Career

When previous colleagues or interested clients ask me why I wrote a book on self-awareness in love instead of leadership development (my chosen profession), my "old brain" automatic reaction is to cringe internally, logically defend externally, and deflate spiritually. In conscious response, I reply that I wrote it in order to raise more attention to matters of the heart.

Somehow, even though organizations can talk a lot about love or give family-work balance lip service, many of us feel exposed if we reveal our truths about how we let work interfere with our personal relationships, or how we let our home life take priority over our professional functioning.

Becoming an effective negotiator takes skill, and lots of it. Whether for personal or professional matters, knowing how to present yourself during each individual negotiation is critical to a successful outcome. Indeed, veteran negotiation and contracts expert Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, author of "Think Like a Negotiator," points out that one key to being a master negotiator is intuitively employing different approaches and taking an alternate direction based on each given situation. But, in order to do this effectively, one must first understand the varying, and quite distinctive, negotiator personality archetypes—one or the other of which most people typically utilize while they "wheel and deal." She warns that, without this strategic aptitude and application of the right persona for the deal at hand, at best it’ll be harder than it needs to be and at worst all could be lost.

Sleep. All business leaders need it, most crave it, but throngs don’t get the kind of restorative and rehabilitative sleep required to optimize mental clarity, focus, ideation, awareness, productivity and overall job performance. The result is egregious opportunity loss relative to realizing one’s full leadership potential. In addition to the CDC declaring "insufficient sleep an "important public health concern," a RAND Corporation study sheds more ominous light on the issue, finding that business losses in the U.S. resulting from deficient sleep reaches a staggering $411 billion (2.28 percent of its GDP)—the highest economic loss incidence of the countries studied.

Studies, articles and blogs today give caregivers advice on balancing responsibility and managing stress. Whether you can hold a demanding job(s) or advance a career as a primary caregiver remains the dilemma. Nearly 44 million Americans (most working part or full time) provide regular, unpaid care for an older adult. And 10 million millennials (that’s 1 in 4!) have already joined the ranks of elder caregiving. Remember... elder doesn’t necessarily mean old, early onset Alzheimer’s can be diagnosed as early as 40.

If you are dreaming of ditching your long commute, saying goodbye to endless hours inside an office building and having the chance to volunteer at your kids’ school on a regular basis, you are in luck. With some research, determination and willingness to network, it is more than possible to find flexible jobs that you can do from home—and get paid for.

Since "work-at-home jobs" and "scams" often go hand in hand, let’s start by looking at which jobs are not viable options, and then explore how you can find an at-home position that gives you the flexibility you crave.

As women have taken on greater leadership roles in the business world, it’s paid off for both them and business.

A study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that firms with women in the C-suite were more profitable. Meanwhile, the number of women-owned businesses grew 45 percent from 2007 to 2016 compared to just a 9 percent growth in the number of businesses overall.

You did your part in raising a college-ready student. You ensured good schools and teachers; supervised years of homework sessions; braved entrance exams and the obligatory tour of potential campuses. But now all seems lost.

Your child has just finished the freshmen year and given you news about choosing a major—journalism. Yikes! What can be done?

First—know that you are not alone. It might seem counter-intuitive with the dramatic decline the newspaper industry and mainstream media in general, but the number of undergraduate students seeking journalism degrees is actually larger today than 10 years ago and nearly 50 percent higher than 20 years ago.