Someone is looking at

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Your Price: $31.50 AUD, includes GST for Australian customersShipping: $6.95 (per order regardless of how many books you buy!)You Save: $3.50! (10% off the normal price)Plus...earn $1.58 in Boomerang Bucks when you purchase this bookAvailability: In stock at the publisher and usually ships by us in 7 - 10 days. Allow a few extra days for delivery
$.get("/includes/showSecondHandBooks.cfm?but=1&t=1361815202328&isbn=9781408111093", function(data){ $('#usedBooksDiv').slideUp('150', function(){$('#usedBooksDiv').html(data).slideDown('250'); // Define Hover States for teh BuyUsed button $("#BuyUsed").hover( function () { $(this).css('opacity','.7'); // Mozilla $(this).css('filter','alpha(opacity=70)'); // IE }, function () { $(this).css('opacity','1'); // Mozilla $(this).css('filter','alpha(opacity=100)'); // IE } ); } ); });

Now a billion dollar industry, executive coaching is one of the fastest-growing sections of the coaching market, and is widely used by senior managers and chief executives in large organisations. In this accessible guide, Patricia Bossons, Jeremy Kourdi and Denis Sartain offer clear explanations of key coaching theories before putting that theory into context with a comprehensive selection of practical tools and techniques. The potential benefits and uses of each technique are explained and then followed with advice on how to apply the technique and make it work for you - allowing readers to match situations or issues with specific coaching techniques for optimum results. The unique, practical approach of this book will make it essential reading for managers and leaders at all levels as well as professional coaches.

ISBN: 9781408111093
ISBN-10: 1408111098
Classification: Management & management techniques
Format: Paperback (234mm x 153mm x 16mm)
Pages: 240
Imprint: A & C Black Publishers Ltd
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publish Date: 1-Sep-2009
Country of Publication: United Kingdom

Beyond The Call by Marc Woods Why some team members go the extra mile while others don't--and how to get more out of everyone Business leaders know that some members of their teams go above and beyond while others get by doing the bare minimum. The question on everyone's lips is how to turn every member of your organization into a top performer.

Connecting Organizational Silos by Frank Leistner Practical guidance on how to successfully introduce enterprise social networks to connect employees While there are a fast growing number of books around social media and enterprise 2. 0, the focus is often on the technical tools. Connecting Organizational Silos approaches social media and enterprise 2.

Clients First by Joseph Callaway How honesty, competency, and caring will make you rich Throw out the sales manual. Get off the motivation elevator. Clients First is a two word miracle that can change your life.

» View more books like these...
Coaching Essentials, Paperback (August 2012) A comprehensive guide to executive coaching, this fully updated second edition ofers a wealth of practical, proven coaching tools and techniques. Essential reading for professional coaches, students, managers and leaders at all levels.

Mentoring, Hardback (April 2004) In the last few years there has been a big expansion in the range of applications of mentoring in business and in the scope of particular schemes in specific organizations. This book draws upon valuable case study material and includes advice on best practice from leading companies on setting up, running and evaluating mentoring schemes.

» View all books by Patricia Bossons

» Have you read this book? We'd like to know what you think about it - write a review and you'll earn Boomerang Bucks loyalty dollars!

Dr Patricia Bossons is Director of Coaching Services at Henley Business School. She is a Chartered Psychologist and an accredited NLP coach. Denis Sartain coaches at board level and teaches coaching skills at Henley Business School. Jeremy Kourdi is a writer and business consultant. He has worked with many leading brands, professional institutions and business schools, including The Economist Group, London Business School and the Chartered Management Institute. He has written 18 books, including Surviving a Downturn (A&C Black, 2007).

Biography & true storiesFictionHealth & personal developmentLifestyle, sport & leisureChildren's, young adult & educationalThe artsLanguageLiterature & literary studiesEnglish language teaching (ELT)Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjectsHumanitiesSociety & social sciencesEconomics, finance, business & managementLawMedicineMathematics & scienceEarth sciences, geography, environment, planningTechnology, engineering, agricultureComputing & information technologyBoomerang Books is Carbon Neutral

Boomerang Books is proud to be Australia's first carbon neutral online bookstore, independently accredited by the Carbon Reduction Institute (Certification #NC166). Boomerang Books purchases carbon credits to offset the carbon emissions created by the book supply chain.

The cost of offsetting a book is, on average, 1% of the price of the book. Boomerang Books customers are requested to help pay for the environmental footprint of their books by contributing half of that cost (ie. 0.5% of the sale price) when they purchase books on our website.

Customers may opt-out of the carbon offset contribution by unticking the appropriate selection box on the payment page.

Boomerang Bucks

For every $20 you spend on books, you will receive $1 in Boomerang Bucks loyalty dollars. You can use your Boomerang Bucks as a credit towards a future purchase from Boomerang Books. Note that you must be a Member (free to sign up) and that conditions do apply.

Recent books by Patricia Bossons

View the original article here

Open for business: Boris Johnson officially opens Shard's observation deck to public

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Cutting a ribbon 244 metres above London’s seemingly permanently wet pavements, the Mayor was joined in the greying gloom by the building’s architect Renzo Piano, who claimed The Shard, which continues to divide opinion just as fiercely as it divides the London skyline, is “magic for a number of reasons.”

"First, because it's in London, second, because it's so tall, and third, because this building is a part of London. It's a sense of London.

"It's sad when London is sad, it's joyful when London is brilliant and joyful."

Mr Johnson described the building as "a most amazing place".

He said: "I don't think there's anything in London like this.

"It's the closest thing to being in an airplane and looking down on London. But you can walk around, you've got complete stability.

"You can see all the bends in the river, you can see my office, you can see Buckingham Palace, you can see the whole thing for 40 miles around."

It is certainly true that it is the first ‘public’ viewing gallery over London. All its other similar vantage points are ensconced in expensive bars and restaurants, and considerably lower down. That said, a couple of gin and tonics, at say, Galvin at Windows, on the roof of the Park Lane Hilton won’t set you back much more than the Shard’s £24.95 ticket price (£18.95 for children), which is significantly more than the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and every other comparable attraction anywhere in the world.

But that hasn’t stopped the 4,800 people who have paid admission for today. The decks are sold out for the next several weeks.

On a clear day, visitors will be able to enjoy a 360-degree view of the capital's skyline, from a platform almost twice the height of any other in the city.

With the help of specially-designed telescopes, they should be able to pick out London's landmarks in the streets below.

Visitors to the attraction - on floors 68, 69 and 72 - are whisked up in two high-speed lifts in around 60 seconds.

View the original article here

Delivering Presentations: The Rules of Dating Apply Here Too!

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Imagine you’re out on a date and your goal is to really impress. You want to be the only person in the room your date can see or hear. Given that goal, what would you say is the best way to start the date:

Start the date by sharing your life history including all your great accomplishments and the things that matter most to you.Start the date by talking to your date about the kinds of things he/she finds valuable.

Now, in the dating world, pretty much everybody gets it right, you talk about “them.” But here’s the shocker: once we move into the world of business presentations; another place where winning quick audience favor is critical, pretty much everybody gets it wrong. Because instead of using what we know works, most folks begin their business presentations by talking about “themselves.” In fact; over 90% of the presentations we’ve studied began with a slide that looks like this…

And unless you’re attending a narcissist’s convention, this is just a terrible slide and horrible start to your presentation. You don’t even have to read every bullet point to feel the automatic turn off. This slide is all about “you”: when you were founded, how many clients you have, how big you are, how many awards you’ve won, etc. If you used a personalized version of this slide in a dating situation, I guarantee you’d be sitting alone at the bar before the first round of drinks arrived.

It doesn’t matter if you’re presenting to one person or a room of a thousand, the only way to grab your audience’s attention is to spend the first 10 minutes addressing issues that matter to them. Neurologically, those first 10 minutes are when your audience forms their opinions about you. It’s when their brains absorb all the incoming data (that would be you) and then decide whether or not to allocate any more neurological energy to listening to that big noise coming at them (again, that’s you). And because you know this little tidbit of knowledge that comes to us from the world of brain science, you can use it to your advantage.

Dating Research that Proves Affect of Opening with Messages About “Them”

Let’s jump back to dating for a minute. Perhaps you’ve heard of a free online dating site called OkCupid that was created by a couple of guys who met while at Harvard. Now, I married my high school sweetheart, so I don’t go there trolling for dates. But back when the founders were still actively blogging, I used to check out OKTrends and I was pretty impressed with the statistical research they shared. Like the study where they looked at the kinds of words men use in their opening messages to women, to learn what does (and doesn’t) generate a reply. As you can imagine, some of the opening messages were incredibly cheesy. For example, some of the words the study revealed that DON’T work (i.e. women did not reply to the man’s message) were: “sexy”, “beautiful” and “hot.”

I’m happy to report that there’s a redeeming flip side to this. Because there were some words and phrases the guys used in their emails to women that generated huge numbers of responses.  For example:  “You mention…”, “noticed that…” and “curious what…” all got fantastic responses (statistically, messages with those phrases get double the normal response rates). So basically, if a guy appears to have read a woman’s profile, and he shows knowledge and interest in the things she’s interested in, he’s got a much greater chance of hearing back from her. A good “guy message” would sound like this: “You mention that you like cooking and I noticed that you travelled to Italy. I’m curious what your favorite region was in terms of cuisine?” That’s a guy I might let my daughter go out with—when she gets to dating age, and luckily, that’s far in the future.

The lesson in all this is: whether you’re dating or making million-dollar presentations, start by talking about the other person and their interests. Let them know that you know what they want to hear about, that you are sensitive to what they want to gain from this interaction and that you care about the same things that they care about.

In my upcoming webinar, The Secrets of Killer Presentations, you’ll learn how to assess the four personality types you’ll find in your audience so you can begin every presentation knowing exactly what your audience wants to hear from you. And if you’re addressing multiple personality types, you’ll learn how to time a presentation to safeguard those different attention spans so you know when to deliver the bottom line, when to be to linear, when to stick to the facts and when to get warm and fuzzy to build an emotional connection.

An expert in aligning goals and people to create thriving organizations, Mark leads one of the world’s largest studies on leadership and employee engagement.

Mark’s award-winning work has been featured numerous times in publications including The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Washington Post. His media appearances include CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC’s 20/20, Fox Business News and NPR. Mark has lectured at Harvard Business School, Yale University, University of Rochester and University of Florida. Mark is the author of five books including the McGraw-Hill international bestsellers, Hundred Percenters: Challenge Your People to Give It Their All and They’ll Give You Even More and Hard Goals. Mark’s most recent book, Hiring for Attitude, reflects the team’s latest research and insight into how hiring decisions can align with engagement goals and culture characteristics.

Leadership IQ’s turnaround, culture change, and performance enhancement through employee engagement work has been recognized in a diverse set of industries including healthcare, financial services, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and hospitality. From his roots as a turnaround specialist, Mark created Leadership IQ to address problems in performance before they hit the bottom line.

View the original article here

Consider these 4 Communications Styles When Delivering your Next Presentation

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

You may be presenting to a group from within the same industry or even department, but that doesn’t mean everyone in your audience has the same preferred communications style. Different people have very different ways they prefer to give and receive information. Which means that the kind of delivery that engages some people may send others in your audience scrambling for the exits.  One of the big challenges when presenting to a mixed group is correctly adapting your communication style so your whole audience stays focused on what you’re saying.

To make it easier, we distilled it down into four basic default communication styles people can fall into. These are not personality types; this deals specifically with how you like to give and get information. Here’s a brief description of each default communication style:

The Intuitive type refers to those people who are not terribly emotional, but who are quite free form. Intuitive types don’t necessarily like things to flow from A to B to C and so on. They like to cut to the chase, so it’s best to skip directly to the end: what’s the real value you are bringing this person today? If you can get the Intuitive types in your audience to buy in on the end result right away upfront, you’ve got a much better shot at getting them to listen to all the other stuff you’ve got to say.The Analytical type refers to those people who prefer things unemotional but linear. These are your “just the facts” kinds of people. They don’t want to hear a lot of warm-and-fuzzy feeling words, so don’t waste the Analytical-type communicator’s time by telling them you understand their pain; instead just give them the numbers and data they need and want.The Functional type refers to people who generally like their communication to be emotional and linear. These folks like to have control of the process so it’s always best to move in a linear fashion: from A, to B, to C and then follow through right to the end. If you try to skip around in your presentation or jump to the enticement of your “wow” finish, you risk losing the attention of the Functional-type communicator.The Personal relater is both free form and emotional. These are the folks who want the warm-and-fuzzy emotional approach.   So feel free to dive right into all the details such as: Who else is going to be involved/ how getting involved will make them “feel”/ who else they will touch by getting involved, etc.  You can’t just come in and dump a bunch of facts on personal-type communicators, even if they are startling facts. These folks are still going to need a more interpersonal connection.

Even from these brief descriptions of the four communications styles, the conundrum is obvious: they all want something different. The good news is that, by knowing what the 4 types are, you can plan your next presentation knowing you need to hit all 4 types in your delivery. And we’ll teach you how to do that in our upcoming live webinar The Secrets of Killer Presentations.  But here’s a quick little take away secret you can start using now:

When great speakers present to a new or unknown audience, they assume all four communications styles are present. And there’s a certain order they present their information, in order to communication to each style. They begin by addressing the Intuitive types, then they speak to the Analytical types, then to the Functional types and they close by speaking to the Personal types. We see this often in presidential speeches or wherever there’s a mixed audience of preferred communication styles. Working in this order, from the Intuitive to the Analytical to the Functional to the Personal addresses attention span: Intuitives have the shortest attention span, then the Analyticals, then the Functionals and the Personals have the longest attention spans.

An expert in aligning goals and people to create thriving organizations, Mark leads one of the world’s largest studies on leadership and employee engagement.

Mark’s award-winning work has been featured numerous times in publications including The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Washington Post. His media appearances include CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC’s 20/20, Fox Business News and NPR. Mark has lectured at Harvard Business School, Yale University, University of Rochester and University of Florida. Mark is the author of five books including the McGraw-Hill international bestsellers, Hundred Percenters: Challenge Your People to Give It Their All and They’ll Give You Even More and Hard Goals. Mark’s most recent book, Hiring for Attitude, reflects the team’s latest research and insight into how hiring decisions can align with engagement goals and culture characteristics.

Leadership IQ’s turnaround, culture change, and performance enhancement through employee engagement work has been recognized in a diverse set of industries including healthcare, financial services, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and hospitality. From his roots as a turnaround specialist, Mark created Leadership IQ to address problems in performance before they hit the bottom line.

View the original article here

Delivering Presentations: The Rules of Dating Apply Here Too!

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Imagine you’re out on a date and your goal is to really impress. You want to be the only person in the room your date can see or hear. Given that goal, what would you say is the best way to start the date:

Start the date by sharing your life history including all your great accomplishments and the things that matter most to you.Start the date by talking to your date about the kinds of things he/she finds valuable.

Now, in the dating world, pretty much everybody gets it right, you talk about “them.” But here’s the shocker: once we move into the world of business presentations; another place where winning quick audience favor is critical, pretty much everybody gets it wrong. Because instead of using what we know works, most folks begin their business presentations by talking about “themselves.” In fact; over 90% of the presentations we’ve studied began with a slide that looks like this…

And unless you’re attending a narcissist’s convention, this is just a terrible slide and horrible start to your presentation. You don’t even have to read every bullet point to feel the automatic turn off. This slide is all about “you”: when you were founded, how many clients you have, how big you are, how many awards you’ve won, etc. If you used a personalized version of this slide in a dating situation, I guarantee you’d be sitting alone at the bar before the first round of drinks arrived.

It doesn’t matter if you’re presenting to one person or a room of a thousand, the only way to grab your audience’s attention is to spend the first 10 minutes addressing issues that matter to them. Neurologically, those first 10 minutes are when your audience forms their opinions about you. It’s when their brains absorb all the incoming data (that would be you) and then decide whether or not to allocate any more neurological energy to listening to that big noise coming at them (again, that’s you). And because you know this little tidbit of knowledge that comes to us from the world of brain science, you can use it to your advantage.

Dating Research that Proves Affect of Opening with Messages About “Them”

Let’s jump back to dating for a minute. Perhaps you’ve heard of a free online dating site called OkCupid that was created by a couple of guys who met while at Harvard. Now, I married my high school sweetheart, so I don’t go there trolling for dates. But back when the founders were still actively blogging, I used to check out OKTrends and I was pretty impressed with the statistical research they shared. Like the study where they looked at the kinds of words men use in their opening messages to women, to learn what does (and doesn’t) generate a reply. As you can imagine, some of the opening messages were incredibly cheesy. For example, some of the words the study revealed that DON’T work (i.e. women did not reply to the man’s message) were: “sexy”, “beautiful” and “hot.”

I’m happy to report that there’s a redeeming flip side to this. Because there were some words and phrases the guys used in their emails to women that generated huge numbers of responses.  For example:  “You mention…”, “noticed that…” and “curious what…” all got fantastic responses (statistically, messages with those phrases get double the normal response rates). So basically, if a guy appears to have read a woman’s profile, and he shows knowledge and interest in the things she’s interested in, he’s got a much greater chance of hearing back from her. A good “guy message” would sound like this: “You mention that you like cooking and I noticed that you travelled to Italy. I’m curious what your favorite region was in terms of cuisine?” That’s a guy I might let my daughter go out with—when she gets to dating age, and luckily, that’s far in the future.

The lesson in all this is: whether you’re dating or making million-dollar presentations, start by talking about the other person and their interests. Let them know that you know what they want to hear about, that you are sensitive to what they want to gain from this interaction and that you care about the same things that they care about.

In my upcoming webinar, The Secrets of Killer Presentations, you’ll learn how to assess the four personality types you’ll find in your audience so you can begin every presentation knowing exactly what your audience wants to hear from you. And if you’re addressing multiple personality types, you’ll learn how to time a presentation to safeguard those different attention spans so you know when to deliver the bottom line, when to be to linear, when to stick to the facts and when to get warm and fuzzy to build an emotional connection.

An expert in aligning goals and people to create thriving organizations, Mark leads one of the world’s largest studies on leadership and employee engagement.

Mark’s award-winning work has been featured numerous times in publications including The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Washington Post. His media appearances include CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC’s 20/20, Fox Business News and NPR. Mark has lectured at Harvard Business School, Yale University, University of Rochester and University of Florida. Mark is the author of five books including the McGraw-Hill international bestsellers, Hundred Percenters: Challenge Your People to Give It Their All and They’ll Give You Even More and Hard Goals. Mark’s most recent book, Hiring for Attitude, reflects the team’s latest research and insight into how hiring decisions can align with engagement goals and culture characteristics.

Leadership IQ’s turnaround, culture change, and performance enhancement through employee engagement work has been recognized in a diverse set of industries including healthcare, financial services, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and hospitality. From his roots as a turnaround specialist, Mark created Leadership IQ to address problems in performance before they hit the bottom line.

View the original article here

Women in Business: Do you plan to succeed or fail to plan?

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Many directors or team leaders say that what sets staff apart from each other is how they handle the unexpected and manage critical situations.  In an ideal world nothing goes wrong and life is simple and easy.  As no-one lives in this ideal world you need to make sure you are prepared, and skilled, at handling situations when things go wrong to set you apart from your co-workers.

The everywoman workbook, Tackling critical situations, shows problem-solving tools that will get you in shape for when a critical situation occurs.  Don’t wait for the unexpected to happen before you use them.  Be proactive.  Have a brainstorm and use the results from the tools to be prepared for what could be thrown at you.

Cause and effect (or The Fishbone) – to help discover the cause of a problem

Draw a fishbone (see diagram).  Choose a problem and write it in the fish head.  Think of the major causes that contributed to the effect and put them on the end of each bone.Depending on the issue, you could use the 4 Ms (Manpower, Methods, Machinery and Materials) or the 4 Ps (Policies, Procedures, People and Plant).Brainstorm to discover the causes for each major area – let thoughts and discussion flow freely.Ask ‘why?’ as much as possible to build further branches/ribs to ensure you are getting to the root of the problem.Now prioritise the most important causes and decide which ones need improving for maximum benefit, or to cause the least disruption to your organisation.

The 5 whys – to get to the root of a problem

Clearly define the problem to be solvedKeep asking ‘why?’.  Write down the answers and continue to ask the question until all options have been exhausted.Use the answers to decide what needs to be prioritised and worked on immediately to tackle the situationUse some sort of image to show the flow of the whys pictorially.

Pros and cons – when a quick analysis of a decision is required.

Identify a decision to analyseAsk everyone in the brainstorm group to write two lists – one headed Pros and the other Cons.  They then need to record their own reasons for and against the decision.Pull together all the answers and compile a group list.  You may want to add weighting if some reasons are more important than others.Given all the Pros and Cons, determine whether the decision is the right one to take to resolve the situation.

The everywoman workbook, Tackling critical situations, can be downloaded from the everywoman website (member login required) and it contains more tips and strategies, to help you tackle the unexpected.   The blog post Women in business: Do you plan to succeed or fail to plan? has been taken from the workbook and covers four steps to take when faced with a critical situation.  If you are not a member of the everywomanNetwork* you can download a preview from bookshelf on our Personal Development page or go to www.everywoman.com/join to sign up and gain instant access to the whole workbook plus a range of exclusive tools that support your personal development.

*everywomanNetwork membership gives you access to workbooks, webinars, interviews, case studies and expert advice, plus promotional opportunities for you or your business, member discounts and offers, and the ability to connect with like-minded women.

View the original article here

Tensions rise as ministers press for deeper cuts to welfare

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, Education Secretary, Michael Gove, and Home Secretary, Theresa May, are among senior Tories arguing for another squeeze on welfare.

The Government’s decision to “ring-fence” the health, schools, defence equipment and international aid budgets has provoked a Cabinet battle because it means other departments could face cuts totalling £28bn over the 2015-18 period.

The most vulnerable budgets include those for the police, criminal justice, local government, employment and transport, which could be reduced by 26 per cent over that period.

Tory ministers point out that benefits and tax credits will cost £209bn in the current financial year, almost a third of total government spending (£664bn). “Welfare cannot be immune in the next round,” one Cabinet source said.

The latest attack on welfare will be controversial. Ministers are already braced for a backlash when a 1 per cent cap on benefit rises and cuts in housing and council tax benefits take effect in April – at the same time the top rate of tax, on incomes over £150,000, will be reduced from 50p to 45p in the pound.

The Coalition must agree a detailed budget for the 2015-16 financial year because it starts before the May 2015 general election. George Osborne wants an agreement on £10bn of savings by June.

Nick Clegg will argue against another squeeze on benefits for the poor so soon after the three-year cap on benefit rises was announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. He believes any further welfare cuts should start with the winter fuel allowances, free bus pass and TV licences for rich pensioners, which David Cameron has promised to safeguard.

A senior Liberal Democrat source told The Independent today: “Discussions on the spending review are in their very early stages. We made significant savings through welfare in the autumn statement and both sides of the Coalition were clear at the time that we cannot make all our savings through the welfare budget alone. We have protected schools, the NHS and international aid but other areas of government spending will have to make further savings. If they [the Conservatives] do want to open up a debate about welfare savings, we would be more than happy to have one that starts with the sacred cow of benefits for millionaire pensioners.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable, whose department is not protected, is arguing that it would be wrong to put at risk measures to help industry, improve skills and boost science. He believes the concept of “ring-fencing” some parts of Whitehall is flawed when the economy is the priority.

When the Cabinet discussed the issue last week, Mr Osborne’s drive for more cuts was challenged by Mr Cable, Mrs May and Mr Hammond – all anxious to defend their turf.

Today there was confusion over whether the Ministry of Defence is protected. On his visit to Algeria, Mr Cameron said he stuck by a 2010 pledge that the defence budget should rise above inflation “in the years beyond 2015”. Downing Street later admitted there could be more defence cuts in 2015-16 and that the Prime Minister hoped that spending would rise after that.

Mr Hammond said that only defence equipment, which accounts for about 40 per cent of his £33bn-a-year budget, was protected – which could leave it vulnerable to more job cuts.

The Labour-affiliated Fabian Society calculates £198bn of spending will be safeguarded in 2015-16, resulting in cuts in other areas of £28bn from 2015-18.

View the original article here

Big Presentation Coming Up? Make it Your Best One Yet

An error occurred while receiving the HTTP response to http://api.microsofttranslator.com/v1/Soap.svc. This could be due to the service endpoint binding not using the HTTP protocol. This could also be due to an HTTP request context being aborted by the server (possibly due to the service shutting down). See server logs for more details.
An error occurred while receiving the HTTP response to http://api.microsofttranslator.com/v1/Soap.svc. This could be due to the service endpoint binding not using the HTTP protocol. This could also be due to an HTTP request context being aborted by the server (possibly due to the service shutting down). See server logs for more details.

A Q&A with CEO Mark Murphy

There isn’t a presenter alive that doesn’t want their audience absolutely riveted; sitting on the edge of their seats with rapt attention. Yet, the reality in most presentations is that the audience is sitting back, kind of relaxed and spacing in and out.

Here Leadership IQ CEO and best-selling author, Mark Murphy, shares some ways anyone can deliver a killer presentation.

Q: You say storytelling is a critical element in delivering killer presentations that really catch and keep an audience’s attention. How does that work?

MM: It’s all about dopaminergic response. Basically, when something really interesting, like a good story, happens, the brain starts to light up. And if the story is really exciting, the amygdala gets involved (that’s what you want) and says, “Wow! This is fascinating stuff! I’ve got to start activating some of the other chemicals in the brain—we’ve got to pay close attention to this!” So it goes and starts activating dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter for highly pleasurable things, highly attentive things.

And whoa! Once dopamine gets involved people really start to pay attention. Plus dopamine helps sear whatever it is folks are experiencing (in this case, your killer presentation) into their memory so they don’t forget it. So a great story is a way of getting the brain to say, “I am really engaged with this. I don’t want to miss a word that’s being said here. I am going to remember every word I hear.”

Next time you’re listening to someone else’s presentation, pay attention and see if you experience any moments that leap out at you and just get seared into your brain. Where you walk out of there quoting something you just heard to everyone you run into that day. If you don’t have that kind of experience then it is likely that the person speaking didn’t get anywhere near activating anything beyond your prefrontal cortex. They didn’t get into your limbic system, and they certainly didn’t excite your amygdala.

Q: So what’s the secret to telling a great story that excites the amygdala?

MM: There are a number of different ways to tell stories that really get people’s attention. Here’s one that uses an unexpected twist. Imagine you began a presentation by saying, “Six months ago, we upgraded our servers. Our website visitor capacity doubled. Our website loading speed tripled. And our profits dropped by 80%.” You can do something like that. Take your audience in one direction and then all of a sudden take them in a totally different direction. That’s one of those things that will make people’s heads spin a bit and get them to think, “Wait a minute, did I just hear what I thought I heard? I better start listening more closely.” You can also tell stories that build an emotional connection or introduce a startling fact.

Q: What’s one big thing to avoid when giving a presentation?

MM: Narcissism. When you talk about others more than you talk about yourself, that’s good. But when you talk about yourself more than you talk about others, that’s bad. But that can be challenging in some presentation situations. Leadership IQ teaches presenters to apply the Narcissism Ratio which is a little check that signals when it’s time to tell a story or to talk about somebody or something other than yourself. That way you don’t spend 20 minutes talking about all of the awards your company has won – something about which your audience probably doesn’t care. And it directs you to talk about something about which they do care, something that’s really going to activate them and get them on the edge of their seats.

To apply the Narcissism Ratio to your next presentation, keep track of how many times you say “I” or “me” versus the number of times you say “customers” or “employees” or “you” or “they” or anybody other than you. It takes some practice, but it’s really quite an effective way to keep your finger on the pulse of where your presentation is going as it happens. That way you are always on track and making sure your  audience stays fully engaged.

For more tips on delivering memorable presentations, join us for our upcoming webinar The Secrets of Killer Presentations.

A professional corporate writer with over 20-years’ experience crafting just the right words for executives to use in challenging situations, Lyn is a passionate and adept qualitative researcher. Her seasoned skills as an interviewer make her quick to identify the unique attitudes and behaviors that define an organization. Lyn’s extensive expertise in public relations and persuasive communications translates strongly in her contributions to Leadership IQ’s custom-training programs.

View the original article here

Delivering Presentations: The Rules of Dating Apply Here Too!

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Imagine you’re out on a date and your goal is to really impress. You want to be the only person in the room your date can see or hear. Given that goal, what would you say is the best way to start the date:

Start the date by sharing your life history including all your great accomplishments and the things that matter most to you.Start the date by talking to your date about the kinds of things he/she finds valuable.

Now, in the dating world, pretty much everybody gets it right, you talk about “them.” But here’s the shocker: once we move into the world of business presentations; another place where winning quick audience favor is critical, pretty much everybody gets it wrong. Because instead of using what we know works, most folks begin their business presentations by talking about “themselves.” In fact; over 90% of the presentations we’ve studied began with a slide that looks like this…

And unless you’re attending a narcissist’s convention, this is just a terrible slide and horrible start to your presentation. You don’t even have to read every bullet point to feel the automatic turn off. This slide is all about “you”: when you were founded, how many clients you have, how big you are, how many awards you’ve won, etc. If you used a personalized version of this slide in a dating situation, I guarantee you’d be sitting alone at the bar before the first round of drinks arrived.

It doesn’t matter if you’re presenting to one person or a room of a thousand, the only way to grab your audience’s attention is to spend the first 10 minutes addressing issues that matter to them. Neurologically, those first 10 minutes are when your audience forms their opinions about you. It’s when their brains absorb all the incoming data (that would be you) and then decide whether or not to allocate any more neurological energy to listening to that big noise coming at them (again, that’s you). And because you know this little tidbit of knowledge that comes to us from the world of brain science, you can use it to your advantage.

Dating Research that Proves Affect of Opening with Messages About “Them”

Let’s jump back to dating for a minute. Perhaps you’ve heard of a free online dating site called OkCupid that was created by a couple of guys who met while at Harvard. Now, I married my high school sweetheart, so I don’t go there trolling for dates. But back when the founders were still actively blogging, I used to check out OKTrends and I was pretty impressed with the statistical research they shared. Like the study where they looked at the kinds of words men use in their opening messages to women, to learn what does (and doesn’t) generate a reply. As you can imagine, some of the opening messages were incredibly cheesy. For example, some of the words the study revealed that DON’T work (i.e. women did not reply to the man’s message) were: “sexy”, “beautiful” and “hot.”

I’m happy to report that there’s a redeeming flip side to this. Because there were some words and phrases the guys used in their emails to women that generated huge numbers of responses.  For example:  “You mention…”, “noticed that…” and “curious what…” all got fantastic responses (statistically, messages with those phrases get double the normal response rates). So basically, if a guy appears to have read a woman’s profile, and he shows knowledge and interest in the things she’s interested in, he’s got a much greater chance of hearing back from her. A good “guy message” would sound like this: “You mention that you like cooking and I noticed that you travelled to Italy. I’m curious what your favorite region was in terms of cuisine?” That’s a guy I might let my daughter go out with—when she gets to dating age, and luckily, that’s far in the future.

The lesson in all this is: whether you’re dating or making million-dollar presentations, start by talking about the other person and their interests. Let them know that you know what they want to hear about, that you are sensitive to what they want to gain from this interaction and that you care about the same things that they care about.

In my upcoming webinar, The Secrets of Killer Presentations, you’ll learn how to assess the four personality types you’ll find in your audience so you can begin every presentation knowing exactly what your audience wants to hear from you. And if you’re addressing multiple personality types, you’ll learn how to time a presentation to safeguard those different attention spans so you know when to deliver the bottom line, when to be to linear, when to stick to the facts and when to get warm and fuzzy to build an emotional connection.

An expert in aligning goals and people to create thriving organizations, Mark leads one of the world’s largest studies on leadership and employee engagement.

Mark’s award-winning work has been featured numerous times in publications including The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Washington Post. His media appearances include CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC’s 20/20, Fox Business News and NPR. Mark has lectured at Harvard Business School, Yale University, University of Rochester and University of Florida. Mark is the author of five books including the McGraw-Hill international bestsellers, Hundred Percenters: Challenge Your People to Give It Their All and They’ll Give You Even More and Hard Goals. Mark’s most recent book, Hiring for Attitude, reflects the team’s latest research and insight into how hiring decisions can align with engagement goals and culture characteristics.

Leadership IQ’s turnaround, culture change, and performance enhancement through employee engagement work has been recognized in a diverse set of industries including healthcare, financial services, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and hospitality. From his roots as a turnaround specialist, Mark created Leadership IQ to address problems in performance before they hit the bottom line.

View the original article here

Argentina pulls out of meeting to discuss Falkands because representatives from the islands would be present

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Argentine foreign minister Hector Timerman pulled out of the meeting, due to be held in London, after representatives of the Falkland Islands government were slated to attend.

Argentina does not recognise the government as legitimate.

In a statement Mr Timerman described the islanders as the 'colonists from the Malvinas.'

Residents were widely expected to have told Argentina they should respect islanders' rights and leave them in peace.

It is believed that the majority of the 3,000 islanders want to remain under British rule.

This latest diplomatic spat is likely to further raise the tensions between the UK and Argentina over the future of the islands.

In a strong statement Mr Timerman said he was sorry that Mr Hague "can't meet without the supervision of the colonists from the Malvinas".

The curt letter added: 'It's a shame that you reject a bilateral meeting. You need not keep trying to put together meetings during my visit to London. Leave that job to our own efficient embassy.'

Mr Timerman invited Mr Hague to meet with him in Buenos Aires, where he said "my fellow foreign ministers can freely meet with whomever they wish without being pressured or having their presence conditioned on meetings that they haven't asked for and don't interest them".

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has in recent years strongly asserted her country's demands for the Falklands to come under its sovereignty despite the opposition of the islanders.

Earlier this month, she had an advert published in British newspapers claiming that Argentina had been stripped of the islands in "a blatant exercise of 19th century colonialism".

Prime Minister David Cameron has repeatedly insisted the residents of the Falklands must decide their own future and a referendum on the islands' political status is to be held in March.

In a statement released before Mr Timerman turned down the meeting, the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands stressed that their representatives, Dick Sawle and Jan Cheek, would not be "negotiating any deal".

"Rather we are anticipating a full and frank exchange of views," the assembly said.

"Indeed we look forward to giving Mr Timerman some very direct messages on the unacceptability of Argentina's actions against the Falkland Islands in recent years.

"We demand that our rights be respected, and that we be left in peace to choose our own future and to develop our country for our children and generations to come.

"It is only right that he should hear this directly from us, as well as from Mr Hague."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware that Argentine foreign minister Hector Timerman is due in the UK next week, and have invited him to come to the Foreign Office to meet the Foreign Secretary and representatives of the UK Government and the Falkland Islands Government."

View the original article here

Big Presentation Coming Up? Make it Your Best One Yet

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

A Q&A with CEO Mark Murphy

There isn’t a presenter alive that doesn’t want their audience absolutely riveted; sitting on the edge of their seats with rapt attention. Yet, the reality in most presentations is that the audience is sitting back, kind of relaxed and spacing in and out.

Here Leadership IQ CEO and best-selling author, Mark Murphy, shares some ways anyone can deliver a killer presentation.

Q: You say storytelling is a critical element in delivering killer presentations that really catch and keep an audience’s attention. How does that work?

MM: It’s all about dopaminergic response. Basically, when something really interesting, like a good story, happens, the brain starts to light up. And if the story is really exciting, the amygdala gets involved (that’s what you want) and says, “Wow! This is fascinating stuff! I’ve got to start activating some of the other chemicals in the brain—we’ve got to pay close attention to this!” So it goes and starts activating dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter for highly pleasurable things, highly attentive things.

And whoa! Once dopamine gets involved people really start to pay attention. Plus dopamine helps sear whatever it is folks are experiencing (in this case, your killer presentation) into their memory so they don’t forget it. So a great story is a way of getting the brain to say, “I am really engaged with this. I don’t want to miss a word that’s being said here. I am going to remember every word I hear.”

Next time you’re listening to someone else’s presentation, pay attention and see if you experience any moments that leap out at you and just get seared into your brain. Where you walk out of there quoting something you just heard to everyone you run into that day. If you don’t have that kind of experience then it is likely that the person speaking didn’t get anywhere near activating anything beyond your prefrontal cortex. They didn’t get into your limbic system, and they certainly didn’t excite your amygdala.

Q: So what’s the secret to telling a great story that excites the amygdala?

MM: There are a number of different ways to tell stories that really get people’s attention. Here’s one that uses an unexpected twist. Imagine you began a presentation by saying, “Six months ago, we upgraded our servers. Our website visitor capacity doubled. Our website loading speed tripled. And our profits dropped by 80%.” You can do something like that. Take your audience in one direction and then all of a sudden take them in a totally different direction. That’s one of those things that will make people’s heads spin a bit and get them to think, “Wait a minute, did I just hear what I thought I heard? I better start listening more closely.” You can also tell stories that build an emotional connection or introduce a startling fact.

Q: What’s one big thing to avoid when giving a presentation?

MM: Narcissism. When you talk about others more than you talk about yourself, that’s good. But when you talk about yourself more than you talk about others, that’s bad. But that can be challenging in some presentation situations. Leadership IQ teaches presenters to apply the Narcissism Ratio which is a little check that signals when it’s time to tell a story or to talk about somebody or something other than yourself. That way you don’t spend 20 minutes talking about all of the awards your company has won – something about which your audience probably doesn’t care. And it directs you to talk about something about which they do care, something that’s really going to activate them and get them on the edge of their seats.

To apply the Narcissism Ratio to your next presentation, keep track of how many times you say “I” or “me” versus the number of times you say “customers” or “employees” or “you” or “they” or anybody other than you. It takes some practice, but it’s really quite an effective way to keep your finger on the pulse of where your presentation is going as it happens. That way you are always on track and making sure your  audience stays fully engaged.

For more tips on delivering memorable presentations, join us for our upcoming webinar The Secrets of Killer Presentations.

A professional corporate writer with over 20-years’ experience crafting just the right words for executives to use in challenging situations, Lyn is a passionate and adept qualitative researcher. Her seasoned skills as an interviewer make her quick to identify the unique attitudes and behaviors that define an organization. Lyn’s extensive expertise in public relations and persuasive communications translates strongly in her contributions to Leadership IQ’s custom-training programs.

View the original article here

'We must focus on eradicating extreme poverty': Liberia needs international help, says David Cameron on visit to the country

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The Prime Minister, in Liberia to attend a UN meeting, also insisted bolstering security and civil structures was crucial, alongside aid measures.

The high-level panel, which Mr Cameron is jointly chairing with the country's president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is part of the process to decide what targets to bring in after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015.

Speaking to reporters this morning, Mr Cameron said: "Liberia is a country that was absolutely devastated by conflict and civil war.

"It is now recovering but there is still desperate poverty.

"I think it is very important we keep a focus on eradicating extreme poverty.

"Here in Liberia, one in 10 children do not make it to the age of five.

"But I also think it is important we look at those things that keep countries poor.

"Conflict, corruption, lack of justice, lack of the rule of law.

"These things matter as well as money."

Backing ambitious targets could fuel anger among Tory backbenchers at plans to raise aid spending to 0.7% of UK GDP.

The premier was forced to concede yesterday that the defence budget could face more cuts in 2015-16, while the international development budget is protected.

PA

View the original article here

3 views on leadership from Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

We were delighted to hear Yahoo! has appointed Marissa Mayer as its new chief executive, making her one of the few female CEOs in Silicon Valley. In the UK also women are underrepresented in technology and the more high profile women in this sector the better - role models play a key part in inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

She’s the firm's third CEO in the space of a year and in last five years, Yahoo's stock has tumbled 41% which means she certainly has her work cut out. Turning Yahoo’s performance around will require exceptional leadership, great vision and strong execution.

Mayer was with Google for 20 years and in her final years there, she was Vice President of Local, Maps, and Location Services and, before that, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience. She’s certainly demonstrated vision and the ability to deliver great things. Intrigued, I wanted to find out more about her views on leadership and after a bit of yahooing! it didn’t take long to stumble upon a short interview on CNBC and this is what she said:

Her definition of leadership. “…. Really, leadership is about painting a bright vision for the future and what can be achieved. I think that’s true in good times and in bad”. I agree communicating a bright and clear vision is key as it keeps everyone focused on the end goal. It’s particularly important when times are tough as it keeps the team motivated and focused on the task in hand rather than spiraling into negativity.

Do you have to fail to succeed? “I think in order to be a good leader you need to be very pragmatic and try lots of things and that ultimately means really freeing yourself up and being open to failure so you can ultimately learn from it”. I’ve spoken to many female leaders who’ve told me that coming through failure or situations that didn’t go according to plan has made them stronger, more determined and less risk adverse. As a leader you can’t afford to dwell on the failure, you do need to learn from it, pick everyone up and move on.

Can you learn to be a good leader? “I think leadership can definitely be learned, I also think that leadership emerges in different situations based on skill set and circumstance.” Strong leaders we’ve spoken to, know they need to keep learning and that’s what makes them great. People are not simply born leaders there are many elements to being a great leader and these skills can be developed over time.

Finally Marissa, if you’ve yahooed! yourself and found this blog, a huge congratulations on your appointment and we wish you all the very best of success in your new role!

View the original article here

Residents flee homes as fire engulfs restaurant and flats in Sidcup

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Firefighters were called to St James Way in Sidcup, Kent, at 4.30am today after flames tore through the three-storey building.

Sixteen people escaped before fire crews arrived, and there are no reports of any injuries, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said. The fire is now under control.

The building is believed to include a restaurant on the ground floor with a number of flats on two floors above it.

An LFB spokeswoman said when firefighters arrived the ground floor of the building was "100% alight", while the first floor was "50% alight".

Eight fire engines attended the scene, and fire crews used three jets to tackle the blaze as well as thermal imaging cameras, LFB said.

PA

View the original article here

Why Smarter Cities Need More Women Entrepreneurs

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
What puts women off starting up a technology business - and what can we do to change the situation?  

It’s surprising, because whenever I attend technology-focused events or awards, as a mentor or as an observer, my mind is always fizzing with the possibilities for days afterwards. At these events, you really do get a feel for the way that smart technology changes our lives for the better.

Sadly, research backs up what I have seen at the everywoman and other awards 
However, things are starting to change.  I’m again acting as a mentor to technology entrepreneurs at the IBM SmartCamp KickStart in London on October 5. This accelerator aims to help entrepreneurs including women from the UK and Ireland to nurture their early stage firm to next stage growth and success.  

At the event, entrepreneurs put their company’s business forward for scrutiny by a panel of technology experts, venture capitalists and IBM’s technology leaders.  The winning entrant is then nurtured over an entire twelve month period - accessing global networking circles, technology support and, potentially gaining access to next stage funding.  Past winners have included an analytics system for mobile applications and pricing software for retailers.

This year, the programme, with its tie-in to IBM Smarter Cities Summits addressing urban sustainability issues, is particularly seeking ideas to help build more intelligent infrastructures for our cities, contributing to more sustainable living.  

As a judge, you are particularly looking for the reason why the entrepreneur set up the business; did they see a particular market niche? Are they on a mission to change the way things are done?  I’m very interested too in how our start-up CEOs got their business off the page.  Too often, people forget that for every start-up that is successful, there are quite a few failures.  The founder’s passion for their invention or idea is as big an indicator of the overall resilience of the business as a clear market niche or well-researched business plan.  

The mentoring process sees the judges challenge the start-up’s business model. That’s when entrepreneurs start reaching out for ideas and advice and get support from their mentors.  It’s fascinating to watch this process: even the cleverest, most creative people always need input and ways to maintain that brand and the entrepreneurial spirit that drives it.  

IBM SmartCamp KickStart isn’t the only technology programme for young start-ups. However, this event – influenced by the Smarter Cities agenda – is focused on using technology to address issues such as sustainability and smarter use of the planet’s resources – and do so over the longer term.  

As a result, the programme combines both insight from business leaders with financial support.  Together with the judges’ expert advice, the event also opens the door to longer term financial support for winners: since November 2010, programme finalists have raised more than £30 million in VC funding between them.   

Events like this act as a vital catalyst for early stage businesses.  If there is a fault with some start-ups that I see, it’s the owners not really taking the risk, accelerating the product launch or getting expert help to drive the business forward.  

IBM SmartCamp KickStart naturally wants innovations from the UK and Ireland’s sharpest young companies but I believe it also offers the opportunity to women entrepreneurs to redress the gender imbalance in business start-ups. After all, from working with thousands of female entrepreneurs over the last few years, I know that women are just as practical about and interested in saving the planet as men.  

Entry to IBM SmartCamp KickStart is open until September 14. Details at:
http://ibm.co/eUTEVg

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karen Gill MBE is a Co-Founder of everywoman.

I would like to offer you a free copy of The Navigator, which is a practical guide that focuses on the challenges women encounter in their business life. It brings together thought leadership from everywoman experts, and anecdotal business experience from everywomanClub members.

View the original article here

Awards for women in transport & logistics showcase diversity of roles

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The transport & logistics sector is often misunderstood when it comes to careers for women.  It is surrounded by misconceptions:

Not an interesting sector to work inA male-focused environmentJobs are low-skilled or manualLimited scope for women

The list goes on.  Reality, I am delighted to say, tells us something completely different.

Let me smash each of these misconceptions:

Transport & logistics may not necessarily have the appeal of, say, the ‘sexier’ aerospace sector, but I can honestly say that it is one of the most important.  Without the planning and distribution of resources, society would cease to exist as we know it.  How would food be transported not only in the UK, but across the world?  How would people be transported to work or explore the world? When you stop and think about it - the importance can't be underestimatedThere is no denying that women are outnumbered by men in transport & logistics (75% of employees are male*) but the tide is most definitely turning.  Research in mid-2012 by everywoman showed a marked increase in the number of women who feel their career aspirations can be fulfilled in the sector – 94% compared to 83% in 2011.Sure there are manual jobs but just as the sector is so varied so are the types of jobs available.  From truck and passenger drivers, warehouse workers and forklift operators, to those for people skilled in planning, business development, marketing, finance, project management, human resources, language specialists, etc. the sector has positions for people at all levels of skills and education.  The sheer variety of work available is what makes the sector so interesting to work in.Many women hold top positions and head up large companies as well as those who are drivers, have administration roles straight out of school, are on management/graduate training programmes or at various levels of management.

The sector can be demanding and those I know who work within it have a high level of pride in how they have chosen to earn their living.  Women can, and do, enjoy successful careers in the sector and there are no limits for women especially when it comes to entry routes.  This last point is important for the many girls choosing their path after school who want more than a job - they want to have a varied and fulfilling career.

A shining example of a woman who chose to start her career straight from school rather than continue on the university route is Stephanie Unitt.  Stephanie started on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) and worked her way up through the ranks to be a Regional Stock & Audit Manager gaining qualifications on the way.  Her passion and enthusiasm for the environment changed her career path and Stephanie is now Environment Advisor at CEVA Logistics.  In recognition of her achievements, Stephanie was awarded the Green Champion Award at the 2012 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards (now the Innovation and Sustainability Award). 

As the transport & logistics sector has so many facets and levels there are many opportunities for advancement or a career change.  One lady who really embodies this is Jane Weaver of AYS Couriers. Starting out as a PA within just a few years she launched a management buyout of the firm and drove a four-fold increase in turnover.  Jane is a passionate believer in the opportunities that logistics offers – as she states “I would say to anyone thinking of either starting their own business or moving into transport and togistics without experience – do it!”. Her career achievements led her to win the Director of the Year Award at the 2012 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards.

Stephanie and Jane are just two incredible examples of not only the varied roles in the sector but also of the different routes to the fulfilling careers they both have.  The transport & logistics sector is changing which is great news for women seeking a career in this exciting and important area.  The changes are reflected in this year’s everywoman FTA Transport & Logistics Awards with two new categories (Industry Champion and Innovation and Sustainability) and the scope being widened to include passenger transport for the first time.

If you are a woman working in transport & logistics or you know a woman who does then you still have time to enter these awards as nominations do not close until Monday 11th February.

* Road Haulage Association 2011

View the original article here

Bag a bargain: former RAF station - complete with high-security fence, underground bunker and a helipad - for sale on eBay

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The Neatishead radar base in Norfolk opened in 1941 and played a key role in monitoring the skies during the cold war and the Second World War.

It was decommissioned in 2006 and has since been largely unused and a new owner is being sought.

An asking price of £2.5 million has been set putting the 25-acre site firmly out of the reach of all but the most affluent eBay bargain hunters.

While this is described as a "substantial" reduction from its previous value, the seller stressed that serious bids would be needed.

Agent Nick Barlow, from Midlands-based Barlow Associates, said the base had been on the market for some time and he hoped the eBay listing would attract extra interest.

He said: "There's only so much you can do in property magazines so we thought we'd try this and it has proved remarkably effective.

"It is something slightly different for people who wouldn't otherwise have heard about it.

"The site has potential for a wide range of uses. The underground bunker would be a very good data storage centre and its proximity to the Norfolk Broads and the coast open up leisure possibilities."

Mr Barlow added that while the sale was unusual, cuts to defence budgets mean more opportunities are likely to open up for anyone wanting to invest in a former military base.

There are 16 buildings on the site, including former radar rooms, tennis and squash courts, station headquarters and the old officers' mess.

The underground bunker dates from the Cold War years,

Birmingham-based Stylespace bought the land from the RAF in 2006 for a reported £4 million but it has proved unsuitable for their plans.

The RAF still carries out communication work for aircraft on a small part of the site. This would remain, alongside the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum, which was established on the air base 14 years ago.

Although the page has attracted 5,000 hits, so far no offers have been made. Bidding ends next Friday.

It is also being sold through the website http://www.barlowassociates.net.

View the original article here

Are you a confident and assertive businesswoman?

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Being confident and assertive are key elements when paving your way to success at work, so what do you do if you are not a confident or assertive person, or feel there is room for improvement?

Confidence is not something you are born with.  It’s shaped by experiences throughout your life and is a barometer of how you perceive yourself.  The good news is that you can build belief in yourself over time and become the confident and assertive business woman you aspire to be.

How assertive are you?

Assertive people come across as confident and in control.  Is this how you are perceived by your work colleagues or clients?  Assertiveness and self-confidence are inextricably linked so why not spend a few minutes completing the questions in our quick self-diagnosis quiz, taken from the everywomanNetwork 'Boost Your Self-Confidence' workbook to analyse how assertive you are at work - the result may surprise you.

The complete workbook covers what makes you confident, how to build and communicate your confidence and keep up the momentum moving forward. It  guides you through the steps to take to boost your confidence levels, through quizzes, exercises and thought-provoking questions, this easy-to-follow workbook helps you identify the personal strengths you already possess then gently builds your confidence in a way that is achievable and not daunting, and you can download a copy from the everywoman website (member login is required).

If you are not a member of the everywomanNetwork* go to www.everywoman.com/join and sign up to gain access to a range of exclusive tools that support your personal development.

* everywomanNetwork membership gives you access to workbooks, webinars, interviews, case studies and expert advice, plus promotional opportunities for you or your business, member discounts and offers, and the ability to connect with like-minded women.

View the original article here

Met officer arrested by detectives investigating allegations of inappropriate payments

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The 33-year-old man, who works in Scotland Yard's Specialist Crime and Operations unit, was arrested at his home in Barnet, north London at 5.45am on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, the force said.

He is the 59th person to be arrested by officers working on Operation Elveden, the inquiry into alleged inappropriate payments.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the officer was being interviewed at a north London police station and his home is being searched.

"Today's arrest is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's Management and Standards Committee," he said.

"It relates to suspected payments to a police officer and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately."

The police officer is the second person arrested this week by officers working on Elveden.

A 42-year-old prison officer was arrested and bailed on Monday after being arrested at his home in Sittingbourne, Kent, on suspicion of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office.

Of those arrested under Elveden, eight people have faced, or will face, court proceedings and two - a retired police officer and a former journalist - have been told they will face no further action.

Last week, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that ex-Metropolitan Police constable Paul Flattley and The Sun's defence editor Virginia Wheeler will face a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

It is alleged that the officer was paid at least £4,000 in cheques and £2,450 in cash in exchange for information.

Allegations have also been made against former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, 44, Sun chief reporter John Kay, 69, and Ministry of Defence employee Bettina Jordan-Barber, 39.

It is alleged that Brooks, from Oxfordshire, and Kay, from north west London, conspired to pay Jordan-Barber, from Shrivenham, near Swindon, around £100,000 for information.

Prime Minister David Cameron's former spin doctor Andy Coulson and former News of the World royal correspondent Clive Goodman are charged with conspiracy to pay for information including a royal phone directory known as the "Green Book".

All five are due to appear at the Old Bailey for a plea hearing on March 8.

In another case, Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn, 53, was found guilty of misconduct in public office earlier this month for offering to sell information to the News of the World.

She is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey today.

Operation Elveden is being run alongside two other police investigations.

Operation Weeting, an inquiry into alleged phone hacking, has seen 26 arrests, and Operation Tuleta, an investigation into computer hacking and other privacy breaches, has seen 19.

PA

View the original article here

Phone hacking investigation: Senior Met officer April Casburn jailed for bid to sell data to New of the World

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn was sentenced at the Old Bailey today for misconduct in public office for offering to sell information to the News of the World (NotW).

Mr Justice Fulford told her it was "a corrupt attempt to make money out of sensitive and potentially very damaging information".

Casburn, 53, is currently in the process of adopting a child, and the judge said had that not been the case he would have sentenced her to three years.

He said her offence could not be described as whistle-blowing, and went on: "If the News of the World had accepted her offer, it's clear, in my view, that Ms Casburn would have taken the money and, as a result, she posed a significant threat to the integrity of this important police investigation."

The judge went on: "Activity of this kind is deeply damaging to the administration of criminal justice in this country. It corrodes the public's faith in the police force, it can lead to the acquittal or the failure by the authorities to prosecute individuals who have committed offences whether they are serious or otherwise.

"We are entitled to expect the very highest standards of probity from our police officers, particularly those at a senior level.

"It is, in my judgment, a very serious matter indeed when men or women who have all the benefits, privileges and responsibilities of public office use their position for corrupt purposes."

He said he was particularly concerned about Casburn's child, and admitted that her absence while she is in prison could be damaging.

But he said that, had she not been arrested, the detective would have returned to work by now, and therefore the child would be cared for by others anyway.

Casburn, from Hatfield Peverel in Essex, called the NotW news desk on September 11 2010, and spoke to journalist Tim Wood about the fresh investigation into phone hacking.

She claimed she contacted the tabloid because she was concerned about counter-terror resources being wasted on the phone-hacking inquiry, which her colleagues saw as "a bit of a jolly".

The detective denied asking for money, but Mr Wood had made a note that she "wanted to sell inside information".

Today Mr Justice Fulford said: "It seems to me Mr Wood was a reliable, honest and disinterested witness.

"He took time and trouble during the defendant's call to find out exactly what Miss Casburn was saying, questioning the defendant in detail on her account in order to make an accurate note for his superiors at the News of the World which he wrote up in detail immediately afterwards.

"He had absolutely no reason to lie and every cause to be cautious given the risk that the newspaper was to be the victim of a sting, as he suspected."

During her trial at Southwark Crown Court last month, Casburn likened the male-dominated counter-terrorism unit to the TV series Life On Mars.

She was not given a desk for several months, despite more junior colleagues having them, jurors were told.

But the judge rejected this as an explanation for her behaviour.

He said: "It seems to me this is a straightforward but troubling case of corruption.

"I decline to accept that she had significant difficulties working with her male colleagues in the senior ranks of the counter-terrorism unit, which in part she said led her to act as she did.

"The most that could be said is that she was a relative newcomer to this area of police work. As a result she may have felt something of an outsider."

But he said this "could not begin to explain the actions of a detective chief inspector who offers to the very newspaper which is the subject of a sensitive and confidential investigation by other officers to sell details of the progress of the inquiry and the strategy that officers were intending to follow".

PA

View the original article here

'Religion is redundant and irrelevant': Richard Dawkins takes on ex-Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams in Cambridge debate

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Speaking at the Cambridge Union debating society, Prof Dawkins argued that religion hindered scientific endeavour by "peddling false explanations".

Dr Rowan Williams offered a counter-argument, saying that religion undoubtedly had a place in the 21st century and that the issue was not whether it should exist, but what our attitude towards it should be.

He added that modern attitudes towards human rights had their foundations in religious traditions.

The pair were part of a debate last night on the proposition that "religion has no place in the 21st Century", in front of an audience of about 800, who packed the famous 200-year-old university debating club's chambers.

It was religion that turned out to be the winner - at the end of the debate, the house voted to reject the proposition, stating that it did believe religion had a place in the 21st century.

Early in his address, Prof Dawkins made a provocative comparison between Christian and Islamic traditions, describing himself as a "cultural Anglican".

"I'm grateful, by the way, to be a cultural Anglican when you think of the competition," he added.

"If I were a cultural Muslim, I would have something to say about that faith's appalling attitude to women and various other moral points."

Stressing that his central concern was simply whether religion was true, he summed up his argument by describing religion as a "cop-out".

"It is a betrayal of the intellect, a betrayal of all that's best about what makes us human," he said.

"It's a phony substitute for an explanation, which seems to answer the question until you examine it and realise that it does no such thing."

He added that in the scientific world, religion was a "pernicious charlatan".

"It peddles false explanations where real explanations could have been offered, false explanations that get in the way of the enterprise of discovering real explanations," he said.

In his address, Lord Williams said: "Religion has always been a matter of community building, a matter of building relations of compassion, fellow-feeling and, dare I say it, inclusion.

"The notion that religious commitment can be purely a private matter is one that runs against the grain of religious history."

Lord Williams added that respect for human life and equality was inherent in all organised religion.

"The very concept of human rights has profound religious roots," he added.

"The convention of human rights would not be what it is were it not for the history of philosophical religious debate."

Philosopher professor Tariq Ramadan, Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association and Douglas Murray, founder of the Centre for Social Cohesion, also took part.

PA

View the original article here

How POKER can help you handle a tough conversation

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

We are all faced with tough conversations from time to time – some more often than others.  Nobody likes having them but as they are part of business it makes life so much easier if you learn skills to help you handle these difficult conversations effectively.

So many factors are involved when you are faced with the prospect of a tough conversation and the more you can plan your approach, the greater your chance of achieving a positive outcome.

Preparation is key

If you do everything you can to prepare and you think about the way to approach the conversation, you will be in a good place to achieve the successful outcome you are looking for.

I find P.O.K.E.R. a useful prompt as it helps me remember the key areas to consider and prepare for:

P:         PAUSE. PONDER. PLAN – think before you speak

O:        OBJECTIVE – what is your objective?  What do you want to accomplish and what is the best way to achieve this?

K:         KNOW – know your audience.  What is their perception of the situation?  Why did they react as they did?  How are they feeling?

E:         EMOTION – remove all emotion from the situation and be rational.  This is business.

R:         RESPOND – don’t react.  Stop, think and then respond.

Learn from the conversation

Why not think of each tough conversation as part of your personal development rather than an ordeal and learn from it – that way it become a positive rather than a negative. It’s also good to   reflect on what happened before, during and afterwards.  Think about what was the cause, what you did or said, and the outcome also how you could handle the situation differently in the future, both in terms of the preparation and the conversation itself – if indeed you need to change what you did.

For more tips and strategies, such as analysing what makes a conversation difficult, how to prepare, and respond not react, download the everywoman workbook, How to handle tough conversations, from the everywoman website (member login is required).  If you are not a member of the everywomanNetwork* you can download a preview from bookshelf on our Personal Development page or go to www.everywoman.com/join to sign up and gain instant access to the whole workbook plus a range of exclusive tools that support your personal development.

*everywomanNetwork membership gives you access to workbooks, webinars, interviews, case studies and expert advice, plus promotional opportunities for you or your business, member discounts and offers, and the ability to connect with like-minded women.

View the original article here

Jeremy Laurance: Locals won’t like this – but it could be a healthy sign

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Ed Miliband complains the decision is made on cost, not clinical, grounds.  This is, ultimately, a false distinction. Spending £153 million to prop up a failing trust in south London means denying that sum to patients in the rest of London. Moreover, if the trust is bailed out there is no incentive for other trusts to stay within budget.

Why are some trusts failing? In large part because services are in the wrong place to provide the best care to meet local needs. That is especially true of A&E.  We have known for years that it is safer, with better outcomes for patients, when medical expertise is concentrated in fewer, larger units even though that means longer travelling time for patients.

Despite this, politicians persist in playing one tune in public and another in private when it comes to hospital closures – joining the public protest march whilst agreeing with health officials about the need for reconfiguration in private. William Hague, Chris Grayling and Iain Duncan Smith are among coalition government ministers who have intervened to oppose threats to local A&E and other services in their constituencies.

Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS medical director, is examining a plan to rank A&E units as first or second tier, which would mean more local units linked in a network to facilitate swift transfers to the centres of expertise. Lewisham could be the harbinger of such a plan. It won’t please the locals and a big question remains over costs – but it could point to a better future for emergency care.

View the original article here

Consider these 4 Communications Styles When Delivering your Next Presentation

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

You may be presenting to a group from within the same industry or even department, but that doesn’t mean everyone in your audience has the same preferred communications style. Different people have very different ways they prefer to give and receive information. Which means that the kind of delivery that engages some people may send others in your audience scrambling for the exits.  One of the big challenges when presenting to a mixed group is correctly adapting your communication style so your whole audience stays focused on what you’re saying.

To make it easier, we distilled it down into four basic default communication styles people can fall into. These are not personality types; this deals specifically with how you like to give and get information. Here’s a brief description of each default communication style:

The Intuitive type refers to those people who are not terribly emotional, but who are quite free form. Intuitive types don’t necessarily like things to flow from A to B to C and so on. They like to cut to the chase, so it’s best to skip directly to the end: what’s the real value you are bringing this person today? If you can get the Intuitive types in your audience to buy in on the end result right away upfront, you’ve got a much better shot at getting them to listen to all the other stuff you’ve got to say.The Analytical type refers to those people who prefer things unemotional but linear. These are your “just the facts” kinds of people. They don’t want to hear a lot of warm-and-fuzzy feeling words, so don’t waste the Analytical-type communicator’s time by telling them you understand their pain; instead just give them the numbers and data they need and want.The Functional type refers to people who generally like their communication to be emotional and linear. These folks like to have control of the process so it’s always best to move in a linear fashion: from A, to B, to C and then follow through right to the end. If you try to skip around in your presentation or jump to the enticement of your “wow” finish, you risk losing the attention of the Functional-type communicator.The Personal relater is both free form and emotional. These are the folks who want the warm-and-fuzzy emotional approach.   So feel free to dive right into all the details such as: Who else is going to be involved/ how getting involved will make them “feel”/ who else they will touch by getting involved, etc.  You can’t just come in and dump a bunch of facts on personal-type communicators, even if they are startling facts. These folks are still going to need a more interpersonal connection.

Even from these brief descriptions of the four communications styles, the conundrum is obvious: they all want something different. The good news is that, by knowing what the 4 types are, you can plan your next presentation knowing you need to hit all 4 types in your delivery. And we’ll teach you how to do that in our upcoming live webinar The Secrets of Killer Presentations.  But here’s a quick little take away secret you can start using now:

When great speakers present to a new or unknown audience, they assume all four communications styles are present. And there’s a certain order they present their information, in order to communication to each style. They begin by addressing the Intuitive types, then they speak to the Analytical types, then to the Functional types and they close by speaking to the Personal types. We see this often in presidential speeches or wherever there’s a mixed audience of preferred communication styles. Working in this order, from the Intuitive to the Analytical to the Functional to the Personal addresses attention span: Intuitives have the shortest attention span, then the Analyticals, then the Functionals and the Personals have the longest attention spans.

An expert in aligning goals and people to create thriving organizations, Mark leads one of the world’s largest studies on leadership and employee engagement.

Mark’s award-winning work has been featured numerous times in publications including The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Washington Post. His media appearances include CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC’s 20/20, Fox Business News and NPR. Mark has lectured at Harvard Business School, Yale University, University of Rochester and University of Florida. Mark is the author of five books including the McGraw-Hill international bestsellers, Hundred Percenters: Challenge Your People to Give It Their All and They’ll Give You Even More and Hard Goals. Mark’s most recent book, Hiring for Attitude, reflects the team’s latest research and insight into how hiring decisions can align with engagement goals and culture characteristics.

Leadership IQ’s turnaround, culture change, and performance enhancement through employee engagement work has been recognized in a diverse set of industries including healthcare, financial services, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and hospitality. From his roots as a turnaround specialist, Mark created Leadership IQ to address problems in performance before they hit the bottom line.

View the original article here