A great deep house edit by German duo, FlicFlac of Clara Luzia's single "The Waving Ones Are Us".
Friday, October 4, 2013
The 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Employee
A few
weeks ago I wrote an article covering the 5 Must-Have Qualities Of The Modern Manager. However it’s not just the managers
that need to adapt and evolve to the changing workplace; it’s also the
non-managerial employees. As I mentioned in the previous article dramatic
changes in the way we work are being fueled by new behaviors and new
technologies. In fact, there are five trends which area shaping the future of work. . To keep pace there are five
qualities that the modern employee needs to possess.
Embrace
change
Employees
have grown accustomed to doing things a certain way. They have used to the same
technologies and the same processes for many years but that doesn’t mean that
those technologies and ways of doing things are the best for our companies or
for ourselves. Consider that in a few years millennials are going to become the
majority workforce in the United States. These are people who grew up using
social and collaborative tools to communicate, collaborate, and find people and
information. This new workforce means new behaviors and new technologies;
employees should be stepping forward together and embracing the change that is
going to make their jobs and lives easier. As Winston Churchill said, “To
improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
Have
a voice in your company
For
the first time in the history of business “leader” and “manager” are not
mutually exclusive. Leaders no longer to have to be managers, they
have to be people who are passionate, knowledgeable, and comfortable with
sharing (which is another key quality mentioned below). New collaborative
technologies are empowering every single employee within an organization to
share their passions, interests, ideas, and feedback. If you care about
something you have the opportunity to become a leader and a known voice on that
topic within your organization. However, this can’t happen if you don’t speak
up. You can’t become a leader if you are scared of sharing your voice and your
opinions. This means using the new collaborative technologies that are
available to you to get recognized within your company. Why be a employee when
you can become a leader?
Be
autonomous
Now
that employees have the ability to work from anywhere at anytime, being
self-directed is crucial. There is no longer a manager watching your every move
and reminding you to “get back to work.” This a privilege but it’s also a
responsibility. A great deal of trust is being placed on you to accomplish your
tasks. As a modern employee you must be capable of executing on your
deliverables whether you are in an office, cafe, or at home.
Share
and help others
This
was one of the key qualities for the modern manger but it’s also a key quality
for the modern employee. Traditionally employees wanted to keep ideas to
themselves to get credit for their own contributions. This model is no longer
effective. With the emergence of collaborative tools, ideas and feedback can
easily be traced back to individuals within an organization. Sharing not only
benefits the team but it also benefits you as an employee. Your peers and
managers will recognize your can-do attitude and ability to lend a helping
hand. Sharing can take many forms; you can share your ideas, feedback, what you
are working on, documents, or anything else that you choose to. By sharing,
your team and neighboring departments will recognize your name. To be a modern
employee you must become comfortable with sharing and helping others.
Filter
and focus
In
today’s work environment we are pulled in many directions. We are on meetings
while we check email, simultaneously tweeting, editing a document, and IMing
with a colleague. With the proliferation of content and tools that
coworkers and friends can “ping” us on it’s all too easy to lose focus.
With emerging technology employees must remember to focus on what needs
to get done. This means being able to put people and messages “over ice.”
Information bombards employees from every direction which means employees
need to become adept at filtering out and focusing on what’s crucial.
What
other qualities do you think are crucial for the modern employee?
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Cleobella X Ella Moss
Very exciting news. . .
Ella Moss has been selling Cleobella bags in their boutique for a while and because the response was so overwhelming they had to create their exclusive line.
Penelope Chilvers Dream Slippers
Penelope Chilvers designs accessories to fall in love - and stay in love - with. Combining a modern, fashionable edge with lasting style, these are timeless pieces, made to last, that work seamlessly with the season's trends.
The brand has an avid following of sophisticated women who known instinctively how to make fashion work for them; Alexa Chung, Cate Blanchett, Claudia Shiffer, Jemima Khan, Pixie Lott, Rebecca Hall and Erin Wasson to name but a few.
Penelope Chilvers is featured regularly in Vogue, Grazia, Harpers Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Marie Clair, The Times, How to Spend it (FT) the Independent, Lucky (US) etc.
Penelope insists on using 100% natural materials of the highest quality - her shoeboxes are handmade, and some are hand painted for her.
Her passion in local sourcing and protecting local industry is what keeps her style so authentic.
"I have been fortunate to meet wonderful people with rare skills; some of which are dying away. I have learnt from the best and worked closely with local artisans that have taught me my trade."
She endeavors to source each component of every product, which is crafted by hand, using traditional methods, ensuring the durability of each shoe made for her label.
Out Top Picks
Naturally Nude Lips by L'Oreal
L'Oreal Paris launched a new mini line of sleek and beautifully natural nude lipsticks inspired by faces of the brand.
Gold for Eva, pink for Doutzen, mocha for Liya, peach for Julianne and beige for Leila. Behind each L'Oreal's five new nude lipsticks lies one simple obsession: the desire to give lips a natural-lookin boost. Better yet, to make sure these new Color Riche lipsticks maintain a natural finish, they have been enriched with a powerful combination of pure silver powder and mother of pearl. The result is the perfect shade of lipstick that can be worn with L'Oreal coordinating nail polish. Think chichi twi-set with a beautiful twist.
Riche Collection Privee Nail Polish, $5.50 EUR
Only available in Europe
Only available in Europe
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Cilantro: More Than An Herb, It Can Purify Water Too
The
next time you find yourself facing some questionable drinking water, look for
some cilantro.
At
least that’s what a team of U.S. and Mexican researchers made up of
undergraduate students suggest.
At
least that’s what a team of U.S. and Mexican researchers made up of
undergraduate students suggest.
The
research team, lead by Douglas Schauer of Ivy Tech Community College in
Lafayette, IN, along with colleagues from the Universidad Politécnica de
Francisco I. Madero in Hidalgo, Mexico,
have been studying the region of Tule Valley near Mexico City to identify
cheaper ways to filter water. Mexico City has long dumped its waste water in
the valley, and the contaminated water is then used by regional farmers to
irrigate crops. Once in the edible foods, heavy metals such as lead and nickel
can make their way to consumers,
where they can contribute to neurological and other health problems. “The
organic toxins we can take care of pretty easily with a number of different
methods, but the only way to really get rid of those heavy metals is to treat
them with filtering agents like activated charcoal (like what’s found in a
Brita filter), but those types of materials are kind of expensive,” says
Schauer. “They are a little expensive for us to use, but they are very
expensive to the people living in that region.”
After
testing various samples of plants from cacti to flowers, the researchers
determined that cilantro is the most prevalent and powerful so-called
bioabsorbant material in the area. Bioabsorption is the scientific term for
using organic materials often found in plants, that when dried, could replace
the charcoal currently used in filters. The team suspects that the outer wall
structure of the tiny cells that make up the plant are ideal for capturing
metals. Other plants, like dandelions and parsley may also provide similar
bioabsorbant capabilities.
Schauer
says ground-up cilantro can be inserted into a tube into which water is passed
through. The cilantro allows the water to trickle out but absorbs metals,
leaving cleaner drinking water. Dried cilantro can also be placed into tea bags
that are placed in a pitcher of water for a few minutes to suck out the heavy
metals. “It’s something they already have down there, it takes minimal
processing, and it’s just a matter of them taking the plants and drying them
out on a rock in the sun
for a couple of days,” says Schauer.
Because
cilantro isn’t an essential crop, using it as a purifier won’t take away from
people’s food needs in the region, and the relative ease with which the plant
grows also makes it a realistic option for cleansing water.
So
far, the researchers reported success in removing lead and nickel with their
cilantro filters, and are studying how well the herb can removed other heavy
metals found in the Tule Valley water such as arsenic and mercury. “We are
hoping we can look at how cilantro absorbs those metals, and see if those
metals work in some kind of synergy when they come into contact with the
biomass,” says Schauer. “We need to look at mixtures of metals to see if
cilantro evenly pulls all the metals out.”
How
much cilantro would it take to effective make contaminated water drinkable?
Schauer says a handful of cilantro will nearly cleanse a pitcher full of highly
contaminated water of its lead content.
The
researchers are presented their findings at the national meeting of the
American Chemical Society.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)