offer for their own financial reporting. A survey by Ernst & Young found that 90% of the 500 responding CFOs and others with financial titles expect to be reporting on forecasting, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility within three years. That effort will take some investment, and CPOs can perhaps make a case that with their management of the supply chain they can help, if they have the resources.

    http://www.procurementleaders.com/blog/my-blog–paul-teague/your-best-ally-for-a-big-data-budget-575274

  • Why Dell acquisitions strategy beats the industry’s Frankenstein approach

    Dell’s method was developed initially at IBM to preserve the value of the acquisition. It does that by shifting the focus from conformance to focusing on the value of the company acquired. The first step is to identify and protect the assets that were acquired and then not doing anything to damage what was purchased. In general the firms culture, process, compensation plan, span of control, executive team, hiring process, and even location remain intact.

    What gets changed are things that can be done behind the scenes to cut costs and increase execution. For instance, it is common to use Dell’s advanced supply chain to increase the speed of the acquired firm’s execution and reduce its costs. If the change makes financial sense and doesn’t put the identified assets at risk then it is put into the plan, if it doesn’t it isn’t.

    http://www.cio.com/article/2997155/mergers-acquisitions/why-dell-acquisitions-strategy-beats-the-industry-s-frankenstein-approach.html#tk.rss_all

  • How to cure the Sunday night blues
    I am definitely someone who suffers from Sunday night blues and of all their suggestions, this is the one that I deploy to keep it in check…

    While it’s tempting to dash out the door on Friday evening, you might be doing yourself a big favor if you take a bit of time to organize the following week first, O’Brien says. Or, take a few minutes on Saturday morning to plan what will need to be done on Monday, ensure you have the information and resources you need to complete those tasks, and identify any obstacles or challenges so they don’t catch you by surprise.

    http://www.fastcompany.com/3052390/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/how-to-cure-the-sunday-night-blues

  • CIOs turn to cloud-based analytics to manage IT asset costs
    I want to know more about this Apptio services to see if it is legit…

    LaPlaine says he started off with rudimentary calculations, using Apptio to figure out total IT costs divided by total IT assets. This revealed data duplications in the general ledger, missing lease costs and other bad data. “We spent a ton of time cleaning up data … now we have a very rich model,” LaPlaine says. He counts 25 IT services in AOL’s service catalog, which produce 70 invoices every month to run and support IT services, including public cloud software from Amazon Web Services and Salesforce.com, as well as kilowatt power costs its IT systems generate. LaPlaine, who sends the corporate finance department a file with the costs every month, says he’s also using a new planning tool from Apptio to build his IT budget for 2016

    http://www.cio.com/article/2996559/cloud-computing/cios-turn-to-cloud-based-analytics-to-manage-it-asset-costs.html#tk.rss_all

  • More on Apptio… (from 2009 and not directly published from the company)
    Here is something from the company…
  • Make Your Company More Like a Family to Attract Talent
    This is easier said than done with HR policy and in companies with a downsize requirement.  That being said… I lean more towards this style than not (and did so when I had my store)

    Beyond earning insight into a company’s operating information, employees need to feel like they’re given ample opportunity for personal development and that the company is invested in making that development happen. Sixty-one percent of highly talented managers work to leverage and develop employee strengths and attributes,according to Gallup. I’ve prioritized investments into a leadership development program that teaches basic management skills to current and future managers. Better leaders help motivate and inspire employees. In turn, those new leaders will live up to a company’s values and reinforce its culture.

    http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249793