Water Cooler

Information and insight about your career and the workplace at large
September 2006

News and Views

Wanted: the right boss. Few things have more impact on your happiness at work than the person you answer to every day. Watch these signs during your next interview to find a boss you respect. Details

Workplace trends looking scary. ASAE blogger Scott Steen says the 2006-07 Workplace Forecast released by the Society for Human Resource Management paints a fairly scary picture of what's happening in the American workplace. Employees are feeling less secure, fewer people have access to health insurance, and everyone is feeling vulnerable to data and identity theft. Details

Women less visible in top management. The percentage of venture-backed companies with at least one woman in top management sunk to its lowest level in a decade during the first half of 2006, according to Dow Jones VentureOne. The firm said that just 29.7% of VC-backed companies had women in management—down from nearly 33% last year and nearly 36% in 2004. Source: DeDe Haskins, Managing Principal, Cigital, Inc., referring to recent news release from DowJones VentureOne.

Mr. Manners for Business. If promotion is eluding you, it could be because of your "professional posturing." So says this Washington Post author, anyway. Read Raise Your Rank: Ten Tips for Career Success

The kaleidoscope career takes hold. The career lattice (first coined by Cliff Hakim) has morphed into a model some are calling the kaleidoscope career. In a nutshell—the ABCs of authenticity, balance, and challenge are putting to rest the linear career ladder model of unscrupulous power-mongering, say business authors Lisa A. Mainiero and Sherry E. Sullivan. Read more at Change This Manifesto

Blog Entry

Corporate Blogging, Anyone? A book review. — Check it out!

Coming Up

Workshops and Book Signings

University of Dayton Alumni September 20, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Capital City Brewing Company, Union Station-Capitol Hill, Washington, DC Contact: Shannon Haley