The Ties Don’t Bind
Just six percent of men wear ties to work each day, down from 10 percent in 2002. U.S. tie sales have dropped by nearly half since sales peaked at $1.3 billion in 1995, and the future doesn’t look bright for the industry. In June, the Men’s Dress Furnishings Association, founded in 1947 as the Men’s Tie Foundation, announced that it was shutting down, a victim of declining membership.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Air-Conditioned Savings
Major appliances such as air conditioners are some of the biggest energy hogs in your home. With energy costs gone through the roof, here are some tips to save dollars while you’re keeping cool.
- Dialing for dollars. Each degree you go below 78 degrees increases your energy consumption by about eight percent. If your monthly electric bill is about $100, you’ll save $8 a month with EACH degree you can stand above 78.
- Programmable thermostats cost between $100 and $150, but they’ll help you more easily adjust your room temperature to be higher when you’re asleep or not home and lower when you need it.
- Inspect your filters every other month. Replace your dirty air filters to save even more by keeping your a/c running at top efficiency.
- Made in the shade. Air conditioners with proper shading can be more efficient. Air in a shaded space is cooler than the surrounding air, meaning the a/c will have an easier time cooling the air before pumping it into the home.
Source: Angie’s List (angieslist.com)
Bridging the Generational Gap
Stephen M.R. Covey, co-founder and CEO of CoveyLink Worldwide and author of The Speed of Trust, inspires the inspirers of the business world. In his latest book, Covey addresses the talent retention problem seen as the baby boomers retire. The following are his latest tips for bridging the gap.
FOR BOOMERS AND MANAGERS:
- Get Better. Embrace the energy, ingenuity and technology that
Gen Y brings to the table. - Create Transparency. Foster mentorships between boomers who are
at a stage in their careers where being a mentor is more practical and Gen Yers who are asking for more responsibility. - Confront Reality. Time served does not trump value added. Don’t be afraid to promote early.
- Show Loyalty & Demonstrate Respect. It’s not easy to build loyalty, especially with a demographic known for its short attention span. Give Gen Y what they want—knowledge, respect, a model for personal and professional advancement.
FOR GEN Y-ERS:
- Don’t Sneer at the Small Stuff. You’re young and new here. You’ll get some of the essential busywork. Build trust and confidence in your abilities by delivering results.
- Show Loyalty & Demonstrate Respect. As a company extends trust to you, return the favor. Keep your eye on the ball, not the job board.
- Confront Reality. Advancement is a progression, an investment in your future. Don’t let impatience trump the learning process.
- Deliver Results & Practice Accountability. You asked for
the keys to the kingdom. When entrusted with them, behave
with integrity.
Hear Covey speak in-depth about the workplace generation gap when he is featured as the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Employers’ Association Conference “Strategic Directions,” in combination with the 91st annual Membership
Luncheon on Wednesday, October 22 at the Peoria Civic Center.
Trolley Tours
The Peoria area is rich with history, and the Peoria Historical Society and CityLink have partnered to give you a peek into that past. Ride a trolley on any of their four tours and discover the grandeur and mystery of “old Peoria.”
The River City Historical Tour explores Peoria’s rich history from the Native Americans and French settlers to the city’s grand mansions and Grandview Drive. The scenic tour passes through the Averyville area, downtown Peoria, Southtown, Moss Avenue and High Street.
The All-American City Historical Tour traces Peoria’s history from the 1920s to the present, including a look at the city’s gangster era with a stop at the site of the Bernie Shelton murder—Peoria’s most notorious crime scene. Discover why Peoria has been honored with the All-American City Award three times as you visit the old, new and developing business districts downtown.
The Old Peoria and the Judge Tour travels through the earliest sections of downtown and makes a visit to the oldest home in Peoria—the 1837 Flanagan House Museum. Also, learn about Peoria’s founding father, French explorer Henri de Tonti, during this historical tour.
The Springdale Cemetery/Grandview Drive Tour visits Peoria’s scenic drive, where you get the chance to see the elegant homes of today. Next, the trolley stops at the oldest cemetery in the state. At Springdale Cemetery, which was chartered in 1855, learn about the founding members of Peoria.
For dates and times, call the Peoria Historical Society at
(309) 674-1921 or visit peoriahistoricalsociety.org and
click “Tours.”
Business Travel Blogging
Today, when anyone can write a blog, how do you narrow down the mass of travel blogs to just the best ones? That’s easy with BoardingArea.com, a site that handpicks and bookmarks the best business travel blogs and puts them all in one place.
The site offers 10 featured blogs and a multitude of other blogs by business travelers, industry insiders and other media sources. And they are as varied as the people who write them. Pilots, flight attendants, CEOs, businessmen and reporters blog on topics ranging from candid travel stories to current airline events.
Examples of what you might find on boardingarea.com:
The Orbitz Travel Blog, written by Orbitz staffers, covers everything from travel tips to the latest deals. Here, they offer advice on how to fit everything into one carry-on:
“If an item can’t serve at least two purposes, it rarely makes it into our suitcase. For clothing, this means either being able to work for day and evening or warm weather and cold weather…If an item can only do one thing, it better do it really well and be as light as possible. Most of our electronics fit into this category.”
blog.orbitz.com
A twenty-something New Yorker known as Jammahs wrote in her blog, “My Life With Two Carry-Ons”:
“We all know that airplane cabins are a hotbed for germs. When that Travel Rookie in Bathroom Row Middle sneezes, you, in Exit Row Window will inhale that sneeze in about 7 to 9 seconds. Yeah, germs travel that fast.”
jammahs.blogspot.com
Conde Nast Traveler’s consumer news editor, Wendy Perrin, shares travel advice in her blog, “The Perrin Post”:
“The other day I warned you about a common scam in Italy: the fake street fight. One little boy pretends to beat up another. When the victim approaches you in tears, asking for money so he can get home to safety, you pull out your wallet—and the kids snatch it and race off.”
concierge.com/cntraveler/blogs/perrinpost
Video Games: Recession-Proof?
Does the video game industry hold the secret to staying afloat in a sinking economy? It’s possible. Although the U.S. is not officially in recession, many signs point to an approaching one: the housing slump, a bleak job outlook, less consumer spending and rising gas prices. And yet the NPD Group, a leading provider of consumer and retail information and insights, reports that U.S. sales of video games, consoles and accessories generated revenues of nearly $18 billion in 2007, a 43 percent increase from the $12.5 billion made in 2006. In May of last year alone, Nintendo sold 675,000 Wiis, Sony sold 209,000 PlayStation 3 machines and Microsoft sold 187,000 Xbox 360 consoles, reported Reuters. So what about this year? NPD reports that the video game industry is on track to see revenues in the $21 billion to $23 billion range in 2008—a smaller increase, yet a substantial one considering the current economic conditions.
Source: npd.com, reuters.com
Driving in the Fast Lane
California-based Dash Navigation, Inc. has created a GPS device that uses cell towers and wi-fi to keep drivers up to date with the latest traffic information.
The Dash Express is the world’s first two-way Internet-connected GPS device.
The Dash Express provides the most current information from other drivers in a given area in real time, obtaining its information from road sensors, commercial fleets and historical traffic information via a partnership with Inrix, the premier traffic data provider in the U.S. Each device collects traffic data from its GPS location and sends that information to the company, which creates maps of real-time traffic that are transmitted back to each device. The system is so smart that it even compensates for extremely fast or slow drivers. “The larger our network grows, the better traffic information becomes,” explains Dash.net.
Another huge leap forward is the ability for customers to create their own applications for the Dash Express. Coldwell Banker, for example, developed an application that allows drivers to access information on houses for sale within a certain radius of their GPS coordinates. Users can also create their own search buttons at my.dash.net and send them directly to their devices—anything from your online address book to movie times and songs currently playing on radio stations in the area.
All of this comes at a hefty price—$399.99 for the device, plus a monthly service charge which runs between $9.99 and $12.99. For more information, visit Dash.net. iBi
