Why Many Businesses Are Slow to Embrace Social Media
By Ira Wolfe Tuesday Mar 30, 2010Effective marketing and recruiting is about getting out there wherever people are, and social media is where they happen to be at the moment. The proven strategy of location-location-location still holds true whether we live in a world of bricks or bits.
Must-See Video: Measuring Your Social Media ROI
By Ira Wolfe Monday Mar 29, 2010Documenting the ROI (return on investment) for social media is one of the most elusive and challenging problems facing management today. Convincing case studies are scarce. Isolated success stories pop-up every now and then and when they do — they become digital folklore.
How Effective Is Retraining After a Layoff?
By Ira Wolfe Thursday Mar 25, 2010“Every time someone’s laid off now, they need to start over,” says Gary Burtless, a labor economist with the Brookings Institute. And that’s exactly what thousands of unemployed workers are doing.
2018: Too Many Jobs, Too Few Workers — Seriously?
By Ira Wolfe Tuesday Mar 23, 2010Yes, if a report just released this week has any validity. Here's what the report, "After the Recovery: Help Needed -- the Coming Labor Shortage and How People in Encore Careers Can Help Solve It" says: "It may come as something of a surprise that within less than a decade (2018), the United States may face exactly the opposite problem [to the current glut of workers to jobs] — not enough workers to fill expected job openings."
Can a Business Succeed Without the Web?
By Ira Wolfe Tuesday Mar 23, 2010It’s a question that I’ve pondered the last few months while speaking to dozens of business owners and other key employees at Vistage and TEC groups in the United States and Canada. Sometimes I admittedly walk away from a presentation wondering if a business can be successful without an effective Internet marketing strategy. Most of these business owners are quite successful.
How to Referee March Madness at the Office
By Ira Wolfe Monday Mar 22, 2010March Madness, the NCAA Basketball Tournament got under way on March 18. And if John Challenger is correct, many employers might be calling foul when it comes to productivity.
Behind Toyota's Missed Facebook Opportunity
By Ira Wolfe Wednesday Mar 17, 2010Elbert Hubbard once said, "To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." Little did Mr. Hubbard know the relevance and significance of his advice in evaluating the acceptance or rejection of using social media in business.
Behind America's Talent Shortage
By Ira Wolfe Tuesday Mar 16, 2010Gone forever are the days of semi-skilled, well-paying, blue-collar factory jobs that can provide a 19-year-old dropout or high school graduate with a living wage. Today, counting on a low-skill manufacturing or service job to keep you in the middle class is as sensible as buying a BETA tape for a Blue Ray DVD player
U.S. Productivity Gains Come at a Price
By Ira Wolfe Monday Mar 15, 2010Thanks to the convergence of a recovering economy and a lean workforce, U.S. productivity gains in the fourth quarter of 2009 reached 6.9%. For the year, the rate was 3.8% — the second-highest level in a decade. While that is certainly welcome news, you have to wonder if employers are wearing their employees out.
Survey: A Look Into the Mindset of Today's Young Workers
By Ira Wolfe Monday Mar 15, 2010Roll back the clock about 40 years and 74% of young people said there was a generation gap between themselves and their parents. Of course if you are a Baby Boomer, you recall growing up in war and recession.
