Finding gifts for people can be difficult. Everyone has different tastes, likes, and dislikes. So whether it is for your office colleague, friends, or families, you can save time and be green by picking one green item per year. This item can be a reusable water bottle, a coffee mug, cloth napkins, or reusable grocery totes and give them as gifts to those on your list. Not only are you giving a gift that is practical, but one that is helping save the environment.

Situational awareness is essential under any circumstances. Listening and adapting to situations is especially important in business. The last blog about negotiating dealt primarily on being sensitive to different styles of people. This tactic is not only crucial to negotiations but also the entire interview process. Therefore, pay attention to the details of the office environment- the décor, furniture, dress, etc- in order to give you helpful clues to assist you in tailoring your presentation towards the culture of the company. Also, try to relate your answers to the interviewer and the company. Stay encouraged, and continuously demonstrates your interest during the entire process.

It is no surprise that men and women have a different way of doing things; as a result, making business negotiations can be extremely complex. However, keeping your communication style direct by sharing concepts rather than plans can help you collaborate with each other more easily. Be clear about what you want, and practice asking for it in a calm manner, getting confrontation will not get you anywhere. Being patient, staying focused and remaining on point will avoid the negotiation going poorly. Be prepared to compromise, and expect the same from the other party. Negotiating is a process, it is not a single event so do not treat it that way. Instead, be willing to sleep on it and come back with a fresh perspective.

It is hard to keep people motivated, but in order to do so, do not use common or tired phrases to keep your team on track. If you find yourself in charge of motivating and supplying employees with pep talks, and trying to inspire them, the worst thing you can do is sugarcoat the information with fluffy speeches. You need to find strong solid ways to provide them with optimism without seeming superficial. Being honest, realistic, and in a way transparent will give your employees reasons to engage, be productive and generally useful.

We’ve all been in the awkward situation of not remembering someone’s name. It is at the tip of our tongues, but for whatever reason it can not come to our brain soon enough. As a leader you need to be able find some technique that works for you about how to remember names. Remembering someone’s name is a simple way of saying “you’re important” because it is very respectful especially in the business world to be introduced to someone and immediately be able to introduce them to someone else. Do what works best for you, but in case you are in search of a new strategy, try the following. Look and listen, study the person and to get a mental image, and listen clearly to the name and repeat it back to them. Repeat the name silently to yourself a few times, and try to use the name in conversation.

Being organized can save you from stress. Organizing all of your life activities whether you are in the office, on vacation, or within family and friends relationships will help you avoid stress. To get organized make sure that you know your priorities. From there be assertive to get what you need done, but flexible enough to compromise when things are not necessarily going as planned. Be realistic, set goals based on your abilities and do not over extend yourself. When need be, delegate responsibilities. This will save you from emerging stress and most importantly take planned breaks. Taking a break will enhance your stress resistance.

Especially in this job market, you need to be proactive in your approach. For students graduating college in May 2009 the time from now until graduation is crucial if they are trying to break into the workforce. There are several things you can do starting now. Begin by researching companies in the cities you are interested in working, study their websites and review job openings on a weekly basis. Next write or e-mail the companies regarding their opportunities just because they are not making college recruiting visits doesn’t mean they do not have opportunities. Also, although most people do not find temporary positions ideal, they open up doors to companies that are not available to offer a permanent position, but the option to be “temp-to-perm” benefits both the company and the employee because both have a chance to check out each other without the serious commitment up front.

Opening your windows often, even in the winter improves indoor air quality and it is especially important to do during cold and flu season. Air purifiers require a lot of energy to run, and typically because of their design do not remove some indoor pollutants. It is not necessary to leave the window open for a long time, so bundle up for a little bit and let the breeze come in. Adding plants to a room also help indoor air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide and replacing oxygen.

Projects fail. They fail every day for a variety of reasons, whether it is budget overruns, higher than expected maintenance costs or because they failed to deliver the expected business value and ROI the fact of the matter is that 62% of all IT projects fail. This means a loss in time and money, which could have been saved if there was constant communication between the IT department and business sponsors of the projects. IT and business often operate in different worlds, and they have very different ideas to what they want. Advice is as simple as setting up engagement agreements. If you are contracting out to a department even if it is within your company have them draft up an agreement, anytime an aspect of the system you want designed is changed, revise the agreement and sign off on the work to be done.

Organizations everywhere are becoming more concerned with their corporate responsibility. The “greener” the company, it seems the more consumers are interested. “Greener” jobs could be the answer, because as a concern for the environment increases consumers are turning towards products and services with more eco-friendly trends. Industries from organic clothing lines to vacation spots are becoming more socially responsible in terms of investments which mean that “greener” job opportunities are springing up across all industries.

Great leaders come in many forms. Leadership is a subjective, rather than object thing in that leadership is usually decided upon by a consensus of a group. Leadership means influencing team members to work hard towards larger group goals. Whether leadership is primarily task or people oriented they must be confident and have self control as well as disciplined. Leading by example is almost better than any words of wisdom you can share orally, so always be a role model because your charges will be watching everything you do.

It is always important to invest time in yourself. Learning something new is a great way to spend that time. Whether you learn or take up a new hobby, or go back to school for additional training seeking ways to hone and improve your skills will help you grow professionally. Sure, training in any area may require some expense and definitely a significant amount of time but think of it as an investment. This investment is invaluable, and could help you become more employable, or prove to your employer that you are original.

Friends and family can be very helpful while you are searching for a new job. Not only can they motivate you throughout the process, but they can also be great resources. If you contact people you meet at conferences and utilize your own alumni networks finding someone who works for an employer that appeals to you they may recommend you. A lot of employers offer a referral program, and if you get hired they will be rewarded for bringing in your talent to the company. Keep an open mind and be flexible.

Always volunteering is one way you can learn new things in your company. Ask how you can help when your boss or other colleagues seem overworked. By volunteering to take the lead on an upcoming project or assignment you will have the visibility and name recognition beyond your own department to get noticed. This will help you build your reputation as an employee that is looking out for the company’s success by helping others accomplish his/her goals. Mentoring programs are great ways to get involved and volunteer to help a new employee, or if you yourself wants to be mentored it can help you network throughout your company.

Have you ever thought about your job, and thought “I am miserable in my position?” The problem is that with this economy, even if you do not feel that your job is the right fit for you, you stay with the company. You do not want to burn any bridges with your employer, so you end up staying in your position because of the circumstances and possibly because you do not have another job lined up? However, there are concerns you need to consider when deciding whether a change in position is in the near future. Obviously, are you financially able to support yourself until you can find a new position- this could be quite some time in this job market. Second, how upset is your job making you? If you are having high anxiety and stress related to the job, then leaving could be essential to your health. If your job is tolerable and you can stay while pursuing other opportunities try to hang in a little longer. Lastly, do you need to honor a contract- or give a certain time frame of when you are leaving? Be wise. Do not burn bridges with your employer, and continue to respect the needs and expectations of your employer.

Staying calm in an emergency is the most important thing you can do. In order to keep your cool, try to steady your breathing. Fear triggers an almost immediate response that speeds up your heart rate. Repeatedly in hale and exhale for three seconds each to steady the rhythm which will also help you focus. Next engage your senses, touching a favorite piece of jewelry or a soft material will also heave a calming effect on your nerves. Lastly be fully engaged in the moment. When you are reacting to a situation think of only what you need to do in the exact moment, do not try to think of all different scenarios and how the emergency could play out, this will keep you from taking action.

There are always ways of helping the environment, and one of them is achieved by simply buying products made of recycled paper. If you look on the right of the package, many companies are advertising that they are in fact “made of 100 percent recycled material” If the package doesn’t advertise this fact, you can still find out whether they are made with recycled materials. Cereal boxes, cookies, crackers, and many other groceries are packaged in cardboard boxes which are made from recycled paper. A simple way of figuring this out is if the inside cardboard is gray or dark brown it is typically recycled. White typically means it is made of non-recyclable material.

The day you stop asking questions, is the day you stop learning because you are operating as if you already know everything there is to know. Questions are one of the most effective communications tools we have. Not only are you seeking information but chances are you are showing the other person an interest in what they know. Ideas, information, strategy, as well as past, present, and future plans are all exchanged through questions. Whether you are part of a team, leading a group, or managing an event the opportunities for new insight are endless as long as you ask thought provoking questions of others. By gaining other peoples perspectives you can make your job more efficient by seeing things from all angles as well as increase morale which will lead to a less stressful job.

It is always important to demonstrate why you are vital to your company. This is intensely important during tough economic times. In order to do this, make sure you are able to work and develop a certain skill or expertise so that when people have questions, they go to you. This makes you an essential member of the team because you are the only one that possesses that knowledge. By becoming the go to person for you department other people will rely on you for advice, and if you weren’t there perhaps questions wouldn’t be answered as effective or efficiently.

Years ago, it seemed that having experience and transferable skill sets would help you land any position. Now, it seems that companies want a specific skill set for their particular job opening. Hiring of new employees is a huge expense for companies. They need to come up with the money to support a salary, benefits, and training. Therefore, they want someone that can do the specific job, rather than someone that has dabbled in the subject. However, as job seekers we like to have a resume packed with all of our accomplishments. The good thing is that you are allowed to have multiple versions of your resume. When you go to apply for a position, make sure that your experiences and skills are specific for the job you are applying. If something on your resume doesn’t necessarily pertain to that job, take it off your resume- continue to highlight your skills that do.

This is the time to be socially responsible in all of our actions whether they be at home, at work, or at play. The more we talk about it the more the message will spread. Conscious consumers will drive the movement, because the more we care about a company’s internal socially responsible actions as well as how they treat their employees the company’s will be forced to respond to keep people loyal to their product brands. Not only is being socially responsible the right thing to do, but it can be used by your company as a competitive advantage and as a means to differentiate your brand. Look at how your company operates and find ways to make employees and the environment feel valued and cared about.

If you’re sick, please, stay home. With a constant stream of sick employees reporting to work, it is no wonder you can’t shake the under the weather feeling. We know there are several reasons to go to work, so we don’t fall behind on our duties, a limited number of sick days, unpaid sick days- whatever it is, in some circumstances it truly is better to stay home. Explore your options if you get sick, try to take the day off to give your body a chance to recover. Work from home is at all possible, if not limit your contact with others by postponing meetings and if you are missing work make arrangements to let others know when you will be in or how you can be reached.

Can technology continue to be a solution to social problems, or does “social engineering” need to be the solution? Social engineering is the concept of changing how people think and their personal lifestyles rather than finding technology that can help the problems we are currently running in to. For example, a fresh water shortage has two different points of views on how to solve the problem. The social engineering view says that we should encourage people to change the way they use water. The technological fix would be to find a way for through nuclear power to desalt sea water to provide more fresh water. This is a short term solution, and patience is not in our programming. Social engineering takes time, too many of us want it now, and although it is not possible right now we need to start looking at the big picture so we can get there eventually.

Once you have applied for a position, it is up to you to follow up. Job-seekers can not just sit back and relax while waiting to be contacted from the employer, follow up every single lead. This shows your are still interested in the position and more importantly the organization. You are not being annoying, unless you go too overboard but it is a nice gesture to let the organization know that you are still interested by calling or emailing the employer regularly to check up on the hiring decision. Employers, if you have a prospective employee that is checking in with you, be sure to answer his/her requests because if you do not they will find someone else and you could be missing out on hiring a great person.

The idea of being on a social networking site is inviting for many people. The potential dangers for job seekers have been explored but what about someone already working for a company? Does becoming “friends” with your boss blur the lines of professional behavior? Keeping in touch with people and establishing relationships is what these types of sites are all about, but what about the obvious draw back of joining a social networking site? Monitoring your own sites online content will be more important because you will not want to document or voice any discussion of politics, photos, and you will want to be careful of posts made by friends. Regardless of if you choose to become online “friends” with your boss or colleagues one thing you must remember is that information posted on the internet is never truly private. So do not post things that you wouldn’t want the whole world to know about, because chances are the information could fall in to the wrong hands.

Strategy is the direction in which organizations, or teams like we saw in the super bowl tonight direct goals. In order to do this, organizations need to obtain a competitive advantage something that sets them apart from others in the same industry and challenges the environment around them. Strategy is about what is the long term goal? Which markets should a business compete in and what kinds of activities are involved in the markets? What resources are required in order to compete and what are the expectations of those who have power in and around the business? Staying ahead of the game will help your business so always be on your toes and ready to play the offense as well as the defense.