Wow, am I ever jealous of Francoise Gri.

She was named by Fortune as one of the “International 50 Most Powerful Women in Business” and has made the list for the fifth consecutive year. This is quite an honor and exhibits an obviously stellar performance and track record by Francoise. To be named as one of the most powerful women in business is in honor all it’s own. I don’t know what tracking measures were used to gauge the honorees effectiveness or business sense, but for five consecutive years, she’s doing something right. (Press Release)
Why am jealous?

I used to work for a temporary staffing service as well (no, not Manpower though), and had high aspirations of moving up in the company. Remember when I mentioned them in my political ranting post sometime ago? Anyway, temporary staffing corporations are really ideal to work for, since they employ other individuals anyway, they offer great benefits and lots of perks. But an easy job it ain’t.

There are a lot of responsibilities to deal with, multiple clients to manage (along with their personalities as well), and all while having to make quotas each month. I don’t know if Ms. Gri had/has all of those particulars to deal with, but I’m certain she has had her fair share of challenges in that industry, to say the least. Working for large corporations has both its advantages…and disadvantages. That’s with any job. But the main focal point is to steadily work past those things that are perhaps frustrating or annoying and keep your sights on the bigger picture. Although I chose not to remain with my staffing firm, there are other women in business who are confronted often with challenges and work through them.

One of the biggest frustrations that I ever faced in corporate America was always trying to keep up with and run the “man’s game.” It seemed that the only ones in power were men and to get to the top, you had to play their game. You can believe too, that they very often didn’t play fair. Is that a requirement?

What are some of the biggest challenges that you have faced working corporations? Was it worth the headache? Are the perks generous? What do you find rewarding about working for corporations?

________________________________________
Copyright – 2008 Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

A Powerful Woman in the Temporary Services Industry

What words inspire and motivate you? What words catapult you into action? Continuing off of the post made this morning about comfort zones, I’m curious to know what motivates you each day and gets you going for your career and your business.

Is it money…the promises of a big fat paycheck at the end of the week?

Are you motivated by the sheer intoxication of being in power at your company?

Are you inspired by your little ones, motivated to provide the best for them?

What are YOUR motivating words?

_______________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

Don’t forget the Quickbooks give-a-way that Kristen is having. The contest ends Monday! Go to the post for details.

Post from: EveryJoe

Motivating Words

What are you most comfortable working at? If you’re like me, you only like to do things you’re familiar with, things that “feel right” and you don’t have to expend a whole lot of energy doing. After all, doing things that way seem to make the day go by much easier, much faster and with very little effort.

Seth Godin’s blog featured an inspiring article about the effort we place into doing various things throughout our day. It got me thinking about my business and facing those things in my business that seem challenging to me. Things like writing on topics outside of my niche interest that require me to look and think outside of my comfort zone. Things like learning new technology or taking the time to flesh out a new idea.

What are you comfort-challenged with in your day-to-day business? What can you do differently to pull more out of your business comfort zone?

________________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

P.S. Also, don’t forget Kristen’s cool new give-a-way that she’s having right here at Biz Chicks Rule. Go to her post for details. Good stuff!

Post from: EveryJoe

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Hope you get a giggle out of this!

__________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

Guys Have Got to Learn to Pay Attention! (fun-ny)

Are you interested in starting or growing your existing blog? Renegade University through iContact is offering classes to help you with just that.

Starting October 7th, you can begin this class on blogging that will teach you the basics on starting, managing and growing a blog successfully for your business. If you’ve ever been interested in doing this, now is the time to get started.

Best to all!

Post from: EveryJoe

Fri-Deas: Blogging Classes

Patti LaBelle is a phenomenal superstar and business woman in her own right. Her background spans over thirty years and she’s still going strong! Check out this live interview with her on the Today show. She has really got class and inspiration.

________________________________________
Copyright – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

Women in Entertainment: A Business All It’s Own

The bailout is a no-go.

The outcome of the decision to bail out financial institutions was announced yesterday with a marginal vote of 228-205. With such a slim shot at the bailout being a go, Nancy Pelosi was credited with having swayed on-the-fencers in chaning their minds towards a no-go. Wow.

In this video, Rep. Pelosi give a very frank, direct assessment of the way that the Democrats and the Republicans worked together in the spirit of bipartisanship to arrive at amenable results. Although the answer is still “no”, I would hope still that both sides can and will agree on something, anything to stabilize the economy and get us out of this mess. Or should we just wait to see what will happen in five weeks?

____________________________________
Copyrigght 2008 – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

A Girl Made Them Change Their Minds: You Go Nancy Pelosi!

Guest Post By Lori Widmer

I had a client once who expected – no, demanded – that I be online and signed into Instant Messaging from 8 a.m. until she went home at 8 p.m. my time. If she had questions about what I’d written, she wanted me right there to answer them. My relationship with her ended about 3 seconds after that demand. She was challenging my ability to work my own hours, take my own time off, basically have a life.

It wasn’t the first time, either. I’d informed her a week ahead of time that I was taking time off for my kid’s high-school graduation, what with out-of-town guests and all. That she ignored my private time and talked to my answering machine – four times – during that time off and yes, during the party showed she didn’t respect my time off. The last straw was the IM demand.

How do you deal with client challenges to your professional boundaries? Do you know your own boundaries? We women sometimes tend toward pleasing people and losing ourselves in the process. It’s extremely important that we learn not only how to say no, but when to say no.

Also, we have to know when to stop defending our actions or answering direct challenges. I worked briefly for a man who left me hanging for a month and a half with no word other than, “Are you available next week?” and then suddenly picked up as though only a week had passed. When he began arranging a phone conference for the following week, I said, “I’m out of the office next week.” His response: “What? Again? Didn’t you just have a vacation?”

How would you respond to a direct challenge like that? If you said you’d explain that yes, you were going on vacation but that you would be back on X or Y day, you’ve just mishandled the situation. Instead, you should answer like I did: “Is there something pressing that I can try to handle this week for you?” Don’t address his question – it’s really none of his business. Address the issue – he has work that needs doing.

What you do when you are out of the office – and, in fact, when you’re in the office – is your business. No client should ever treat you like an employee or question your whereabouts unless he/she is willing to put you on the payroll and start paying your benefits. You are an independent contractor. Any client who can’t understand that or respect your independent status is not worth keeping.

_________________________________________________
Lori is a veteran writer and editor with over 15 years of experience. Her main concentrations have been in the insurance and risk management industries, but she’s well versed in trade and consumer writing. Lori’s Blog

Post from: EveryJoe

Handling Client Challenges

OK, so a lot of people like the McCain/Palin mix for different reasons. Many women are just politically intoxicated with the idea of (potentially) having a female in power in the White House. After all, a woman in the White House means a lot for Women’s Rights, Civil Rights and perhaps will even change or level the playing field just a bit for the females. But one thing still bothers me…

This post that I made recently about the questionable process under which McCain chose Palin got a few folks ruffled, which I do respect other’s opinions, but then I still have to question McCain’s view on equal right’s for women. As some of you may already know, McCain does not/did not support the legislation that would remove unfair practices towards women and the practices governing their pay. In other words, McCain’s vote towards the move would have allowed women to be paid equal with men (think: Lily Ledbetter Act). However, McCain simply did not support this and his action makes me wonder just what was he trying to prove then by selecting a female as his running mate? I’m just saying…

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other anti-discrimination laws to clarify at which points in time discriminatory actions qualify as an “unlawful employment practice.” According to the legislation, unlawful conduct occurs when: “(1) a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted; (2) an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice; or (3) an individual is affected by application of the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid.” The law further states that individuals may receive back pay as compensation for discrimination that occurred up to two years preceding the filing of a charge.

Source

My thing is this: you either support women’s rights…or you don’t. Sure, there are divisive issues, but the line drawn in the sand should be definitive enough. Women have struggled and fought for years for equal pay, equal rights and a chance. As a woman in business, I simply want to receive the same thing(s) that my male counterpart would receive for doing the same amount of work. That’s all. Is that too much to ask for Mr. McCain?

“They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households,” he explained. Source

When I read about issues like this in the news, and even when it happens locally or specific to an industry, it really does make me wonder if we have come far enough. Sure business women have a long ways to go and more hurdles to jump, but I think it’s acts like this (McCain’s) that can potentially set us farther and farther back. And, it also makes me wonder what response he gives his wife (a female), Governor Palin (another female) and other females on his staff in relation to the “why’s” and “what for” in his political moves. Do you think he owes them or any other female an answer? Do you think he’s justified in his vote? Why or why not?

_________________________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

Hater? Why I Think John McCain Is Outdated And Not In Touch

What do you sell? A service? A product? An idea? Whatever your market is, you have a brand that accompanies it and that is what you sell to potential customers. Branding is akin to namedropping, or an idea that people get when they hear about your product or service. When you say soft drinks, what do you think of? What about ketchup, detergent, books, or restaurants? What comes to mind immediately when you think of those things? If you thought about Heinz, Tide, The Bible or Red Robin, you’ve bought into (one) of the ideas of branding. In branding, you want customers to think of you, your product or service, and give them reasons to prompt them to call you for it. Hence, Your Brand Specialized.

The brand that you establish for your business has to possess a spark and delivery when marketing to customers. In other words, your brand has to match your delivery. If you promise and deliver top-notch service, you strengthen your brand, your business name and your business reputation. What is your business brand and how do you effectively deliver?

Avoid catchy phrases and don’t confuse slogans with branding. The two are opposite and are only forms of marketing that lead into branding. To form a solid branding connection, look at other successful businesses and mimic the thing that they do well. If it works for them, they’re on to something.

Check out these blogs for more information on branding:

Brandcurve by Susan Gunelius

Branding Blog

Brand Identity Guru

_______________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

Business Marketing Monday: Your Brand Specialized