Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The leadership development industry—now valued at a staggering $67 billion and slated to grow to nearly $180 billion by 2032—must correct a glaring, unmistakable, and long-standing branding issue. There is no such thing as a "soft skill." Long mislabeled as "soft," these skills are, in reality, the bedrock of effective leadership. It's high time we abandon the outdated and derogatory term "soft skills" and embrace their true essence: professional skills . Dispelling the Myth: Soft Skills Are Not Soft As a long-recovering Chief Learning Officer (CLO), I continue to feel that interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence remain mislabeled as "soft skills." However, this designation fails to reflect the true significance of these skills accurately and upholds the fallacious idea that they are less important than hard skills. Professional skills are more important than ever in today's business world, which is … [Read more...] about It’s About Time We Abandoned The Term’ Soft Skills’
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The Connected Employee Experience Requires HR And IT To Be More Aligned Than Ever
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Lakshmi Raj, cofounder and co-CEO of Replicon , a time intelligence company. While traditionally separated by floors and organizational structures, human resources (HR) and information technology (IT) are now playing a more critical role in each other’s daily operations, especially in the digital era of business. Hiring new employees and managing existing workforces based on the demand for skills is increasingly a coordinated effort between the two departments. The HR department now relies on advanced resource management solutions to better manage hiring and reskilling programs, while the IT department collaborates with HR teams to implement solutions that enhance employee experience. This has reemphasized the need for HR and IT teams to be more aligned than ever before. Data silos have existed, but can that continue? HR and IT departments have arguably been two of the most collaborative departments in any … [Read more...] about The Connected Employee Experience Requires HR And IT To Be More Aligned Than Ever
Mindset Matters: Reflecting On The Value Of The Disability Narrative In An Era Of Culture Wars
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin While the position of diversity, equity, and inclusion has continued to make strides across society, another school of thought has raged against its significance of what is needed in our everyday lives. The disability narrative has even seen its fair share of criticism these days, most recently from certain conservative political commentators. Yet, even in the gauntlet of the culture wars, it is important to take a moment and step back and think about the true value of the disability narrative. Too often all these critiques are habitually one-dimensional and lack the imagination of the true value that this community can provide. While embracing the disability narrative is certainly not a panacea to today's culture wars, it may offer a more humane approach to what we need in our very divided space. Though we often don’t say it aloud, the disability narrative is something we all share and is part of the fabric of our lives … [Read more...] about Mindset Matters: Reflecting On The Value Of The Disability Narrative In An Era Of Culture Wars
Incorporating BYOK Into Your Company’s Data Security Strategy
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Ameesh Divatia is co-founder & CEO of Baffle, Inc ., with a proven track record of turning innovative ideas into successful businesses. Cloud computing has changed how organizations think about security. Instead of focusing resources on protecting the perimeter of an on-premises database, a cloud-first environment requires organizations to consider how to protect the data itself. However, cloud computing brings with it additional security concerns. Encryption solutions have helped keep data secure, whether at rest or in motion. Still, many companies struggle with encryption key visibility and ownership, which typically belongs to the cloud service providers (CSP). It's difficult to assure customers that their data is secure if someone else can access their encryption keys. In recent years, the bring-your-own-key (BYOK) approach, which allows organizations to maintain control over data encryption keys, … [Read more...] about Incorporating BYOK Into Your Company’s Data Security Strategy
This Cybersecurity CTO Shares 5 Tips To Better Protect Your Customers
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin By Satta Sarmah Hightower Identity theft can upend someone’s life, both financially and emotionally. It’s a reality facing customers daily. Someone becomes a victim of identity theft every four seconds , reports the National Council on Identity Theft Protection. With increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats on the rise, companies have a responsibility to protect their consumers—and a big opportunity to deepen trust and loyalty if they get it right. To help businesses navigate this, we talked to Erik Nienaber, CTO and head of product at Iris Powered by Generali , a leading provider of identity and personal cyber protection solutions for businesses to offer to their customers. Below, he shares five tips to help companies bolster identity protection efforts and ultimately enrich the customer experience, build trust and boost business outcomes. 1. Assess Your Plan What’s your company’s approach to … [Read more...] about This Cybersecurity CTO Shares 5 Tips To Better Protect Your Customers
The US Restaurant Industry Has Bounded Back from Covid At Every Level From Fast Food To Fine Dining
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The doomsayers who predicted the literal demise of the U.S. restaurant industry after Covid—especially at the fine dining level—proved myopic in the extreme. A new study called the “Agency Forward Restaurant Survey” compiled by Nationwide Insurance, which both insures and advises restaurants on coping with inflation to supply chain issues shows that every segment of the industry has not just survived but in many cases is thriving well past pre-pandemic levels of business. To explain the findings I spoke with Peter McMurtrie, President of Commercial Lines at Nationwide: You say reservations have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Does this apply as much to fast food and chain restaurants (which are mainly walk-in) as with higher end and fine dining? While this research study only focused on fine dining, fast casual and family-style restaurants, recent research as well as our interactions with customers have shown fast food … [Read more...] about The US Restaurant Industry Has Bounded Back from Covid At Every Level From Fast Food To Fine Dining
How To Determine Where To Invest Your CX Technology Budget First
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Alok Kulkarni is Co-Founder and CEO of Cyara , a customer experience (CX) leader trusted by leading brands around the world. Out with the old, in with the new. Contact centers are evolving, and your technology should, too. In the past, with legacy call centers, customer journeys were relatively simple and linear: Call in, talk to an agent and resolve the problem. But those days are long gone. With the rise of omnichannel communication, today’s customer journey is more complex and the route to a successful customer experience (CX) may crisscross its way through several different channels, touching not only human agents but bots along the way. In today’s tense economic climate, CIOs and CX leaders have a crucial but challenging task: maintain growth while simultaneously cutting expenses and increasing efficiency. Most IT executives would agree that putting money into new technology will help accelerate growth and … [Read more...] about How To Determine Where To Invest Your CX Technology Budget First
Baseball’s Highest-Paid Players 2023: Shohei Ohtani’s MLB-Record Total Lands Him At No. 1
MLB’s most marketable star leads a group that is set to collect a record $436 million combined this year before taxes and agents’ fees, up 15% from last year’s all-time high. By Justin Birnbaum W hen Shohei Ohtani led Team Japan to victory at the World Baseball Classic last week, striking out his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to end the championship game, he delivered yet another incredible achievement to his ever-expanding baseball resume. As he enters his sixth big league season, Ohtani has collected a slew of awards, including the 2021 American League MVP. That kind of success has translated financially for the 28-year-old Ohtani, who is now the highest-paid player in baseball. Forbes estimates Ohtani will collect $65 million in total earnings for the 2023 season before taxes and agents’ fees, an MLB record. Nearly half of that comes from the record-breaking one-year, $30 million contract extension he signed in October to avoid arbitration. Off the … [Read more...] about Baseball’s Highest-Paid Players 2023: Shohei Ohtani’s MLB-Record Total Lands Him At No. 1