• WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS FACE CHALLENGES THAT MEN DON’T – especially if they’re ‘momtrepreneurs’ with dual responsibilities to families in addition to normal work-balance stresses. Principal female obstacles include: (1) “emotional connection that can cause holdback in making tough decisions”; (2) tendency to “feel as though they need to adopt a stereo- typically ‘male’ attitude toward business: competitive, aggressive and sometimes overly harsh”; and (3) “fear of failure –the top concern of women who launch startups” according to Global Entrepreneur Monitor from Babson College. DCG has decades of experience assisting female owners & executives to achieve optimal business success. [BUSINESS NEWS DAILY – Oct 11, 13]

    CHASE BANK, WHICH STRONGLY SUPPORTS WOMEN ENTREPRENUERS, HAS NOMINATED DCG AFFILIATE SATYA GLOBAL (www.SatyaGlobal.com) as a finalist to receive a $250,000 grant, in order to expand SATYA’s business model and community services. Final step requires community support, so please consider helping SATYA with your online vote at https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/business/detail/6146#sthash.jS7zQ2e9. A five-second click & click will be appreciated and contribute to furthering this important cause.

  • A NON-STRATEGIC HIRING PROCESS IS USUALLY THE CAUSE when new employees don’t work out. When employers fail to develop and implement a disciplined process, the likelihood for effective matching of needs, skills, personalities and cultural fit is substantially diminished, often resulting in costly termination. Most common hiring mistakes stem from shortcuts in areas of: (1) inadequate job descriptions poorly focused on responsibilities; (2) superficial interviewing which lacks probing questions to ascertain attitudes, work-style, adaptability and relevant background; (3) inappropriate skill-sets or prior experience; (4) desperate hiring based on snap judgment. DCG can help. [LIGHTHOUSE CONSULTING – Oct 8, 13]

    ONCE EMPLOYED, NEARLY 2/3 OF MILLENNIALS SUPPOSEDLY “VALUE THE IDEA OF LONG TERM CAREERS…and believe it’s possible in today’s workforce… without hopping from job to job.” According to a recent survey by Monster and GfK Research, 37% said they believe a career “provides a sense of accomplishment” and 57% believe in the “lifelong earning potential.” It’s just that Gen Y employees look for a ‘road map’ to career development, with “goals that are measurable and realistic… broken down into smaller interim steps in between the major milestones… so they feel challenged but not overwhelmed… A key factor defining Career for millennials is also their ability to make a difference and do something meaningful,” priorities which long-term career planning (with DCG expertise) can facilitate. [OPEN FORUM – Oct 8, 13]

    NOTWITHSTANDING THAT POTENTIAL, MILLENIALS KEEP THEIR OPTIONS OPEN – including an increasing trend to ‘rent’ or ‘subscribe’ versus buying and ‘owning’ products. Markets for books, music, autos and housing have faced this challenge for several years, motivated by desires of Generation Y to “save money and live more sustainably… Now ‘shared facilities’ are even starting to overtake established offices, meeting their objective for flexibility to “pack up and move to new cities or towns on short notice.” [THE FUTURIST – Nov/Dec 13]

  • MORE ‘ROUNDABOUTS’ ARE HEADED FOR AMERICAN INTERSECTIONS. Some cost over $2M to build, but are still “less expensive to run than traffic lights which can cost $100,000/yr to power and maintain.” Because they don’t require ‘complete stops,’ roundabouts cut congestion, reduce exhaust pollution and, according to authorities, cut auto crashes by one-third and deaths by 90% (except in Belgium where cyclist deaths are 41% more likely than at crossroads). [THE ECONOMIST – Oct 5, 13]
  • “LAUGHTER DOES NOT YIELD TO ANALYSIS, critical or scientific”; it’s simply a mystical dimension of our existence that “permits us to see ourselves as more human than animal… The best comedians are prophets. They’re truth tellers, teachers, takers of liberty, givers of offense, and their hostility is deliberate, their cruelty relentless – freeing us to laugh at our weakness, pain and rage… Revealed, the truth reveals us, fools on a forced march to oblivion. It hurts like hell, exactly as it should. There’s only one good way to exit: laughing. [ESQUIRE – Oct 13] “Growing older is mandatory; growing up is optional.”
  • THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: “People have a historical memory that goes back to breakfast.” – Benjamin Netanyahu