The Art of Leadership: Part One
How do we begin to understand the art of leadership and its indisputable importance in today’s world? Research, theory, and general musings on the topic can be found in abundance. In fact, if you were to do an online search of “leadership,” you’d find literally millions of entries. We tried this recently and unearthed 173,000,000 on Google alone.We read, hear, and talk about leadership all the time. We read about the executives at the helm of corporate giants, like GE, and high profile non-profit organizations, such as the American Red Cross. We engage in heated debate about the leaders of our nation, the U.N., the local school board, and our houses of worship. The context varies but the importance of strong leadership does not.At its essence, leadership is about inspiring others to follow. (As the proverb goes, “If you think you are leading but no one is following, you are simply taking a walk.”) Some postulate that leadership is fundamentally about influence. Others assert that it’s about creating positive change, refusing to be content with the status quo. Still others focus on the leader’s role in developing and communicating a powerful vision… and instilling in others the collective passion to see that vision fulfilled.It’s all true. A great leader knows how to inspire and motivate those around he

Polyester Prices Are Rising In The Textile Market
The prices of man-made fibers intermediates were largely governed by the volatile crude oil values in 2006. Oil prices rose significantly by 18-20% during the year. This was over and above the 36-40% increase recorded in 2005. The surge is attributed to geo-political issues and unrest in the middle-east, supply disruption in Nigeria and speculation over sanctions on Iran who is pursuing a nuclear programme despite global opposition.Naphtha, the basic feedstock for all fiber intermediates, mirrored the movement of crude oil prices. They rose by 15% during 2006 in Asia and Europe. In Asia naphtha averaged US$582 a ton. This rise was clearly reflected in prices of olefins and aromatics which were occasionally in short supply. Prices of fiber intermediate raw material via ethylene, Paraxylene and propylene rose in tandem with energy prices. During the year prices of ethylene rose 24% and Paraxylene by 25%.The significant rise in feedstock prices had an impact the downstream polyester intermediates in Asia but not in Europe. Prices in the polyester segment rose significantly. PTA prices rose 95. in Asia. MEG prices were up 3%. This led to changes in the polyester fibers and yarns segment. However, price rise was limited due to weak demand from consumers. PSF and PFY prices rose by 5% in Asia and by 3% in Europe. They averag

Career Advice: 9 Steps To New Job Success
This month hundreds of thousands of careerists--from those carrying freshly minted diplomas through veterans in the workplace--start new jobs.Survival, to say nothing of success, is far from guaranteed.One-fourth of those in their first career jobs don't survive the first year, according to a study by The Employment Foundation. Nearly half are out the door in 18 months, reports Leadership IQ, a training firm.The message is clear: recognize the extreme importance of getting off on the right foot from day one on a new job. Performance in the early days will often provide strong and lasting indicators for both employee and employer as to how a new hire will perform. Fair or unfair, first impressions have a lasting effect on success.Nine Basic GuidelinesThere are nine basic guidelines that can be helpful in making the most of the first job.1. Work, work, work and then work some more. No substitute, no short cut will replace work. This means more than working diligently from eight to five. Take work home for nights and on weekends. Near total immersion in the job is recommended.2. Arrive early on the job and stay late. Get to work at least 30 minutes before the specified starting time for the first several months. This is a good time, before the interruptions of the

Do You Know What Your Employees Are Doing?
A recent survey by Salary.com shows employee productivity may not be all that employers would like. According to the survey, “the average worker in the US admits to frittering away 2.09 hours per eight hour workday”. This figure does not include lunch breaks or other scheduled break-time.In Wisconsin for example, for every eight hours work an employer pays for, the employee is likely to deliver less than six. Respondents admit to wasting 2.8 hours on activities such as: • Surfing the Internet for personal use • Socializing with co-workers • Conducting personal businessTake out employer sanctioned time off such as lunch breaks, vacation time and sick leave and the productivity picture looks even worse.According to the survey, the number one time-wasting excuse is “Don’t have enough work to do,” reason enough for many to consider outsourcing over hiring. Since a whopping 33.2% of respondents cited this as their biggest reason for wasting time, small business owners need to seriously consider whether they can keep a new hire gainfully employed before committing to that kind of expenditure.With statistics like these, the argument for outsourcing has never been stronger. Many organizations are now realizing the benefits of outsourcing some functions historically fulfilled in-house. Ev

How To Find The Best Nanny Jobs
Finding the best nanny jobs is not always an easy task but it is one that is so important. Not only are the nanny jobs important to the nanny who needs the job but they are just as important to the families who need the nannies! What makes nanny jobs so important is that they are a win-win situation, everyone gets what they need, the parents, the kids and the nannies themselves get what they need when nanny jobs are filled.More and more people are starting to see the benefits of nanny jobs these days. Many people are starting to look for other solution besides day care. There are so many problems with day care these days that some parents don’t even want to take the chance anymore. They feel that by getting a nanny instead they will have more contact and get to know this person better and therefore be able to trust her more. That is why you are seeing so many nanny jobs posted everywhere now and that is a good thing.Your child’s safety and well being should always be more important, even more important than putting food on the table. Getting a good nanny after posting your nanny jobs in the paper or online is the best way to go. You will always know that your child is getting the care and attention that he or she needs each day of the week. Who knows what goes on in a day care, that is not your home, your child will bar

That's My Eyeball!
I was checking out the independent films at Netflix a few minutes ago, when something startling happened.I came across a DVD cover with an oddly familiar blue eyeball staring at me.“I know that eye” I thought.“Wow, imagine being able to recognize an eye” I continued to silently mutter to myself.“Gee, we have amazing perceptual abilities,” I went on to remark, still dazzled by my find.Then I tripped off on a thought chain about retinal scans and the like, when it hit me.“I know who that eyeball belongs to!”As it turns out, I believe it belongs to a fashion model, but then I wondered, “Did they pay her for the shot, or did they rip her off?”You can imagine their reasoning. Who can tell who owns that eye? And what’s the value of that eye even if the model figures it’s hers and she wants to be paid?At the most, can it be a $50 eye? Or is it worth $100?Should we make the effort to get the rights to use her eye? That would involve drafting a contract, getting her people to talk to our people, and so on. It could take weeks or months of back and forth, and after all is said and done, she might want a fortune for that silly shot, and pardon me, but we still may not see things, you’ve got it, eye to eye.For a bottle of wine we can get Betty, down the hall to pose, bu